This is to be  a tribute page for the efforts done over the past 15 rounds to get Impromptu SCE (I gather thats Supercoach Elite) into the lead for Supercoach 2011.

Sure we can get all hung up about trying to topple the leader, and lets be honest, it would be a difficult thing to see Impro win given the lack of trading options he has relative to the opposition.   However, given you need guts to make decisions and to trust your instinct over what the majority would do, I have been impressed by the trading action Impromptu has done this year to get him into this position.  For one thing, getting tempo advantage is key in terms of winning overall.    Past winners to a man have almost always upgraded fully as early as possible, and then managed their team on the smell of an oily rag to the finish line.

I love the analogy that we have with the Tour de France hitting the crucial stages just at the same time as Supercoach, because I see so many parallels.   Just as the big mountains in the Pyrenees loom large, so do the final rounds of the year, when General Soreness becomes a more regular factor.  Just as the maillot jeune is consistently fought for in the early action, a very important series of "battles within a battle" are fought.

Theres the points award (green jersey), similar to winning your leagues.  It requires significant ongoing investment to get wins, and time your run to perfection.
Theres the stage award, similar to winning a round.   This is often almost a fluke, but some people solely participate in Supercoach just to do this.
Theres the  king of the mountain award, similar to even making the finals in some of the leagues Im in!   This rewards peaking only when the going is tough, getting enough wins to make the finals, then unleashing.

Finally, there is the yellow jersey.   To win requires not just complete dedication on every stage by the winner (team leader), but also the support of an entire team working to achieve the same goal.

Thats what I believe we have in TooSerious, the best team in the business (well there are a few other very good ones, with their own strengths, but the quality of information sharing is the best Ive seen here).   And from here, lets see if we can help our team mates take the yellow jersey...it makes us all feel that our overall position well down the rankings is at least useful in the victory of another!

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And so, now, the leader is Impromptu.   Hes got a gap sneakily on the field and retains a strong deep team.   He has tempo but not necessarily trade advantage over the biggest rival, Wood is Good, who has been my tip for the overall for a while.   Well apart from the week that I got annoyed at The Cheeky Boys and wanted to put a big mozz on their overall chances by claiming they were as good as home (job done for making the comp interesting again!)

I reckon the guys at the very top are in the 2-4 trade zone, which in TDF language is the red zone.   There could be an Andy Schleck in the top 30 who has been protecting himself with sensible trades and finds themselves down by say 350-500 points and has 7 or 8 trades left.

In my view, the Round 16 and Round 19 is the time for these teams to make a move.   They need to fly like the wind, because though there will be casualties in the last 4 rounds, if the gap is not made up soon, it will end up insurmountable unless there is a catastrophic crash that takes down 50 leaders (it would be akin to a combined Saintsflu to Collingwood, Geelong, Carlton and Hawthorn players through rounds 22 to 24).

Concentrating on Impromptu, I think a few key players stand out.

Kreuzer.   Can he hold together?
Selwood.   In Lord of the Rings language, we will see very soon (next week) the Return of the King.
Newman/ROK/Harvey.   These three have been Supercoach staples for generations.   I remember in my best years I had these three and they always did me well.
Chapman.  A risk, but a very calculated one with the lovely run for the Cats coming up.

I see Round 19 being the Waterloo for this team.  If Impromptu can escape without too much damage from losing Newman, Deledio, Goodes and OKeefe, he should be in the mix for a grandstand finish.

Im not really going to comment on the others too much this week, because a bit has been done in the forums, or can be done later in the comments here.

Check out the forums work done by Sainter and The General, with some ripper contributions (esp from St Kilda Thunda) and then comment away:

<a href="http://tooserious.net/forum?mingleforumaction=viewtopic&amp;t=938.0">http://tooserious.net/forum?mingleforumaction=viewtopic&amp;t=938.0[/url]

<a href="http://tooserious.net/forum?mingleforumaction=viewtopic&amp;t=956.0">http://tooserious.net/forum?mingleforumaction=viewtopic&amp;t=956.0[/url]

I hope this week also brings some epic leagues action.   While theres no internal league matches, there is the crucial league vs league battles.   Heres the current top 10:

P1 - Supercoach Elite 2 - average 2196.01 ppg
P2 - TS Donor Kebabs - 2194.93 - 260 pts behind
P3 - TS Platinum League - 2189.32
P4 - Zamykals A1 League - 2185.10
P5 - Big Footy Div 3 - 2183.45
P6 - Supercoach Elite 1 - 2182.15
P7 - TooSerious Donors - 2181.78
P8 - TS2 - 2Secs Too Slow -  2180.96
P9 - BF Magpies Div 1 - 2180.13
P10 - Waaaaaaay TooSerious - 2177.90

I assume Impromptu is in either P1 or P6, so hes not just carrying his own hopes for overall on his back, but those of his league as well.   I have a feeling the Big Test Icicles, refreshed after a week off (Saints bye) then a mighty top 7 overall performance, can carry the banner for the TS Donors.   If your side is full of Sainters, it stands to reason that they wont be affected after their 2nd bye!  (It also stands to reason why his team was so poor earlier in the season when the Saints form was tripe!)

Anyway enough from me, time for your turn!