A big cash cow went down, some popular choices and a few dollars too…

• Stuart Dew (Hawthorn) - hamstring - will miss around a month
• Aaron Davey (Melbourne) - foot - club says he will miss a couple of weeks with strained foot ligaments (apparently Richo missed 3 months with a similar injury)
• Travis Cloke (Collingwood) - ankle - likely to be right
• Tyson Goldsack (Collingwood) - broken nose - should be ok to play
• Josh Drummond (Brisbane) - quad - 2-4 weeks
• Adam Goodes (Sydney) - suspended - 1 week
• Shaun Higgins (Western Bulldogs) - ankle - 1-2 weeks
• Kurt Tippett (Adelaide) - jarred knee - needs scans
• Darren Glass (West Coast) - ankle - doubtful
• Darren Jolly (Sydney) - ankle - 1-2 weeks
• Courtenay Dempsey (Essendon) - hamstring - 3-4 weeks
• Andrew Raines (Richmond) - dislocated knee - likely to miss a couple

http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/news/the-injury-report/2008/03/30/1206850710509.html

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl/story/0,26576,23457112-19742,00.html

Posted by Warnie | 27 Comments »

DT Talk welcomes a new writer on board today, The Saint. Here is his first entry. Enjoy!

So I guess it is now that everyone starts to think, who should I trade in to get some value into my team before the price rises? And who should I chop before their price goes south?

The big mistake that a lot of people make in these situations is looking only at the short term, and not remembering that there is only a limited amount of trades.

I bet a lot of people have thought long and hard about bringing in players such as Travis Tuck, Jarryn Geary, and many more names that I will mention later. Yes both of those players values will increase dramatically after round 3, but will they be around for long enough to see large increases that make a difference?

Hawthorn is missing a few key midfielders with suspension, and all it will take is 2 bad weeks for tuck to be sitting in the 2’s once again, and for him to be stuck on your bench scoring 0’s.  Same with Geary.  As St.Kilda regains players such as Brendan Goddard and Matt Maguire, Geary will find that just 1 or 2 bad games will see him back with Casey for a long stint. These young kids are given a go, and are playing well, but unless they perform every single week, they will find it hard to keep their place in the side. Others to be careful with are, Sam Lonergan, Ryan Gamble, Cameron Stokes, etc (Unless you already have them. If this is the case, you are laughing right now)The safer options would be the high draft picks such as Rhys Palmer, Matthew Kreuzer and Cale Morton, even if they haven’t played as much as the others to date, because you know they will be persisted with through the ups and downs, all year long.

As for the big guns, don’t be afraid to cop a little bit of a price drop from players such as Jonno Brown etc.  They are players who will gain that value back over the course of the year, and they should be players who stay in your team for 22 weeks, barring injury or horrific form, such as Steve Johnson’s form or Scott Lucas’ injury.  Do not do the panic trade.  This rarely works.

The Saint.

Posted by The Saint | 130 Comments »

You may have heard the term “Break Even“ and wondered what the hell it is all about! Well, it is an important part of your Dream Team week from now on! It determines what a player has to do in their next game to hold their value and help you decide who to get in or who to trade. For example, if a player has been playing crap the last couple of weeks and scoring well below what their Dream Team worth is, then their price will drop and vice versa (for more about how all this works, see our blog entry about the ‘Magic Number’). Our friend Chad has made working this out easy by putting together a breakeven calculator. Check out the Resources page to get into it.

Here are some examples:

• Jason Porplyzia ($256,200). Scored 77 and 108. Break Even = -8 points.
  Will definately go up in value, he doesn’t even have to score!
• Dean Cox ($436,600). Scored 121 and 140. Break Even = 40 points.
  Should smash that score and go up from his already massive price!
• Justin Koschitzke ($320,200). Scored 63 and 24. Break Even = 134 points.
  Possible, but very unlikely… look for a price drop!
• Chris Tarrant ($311,500). Scored 38 and 32. Break Even = 145 points.
  No chance… will certainly drop in value!

* Calculators should be used as a guide only, may not be 100% accurate!

Posted by Warnie | 27 Comments »

Here is what we saw this week! Not all of the players who could fill these categories are here… We want to hear your selections in the comments, as well as what your score was this week!

