Alright, being an eagles fan I started with my favourite player Waters. I knew the risks but my heart overruled my head. Looks like he's gone for 2 weeks now and if I want to stay in the hunt for overall (currently 629th) I'll probably have to pull the trigger and let him go as I can't see Terlich/Stevenson/Pittard/Heath scoring enough to keep me in touch. So the dilemma is who do I pick up Hanley, Birchall or Dixon. If I look at each individually my thinking goes a bit like this: Hanley - He scored a late goal on the weekend to lift his score, still would have ended up with 100+ without it, however how long until teams target his drive out of the back line. When he's tagged by a defensive forward will his scoring dry up? Pretty much a straight swap cost wise, but how long can he keep up the form? Birchall - Supercoach royalty, top 6 defender for a few years now and even with suckling's absence he is still pulling in the big scores. Probably the safest bet as he's averaging almost 120 when playing 3 of the stronger teams in the league. Again pretty much a straight swap. Dixon - The most interesting of the three as he's 100k cheaper than the other 2, he's just about GCS's number 1 ruck and his average is effected by his substitution in the Brisbane match. Without that he'd probably be up with the other 2 score wise. He's also managed these scores playing against the saints and swans, 2 strong ruck teams. As mentioned before he's 100k cheaper and this would then give me 210k to upgrade a rookie a little earlier, maximising my points. There's my thinking, if Dixon is fit and plays this weekend I reckon it's a no brainer, if he doesn't come up, who is it Hanley or Birchall? I'll put this out to the community, which of the three would you guys go for and for what reasons. Just remember I'm still dreaming of overall so every point is critical!
Dixon clearly has the highest reward, but also the highest risk. He has already rose $42k. I have Hanley already, but if I was to bring either in at this stage I'd be picking Birch.
Eagle - I've had Hanley right from the start. His role has changed from last year in that he is playing more on a wingthan on the half back line freeing him up a lot more. He is elite fit so can run out games and generally seems to have clean effective disposal. Given the run and carry he has provided though you would expect him to be tagged a bit more, but otherwise I would expect his high scoring to continue. Maybe not 140+ every week butI can easily see him scoring 100+ most weeks.
Out of those 3 I would pick Birchall. Scores 120~ against the good teams, so should continue that way against the rest of the league. Birchall is generally an accurate kick, and good DE equals good SC. I don't know much about Hanley and the way he plays, so won't comment on him other than to say that he could be having a massive purple patch that just ends abruptly. To me, the only for Dixon is down. Scores 120+ the first 2 weeks, then gets a niggle and is subbed. He'll carry the injury cloud for a couple of weeks, so probably won't be at his best, and I think he still is only an 80's player. I'd stay far away from him.
Do people think that I could substitute Waters for Heath Shaw? Shaw has started badly, and he looked like he was playing almost a tagging role on Sunday. Not to happy with him, and I got trades up my sleeve. Keep or flick?
@Eagle_Eyed - I'd be taking Birchall hands down, if you want a safe bet. I think he is in a great position with Suckling out, and even once Lake finally gets on the field, he will continue his awesome start. Hanley is somebody I will look to get into my team, if not this year, next year. I definitely see him being top 10 this year, I just don't trust Brisbane at this stage. Dixon is a similar proposition. If you are going for overall, I'd pick the most reliable player in this instance. If you really want to risk it, Dixon might be worth a punt, at the very least you could just use the extra cash on another upgrade, then if/when Dixon drops off, upgrade him also. The beauty of 30 trades.