The Numbers – Week 13: MBR Hell

Trying to find an accurate metaphor for the MBR’s got me thinking about my fictional cousin Boris. Boris has recently gone through something most of us will/have done that can be very closely assimilated to the recent DT Hell that we know (and hate) as the MBR’s. Boris is studying Law at Uni; and spent all semester working hard preparing for the dreaded end of semester exams. Being the studious kid he is, he spent hours upon hours crunching numbers – working on a plan to safely (and comfortably) negotiate the exam period. But like each semester before it, his beautifully constructed plan fell to pieces as his pages of research and preparation counted for squat as he was hit hard by the carnage that is exam week.

Back to the land of DT; and I (and all of you) have been experiencing a very similar situation over the past few weeks. With all of our preparation in the bag; a quiet confidence spread across the fantasy football community. But all of this was undone in the first week, with LTI’s, Resting and poor form ruining our well-thought out plan with one fell swoop.

Before we march forward into the bright light and away from those three letters, let us first reflect on some of the positives (and negatives) that we’ve experienced over the past 3 rounds of the AFL season.

After a few weeks off, let’s get back into it and check out the Numbers once again.

6 – Now past the half way mark of Season 2012, the ‘Ruckman’s Curse’ has been well publicized in the DT community. To put this into context, only 6 ruckman have played every game for their team this year – with Ryder, Maric and Cox the pick of the bunch. At this rate, we’ll be lucky to see two go through to R23 without picking up an injury of some sort.

7 – Trades I made during the R11-13 stretch, with my strategy to pull ahead of the fledging field all but blowing up – with key injuries and soft players being omitted (Duffield, Hargrave – I’m looking at you) contributing to my lean period of DT scores. With the maximum 9 trades on offer, did anyone take up the ‘challenge’ and use all 9?

9 – Current win streak of the Collingwood Magpies. After 2 early slip ups against then-Premiership fancies Hawthorn and Carlton, the Pies’ are on a one way road to September, with their depth proving most important with key injuries to superstars Pendlebury, Swan and Shaw all coming during that period. With their best 22 just about fit, they’re poised to make a huge run at the cup yet again in 2012. Do I hope that this will jinx them? Absolutely!

10 – Current size of West Coast’s injury list to date. With around 130 AFL players on the injury list, Collingwood, Freo, Gold Coast, GWS & Melbourne appear to be the worst hit at the moment. In terms of star player injuries, has their honestly been a year with a higher toll? Whilst injuries can be tantamount to failure in a long season, player depth is as important as ever. Tellingly, the top 2 teams (Pies & Eagles) have 12 and 10 players currently sidelined as of R14.

14 – Amount of crusty, tasteless donuts that I was forced to devour in this hellish period. If anyone copped more, I’d love for you to let me know in the comments so I can sleep a little easier at night with this terrible number on my mind.

19 – Has there ever been a lower score that has resulted in a NAB Rising Star nomination? Well, surely young Adelaide defender Daniel Talia’s 19 points in R12 v St Kilda must be right at the top (or bottom as it would be) of the list. With only 7 touches in the game, he was justly rewarded for his efforts on the Saints’ talls.

24 – Here’s a good rule to follow regarding upgrading to premiums: when it’s their first game in over a month, give them at least one game to ease back into it. If you were one of those who brought in Goodes at his R12 price of $448k, unlucky. Now only $418k with a high BE of 145 after his sub-affected 24 at the weekend, he’ll be right for the taking after one more week for under $400k.

80 – A solid score on its own, but hardly the kind of score we want to see from 2 games. Unfortunately for owners of returning Irish player Marty Clarke, that’s all he’s given us over the past 3 weeks. Just last month he was touted as a D7 keeper, however back to back sub-50 scores have put him on many coaches’ naughty list. Such is my faith in the lad from County Down, I plan on playing GWS rookie Sam Darley ahead of him for my important Round 14 H2H matches.

130 – MBR Average of the Mask of Zorko. With a breakout 140 against the Hawks and a beautiful follow up of 120 this week, he has all but firmed as a F7 keeper. I heard a saying during the week “Barlow was the old Zorko” – couldn’t be more right. With an average of over 110 from his past 5 matches, he is more than proving himself in a young Lions team closing in on the top-8.

537,000 – Starting the season with $2.4m sitting on the ground in my midfield (top 6), the current value of my engine room is now close to the $3m mark, with 537 being the rough difference. For justification, my current midfield is Boyd, Swan, Pendles, Mitchell, Rocky & Barlow. With the evening out of the magic number, this begs my curiosity, who has the most expensive midfield in the game at this point?

