Final Say: Round 11, trade plans + tactics

Life comes at ya pretty damn fast.

This week was a timely reminder that no matter how well they’ve played up until this point, rookies are still rookies… I’m looking at YOU Nic Martin.

Some rookies stood out above the pack; SDK and Patty McCartin continue their meteoric rise, while my very own cult heroes, Corey Durdin and Maurice Rioli clutched up when I needed them most.

Bulldogs’ half-back sensation, Luke Cleary, is on the bubble this week and should be on of your top priorities after a 61 and 75 to start his career.

I don’t think I was alone in feeling a bit stressed on Friday night when news broke of a virus running through the GWS squad. To our disappointment, Preussy was named as a late out, and so subsequently, Sam Hayes had to be played on field (which wasn’t tooooo bad).

Clayton Oliver returned to his incredible scoring with a 178 (congrats if you had him VC or C!). I can’t say the same for his ruckman and club captain, Max Gawn, who continues to prove that he was the worst trade in of the year.

Anyway, there’s a lot to get into this week with only ONE WEEK left until the byes!! Let’s crack in.

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GAMEPLAN

This week I scored 2254 which moved me down 2866 spots to 21,169th.

OF COURSE, after scoring 62, 75, and 63, Luke Ryan scores 102 the week I trade him out. What an absolute joke.

Luckily, I made the right decision to trade in Laird instead of Touk – who looks like he could be super cheap after his bye after all.

I think it’s in everyone’s best interest if I don’t get started on my decision to trade out Cogs. I’ve been a ticking time bomb since Sunday arvo, and I really don’t think it’s safe for me to explode just yet… ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME COGS?!?!

Overall, my trades weren’t too much of a disaster. I brought in Hewett *again*, and he continued his ridiculous form of never dropping below 110 this season.

Laird scored an underwhelming 105, but that will be the lowest score he gets all year I can assure you.

Cripps for some reason has completely dropped off, and so has Scott Pendlebury who really hasn’t lived up to his price tag when I brought him in originally.

To all our disappointment, Nic Martin has hit the rookie wall; but Patty McCartin, SDK, and Corey Durdin are do the complete opposite!

Finally, Zac Butters looks like a genuine premo again with back-to-back tons. He found a lot of the ball in the defensive half, so I wonder if he’s building into a new role…

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Will Brodie might just be the best wet weather player in the history of the game, what a gun! My plan with Brodie was always to trade him when Fyfe returned, but I’m not sure anymore, he looks like a season keeper with his last three scores being 115, 121, and then 144.

One rule I always try to adhere to when it comes to bye trading is to never waste a trade bringing someone in if they’re just going to miss a week anyway; bring them in after their bye. Of course, it’s incredibly tempting to bring in Bont this week, as his DPP change looks all but locked in, so I may be swayed… Who knows?

I am also slightly enticed by Tom Mitchell who was without a doubt back to his best on Sunday. He had 18 CBA’s and picked up a vintage 36 touches on his way to 129. He’s one exception to the bye trading rule, primarily due to the favourable Round 14 bye he’s got, coupled with a juicy run of fixtures coming up. I am tempted to go early, but I might just wait a week to see if he maintains his piggish role.

At this stage, I’m leaning towards just making one trade now, to save my remaining ones for the byes, BUT… I may well bring in Bont for Nic Martin who looks as though he’s hit the rookie wall:

Josh Rachele -> Luke Cleary

Remaining Salary: $289,400

Trades Left: 16

SUPER PODs

As we’re nearing the byes, PODs are slowly becoming a bit less relevant, and instead super PODs are where you need to direct your attention to fully leap past the competition. Generally, super PODs are anyone owned by less than 2%, but for the sake of having a little more breathing room, I’ll bump that up to 3%. Here’s my top three picks (based on who I think is the best to take a punt on).

Top-3 Super PODs

1. Brad Crouch ($529,500, 105.8, 2.5%) – Crouch is cheap… Real cheap. Especially for the potential that he currently possesses. He spurred the Saints on to victory after Steele left the game with a shoulder injury, eventually going on to score 140; and last week without Steele, he scored 127 against his former side. Steele is out for another eight weeks, and Crouch will absolutely flourish is the Saints’ main midfielder. It’s hard to recommend bringing him in this week because of his Round 12 bye, but if it suits your bye structure, then his fixture this week against North Melbourne is extremely appealing.

• David Swallow ($445,500, 74, 0.8%) – Swallow’s average playing off half-back: 56.7. Swallows average playing in the midfield: 114.3. Call me crazy, but I’m incredibly tempted. Last week he had 15 CBA’s, nine the week before, and 15 the week before that. If he continues his midfield role with these increased CBA’s, he will be a SERIOUS option. He could be handy upgrade from Daicos if you’re looking to get the rookie off your field and don’t quite have enough money for everyone.

• Harry Perryman ($487,200, 96.9, 0.6%) – Perryman is completely flying under the radar with a season average of 96.9 (including one score of 59 that really brings the average down). In the past four weeks he’s scored 101, 93, 93, and 138. Last week in particular, he had a whopping 18 CBA’s, albeit without Taranto and Ash. However, I’m still keeping a close eye on him as a potential Round 13 upgrade after his Round 12 bye.

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CHARLIE’S ANGELS – CAPTAINS

Cripps and Macrae didn’t quite show up last week, as didn’t Rory Laird and Andy Brayshaw.

Callum Mills has a juicy matchup against the Tigers on Friday night.

I’m wary of a Matt De Boar/Lachie Ash tag on Lachie Neale, but if he manages to roam free, he should pick up a lot of the footy.

The usual suspects (Clayton Oliver and Christian Petracca) will once again be on show against the Dockers, while the Bulldogs’ midfield will dominate the WAFL Eagles.

Top-3 Vice Captains

1. Callum Mills
2. Lachie Neale
3. Luke Parker

Top-3 Captains

1. Clayton Oliver
2. Marcus Bontempelli
3. Touk Miller

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