One of the regulars in these parts, LiQuiD_SiXx, sent through this article that he wrote today. I reckon its a fairly solid piece on where to start, and a couple of things to consider when deciding on the structure of your squad. More than that though, Im looking forward to hearing some of the points, and counter points that can be raised in the comments as its a fairly meaty topic when you start to peel back the layers of it. That said, I really like the idea of the community writing articles! Theres a lot of different angles to cover this year, and you guys are pretty damn cluey at this stuff, so if anyone is interested in getting there stuff published, drop me a line and we can talk about it.

So without further ado-

As we are still in the early days of Supercoach 2011, we should be dedicating most of our discussion on team structure and getting that right early rather than specific player discussions. Naturally, opinions and views of players will grow and change as we gain access to more information throughout the pre-season, so having the right team structure will enable us to maximise our player selections by Round 1 Lock-Out.
Selecting the right team structure can be one the most complex aspects of Supercoach, but if you get your right it could lead to a very successful year. Hopefully this will give some insight into how to build a competitive team structure from scratch.

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As with selecting any initial team you must start with the end in mind and first decide on your Goal for Season 2011.

Overall – The goal is to score as many points per week to attempt to win the overall score prize.
League Wins – The goal is to score enough points each week to beat your opponent and ultimately win your league Grand Final.

The difference in team structure between each goal may not vary too much, but if your goal is to win your league planning around the byes is very important. So to keep it as simple as possible it will be based with the Overall objective in mind.

For the purpose of this article and to keep it as simple as possible, players will be classified into the following 3 Groups:

Premium/Keeper: $450k plus – Your premium selections or those you plan on keeping throughout the season, barring injury of course.
Undervalued/Discounted: $188k-$450k - Mid-price range. Any players selected from this range should be those you believe to be undervalued.
Rookie: Less than $188k – Anyone listed below David Swallow is considered a “Rookie”

Assuming all your bench players are Rookie’s (unless stated), let’s start with the Midfield structure. The engine room of your Supercoach team and choosing your structure here will impact the structures on your other lines.

Midfield Structure 1: 3 x Premium / 0 x Undervalued / 3 x Rookie (3/0/3)
With this structure you will be able to squeeze an extra premium into your back or forward line and making the most of plentiful midfield rookies. This structure will sacrifice points early for increase in player value later. A high risk/reward structure.
Midfield Structure 2: 4 x Premium / 0 x Undervalued / 2 x Rookie (4/0/2)
A safer structure than above, with your engine room scoring points early whilst sacrificing potential value growth.

Next, shift your focus to the Ruck line as this will impact on the structure of your Forward line.

Ruck Structure 1 : 2 x Premium & MPP Bench (2/0/0)
This structure is your Set & Forget ruck strategy where your two ruck premiums will not need to be upgraded. Place a Ruck/Fwd rookie (J.Tippett) on your bench and a Fwd/Ruck undervalued (Petrie or K.Tippett) in your forward line and use the MPP feature to cover your premium rucks for their byes.
Ruck Structure 2 : 1 x Premium / 1 x Undervalued & Undervalued Bench (1/1/0)
Not keen on using MPP in the ruck? That’s fine, structure your ruck line like this. For example – R1: Sandilands R2: Naitanui R3: Fraser R4: “Rookie”. A lot of cash sitting there on the bench but will give you peace of mind.

Now finally the Back and Forward line structures are dependent on your other lines but you should aim for the following.

Back/Forward Structure 1: 5 x Premium / 1 x Undervalued / 1 x Rookie (5/1/1)
If you used Midfield Structure 1, this structure can only be used in either your Back OR Forward line. If you also used Ruck Structure 1, then I suggest using this structure in your backline only.
Back/Forward Structure 2: 4 x Premium / 2 x Undervalued / 1 x Rookie (4/2/1)
If you used Midfield Structure 2, then use this structure for BOTH Back and Forward lines.

Hopefully, you have followed through that without too much confusion. At the end of the day a competitive starting structure you should be aiming for is the following:

14 x Premiums / 3 x Undervalued / 5 x Rookies (14/3/5) OR
14 x Premiums / 4 x Undervalued / 4 x Rookies (14/4/4)