And a great weekend was had by most! Some excellent games of footy were on show, particularly Richmond’s spirited fight in Dreamtime At The ‘G and Port’s stunning 6-goal comeback late in the fourth quarter against the Roos. There were massive 2300 and 2400 scores around the grounds – congrats to you coaches who clocked big numbers and marched up the rankings. There was more bad than good news doing the rounds with a few notable guns blighted by injury. So enough chit-chat, let’s dig in!

Murphy Dangerfied

Crunch! The moment of impact.

Two hard nuts went into a contest on the weekend and after the dust settled, the semi-kamikaze Paddy Dangerfield walked away while the mighty durable Marc Murphy was left writhing in pain. That’s just the luck of the draw as Murph came off second best. The upshot is that he’s out for 8-10 weeks after surgery to fix his broken shoulder. That’s an eternity in the DT world and I’m sure you’ve already pulled a reversible trade or ten to sideways him for another midfield premo. Sadly though, here’s another salute to a fallen DT hero… Take care Marc and see you on the paddock when you’re fighting fit!

Swan Song?

The Great Dane was buzzing along in the 90s with a good bit of the final quarter to go when, to the dismay of his coaches (especially those who had him as Captain!) he came off the field and disappeared down the race. The ‘Arizona calling’ alarm bells starting ringing and now there’s a fair bit of twatter debating the merits of keeping the Pies’ accumulator versus trading him out.

Like the Ablett trade, it all really depends on how long you think he’s going to be out for. Collingwood have marked him as a 2 week out, with no indication that he’ll be rested or sent up north for a dose of high altitude training. However, there is some sense in the reasoning that he could be out for up to four weeks as he recovers and rests until after the Pies’ R12 bye. Whichever the case, weigh it all up before you pull the trigger as this could shape your run home. To paraphrase the crusty Grail knight in Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade, choose wisely!

Greater Western Merry-Go-Round

Dream Team stat supremo @FantasyFreako was among many to tweet that the old fox Sheeds will be putting his rotation policy into effect again this weekend.

Really though, this shouldn’t surprise us. GWS have what looks like a solid plan to get their club up and about in quick time, with a pretty enviable list of youngsters and Sheedy and Choco running the show. This season looks like a real ‘blooding’ year as their selection committee continues to run the kids through the revolving door.

Enough Sheeds, I think I'm gonna be sick... Blurgh!

Hey, that’s great for squad development, isn’t it? Yup, just dandy! But… And it’s a big Serena Williams-type but… This hurts us coaches who have feasted on the charcoal Ooompa-Loompas in the hope that they’ll make us a bucket load of cashola and provide valuable cover when needed. While most are mooing nicely, with the exception of Jon Giles, all of the popular rookies have been rested or rotated so far this year. Psst – don’t take this as gospel, but Gilesy may cop a rest at some stage too!

Okay, to cut a short story long, what I’m getting at here is that while some like J-Mac may be worth holding on to due to very low BEs, do not rely on the baby Giants for cover during the bye weeks. I know, I know, like the dog’s bollocks, I am stating the obvious here, but just be prepared for your precisely planned handful of donuts to turn into a Deluxe Mixed Box through rounds 12 and 13 as Sheedy stirs his starting lineup like a party mix.

Injury Update

Good news everyone – the Kangas have marked H-Mac as being a test, so the big man could be back this week! From the AFL Injury List, others listed as ‘test’ include: Jed Adcock, Clancee Pearce, Adam Kennedy, Jack Hombsch, Jacob Townsend and Matt Priddis. Sam Fisher is still a week away. Al Christensen is also 1-2 weeks off. Keep an eye on Mummy – he’s 1-2 weeks out and could be a prime uprgade target after R12.

Rookie Roundup

I’m really starting to hate this bit. Not because I don’t like writing it, but because half of my rookie picks usually end up getting rested or dropped when the teams come out tonight or green-vested 90 minutes before game time! Okay, let’s have a pot-shot then… In defence, Bugg is the obvious choice if he is named or if you haven’t upgraded him already. Darley, Morris, Ellis and Spurr should do an adequate job otherwise. The Horse is a must in the middle, then Magner, Coniglio and J-Mac (again, if selected) with Lachie Neale and Clay Smith a fair way behind. Jon Giles and Big O are the preferred rucks. Up forward, flavour of the week Zorko should be solid, then Dickson and Dev Smith (see J-Mac). Like I said though, tonight’s lists are key and they will destroy my guesswork!

Anyways, that’s the rub for this week. I’m looking forward to another relatively carnage-free round of high scoring. Feel free to add any news bits, gossip, rumours, rants, raves, etc below to keep the stone rolling. See ya next Thursday for another bout of media trawling and good luck this weekend!

Any questions, suggestions, general chit-chat or requests for next week’s Extra?
Hit me up on the Tweetvine: @TeeTeeDT

If you’re stuck with trying to negotiate the byes and can’t picture what your side will look like over the bye rounds (Rd 11, 12, 13), then Pete and Grant have something special for you! This is a handy little spreadsheet where you can pump your team in, making changes as you see fit, to help your navigate the byes and hopefully finish with minimal donuts.

DOWNLOAD: Bye weeks planner.xls

Thanks heaps to Pete for sending this little puppy in and a big shout out to Grant who helped tinker with it putting his two cents in to make this a handy little resource!

Numbers… it’s what DT is all about. Price changes; averages; break-evens… the list goes on. Round 8 was another great week of high DT scores – as the best teams are starting to really click into gear. With 2300+ scores becoming more frequent, it’s only a matter of time before 2500 is a regular occurrence. With injuries still a thorn in the side of many coaches, how we navigate these coming into the MBR’s will go a long way to determining where we stand at R23.

Let’s have a looks at this week by the numbers…

2 – A slightly more predictable round (only just) this week, with just the two major upsets in the round of 9 games. Port Adelaide started us off with a nail-biting finish that saw them finish the victor over the struggling North. Sunday afternoon saw the firing fellow-Adelaide team the Crows power home against a flat Carlton. With this year’s competition more even than ever – the top 8 (and top 4) is far from settled as each week throws up more than a few surprises. Whilst frustrating for tipsters, it’s great for the AFL as it will be benefiting from fewer blowouts and predictable hidings in season 2012; bringing more fans through the gates.

4 – Number of weeks that coaches are looking at facing without current #2 overall, Dane Swan. After 7 straight hundreds, his season came to a sudden halt on Friday night as he came from the ground with a hamstring injury. Similar to Gary Ablett’s knee injury a month ago, almost 87,000 coaches now face the same tough situation with Swan possibly sidelined until after Collingwood’s R12 bye. With trades extremely valuable, coaches will face a tough task this week. Ironically, many coaches would’ve traded Swan in when Ablett went down, and may be faced with the exact opposite trade now that Swan is out.

