The Friday Scramble: Round 16

Another week… More Carnage!  However, are we throwing the term Carnage around a bit too much this year?  Well probably.  Things don’t seem to be too much different from week to week, it is just the names that change, so from an individual team point of view it may seem like carnage but it is just the competition evening itself out.

So what have we been hit with this week?  Well the key ones are…

• Beau Waters – out for 3-5
• Buddy Franklin – out for 3
• Paddy Ryder – out for 3-4
• Nathan Foley – out for season
• Marley Williams – out for season
• Jimmy Bartel – Suspended for 2 weeks

There, I think that they are the main ones, and that is just the news from this week!  Let alone the fact that we are still without Brendon Goddard and Dusty Martin for one more week!  The only good news on the teamsheet was the welcome returns of Scott Pendlebury and Marc Murphy from injury this week.  Whilst a lot of people held Pendles, no one (in their right mind) would have held Murphy and given he has a BE over 200 I would hope no one is considering picking him up today either!

I don’t reckon there will be many coaches that have avoided all of this carnage this week but hopefully you all have cover!  At least the coaches heard our cries and brought some cover in for us this week like Redden, Couch and Aaron Hall.

I reckon that there are going to be a lot of DT Coaches that are going to have their bench cover tested again this week.

It was only a matter of time….

We all knew it would end in tears and we all expected it and that is why many of us stayed away and cursed every great score he put up.  But our old buddy Beau Waters finally delivered us an injury.  Personally I considered him a while back and ended up going with Heppell so I am in my own world of hurt with no excuse to trade!  However, many who have had Waters and have reaped the rewards of his great season are now stuck with the dilema of what to do with him.  Really it isn’t a dilema, just a choice.  Keep or Trade.

Once again, and as every decision is at this time of year, it comes down to trades remaining and the position your team is in.  If you are going for the car, then of course you have to trade.  However, if you are in it for the league win and you are cemented in the top 8 or even better top 4, then you could probably get away with keeping him (depending on your matchups over the last 4 rounds).

The big plus in regards to trading him is that he is priced at $450k so you can pretty much trade him for most defenders.  Favourites that I have heard around the place are Birchall, Suckling, Carrazzo and Scotland.

 The General Cometh….

Yet again we saw the General pay us a visit on the weekend with Stevie J just heading to the Gold Coast to hit the theme parks really!  I am fairly sure that there was never any thought of him actually hitting the park.  This caused a lot of donuts in the DT world!  As we draw closer to finals and teams start to become locked away in the top 4 and 8 we will find that the General will visit more regularly and we may find that our stars start to get themselves in a Red Vest!

Just keep a look out when your players are up against GWS or Gold Coast.  We all know what the Hawks did last year when they rested their stars in the last round.  This time around we have Adelaide up against Gold Coast in the last round and it is the Kangas that are up against GWS.  Can’t see the Kangas doing any resting because they will be fighting for a spot in the 8 but Adelaide may be in a position to rest.

There isn’t much that you can do about a red vest, but you can about the General.  Whilst you are “Finalising your team” (is there ever such a thing as a completed team?) you need to make sure that the guys on your bench aren’t just the cheapest dude you could find who is lucky to get a game in the Magoos, but is a guy that is going to get a game week in and week out.  They may not be the best scorer in the world, but if it means that you will escape a donut then it is better to have a 15 than a 0.  Heaps of games are won by less.  So far this year I have won 2 games by less than 5 and lost one by 3.

 Thanks Neeldy!   ….. FOR NOTHING!

Well finally… our mate Tom Couch has been named for his first game.  Whilst this is great for the kid and for Melbourne, but it has STUFFED US DT COACHES AROUND!!!  Not only did a lot of people punt on him getting a game early after he was elevated to the list and then have subsequently traded him out for no gain or a loss.  If he plays too much this year it will stuff his price for next season!  The prefered scenario is for him not to play and then be a rookie price again next year, come out and smash it from round 1 and be one of our best cash cows of the sesaon!

Having said that, if you held him, well done, but I am sure you are probably struggling by now in the overall standings, hopefully your leagues are going well as you would have needed this position to be scoring for you through the MBR’s.  I reckon though that he is a big chance for the Sub marine to pay a visit to him.  If not first up, he would be a big chance for a Red Vest.

Good Luck Tom!  Just don’t overdo it on the scoring so that we can have you at a cheap price next year.

THANKS CHOOK! ….. FOR EVERYTHING!

As the news broke across the twitterverse early this week that Chook was hanging up his binoculars and TAC Cup Guide, many a tear was shed as we came to the realisation that one of the greatest talent spotters of our time was giving it all away.

Each week he toiled just so that we could have great Cash Cows and Benches full of playing youngsters.  He gave so much yet asked so little.   So I say, good luck in your retirement chook.  Enjoy and keep Merv Gray Autos up the top of the leaderboards.

Things to Remember

•  DT is a Marathon not a Sprint -But the finish line is just around the bend so if you have someone out for 4 weeks+ you need to trade their sorry a#$ out of your team!
• Take your league position and overall aims into account before trading– No point trading just to fill a one week donut at this point unless it is the last round before finals and you need to get into the 8.
• Chook is a bloody legend – and don’t you forget it!
• Keep your eye out today for late changes! – I wouldn’t be surprised to see a few of them out there this afternoon!  Thankfully Essendon were honest this week by telling us that Paddy was out not like they did with Zaha.
• Don’t be too demanding on Murph and Pendles – These guys are coming back from a fair time on the sidelines and may not be right back in the cut and thrust!  Just remember how Goodesy was when he came back a couple of weeks ago.

A Massive week in DT where we lost some stars and gained a Rook we thought had gone for the year.  Just be wary with your trades now that most are getting down to being able to count them on one hand.  If you don’t need to trade it would be better to save them for finals than use them now to get a handfull of points.

Have a great Friday and weekend of DT’ing.  Catch me on Twitter to find out any late news I hear about @pkd73 or even just random stuff like last weekend when my lawnmower fell apart whilst mowing!