The Big Dollar Performers:
Good onya boys… that’s why we paid the big bucks for you!
Simon Goodwin (161), Dean Cox (140), Daniel Cross (139), Jimmy Bartel (136), Gary Ablett Jnr (121), Scott Thompson (118), Brent Stanton (113), Joel Corey (110),  James McDonald (108) and Dane Swan (108).

Show Me The Money:
You weren’t meant to get that many pts… woohoo!
Nathan Bock (129), Robert Murphy (121), Corey Jones (115), Chris Newman (114), Jason Porplyzia (108), Travis Tuck (106), Ricky Dyson (96), Bret Thornton (93), Josh Hill (92), Troy Simmonds (92), Paul Medhurst (91), Ryan Gamble (90), and Rhys Palmer (87).

The Chopping Block:
Oh boy… WHY?! Useless prick!
Justin Koschitzke (24), Justin Sherman (25), Mark Nicoski (27), Tadhg Kennelly (28), Nathan Thompson (44), Tarkyn Lockyer (50), Steve Johnson (53), Chris Judd (56), Jonathon Brown (66).

Injuries/Suspension worries:
Hmm.. maybe a forced trade?!
Shaun Higgins - ankle (24), Courtenay Dempsey - hamstring (28), Kurt Tippett - knee (33), Josh Drummond - quad (34), Aaron Davey - ankle (35), Tyson Goldsack - ankle, nose (37), Andrew Raines - knee (40), Keiren Jack - head knock x2 (47), Aaron Edwards - maybe a tribunal appearance (51), Stuart Dew - hamstring (57), Adam Goodes - could get reported (86).

Posted by Warnie | 54 Comments »

Is there a worse player in the whole AFL than Justin KoSHITzke?

Give me your thoughts, or just vent your frustrations like me!

Posted by Tit-ed | 60 Comments »

Click on the game for live scores (they open in a new window) thanks to the stat-tastic, FanFooty.com.au. These are much better than the Game Day live ones as you can see every player on one page and get little updates from m0nty too! Don’t forget you can also sign up to FanFooty and get your team automatically put in to watch your own players live!

Friday March 28
Brisbane Lions v Collingwood at the Gabba, 7.40pm AEST
Saturday March 29
Melbourne v Western Bulldogs at the MCG, 2.10pm AEDT
Adelaide v West Coast at AAMI Stadium, 2.40pm ACDT
St Kilda v Carlton at Telstra Dome, 7.10pm AEDT
Fremantle v Hawthorn at Subiaco, 5.40pm AWDT 
Sunday March 30
Sydney Swans v Port Adelaide at the SCG, 1.10pm AEDT
Geelong v Essendon at Telstra Dome, 2.10pm AEDT
Richmond v North Melbourne, 4.40pm AEDT

Discuss your progress this round in the comments!

Posted by Warnie | 55 Comments »

AFL Round 2 Teams as they are announced. Final Sunday teams confirmed.

• Brisbane Lions
  In: Albert Proud, Justin Sherman, Lachlan Henderson (all INT)
  Out: Robert Copeland (ankle), Troy Selwood, Cheynee Stiller (omitted)
• Collingwood
  In: Scott Burns (CTR), Ben Johnson (HFF)
  Out: Rusling (shoulder), Clarke (omitted)
• Melbourne
  In: Clint Bartram (HBF), Lynden Dunn (HFF), Colin Sylvia (INT)
  Out: Brent Moloney, Ricky Petterd, Adem Yze
• Western Bulldogs
  No changes.
• Adelaide
  In: Kris Massie, Luke Jericho (both INT)
  Out: Brent Reilly (wrist), Robert Shirley (calf)
• West Coast
  In: Chris Masten (HFF) , Brad Ebert (FP)
  Out: Mark LeCras (groin), Matt Rosa (omitted)
• St Kilda
  In: Fraser Gehrig (FP), Jason Blake (WING)
  Out: Charlie Gardiner, Clint Jones (omitted)
• Carlton
  In: Brad Fisher (CHF), Shaun Hampson (FP), Jordan Russell (WING)
  Out: Shaun Grigg, Ryan Jackson (omit), Adam Hartlett (suspended)
• Fremantle
  In: Garrick Ibbotson (HFF), Rhys Palmer (WING), Chris Mayne (INT)
  Out: Dean Solomon (suspended), Heath Black (injured), Shaun McManus (injured)
• Hawthorn
  In: Campbell Brown (CHB), Luke Hodge (RR) 
  Out: Trent Croad (wrist), Clarke (corked calf)
• Sydney
  In: Ed Barlow (INT)
  Out: Nick Davis
• Port Adelaide
  In: Troy Chaplin (INT)
  Out: Tom Logan
• Geelong
  In: Harry Taylor (CHB), David Wojcinski (INT)
  Out: Andrew Mackie (strained quad), Kane Tenace (omitedt)
• Essendon
  In: Jason Winderlich (FP)
  Out: Scott Lucas (knee)
• Richmond
  In: Polo, Hyde (INT)
  Out: Johnson (suspended), Howat (suspended)
• North Melbourne
  In: Lachlan Hansen (WING)
  Out: Scott Thompson (omitted)

