Hi all, I want to save this topic till after the NAB Cup for obvious reason and I know it had been discussed a bit earlier this year, but I think it might be handy to revisit/re-evaluate it. Basically, I am looking at setting up a team purely to win a cash league. Previously we have discussed that selecting premiums from those with both buys in the multi-bye rounds is the best way to go (e.g. Brisbane, Freo, Melbourne and Sydney). Which is all well and good but my question becomes how many to take from these. I am finding myself purely looking to fill a spot with a player from the mentioned teams. What is worrying me is that, I might start strong (through Rd4-6), but might end up struggling at the end of the year because I didn't pick the best player for each position, but rather based on their club. In relation to rookies, I have thought (and this might be relevant to a GnR strategy as well) that rookies from Richmond, Essendon and Port get preference due to their late buys. What are peoples thoughts on the best way to go?
Interesting thing about the multi-bye rounds that I noticed for the rucks is that if you play Sandi and Jamar, barring injury that really is a set and forget combination. That was tempting for me, but I think I will go with Cox, who will only miss one league game. Helped me rule out the need for an F/R link. Not sure if that helps you, just something I came across. Other than that I'm not reading too much into because the bottom line is that you need the best team for finals.
A strategy worth considering and, as CJ points out, there are a couple of combinations that fit. Freo and Sydney offer a couple of premiums, while Brisbane has some tempting rookies. Probably a blend is the way to go (i.e., under this strategy a premium you are considering gets an extra tick if he is from one of these four teams). The stats will say "how much are you gaining?" If (say) you had 4 and these 4 were on the ground as opposed to subbing, you might gain an extra 120+ points over the course of the season. However, those who chose a 120+ av. player over a (say) Sydney 100+ player only stand to be disadvantaged once, by perhaps 50 points. If the strategy included saving specific trades to upgrade these prems come finals you would have a better chance, but saving extra trades for finals over and above the standard allocation is a very difficult thing to do.