7 – Goals that defensive anchor-come-power forward, Lion Daniel Merrett scored on the weekend against GWS. After a 5-goal first quarter, he smashed his previous best DT score by 58 points as he powered onto a game-high 149 points. The young Giants were helpless as they watched the Lions forwards run them around the park for four quarters, with Brisbane also holding the Giants to their second lowest score of their short career (40 points).

10 – In one of the most promising (and accurate) starts to an AFL career, Jeremy Cameron from the Giants had kicked 10.0 prior to R8. Whilst his reputation as an emerging talent hasn’t been tarnished, his reputation as a sharpshooter has been taken aback, with his 0.4 against Brisbane frustrating his fans and coach as GWS struggled to hit the scoreboard against an unforgiving Lions outfit.

11 – New premiership odds for earlier title-favourites Carlton. After previously sitting first at $4.50 for the flag, recent bad form and injuries have set the Blues back – with them now sitting in 7^th on 20 premiership points. Whilst not out of top-4 calculations by any stretch, Brett Ratten will be looking to arrest their slide down the ladder if they’re to seriously threaten for the title in season 2012.

38 – Disposals by Pies’ young gun Steele Sidebottom on Friday night against the Cats. In the absence of Luke Ball, he has stepped it up on his way to a 110 DT average for the season. Along with Dayne Beams and Scott Pendlebury, the Collingwood midfield is in good stead for many years to come.

43 – 100 + scores that Melbourne has now given up thus far in season 2012. At a rate of over 5 per game, opposition teams are getting a lot more of the ball than the Demons; and the results are starting to show. With the ‘soft’ tag being thrown around, as well as ‘lack of heart’, they have had one of the worst starts in AFL theory. Can they turn it around? Check out my recent article where I discuss this in light-hearted humour.

46 – Hitouts by Demons’ ruckman Mark Jamar at the weekend. What should be lauded as a huge feat, was overshadowed by his teams huge loss to the Swans; as well as his own inability to get hold of the Sherrin, only managing 7 disposals for an underwhelming 72 DT points. In contrast, R18 last year saw Dean Cox gather 22 touches and 42 hitouts. That day he scored 137 points. Whilst hitouts are the easiest way for ruckmen to score, it often doesn’t translate to a great DT score.

106 – Four round average of 2012’s cash-cow king, Kyal ‘The Horse’ Horsley since his debut. With excellent consistency and a high scoring ceiling, he’s shaping up as a possible M6 keeper based on his form. At the very least, we’ll be able to upgrade to a super premo for cheap after the R13 bye. At this rate, he will be worth over $430k as at R13 – a stones throw away from a super-premium.

80,900 – Amount of spectators that packed the G’ on Saturday for the annual Dreamtime clash between Essendon and Richmond. This game continues to be one of the games of the season, as evidenced by the Bomber’s 19 point win this weekend. With crowds up from last year, the AFL continues to blaze away from opposition sports in terms of game day attendance and viewing numbers.

Send me your ‘Numbers’ for the week @McRathDT

The Benchmark

At the R8 juncture of season 2012, I thought I’d take another look at the overall current leader of the competition. I must say it’s great to see a fellow Blues supporter in the lead, with team Carnablues, coached by Tim at the top with an average of 2211 as at R8. His score of 2,363 was enough to take him from 6^th to the #1 spot this week. He has a great looking team, with Lids, God, Waters, Broughts and the WB boys in defence; whilst Stanton, Boyd, Pendles and Hayes make up his midfield; Cox and Giles make up his rucks; and Sidey, Danger, Robbo, Chapman, Buddy, Beams and Martin give him a crazy looking forward line. He’ll likely be looking to get in Ablett soon, but other than that this looks to be a team that could win it.

Whore of the Week                                                                               

The WotW award typifies absolute DT domination and applauds the extraordinary feats of the AFL’s best. R8 was topped by some new faces, with Lions duo Daniel Merrett and Jonathan Brown dominating the Giants, and young guns Cotchin, Dangerfield and Sidebottom leading the way for their respective teams. But the #1 scorer this week was Tigers midfielder, Brett Deledio. His 160 points was undisputedly the king of R8 – totalling 35 touches, 7 marks, 10 tackles and 1.2 goals. With the regular preseason talk of DT defenders ‘moving to the midfield’ (Gibbs and Broughton, I’m looking at you), Lids is proving to be heads and shoulders above the rest in this category – with a current avg of 114 from 7 games. In another year where defenders are either out of form, injury-prone or just underperforming, he has been a shining light to well deserve his nomination in this year’s competition.

Coach’s Pet

It is of no surprise to note this week’s Pet as Brisbane mature-ager and preseason bolter Dane Zorko. With many (myself included) taking the brave step of bringing him in after one subbed game of 26 points to cover donuts, the Mask of Zorko paid us back in spades, motoring along to total a nice 96 points. Now on the bubble and ready to skyrocket in price, Zorko presents us with the only real sure downgrade at a time where options are very lean. Much like the Horse a few weeks back, the Zorkmeister is a must have going into the middle of the season. Over 7000 coaches have already pulled the trigger, with many more likely to do the same by Friday this week. So don’t think about it – just jump on!

Captain Hindsight

There has been a lot of talk about popular preseason super-premo breakout candidates Bryce Gibbs and Brent Stanton in recent times. Unfortunately: for very different reasons. If you were like me and started with the Carlton utility, you’ll be very disappointed with his input to date. On the other hand, Stanton has dominated in almost every game to be the best DT player in the land up to R8. Consider this – before the season started, Gibbs cost $529,000 based on his 2011 avg of 107. Many expected him to breakout into a 110+ average; however this has since been proven wildly wrong, with him only mustering a paltry 85 avg to date. He has also dropped over $120k to $406,900. Stants on the other hand has gone wild – starting at a similar $528,300, scoring 6 tons including 4 x 140+ scores, along the way breaking all the DT records. He now stands at $614,300 (up $86k) to sit on a nice 133 season average.

If you’d chosen Stanton over Gibbs, you’d have an extra $226k in value, an extra 390 points and be a very happy coach. For those of us who started with Gibbs… well, let’s just say – hindsight’s a b*tch.

(Worst) Trade of the Week

Luckily for me, my trades are starting to pay off so I’m out of the firing line this week. Unfortunately though, a few coaches weren’t as lucky, with @EdHundertmark and @MattCraigDT bringing in Murphy (27 – injured) and Pearce (42) respectively last week. Also, thoughts are with coaches who brought in Heppell 2 weeks ago (@JasonSymons7) after scoring 111 and 137 a few weeks ago. Having scored 61 and 62 the past 2, he joins the list of currently underperforming premiums. The good news however, is that we’re going to have a lot of bargains around MBR time.

The Round Up

Highlights – Deledio, Danger and Sidebottom smashing the scoreboard; Barlow and Rockliff bouncing back to form; as well as Stephenson finally making his 3^rd AFL appearance to total a solid 77 points at a time where ruck cover is crucial.