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl/story/0,26576,23440642-19742,00.html

(more…)

Posted by Warnie | 40 Comments »

Last week was MADNESS before the 6:10pm lockout, so here are some things to think about for this week! It will be a lot easier, as we know the Friday and Saturday teams and at 5pm today, we should know the full Sunday line ups (ie. the actual bench, not extended interchange). Here’s what you should do in these last few hours before lockout.

• Check to see if all of your players are playing. Sounds simple, but you might miss some selection news… make sure your emergencies you have selected are named, if not, work out who is most likely to get a game. Click here for the DT Talk Team Selections for Round 2. Also, check back after 5pm for all teams.
• Know about all injuries and suspensions. Check out the latest injury and suspension news. The major AFL news sites do a great job of compiling injury lists, so get onto all of those. Be wary of players who are listed as ‘test’ as they are often the late withdrawal types who hurt us so badly! Check out injury lists at: Herald Sun, Real Footy, AFL.com.au, Sportal.
• Make sure you have a Captain and a Vice Captain selected. Again, an obvious thing! If you aren’t sure about your captain, read Calvin’s Captains for this week and maybe check the weather for the games… as Vin says, you don’t want a soggy captain!
• Listen to the pre-match on the radio. If there is doubt on someone that you are thinking to sub out, or trade, then listen to one of the radio stations in the lead up to Friday night’s lockout. You might pick up on something at the last minute. I know last year in the finals Dream Team, I heard that Josh Fraser wasn’t playing versus the Eagles and traded with 2 mins to spare!
• Use your trades wisely. As said on the VidCast this week, don’t trade this week. A player’s value won’t change until after round three, however, if you are playing short on your ground because of an injury, then trade… especially if it is a Scott Lucas or Sean Rusling, etc. But remember Chook’s Ricky Pettrd rule - don’t trade until the last possible moment - after 5pm Friday!

Posted by Warnie | 22 Comments »

AFL Coaches must have been reading this site today, with what we dub as ‘Rookie Round‘. On top of the few blokes who debuted last week, there are a heap playing their first AFL game this week (or one of their first). We’ve got the popular and Pre-Season dominator Albert Proud and team mate Lachlan Henderson pulling the boots on for the Lions. Clint Bartram will be playing for the Dees while Chris Masten and Brad Ebert will debut for the Eagles. The Carlton ruckman, who is not that bloke who was picked at #1, Shaun Hampson will play after team mate Adam Hartlett has been told to have spell for a couple of weeks by the tribunal (or maybe more as it could be hard to get back in the side). Fremantle say hello to popular rookies Garrick Ibbotson and Rhys Palmer (and some other bloke called Chris Mayne). It’s hard to know who will be playing in the Sunday games, but Ed Barlow is on the extended interchange for the Swans, Harry Taylor will be holding down centre half back for the Cats and Lachlan Hansen is named on the wing for the Roos. If you selected one of these guys on your bench (or even ground), you would be licking your lips!

Which one of these guys are you excited about playing this week?

Posted by Warnie | 13 Comments »

A little like Calvin’s Captains but way worse, Chook’s Rooks is your weekly update of how the AFL’s freshest faces are faring in the big league. A quick disclaimer: the term “rookie” has been used loosely to also include second and third-year players making their debuts in 2008 - or those with only a handful of games up their collective sleeve - and share a similar price to their first-year counterparts. Like Sam Lonergan, Lachlan Hansen and Josh Hill, for example. It’s important to note, though, that the definition does not extend to players like Simon Prestigia-comb-over, who is only priced like a rookie because he is a terminally shithouse DT player. Man, that guy is DT poison. (more…)

Posted by Chook | 22 Comments »