@ELeviathan, am catching up on a bunch of posts here myself... enjoying the read. Expats league ranked 58th and more points to come with Hanoi Hawks in a rebuilding phase - great work, all. Here at Relton HQ in Montreal we're pretty happy with the start but our selection of on-field rookies has been very costly... RD.1 - gut said roll the dice on Tapscott, head talked me out of it so I played it safe with Richardson (that turned a 2288 into a 2244). RD.2 - lockout here is at 4:45am so I decided not to get up early to check final teams. When I went to bed Libba was named on an extended bench so I played it safe and went with Bewick who was a definite starter (that turned a 2374 into a 2290 and cost me a couple of league wins). Moral of the story? The alarm is now set for an hour before lockout - no exceptions!
@Hanoi - SimonOz's advice is good, Watts out for Tapscott and Mzungu out for Libba is all good, all of the time @Anthak - any chance of those ruck issues of yours persisting another week?
Thnaks All for the advice. Lots to think about this week. Work will have to wait. Tempting to put that idea of getting Curnow and Libba in to get some cash for next week. In the meantime I can cheer myself up with the fact that apparently I earn more than Luke Ball. You've gotta hate those Pies. @Anthak - Were the Hawks any good? I listened to the game on radio and in the first half everyone was saying we'd get the wooden spoon and in the second half we'd make the grand final. Which to believe?
<blockquote>Quote from HanoiHawks on April 6, 2011, 10:20 Thnaks All for the advice. Lots to think about this week. Work will have to wait. Tempting to put that idea of getting Curnow and Libba in to get some cash for next week. In the meantime I can cheer myself up with the fact that apparently I earn more than Luke Ball. You've gotta hate those Pies. @Anthak - Were the Hawks any good? I listened to the game on radio and in the first half everyone was saying we'd get the wooden spoon and in the second half we'd make the grand final. Which to believe?</blockquote> hey mate, Hawks were great! dominated 1st quarter, but couldnt kick goals... 2nd quarter was a dissaster and Melbourne were all over us. but second half was nearly as dominant as I have ever seen them! Melbourne couldnt even get the ball for large periods it seemed. there was one time where they got a kick and the whole crowd cheered! lol. the ball was in our forward line for most of the second half, and they only really scored on a couple of fast breaks. Also, as I said earlier, I would be bringing in Tappy and Libba. forget Curnow... imo he has scored well against two underperforming sides. he wont be as good as he has been so far. also he is coming of a broken leg, that he broke midway through 2010 for Box Hill. @Easty. I am actually contemplating keeping my ruck as is for another week... but will be thinking long and hard about it, so no decisions made yet... @Elev. close game we had in cash league! was happy to come out in front! @Simonoz. thanks for advice. sorry i disappeared. lol. I did not expect a reply so quickly.
"Tibby"???? That might be a little hard to Swallow. My DVD arrived and watched Cats/Saints. Bartel now firmly on the radar. Everyone has Roo, but suspect we might all be in for a long wait. @ant Know I suggested it once already, but check out those $$$ signs next to Warnock in the Stats page.
Yeah, I had a look, and am considering him. Got many ideas. Not sure what I will do. I hate trading in rucks.
@ anthak, he looks likely to be the no.1 ruck for the year and will be a great POD. Do you still have Seaby and are just hoping that R3 & 4 can do the job until the right option presents?
<blockquote>Quote from anthak on April 6, 2011, 12:14 as I said earlier, I would be bringing in Tappy and Libba. forget Curnow... imo he has scored well against two underperforming sides. he wont be as good as he has been so far. also he is coming of a broken leg, that he broke midway through 2010 for Box Hill. </blockquote> not that any of you probably do anyway, but dont listen to my advice! Lol. Even I went against it... I chose curnow over libba for my own team today. Lol. @j in japan. Ended up grabbing ryder today in place of seaby. Could have got cox, but decided against it. Just gotta hope ryder does better...
While I'm here...... t-train top scored with a healthy 2300+, getting a nice bump from Bartel and Higgins. Bill and Steve remain undefeated at the top, though judging by the closeness of % from top to bottom, this is a tight little league. Anyone know how the league fared in the overall?
Hey guys, yes, this is a tight league. I feel very fortunate to have won this week, with more scorers on the bench than playing. At least the rookies pushed out some good scores to build the future bank, just a shame the guns didn't fire, so to speak. As a Saints supporter, I'm a bit depressed by the boys performance yesterday: a hopelessly disorganised shambolic rabble. They probably need to start tanking now. Mind you the way the Saints played yesterday, the Suns will beat them by 5 goals.