Lowlights – Murphy going down as the Blues were well beaten by the Crows; Gibbs and Robinson failing to step up thereafter; DT defenders for letting us down with Hargrave (56), Adcock (67) and Heppell (62) all underperforming; and Swannie (95) for selfishly injuring his hamstring in the Pies win over the Cats.

Team McRath – the signs are good for the boys, with inclusions Zorko and Boyd having blinders. The team is still carrying a few underperformers in Adcock and Gibbs. But once they gel with their new teammates, I’m sure they will bounce back to help projecting us back into a respectful position. Am considering taking advantage of some defensive bargains this week, with the team almost complete going into the MBR’s. I’d just like to also make a sidenote – this year more than ever has proved the importance of picking the right players from the start. If I’d have chosen Lake, Hargrave and Stanton; as opposed to Adcock, Golby and Gibbs – I’d probably be in the top 1000, as opposed to my current situation. Maybe next year those calls will go my way.

Also, I’d like to give props to our mate Griff for the new Numbers banner – hope you all like it. I’m looking to reinvigorate the article next week with a self-administered challenge… check back next Tuesday morning to see how it goes (and what it’s all about). Until then, enjoy the weekend’s games, including a fight between the Cats and Dogs; as well as a battle of AFL minnows Port and GC.

Feedback appreciated as always. Also – if you’re not already… follow me in the Twittersphere: @McRathDT

Every Monday night DTTalk’s regular GWS guru @RLGriffin85 steps up to the plate to articulate the thoughts of AFL Dream Team coaches everywhere. Be it pointing the finger of blame at Senior AFL Coaches, setting a fire below underperforming players or just throw away comments about how bad Zac ‘Lurch’ Dawson really is; there’s no topic he isn’t willing to write about! Who’s in his sights this week?

An Open Letter to: Mark Neeld

Hi Mark,

I’ll be honest; I kind of feel bad writing this. I mean, you knew it was coming, and I knew it was coming, everyone knew it would happen, but still, it’s kind of like a passenger interrupting the pilot to complain about the turbulence as the plane starts spinning into a nose dive. “Not to be rude but, I’m spilling my scotch and coke, think you can crash this plane any gentler?”.

I mean, yes, you knew what you were applying for when you took on the job at Melbourne, and yes, you only took it because the Crows were taking so bloody long to get in the game, but seriously. Another rebuilding year? Come on. How many years do Melbourne need to rebuild? The players must feel like pieces of a Jenga game by now with the amount of blokes promising to come on in and rebuild, only for the club to fall over again and again.

Let’s talk facts. Liam Jurrah; good in a fight, some fight on the field, but “has done all the right things to be selected”? No. Colin Sylvia; glad to see he hasn’t stubbed his toe to rule himself out for six weeks with a long term injury, but the guy you want to take the game by the scruff of the neck and march in to battle. Nope. And then there is Cale Morton; I’ve seen more impressive acts of brilliance on a footy field when the game is over as seagulls try to get the last chip down the very end of that crumpled up paper cup. At least they put in some effort.

Mark, things have got to change. I understand that you want to play the game your way and that the troops you have at your disposal would have difficulty taking down a bunch of sugar high ten year olds. But the doubt and questionable choices that you’re coming to the selection table with make Delta Goodrem look like a ruthless dictator. Things have to change.

Melbourne has conceded more points this year than the Giants and has won fewer games. How is that even possible? I mean, GWS were a shoe in for last place this season, that’s what GWS stands for, Guaranteed Wooden Spooners, but they may get pushed out of it by you! That’s about as unlikely as Denis Cometti walking in for a Friday night broadcast only to be told that Brian Taylor will take his spot as he could do a better job. Are you out of your mind?

You’ve got a ball Magnet who is driven to succeed, not beaten down (yet) by loss after loss and what do you do with him? You made him a bloody tagger! Magner has more drive to get to a contest and win the ball than just about anyone at your club and you think the best way to use him is to have him standing back behind his opponent ready to tackle. The only person who should be standing in any shadows at Melbourne is Lynden Dunn, and that’s just to hide that atrocity on his upper lip.

Then there is Couch. I’m sorry mate but it has to be said, and as you spent some time at Collingwood I’ll say it slow for you: Tom. Couch. Should. Be. Playing. Every. Single. Week! It’s that simple! When team sheets are released on Thursdays (not that they mean much anymore) T.Couch should be listed on the bloody field, not on the bench, not as an emergency, and for the love of all things Stynes, not the F***ING SUB! What are you worried about? That you’ll have too many ball winners? One isn’t too many!

If big Jim left one impression amongst anyone at Melbourne it should have been that if you give a bloke a go, a bloke with determination and love of the game, he will try until his heart gives out. Tom Couch has struggled for years to get on a club list, he takes it into his own hands, forces his way through, blows his team mates out of the water, has the fans excited, members may actually be walking through the door and you play him in the bloody twos! It’s enough to give me, the fans and the whole football community the bloody twos. Give him a bloody go!

Don’t be a coach for the players. If you hurt their feelings they’ll get over it once somebody explains to them what happened. Look at Fevola! Nobody wanted him and he’s over it, he’s probably out dancing right now thanks to it. Drop players who play sh*t. Pick players who play well. So what if your team sheet looks like a revolving door and you play forty blokes between now and the end of the year? At least Melbourne supporters will see that the spirit in the Demons is still burning.

So as you put this plane down, please, think of the blokes up the back. The blokes who are riding the bumps every leg of the way because they have no choice! Yes a solid team week in and out is important, but not as important as showing some guts. Not just out on the field, but in the coaches’ box as well. Either way, you’ll always have Melbourne FC on your resume, but what’s the point of it if you have a good reference but no results to show for it? Sorry mate, but seriously, Melbourne’s doing crap.

Sincerely,

The Wider AFL Community

PS. Apologies for bringing Jim Stynes in to this, but apparently no one down at the Demons give stuff unless you mention his name.

• Crowded House

It was another bittersweet round of DT this week, with a little carnage mixed in with some impressive scoring. Overall, it was another high-end week, with 2200 only just sneaking you into the top 10,000 scores for Round 8. Anything less than 2100 would have had you off the pace this week, and it’s highly likely that some of the better teams had a downer in Round 8. It was very possible that you could have been on the wrong side of injuries to Captain options in Swan (94) and Murphy (27), an early finish to Hargrave (56), and poor scoring from rookies Smedts (19), Greene (50), Ellis (44), Morris (40), Adams (55) and Treloar (57).

Like years past, we’re starting to see consistently higher weekly totals due to being in the midst of upgrade season. No longer is a score of 2100 enough to alert the papers, or to earn a spot on your parents’ fridge. It’s getting crowded at the top, but remember; the MBR’s are right around the corner, and they’re the key to keeping your standing while the crowd thins. As a result, the Bullets will be concerned greatly with negotiating the MBR’s and keeping up with the pack over the next few weeks.