Twatter – Your Numbers

Cheers to Andy for this one – just goes to show that there is a very big difference between the best in the MBR’s and the best overall. If you managed to average above 1600 over the 3 week period, you’d more than likely find yourself (if I can paraphrase our PM) ‘moving forwards’.

Also to DTTalk’s own TeeTee for pointing out what we’re all thinking. But it can only get better from here, right…?

Send me your ‘Numbers’ for the week @McRathDT

Bone of Contention

This week’s bone of contention is as obvious as it is annoying as all hell. Ryan Hargrave was coined as a ‘great pickup’ and a ‘keeper’ as at Round 4 of 2012. Since then, he has gone on to score a few 90’s, 2 sub-60 scores and has missed a total of 4 games (including the bye). With the likes of Carrazzo ($385k), Grimes ($415,900) and Hanley ($358,700) hitting decent form its time coaches consider life without the unreliable Bulldogs backman and look at cashing in on one of the aforementioned bargains.

Whore of the Week MBR’s

With so many players missing over the past 3 weeks, consistent high performance is something that we’ve not been blessed with from many of our premiums. However there has been one that has stood out in the MBR’s to give coaches a lot of smile about. Dayne Beams has been brilliant so far in 2012, averaging 112 overall and a massive 136 over the MBR period. With his massive 155 in R11 and his 117 in R13, Beams has been outperforming most ‘super-premiums’ this year – stamping himself as a bona-fide AFL (and DT) star.

Back from the Brink

Nick Lower returned to the Fremantle seniors on the weekend; and what a return it was. Totalling a game-high 30 touches and 115 DT points, he shouldered the majority of the grunt work contributing some good numbers for the Dockers with 8 clearances, 8 tackles and 15 contested possessions. Priced at $374k, he offers great value if he can continue that role for the rest of the year.

(Worst) Trade of the MBR’s

Thanks to all on Twitter who let us in on their terrible trades. Anyone who traded in Jack Riewoldt after his huge 135 + 147 in R9/10 would’ve been ropable after he went down injured, only to play out the next 2 games for an underwhelming 58 and 55. But with the Tigers’ run home, he may yet come good for those who took the leap of faith. Unfortunately the same can’t be said for those who traded out Heath Scotland – after the Blues got the diagnosis drastically wrong, any who ditched the Carlton veteran in anticipation of a 3-4 week layoff would be inconsolable after he got up 1 week later only to score an excellent 100 against the Weagles.

Made a bad trade and want to vent? Let me know on Twitter @McRathDT

The Round Up

Highlights – This period has seen many lows with only few highs. Sidey and Beams’ R11 domination of Melbourne was pleasing to see; whilst Zorko’s emergence as a definite F7 keeper has been brilliant (and much appreciated); Rocky’s return to prominence this week gave me a slither of hope going into the home stretch; and at least there has been some good footy on in the absence of the full rounds.

Lowlights – Where to start? Injuries to Sandi and Pendles capped off what was a horrible month of DT. The backline continues to be the bone of contention for most coaches, with consistency and reliability words that are as relevant to the AFL Umpires as they are to our Dream Team Back 7. Let us hope for few injuries and a higher level of consistency in our quest to glory in September.

Team McRath – With one more than a baker’s dozen of donuts in the bank, the MBR’s have truly been hell for the boys. The inclusion of Mitchell, Cox and Swan during the past few weeks has helped a bit – but nothing short of a miracle was going to save my season. And like so often in life – that miracle just doesn’t come.

 

Also, for those wondering about my cousin Boris: his exams are now over; and he managed to fall over the line and pass all of his exams – however like many of us in the land of DT just fresh out of the gates of MBR Hell, all Boris has to show for his troubles are some meagre numbers and a bit of extra weight around the middle caused by a new found addiction to Red Bull and a bucket load of Krispy Kremes.

Now, as we look forward to Ten Rounds of Bye-Free DTing – let us remember (like Boris) that this hell is bound to be repeated next year, with the evil ‘Dean’ Andy Demetriou already penning in 6 MBR rounds for Season 2013. Luckily for Boris, at least he gets to graduate next year. Whilst as DT tragics, we’re not as lucky – bound to these stressful times until the day we retire.

How did you pull through the past three weeks? How many donuts did you stomach?

Also, if you’re not following me in the Twittersphere, you’ve been missing out – so hit me up @McRathDT