Yo bjaensch, At least the coach is making the right noises and has given up on smoke and mirrors (which is more than I can say for Port). If you want your spirits lifted, read the interview with Joey at the very bottom of Robbo's Tackle column in the Hun.
Hi Terry, Yeah, I read Joey's interview yesterday. Hopefully they manage to pull their collective fingers out. They gotta have some pride and a performance like Sunday's has to hurt if they have any pride at all. Ross could drop at least 4 or 5 players for round 5 I think. cheers, Bill
@anthak. Yes, I'm quite proud of that. Watson and Jamar came through for me. And while I'm blowing my own trumpet you'll be happy to know I remain undefeated in my dreamteam league, which is ranked a lofty 27,929th out of 30,512 leagues.Is the SC expat league still up in the top one hundred? ' Next three weeks look very tricky though.
@Neil, Simon has been a bit quiet, so I have run the initial eye over your team. While league matches are on hold for 3 weeks, our scores still count in the overall and the league rankings. Coming in to R4 you have; DEF: Stratton INJ, Murphy BYE, Blake BYE and Goddard BYE. MID: Wallis BYE, Mezungu INJ (still 7 weeks away), Libba BYE. FWD: Higgins BYE, Riewoldt BYE, Lynch BYE. So effectively you are copping a donut in DEF and you have no bench cover in MID or FWD. Partial solution to the problem focuses on Blake (348k). He has to go. If you have some cash, considerations might be Mattner (399), Gibson (399) or Adcock (373). If you don't have cash or want to hold on to it, then Lower or Duigan would be trade down considerations. In your position you might even consider Blake/Krakouer into Lower and Duigan. If Pedersen is named this round, he should also be a strong consideration. Eventually you will need to bring in MPP to your MIDs so you can work the swap with Goddard and Heppell, providing you with enhanced bench coverage. The only candidate I can see is Kennedy into Gibbs, Scotland or Deledio, depending on your resources. Pendlebury might be a good captain choice this week, but take a look at Jasmine's captain choices when this appears on the main page later in the week. Overall, Blake and Krakouer are the major weaknesses at the moment and, neither being uglier than you, should go, with the usual caveat that decisions are entirely yours.
Thorough advice there Tibby....(see, you complain about a nickname its just gonna stick more) Buried under the way of life that is NYC at present...if your not on the go 14 hrs a day you get shat on from a great height. Boy do I miss being in Melbourne sometimes, where I was dragged into work....every other day... Nice to see Hanoi putting in a very solid round, great stuff....and Anth seems past his (f)ruck problems. Havent looked at the SC site since last week, but I do know that everytime I head to the bathroom I'm reminded of Otten on the field in my backline
@Neil Hold on the above advice for a bit. Now Stratton is LTI, have to review (ie, he has to be the first to go). Last night I dreamed that you don't have Z. Smith as R3 and you stand to make a lot + better ruck security by bringing him in. Not in a position to check your team atm and will be up-country until almost lockout, so perhaps Ant or Simonoz could look at these options for you. Cheers, @simon Otten is a definite keeper - living in NY you need regular trips to the bathroom
Tery ~ I must say, when my fave Indian restaurant topped the list of 'most dirtiest, most food & safety violations' last year....a warm feeling came over me; initially thought to be pride, a quick trip to the bathroom reminded me it wasnt. Neil / Hanoi Hawks...quick glance: Terry's dreaming aside, you do have young Zachary Smith in R3 so all good there. Obviously it seems you want to make some corrections (or maybe we just think you do an you wish we'd all shutup LOL) In my opinion, injuries top the list of corrections to be made over mid price fixits...Stratton done for the year & Mzungo out another 2 mths. Not knowing your cash situation, and being a Hawk fan, you could swap Stratts for Suckling (bold move for sure) who is playing lights out, and use the cash to do to Mzungo to Curnow. Fills in the donut in DEF and really strengthens your mids. If Suckling doesnt tickle your fancy (couldnt resist that one), figure out the Mzungo to Curnow trade money wise, and lets see what you have to $pend to replace Stratts...you may be able to go much stronger, just depends on your bank balance.
Thanks Snoz - agree bringing in the Wagga boy a bold move, especially as JS goes up with Stratts out (might nudge a window for Puopolo as well - remember him?). Mz to Curnow also good and he could go right on the field. Don't give up on the Indian restaurants - it will be a huge help giving directions to taxi drivers when you land back in Melbourne.