• The Legend of Zorko

While no-one enjoy being a Vanilla Trader, this is definitely the week to do it. The three main trading scenarios are clear:

1) Downgrade to Zorko

2) Upgrade Greene/Shiel/Magner to a premium Mid or Fwd, or otherwise

3) Replace Swan/Murphy with a super-premium (such as Ablett or Stanton)

As much as you might want to be all clever and unique, 92% of coaches don’t have Zorko, and all those coaches need to get him. His JS is high, he’s a DPP, his scoring (whilst he has had only the one full game, and it was against the Giants) is encouraging, and he also happens to be the only promising downgrade option this week.

As much as you’d like to pull a mind-blowingly elegant trade, the reality is that 32% of coaches have Swan and 20% of coaches have Murphy; and presumably an even higher percentage of you reading this article. You can’t afford to have all that cash sitting on your bench for 3 or more weeks. (NOTE: Collingwood have come out and said Swan will be out for two, which means he would be back in Round 11. But with the Pies having their Bye in Round 12, they’d be crazy to rush him back for one game when he can take that extra two weeks off. As a result, I fully expect him to miss until at least Round 13)

As much as you’d liked to have seen Greene or Shiel grow up to be Angus-quality Cash Cows, it hasn’t turned out that way, thanks to Greene’s suspension and Shiel’s untimely game off. Given that double-trading is the name of the game, someone has to go to make use of all that cash generated by the Zorko downgrade. So with Zorko most likely waltzing into your side this week (sorry to the 8% of coaches that have him already), who do we snap up with all that extra moolah?

One of the many contradictions of DT is the concept of fallen premiums. We perk up at the revelation that some DT gun has pumped out a 60 and will suffer a price drop over the next few weeks. We even cross our fingers that they’ll have another bad week soon after so that their price plummets and they’ll become even cheaper yet. Then, when it comes to upgrade time, we look at their recent scores and think…. Crap. I don’t want them anymore.

That’s how I feel about Sam Mitchell, Marc Murphy (when he returns fit, of course) and Nick Dal Santo. Take Mitchell for example – he’s been in my side by year’s end for the last few years. He started 2012 really well, averaging 117 in his first four. But then he’s backed that up with 87.8 a game in the four matches since… So while he’s now super cheap, can we really trade someone in on the back of that form drop?

This is where your smarts and AFL nous will come into play. It’s what separates the men from the boys – making an educated rationalisation, and turning that knowledge into a smart DT trade, despite what the Assistant Coach’s projections say. Coaches were well rewarded by snapping up Ablett around Round 9 last year when he was severely underpriced, as were the coaches that took a risk and jumped on Broughton after some of his darkest days.

Who will you jump on, taking the risk that they’ll return to their glory days?

• Makers and Breakers

People were talking him up as the new Barlow, but that’s probably an injustice to the great man. I’m thinking Barlow was merely the first Horse! Horsley has averaged 106.75 over his first 4 games, including three tons and a low of 95. Barlow, as legendary as he was, averaged just the 94.8 in his first month of football in comparison. Kyal’s currently smashing every and any Cash Cow record on offer, shooting up another $73.3k to take his total price rise up to $169,300 in just two weeks. Incredibly, he has a BE of -16 heading into Round 9! Gun.

He’s quietly become one of the most consistent performers in the AFL right under our noses, has Steele Sidebottom. After two scored in the 80’s to kick off the season, he hasn’t scored below 109 in his last 6 outings. Steele is currently the highest-averaging forward on offer, a clear 5 average points on the next best, teammate Dayne Beams. He’s really come-of-age as an AFL player as well, with his 139 on the weekend probably earning him 3 Brownlow votes for the second match in a row.

The new-age DPP forward line is coming on in leaps and bounds, with the 2^nd-ranked forward behind Steele in Dangerfield dominating in season 2012. He also had a slowish start to the year but has really taken his DT scoring to another level in the last month, where he averages 117, including two 140+ scores. His 142 on the weekend came courtesy of 35 possessions and 2 goals and despite the Gibbs tag, someone who has had plenty of success in that role in the past. Has Dangermouse finally arrived?

He copped plenty of stick for his first-up effort for the year, but Brian Lake has volleyed with some really high-quality DTing. He executed his signature playing style perfectly on the weekend, notching 21 kicks (and just the three handballs) and 9 marks for 106. That’s three tons on the trot for the former, and possibly future, premium backman.

The Big O gave hordes of coaches just that on Thursday evening, when he was named to play his 3^rd game for the year at a really crucial time. With McIntosh’s injury crippling those coaches who boast him as the centrepiece of their 1-3 ruck structure, Stephenson well and truly arrived to save the day. 77 points isn’t a huge score, but its exactly 77 more than those coaches would’ve scored without using a precious trade.

Marc Murphy has been a much traded-in player in recent weeks, especially sideways from Ablett’s knee injury and more recently as an upgrade target. It really has proven to be a disaster trade, as he’s scored 117, 94 and 68 since Ablett went down. And to top it off, he made it to just 27 before leaving the field with a shoulder injury. In summary, that’s a 76.5 point average since Round 4, a $107,700 price drop and a forecast 3-4 weeks on the sidelines. Ouch.

Carlton was completely outgunned on the weekend, and their fantasy scoring reflected it. Onca again, Gibbs was well below par. It feels like he has been down for a while, but until you have a close look at his scores you can’t comprehend the horror of the season that’s he’s having. His 53 in Round 8 took his five-round average to 78.2, including zero 100+ scores in that time. He wouldn’t even be getting a gig in our backlines with those putrid numbers.

Mitchy Robinson was rumoured to be a possible late exclusion this week, and I almost wish he was. Whether he was sore from that well-publicised knock last week or he was just another victim of the Crows’ dominance, I don’t know, but 53 points isn’t up to his usual standard. It is especially frustrating for the coaches that had Zorko’s 96 glaring at them from the bench. Thankfully, this is the only blemish from a great season from Robbo.

It’s a little harsh to slide Toby Greene in here, but in the big scheme of things, the 50 he scored on the weekend is super disappointing. Yes, the Giants got smashed by the Lions. But Greene showed us two weeks earlier with a 122 against the Blues in a 67-point thrashing that he doesn’t rely on team success to produce a decent score. Yes, as a rookie, we need to expect his scoring to be volatile and inconsistent. I’m more thinking about his prowess as a Cash Cow, and how this 50 has shut the brakes completely on his impressive cash generation, and will continue to do so while it muddies his three-week rolling average. Oh, and he’s also suspended for one match. Thanks for the memories, Tobes.

You thought it was good news, Billie Smedts coming in as a late replacement for the hobbled Scarlett? Oh, he didn’t get the sub vest? ‘Beauty’, you thought? Many coaches slid him onto the field for Ellis/Morris on the back of this pre-lockout tid-bit, but were burnt by Smedts’ 19 points before a subsequent red vest. There goes his rejuvenated cash-making potential.

