Dream Team Extra: Round 8

 

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?
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