[span style='font-size: 12pt;]By TigersTooTough
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[span style='font-size: 12pt;]Accept the mission or delay, wait for the right time, then strike. This has been a popular issue over the past couple of days and it has seen many SuperCoaches who did not start with the little master, hurry to get him in. I have seen plenty of people, on Twitter and on other sites, prepared to offload a premium in one line in order to finance a trade to get Ablett in. This raises a few questions for me however, for those who started with the legend, I say well done. They have forked out top dollar and received 178 points on the weekend. 356 for those with who placed the captaincy of their SuperCoach teams on Gaz. You know what you are going to get from him each and every week and the money has been spent wisely. However, in this little write-up”, I am focussing on those, like me, who didn't start with the little master.
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[span style='font-size: 12pt;]First and foremost, for those who didn't start with Gazza, I also say well done. Chances are, you spent that money on someone like Pendlebury, Swan or JPK. And you saved some cash as well to build up other areas of your team. The risk of not starting with GAJ is now well-documented, and I must admit, I felt a little embarrassed watching him tear the game apart on Saturday night. But one question arises from this predicament we find ourselves in; and it's not how do we get him in. No, it's WHY DIDN'T we start with him? Each person will have their reasons. It could be that he costs too much. He's getting older. It could be that we were told that he would play forward more resulting in the possibility of less points. Whichever one it is, you had A REASON in not choosing him. So why should that change now? Why, because he scored 178? For that reason, I suggest we all jump on Ben Howlett who scored 164. Sure, it's different because Ablett is a proven performer and Howlett isn't however it's the same premise. One outstanding week doesn't mean you jump on. If you get Ablett in now, you're chasing points rather than saving them.
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[span style='font-size: 12pt;]Say, again like me, you chose Scott Pendlebury instead of Gary Ablett. Pendles” scored 160 on the weekend; just 18 less than Ablett. He also cost around $75k less which meant you could upgrade a mid-price forward to a premium (for example). Over the course of this season, it is likely that these two (or Swan and whoever you may have chosen instead of Gaz), will be the top SC scorers. We chose these replacements, because they were more affordable and can score just as well. I am not for one minute saying that Gaz is on the decline. He could get even better for all I know. But what I am asking is, is it worth jeopardising your team structure to fit in Ablett? Right now he is $740 000. After Round 3, chances are he will be close to $760 000. And if he keeps scoring 170's, he will rise up to and past $800 000. But let's be realistic. He won't score that highly the whole time and therefore, his price will drop. He will become more affordable and then, once our cash cows have mooed” we can manipulate our line-up without hurting our structure and afford the Great Man.
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[span style='font-size: 12pt;]I'm wondering if anyone on TooSerious knows exactly what role Ablett will play this year? I can tell you that I don't. Who's to say that he won't play forward for 15 rounds and average only” 100-110? Only Guy McKenna would know and even he wouldn't know how Gary will perform in that position. We can only look at the facts so far. On the weekend, he played very well. He has the 3 Brownlow votes in the bag. After watching his mesmerising display, I looked at the statistics. They didn't shock me but there was something that stood out. At 3 qtr time, Ablett was on 87 SC points. On target to get around 120. His last quarter brought him 91 points. Now, how many times is that going to happen? Of course, 120 would be more than acceptable but that is a score we'd expect from someone we pay $640k for, not $740k. Andrew Swallow was consistent all match against the Magpies and he ended up on 137. He costs $585k. As we know, Ablett will always be capable of scoring 150+ but my point is, are you willing to risk a reshuffle of your team to fit in the most expensive player in SuperCoach if at times, we have to rely on one quarter that he may or may not produce something special to get a decent score?
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[span style='font-size: 12pt;]At Round 1, over 130 000 coaches had Gary Ablett Jr. in their teams. That's 46.1% of the entire competition. That leaves 53.9% of the competition without Ablett. When the 2013 race has been run and won, if you don't have him, you'll probably not have done as well as you thought you would. I am not saying that we shouldn't get him at all this year. But we have to put things in perspective. We spend countless hours trying to perfect our SC teams and now isn't the time to second guess yourself. A trade after Round 1 should simply be because of injury or a lengthy suspension. Corrective trades should be done at the end of Round 2. Upgrades can wait. Looking at his record, Ablett does average a healthy 119 against Sydney. In fact, he has a great average against everyone. What is interesting to note though, is that Gary Ablett has played just once at the SCG in his entire career; and that was back in 2003 before SuperCoach was around. 10 years is a long time between drinks so we don't know how he will perform at a relatively unknown stadium to him.
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[span style='font-size: 12pt;]Personally, looking at his record at grounds and against his opponents, I am planning on bringing him in after his bye round. He has a very good run home and should be at a cheaper price. Of course, if he becomes cheaper around Round 10, bring him in then but for now, Mission G.G.I will be delayed.
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[span style='font-size: 12pt;]If you're on Twitter, give us a follow on @DemP_9

[span style='font-size: 12pt;]And of course don't forget TooSerious @TSWalesy