• Fixture Fiddling

Prior to the season, I wrote an article on Fixture Theory and what it means for DT. But that was before we had any data, back when we had no idea that Melbourne was going to be the new Port, and we assumed that Collingwood was going to eat their opposition alive. 8 weeks in, we’re all the wiser, and we have the data to prove it.

Over the season, I’ve been recording every point and every ton to track the scoring trends of each team. Eight weeks in, we now have a good idea of which teams will surrender the most points to the opposition. Below is a graph showing which teams’ playing styles result in more points, for both them and their opposition. As you can see, teams like West Coast, Port and Hawthorn take part in DT-stingy games, while surprisingly, Collingwood plays in the most DT-friendly matches.

Easily the most relevant stat has to be which teams concede the most points to their opposition. The whole reason why we consider the draw is to get a reasonable idea of what we can expect a player to score against a certain team each week (weekly Captain selections, for example, – or the difficulty of a player’s upcoming fixture), so it makes sense to pay the most attention to how many points certain teams allow their opposition.

As you’d expect, the three minnows (Melbourne, GWS and Gold Coast) are without a doubt the easiest teams to score against. I was particularly interested to see the Pies up there as well, given how as a DT collective we intuitively shy away from selecting Captains who take on Collingwood. At the other end of the spectrum, it’s no surprise to see the Hawks and Eagles restricting opposition scoring, but it’s interesting to see Essendon and Richmond, two of the bigger improvers this year, in the same bracket.

Anyway, back to the fixture study I mentioned earlier. To ascertain the difficulty of each team’s fixture, I originally used values based on the AFL ladder at the end of 2011. But given the data I’ve gathered over the 8 Round so far, I’ve replaced those values with new values that reflect the amount of points being scored on them on average. The results confirm most of our pre-season predictions, but challenge some interesting ideas. Based on these new values, here is the ease of each teams’ draw from now on, ranked from easiest to most difficult:

I don’t want to bore you with stats, so I’ve included two excel files for those interested enough to check out the new values and implications. The first (DT SCORING 2012) is a collection of each teams’ DT data to date, while the second (fixture study – new values) is the updated fixture study. Enjoy!

• Tbetta’s Tweets

That’s a very interesting point. Immediately I was completely pro-Gibbs trade, but let’s break this down a little. He’s priced at $406,900, having already dropped a huge $122k this year. He’s averaging over 20 points less than he did in 2011, and if he scored his average (85) for the remainder of the year, he’d bottom out at around $380k. That’s just $25k less than what he’s priced out now.

I think that with Murphy out, it’s acceptable to risk that $25k price drop in the hope that he’ll increase his scoring in the next few weeks. I mean, given what he’s cost you already, things can’t really get any worse. If you can save a trade and $100k or more (what it would cost to ‘upgrade’ him), then it’s a great call.

I’m not sure about top 3, but he’s definitely lifting his game in the DT stakes this year. 7-straight tons and ranked 7^th on overall points is a huge jump in scoring from him than in years past. It’s safe to say that he’s found his niche, streaming through the middle and setting up play off a half-forward flank.

But the interesting thing you point out there is that he won’t be a DPP next year, and you’re completely right. Like other premium defenders before him in Gibbs and Hodge, we will have to experience life without Deledio down back in 2013. Who else will lose their DPP next year?

From what I’ve seen so far, neither Goddard, Scotland nor Carrazzo have undergone significant positional changes this season, so they should be safe. What about up forward? We’ve had an explosion of the next-generation DPP’s there this year, but will they all keep it for next season? Beams, Zaharakis, Martin and Robinson all seem to be playing similar roles as last year, while Chapman will be a DPP until the day he dies.

The ones that have me worried are Sidebottom and Dangerfield. Both are playing significantly more through the middle, and are scoring much more freely and consistently as a result (both have increased their average by at least 23 points from last season). It will be an interesting wait to find out whether these guys go the way of many before them, and into near-obscurity as pure DT midfielders.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot, as I also have Hall taking up space in my forward line. Obviously, it depends a lot on who else you have in there. In my case, I have Kennedy and I’m opting to get rid of him instead at this stage. Kennedy is injured, has basically topped out as a Cash Cow and will give me more money to play with. Hall to Zorko gives me only $40k less, but he still has plenty more scope to grow if he can crack another game.

To answer your question, I fully expect Hall to play again this year. When, is the big question. He was named in the Reserves best this week despite not kicking a goal, which has to be good news. It’s a really hard call to make on this dilemma without a crystal ball, as it could easily go either way.

• Round 9

Looking ahead to Round 9 now, and we have a few interesting clashes for us to mull over:

# Richmond plays Hawthorn on Saturday, which has two of the most restrictive teams going head-to-head. These teams have given up the first and fourth least amount of DT points to their opposition so far this year.

# The Giants play Essendon this week, which has me seriously scared. Essendon is the highest-scoring DT side this year, while GWS concedes the 2^nd-most amount of points to their opposition after Melbourne. Stanton for 200?

# West Coast play Fremantle in the Western Derby. Regardless of where teams are on the ladder, this generally results in an arm wrestle twice a year. Intuitively, we know this is not great for DT, so temper your expectations for your Dockers and Eagles accordingly.

Well, that’s about all I have for you this week. A couple of random mentions though:

1) Congratulations to my mate Maddog, coach of jimmy’s giants, who topped this weekly scoring this round with a huge 2476 points! Enjoy the $500 and Corporate Box experience!

2) Well done to my troops in the DT TALK Tbetta League, as we’re now back inside the Top 20 leagues at 19^th!

3) Here’s my favourite Maric-related Meme for the week:

Catch me on Twitter: @Tbetta9

Voting is now open for the DT TALK Golden Stubby for Round 8. This coveted prize will be awarded to the player who excelled on the weekend, taking into account price, form, opponent and whatever else tickles your fancy!

This weeks nominations (collected by @WarnieDT through Twitter) are:

• Kyal Horsley (108). Probably unlucky not to have won last week, the Horse now has three 100+ scores to his name out of his 4 games (his other was a 95)! What more does the young man have to do?
• Patrick Dangerfield (142). Danger was a bit of a smokey pick for a few and has come through a few times for his coaches. This week he was dominant against the Blues racking up 35 touches and kicking 2 goals.
• Brett Deledio (160). The medal winner in the Dreamtime at the ‘G game started beautifully and kept it up the whole game to top score for the night. Everyone has him, so it was nice of Lids to help push our scores a little higher.
• Beau Waters (119). While it isn’t the hugest of scores, Waters apparently did a little hamstring in the warm up of the game and was looking like being a late, late withdrawal… he told the trainers and doctors to get stuffed and busted out for a massive game. Respect!
• Steele Sidebottom (139). Arguably the most inform forward (and midfielder) in the competition at the moment… has scored 109+ over the last 6 weeks. Absolute machine!

