Interesting thoughts on the U23's. The average age of Brownlow Medalists used to be 23 (haven't got my AFL book with me now to check current avg age). One group of players that are usually good value are lower profile captains. Now I don't mean based on team, but on playing profile. The guys like Cassisi, Newman, McDonald & Watson may not be appreciated within the whole football community as much as other captains like Brown, Judd & Pavlich, but they have generally had great seasons in their early years as captain. Ones to look out for this season are Boyd (who was already a DT & SC gun) and who-ever Melbourne appoint...
Not a bad call Rooboy34 - Maxwell had his first year as captain last season and went from someone most would say was lucky to make Collingwood's first 22 to All-Australian that season. On the Brownlow - used to be better for younger players but I think now the TAC tends to stifle the development of players getting into the seniors. Real guns like Tim Watson were playing at 15 where now they would have to wait until 18-19. That's why Sidebottom playing in the GF under 20 is a rarity and why commentators were making a big deal of it. (What they should have made a big deal of was him being nearly BOG in three finals under 20...) So on good advice from rooboy, Boyd is a smart player to include...
Some great points to ponder everyone - great work. I strongly considered Watson last year but didn't end up jumping on- from memory he didn't really go up or down in value. Boyd will be hard not to pick, but can I have him and Cross? I love Cross due to his tackling and consistency. All sorts of stuff to consider with GC!! Now I'm worried about rotation of the young guys - I'd do it if I was Bluey -what's he got to lose? Maybe sticking with the sure starter rookies (3-5 of them) is best after all and look elsewhere for other good rookie options. I'm confused now - plenty of time to ponder tho!!
Yes GC are hard to assess. You'd think they are also facing early NAB elimination as even though they should beat GWS, they won't have a hope of getting through the other match unless GAJ turns it on. Cross v Boyd - not a huge question, probably just a matter of pick one and enjoy the consistency for the year. It's a bit like Swan v Pendlebury, Bartel v Selwood, even Judd v Murphy. All are about the same value for money at the moment, so just a good spread of these players will be the way to go I reckon. In rookies, I'm doing some analysis on the top 10 picks from last year, and the other 10 best improvers who started under 200k. Will see if I come up with any gems.
Great discussions guys. When putting my team together this year the words durability and value is what will really determine who makes the cut and who does not. As always the correct rookie will make or break most teams. Another thought i am having is to have no more than 3 players per team and only 1 player max per team per line (GC excluded. Also having at least x1 mpp per line and across all line. Getting this mix right is not easy without compramising your team but hey that the game and we all love the challenge.