Unlucky to not get a gig in the poll: Darren Pfeiffer, Daniel Merrett (really… we won’t put in such a DT irrelevant player in this poll), Tom Rockliff, Orren Stephenson, Dayne Zorko.

Stay tuned for the results. If you are a beer company looking at this, we’re looking for a sponsor of this awesome award (and much more brilliant exposure). Please contact us if you are a beer company and want to get on board!

The Sunday evening knee-jerk. Round 8 edition.

It’s amazing how quickly things can turn around for you in DT. A couple of weeks ago I had plummeted to emotional depths hitherto known to a DT coach. It was cold outside, black clouds were washing over me and I seemed to step in every puddle. Then last week I scored a 2250+ and a funny thing happened… The storm clouds cleared! The sun broke through and I’m happy again…So much so that even though I’m sitting amongst boxes at my new home I’m actually willing to type the bulk of the knee jerk on the impractical, non-functional slide out keyboard of my HTC desire…  I haven’t had hand cramps this bad since my teen addiction to the twin cobra machine at the fish and chip shop! In truth its been hard to get the smile off my face on a count of the bombers winning, my DT firing and my Chelsea winning the champions league final (Drogba, the ultimate big match player), I could lose my wallet and still be happy!! Looks like some epic scores being had this week, how has your DT round panned out… a good one or bad one? Let’s knee-jerk.

The Legend.

First legend this week is the flouro wiggle. If you didn’t catch him, he was the goal umpire from the Ess v Rich game with the skin tight skivvy and barrel chest. I doubt you’d get any players bumping into this guy.. he would bump back… hard. On Friday night there were a whole host of legends.. Sidebottom(139) continued his breakout year, Pendlebury (133) pretty much won the game for the pies and Selwood (136) nearly won the game for the cats. Each of these guys made the start of our weekend awesome and possibly softened the blow of a potential Swan (95) injury. On a free flowing DT Saturday night Deledio (160) was heroic, Cotchin (143) knocked up a score bigger than his hair..(just) and the dynamic duo of Watson (134) and Stanton (124) continued their ripper form…with Boyd (129) added to the mix it made for a profitable night and far too hard to choose just one legend.. so i choose them all! As a post script i’ll give Melbourne a small leg up and hand Howe a legend nom for his mark of the year candidate, awesome stuff! . On Sunday Dangerfield (142 ) continued the high score trend with a whopper… plus there was a guy in Brissy called big sauce who nobody has….

The Sunday chop.

You know those hot summer nights? You are in bed tossing and turning having one of those endless fever induced dreams that have you running from crazy past school enemies or regaling obscure moments from your past life. It feels like you have been asleep for ever… But you open one eye and it’s only been 13 minutes…. You live for the epic 3 seconds each cycle when the fan oscillates onto you before going off again on its endless circular journey….. There is a lone mosquito buzzing around your ear… Close…BZzz,  Far…bzzz, Closer BZZZz,  …further bzz. You blindly flail at the air in a vain hope you can kill the cretin. What the hell does this have to do with DT? Well DT this year has been my summer night and Aaron Hall (0) is my summer night mosquito… annoying the crap out of me, he feels like a waking nightmare that won’t end, I’d love to get rid of him but each week I have other pressing issues… He is stinking up my side and causing me no end of anger. Seriously what did he do to deserve this kind of treatment? Call blueys kid a ranga or something? He ‘seemed’ to be playing OK. In fact I thought he was one of their better players… I’m sorry Hally, but I’m going to have to chop…. I’ve already got Couch (0) stinking up the other end of that bench. My bye plan will be useless unless I can get this area fixed pronto, Plus with the way the general has been visiting the GWS its more often than not that we will need to use bench cover.  Chop. (there are a few blues treading a tight line right now.. you know who are are!)

The Clown.

My favourite clown last week was the guy who thought he would take a grab from row 3 of the second deck at Etihad but ended up falling jaw first onto the rail. There aren’t many graceful ways of coming out of that looking cool. It would be like tripping over on the way back from the bar holding the drink for your first date….. Just get up and walk out… It’s over. Clown number two is the channel seven camera man with a hand on his Wang constantly putting the camera on Megan Gale. I payed extra $$ for the sport pack and Fox Footy for the siren to siren Football…not for blow by blows on Gales night. If I wanted that I’d turn on fashion TV. More stats, less WAGS please. This week i also have to add the AFL as clowns, i mean seriously.. the farcical scenes on Friday night with the score review needs to stop. How the hell are they supposed to adjudicate if a ball was a point or OOB using 2 cameras 100m or more away? In the end the umpire almost said stuff it, just give it a point and lets play the game…. I reckon there’s a message in that for all of us. Last little clown is Bomber Thompson for daring to catch Jimmy Hird unawares with a shaken up bottle of Coke. That there is the first time in 20 years Hird has been caught unawares at a football stadium….. shame bomber.. Shame.

The this game sh*ts me.

This week I have ummed and ahh’d about my trades. I am in that delicate phase of trying to resist the player that I want; versus the player that suits my bye plan. It is very hard to go against every DT principle you have ever learnt all in aid of a strange 3 week period. I wanted Goddard (60 ht), I feel safer with Goddard (60 ht)… But Shaw (115) suits my bye plan… So I took him. Looks like a good choice so far, but Shaw is a known roller coaster…we will wait and see on that one.  Some people around work have told me that I am obsessing over my bye plan to the detriment of my side… And maybe they are right, I’ve become blindly focused on not getting more than 2 zeros… And as this happens I am leaking points. Do you reckon when the boffins at Microsoft were inventing Excel for complex algorithms and data crunching they ever dreamed it would be used exclusively for DT players using its pretty colours for Bye planners? I just realised that after round 13 we will have the first sustained period of bye free football for the first time in over 2 years! But half of us won’t have enough trades to enjoy it properly… And that’s why DT sh*ts me.

The other bits and pieces.

When you start the season you set yourself the goal of winning the car. But just like in life you sometimes need to readjust your goals to suit your particular situation. For instance Essendon’s goal may have been to make the finals… now they must change their goal to aim for top 4. For me personally the car is out of reach. Even though I’d expect a series of green arrows across the bye weeks …being ranked around 15.000 right now kind of rules that out and is somewhat embarrassing to me. So I’d like to readjust my goals…. I could go for the league win but that’s not my cup of tea… I’ve got a greater wish right now. My goal for the season is to make each of my eliminator opponents shake in their boots when they click my side on Wednesday and say ‘Sh*t…. I’m in trouble!’ That’s right I wanna beat up on weak eliminator sides flat track bully style! I’m going on a cup run, so don’t get in my way! This may sound like a convenient excuse to use all my trades building the best side early and maybe it is….. OK… it is. See you in the eliminator… if you dare.

So that’s about it for this Sunday night. I was heading for a huge score but some poor blues have just taken me around the 2200 mark. What knee-jerk thoughts do you have so far about the round just passed? Any nominations for Legend, Chop, Clown or why this game sh*ts you? Get it down now before we get rational again in time for Tbettas bullets!

Hit me up with any thoughts or nominations on twitter @adzman78

Before you start preparing for next week, it’s time to review your squad’s effort this weekend in the DT TALK Round Review. Every Sunday night when the last game finishes, jump on here and let the world know how you went!

Copy and paste the following in the comments and fill it in.

Team Name:
Round 8 Score:
League Results:
Eliminator Status:
DT Studs:
DT Duds:
On the Chopping Block:
Trades this week:
Vent/Brag/Whatever:

Stay tuned to DT TALK this week for all of the great AFL Dream Team advice you could ever need!

It’s back! Bigger and better than ever. The #DTSM (Dream Team Stock Market), is your one stop shop, for pretty much, well, everything! Dream Team might have the Assistant Coach (for $19.95), but the Assistant Coach doesn’t have me (free of course) or twitter (also free) or have a crystal ball (umm, working on that part).

For those of you new to the Dream Team Stock Market, quite simply, it’s the bees neez when it comes to working out and deciding how to make money for your dream team and speed up the process in which you raise your salary cap to create the competitions ultimate side! Remember, at the start of the year, players (besides LTI’s, rookies or players returning from Ireland) are valued at how they performed last season. You spend the money, you are banking on that player to perform to that value. The more money you have to spend, the more money you have to spend on players that are performing! That’s why it is so important to know when to jump off a player that has peaked and jump on someone at a lower than valued price.

Huge shout out to my man @TeeTeeDT for giving me a chop out whilst I took my way too adventurous Golden Retriever to the vet. Thanks heaps mate, wouldnt have even got close to getting this out today without your help! Do yourself a favour and follow him on twitter, is a DT magician.

Like I say, let’s get down to it…

MONEY MAKERS

1. Kyal Horsely (MID) $215,800 (↑$96,000) B/E: -77 AVG: 106 LAST 3: 101, 123, 95

Just proves that being named 4th on the interchange doesnt always mean you’ll be named the sub. Nearly cracked the ton for a 3rd consequtive week and that’s with only racking up 13 disposals! Named again this week as 4th on the bench. Really, come on Suns, just name him on the ball in front of that Ablett bloke already!

Weekly Stock Market Prediction: ↑$74,100

DTSM Value: $475,000 (peak R18)

2. Taylor Adams (FWD/MID) $186,000 (↑$60,300) B/E: -42 AVG: 78 LAST 3: 71, 91, 72

Named on an extended bench, make sure you re-check team sheets again this evening. Not really a highly picked DT rookie, but he has been solid averaging 78. With the likes of Shiel, Kennedy, Smith and McDonald not running around this week, he could have himself a very productive outing (if named)!

Weekly Stock Market Prediction: ↑$48,300

DTSM Value: $350,000 (peak R16)

3. Adam Treloar (FWD/MID) $217,400 (↑$53,700) B/E: -16 AVG: 77 LAST 3: 85, 63, 95

Cracked his new high score last week of 95 and seems to have cemented his spot into the GWS best 22 until that during rest injury comes along. If you have him, just keep riding that train, you might even still have him for the year!? Especially with Kennedy and Smith peaking sooner.

Weekly Stock Market Prediction: ↑$37,700

DTSM Value: $350,000 (peak R18)

4. Toby Greene (MID) $337,500 (↑$45,300) B/E: 2 AVG: 94 LAST 3: 90, 122, 96

We didn’t really expect Mr Greene to be dominating for us this much, did we? You would be mad to trade him out just yet. He is still in the top 5 money makers! Named again this week on the field. With all the outs this week for GWS, look out!

Weekly Stock Market Prediction: ↑$37,100

DTSM Value: $420,000 (peak R18)

5. Tory Dickson (FWD) $139,400 (↑$40,700) B/E: -39 AVG: 55 LAST 3: 37, 25, 105

Last week, wow! Played an exceptional game and now has officially arrived at AFL level (come on Clay Smith your turn!). For those that hung on, keep hanging on. With so many FWD rookies not quite hitting the price we want for them or even getting game time, Tory should find himself in the Bulldogs best 22 a lot more often if he keeps performing like that.

Weekly Stock Market Prediction: ↑$38,400

DTSM Value: $250,000 (peak R15, but should increase significantly)

DTSM “Money Makers” Watchlist

Dayne Zorko (MID/FWD) $119,800

Sam Darley (DEF) $104,200

Anthony Miiles (MID) $104,200

Matthew Buntine (DEF) $161,700

Lee Spurr (DEF) $107,800

SHOW ME THE MONEY

Check back next week for a HUGE edition of “Show Me the Money”. It will be LOADED!

DTSM WATCHLIST

Ok, this is now the go to section for those players you are unsure about at the moment. Looking for a bargain? Really want to get rid of that bloke costing you league wins? Take a look at these guys and see how many you want/have in your team!

1. Sam Mitchell (MID) $473,500 (↓$21,000) BE: 94 AVG: 107 LAST 3: 63, 112, 103

His 63 will fall out of his rolling average rotation this week and with a B/E of 94, if you are wanting to get Mitchell in under $500k now is the time. The guy is a DT jet. Go on do it.

Time To Strike: This week or next.

Start: $554,000

2. Brendon Goddard (DEF/MID) $417,000 (↓$24,500) BE: 96 AVG: 96 LAST 3:  58, 88, 88

For those who didn’t start with Goddard, you should be licking your lips with anticipation. Is surely going to hit form again soon, especially with the Saints starting to gel again. B/E matches his AVG, so the time to pounce on Goddard is upon you.

Time To Strike: This week or next.

Start: $474,200

3. Leigh Montagna (MID) $429,500 (↓$11,000) BE: 108 AVG: 91 LAST 3: 101, 79, 87

Bit of a dark horse, which is strange considering who great a DT performed Montagna has been the previous 2 seasons. But still, you can’t deny that he is cheap and a viable option when the opponents best tagger is making his way over to Nick Dal Santo. Worth a look.

Time To Strike: This week or next.

Start: $485,500

4. Grant Birchall (DEF) $398,200 (↓$12,100) BE: 104 AVG: 88 LAST 3: 103, 60, 81

Need a premium defender? This is your man. Averaging 88 and making his way down to Launceston this week to tear the Dockers to shreds. Now is the time to get him in. Upgrading Ellis/Morris to the Birch is a very tempting option if you can swing that axe.

Time To Strike: This week or next.

Start: $443,500

5. Matthew Boyd (MID) $535,700 (↓$7,200) BE: 103 AVG: 120 LAST 3: 162, 94, 115

The “back-up” Captain of our DT’s. His price is set to explode next week, especially if he gets anywhere near his Round 7 162. This guy must be in everyone’s team. He rarely lets you down and as I said before, when the chips are down, he is the perfect DT Captain choice. Lock and load.

Time To Strike: This week.

Start: $573,800

TWEET-A-TRADE

 The segment that gets you involved, is back this week. Looking at a specific player, heard rumours, need to go unique? Starting from next week, Tweet me on a Thursday night after 8pm with the #DTSM hashtag and a player you want me to talk about and I’ll pick the best 3 to get in the #DTSM.

Thanks Clint! Ok my view on Johnson is two words: Whitecross + Christensen. M.Johnson $373,300 does offer value, but at this stage of the year we really need to get end of year keepers into our sides and I just don’t think MJ is worth the risk. Has only cracked the big 100 twice this year with another 2 solid 90‘s. He would be an interesting unique to have in your side seeming Fyfe has done himself a mischeif. Just not for me mate.

Mr Rainman, I thought this name would come up, was kind of expecting Flossy to be the one to ask!? haha. Gibbs ($425,000) is hurting many DT coaches out there. After much thinking this week on him, I believe you hold onto him in the hope he puts together 2-3 consecutive weeks of solid scoring. The fact he has dropped $94,000 in price does hurt, and selling him at a loss of that magnitude is going to require the new stock you are bringing in being an absolute bargain or in the same boat as Gibbs. Hold till MBR for now and just pray to the DT gods (or Brett Ratten) to let him get a damn kick!

Darren, this is brilliant! Thanks for the suggestion. Zaharakis – $410,900, 7 games, averaging 88 and has found consistancy of late with scores of: 104, 104 and 106 VS Didak – $363,700, 1 game, scored 110 and looks to be extremely fit. To argue Zaha’s case is that he is match fit, doesn’t look like to get near the vest, is starting to hit his straps and plans for Essendon, a team that don’t really fill our DT teams up with. The case for Didak is that he was given time to recover, had a solid pre-season, returned for his first game in the AFL this year and pulled out a 110, which many aren’t giving him credit for seeming he was a little out of touch. 2 years ago, Didak was our F2/3 option. Will Zaharakis ever be in our top 4-5 forward options? You couldn’t go wrong with either player this year as your F6/F7 option. Maybe both? But for me, Didak is my pick. And not because i’m wearing a Collingwood jumper, but because he is one of the elite forwards in the game and people have written him off WAY too fast. Go dids.

Thanks for your patience, i’ll be on twitter from 4pm onwards till tonights Coll v Geel blockbuster kicks off! So if you wanted to ask me any questions, need help with some trades, just flick me a tweet. Don’t worry about Dr Dream Team, he isn’t even a real Doctor. Come chat with me.

Tweet me @Aki_DT

I’m beginning to appreciate Forrest Gump’s hidden talent as a Dream Team coach. Each weekend is like his proverbial box of chocolates: y’never know what yer gonna get! Well, last weekend saw a brilliantly high-scoring round – congrats to all coaches who cracked the 2400 mark! With most of the fantasy guns either starting to fire or coming back from injury, I hope the big scoring continues this weekend. There’s been a good bit of twatter this week, which I’ve trimmed to a few hot topics, so here we go!

Multi-Bye Rounds

There are quite a few out there who are starting to plan for the fearsome multi-bye rounds. There have been a few very thorough ‘how to’ articles posted on this site, but I reckon it’s a bit like booking a prostate exam – there’s going to be a bit of suffering, but it’ll all be alright on the other side.

The queries that have been thrown about have me curious about your strategy, particularly around these questions. Do you keep building your team up now to bank points and eat donuts come the byes? Do you compromise on your upgrades and trade in players to minimise donuts across the MBRs? I’m just putting this out there, so you can send it right back, but I’m keen to hear what you’re planning.

On a side note, I’ll be pulling a couple of bargain-hunting upgrades across my back and forward lines, trying to minimise my bye players to 3 per line per week and then upgrading selectively in R12-R14 to guns who have had a rest. And I’ll be sure to wear clean undies when it comes time to have my prostate probed…

Much Ado About Gary

If you’re looking at getting Gazza into your squad, this is not the week to do it. His BE is a massive 176, and while he is capable of hitting that mark, logic says that next week or even the week after is the time to bring him in. If he plays to his current average of 129, he’ll have bottomed out in R8-9 at about $550-560k, which is around his starting price.

@DavidKontro shot through a good question (above). With a fully loaded gun MID, is GAJ essential? This is going to sound like heresy and I can hear the lynch mob baying for my blood already, but at this stage of the season, I’d say no. If you have a 5-6 premium midfield, you’re better off upgrading on your other lines to get your team done. Come back to Ablett after his bye and then get him in if you have a luxury trade to spare. I hope that pacifies the mob.

Mc-Kneed

HMac is a great player and I didn’t like seeing the Kangas ruck tumble after tweaking his knee. Thankfully, that’s all it is, with scans clearing him of any structural damage and @NorthKangaroos tweeting the latest update (below).

He’ll be out for 1-2 weeks and those of you who have him will be aching for his return like a kid waiting for Christmas. Yes, you may have to cop a donut in your rucks for the next fortnight, but don’t waste a trade to flick the big fella. He’ll be back for you soon enough and, in the meantime, you could be picking up a juicy gun or two at a bargain price.

Turf Toe

I was skeptical. It’s the stuff of fables, like unicorns and fairies, but after Chris Yarran’s recent episode with the mystical ‘turf toe’, I must now admit that it’s for real-real. My apologies to Sandi and Yarran for ever doubting that this condition was fictional.

Injury Woes

Apart from HMac, it’s not too bad this week, with quite a few potentially coming back. Popular DT picks who are listed as ‘test’ include Jed Adcock, Pearce Hanley, Luke Parker, Matt Priddis and NicNat. Al ‘Bundy’ Christensen is strangely marked as ‘TBA’ on the AFL Injury List, but this snip indicates that he may be just 1-2 weeks off. Sam Fisher is also a week from resuming regular duties.

Pick Me! Pick Me!

Hmm… This little bitty is getting tougher to nail as my research is a thin as my four-year-old socks and the cull has started on a few starting rooks, so pardon me if I miss anyone. With Ellis getting the flick for many, Buggy is still the leading defensive rook while Morris has redeemed himself somewhat on the back of last weekend’s decent performance. Spurr should be okay. The midfield is getting stronger by the week, with Horse, Coniglio and Greene leading the way. Jimmy Mac should be in this week too, so plenty of good options there. Giles is the lone fantasy rookie ruck still standing, but keep an eye out for Longer in the lists tonight. Adam Treloar, Dev Smith and Taylor Adams should be solid up front. Those of you who hung on to Tory Dickson will be happy to note that he’s up against the Suns this week, so is worth a shot if selected.

Anyways, that’s the rub for this week. Pretty confident there will be good scoring this weekend as most coaches will be pulling and upgrade or two this week. Feel free to add any news bits, rants, raves, etc below to keep the motor whirring. See ya next Thursday for another bout of media trawling and good luck this weekend!

Any questions, suggestions, general chit-chat or requests for next week’s Extra?
Hit me up on the Tweetvine: @TeeTeeDT