Steele Sidebottom – Deck of DT 2015

Name: Steele Sidebottom
Club: Collingwood
Position: Midfielder
AFL Fantasy: $612,000
AFL Dream Team: $609,900
Bye Round: 12
2014 Average: 108
2014 Games Played: 19
Predicted Average: 115-120

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Why should I pick him?

Steele Sidebottom, Funny name, serious player.

Sidey… put together a stellar 2014, finished the year as the 8^th highest averaging midfielder but yet is in under 6% of teams.

Why is he not on many peoples radar?

Is it because his name can’t be said without a snigger?
Is it because he is ALWAYS, ALWAYS smiling? (Seriously, check him out on the footy field… once you see it, it cannot be unseen)
Is it because of the stupid Porn Star mo that he occasionally sports?
Is it because he plays for Collingwood?

Probably all of the above… But this Smirking Pool Cleaner with the name like a wheelbarrow is definitely worth a look.

Let’s look at his year last year. Took a couple of games to find his position, even playing in Defence in Rnd 2 (56 Points) before moving into the role that makes him so Fantasy relevant EPP…Everywhere Position Player. (Note from round 3 on he went on to average 113 Points)

Rainman.. What are you talking about you crazy MOFO? EPP?
Glad you asked… Let’s get all funky with some technology and look at some heat maps of where Sidey has picked up his possessions.

Rnd 3….21 Kicks, 8 Handballs, 5 Marks, 6 Tackles, 1 Goal, 1 Behind…126 points

Rnd 17….17 Kicks, 11 Handballs, 9 Marks, 3 Tackles……….109 points

Rnd 18 …..22 Kicks, 10 Handballs, 10 Marks, 3 Tackles ………123 points

Rnd 23….27 Kicks, 9 Handballs, 4 Marks, 3 Tackles, 1 Goal……..125 points

The above graphics show how much Sidey gets around… He is literally everywhere……Running around the back for handball receive, getting free on the wing for a +6, bobbing up for a goal. Junk.. or as I call it Fantasy Mud… and who likes mud? PIGS…… But more on that in a minute

Compare this for a second to some heat maps of other popular Midfielders

GARY ABLETT

 

JOSH P. KENNEDY

 

 

JOEL SELWOOD

 

MATT PRIDDIS

 

 

A lot more centralised.. they get plenty of the ball no doubt, but generally locate themselves around the middle.

Back to Piggery.. Last year we had a new Fantasy Pig born… Tommy Rockliff… So what does his heat map look like?

Look at all of that yellow, and where those possessions are and how they are scattered around the ground… remind you of anyone????

Now, for those who are very straight laced, who think a number is a number and lets not get too fancy with them, least of all draw ridiculous comparisons….If this describes you…… Look away now

Could Sidey move into pig status this year???
Laugh, go on… it is a stupid statement I know….. I am laughing writing it… but lets explore that ridiculous statement further.

I want to look at Rocky’s 2013 year, the year before he graduated to a fully blown pig. How does Sidey’s 2014 stack up against Rocky’s 2013….. Discuss…

	Games	Age coming into PIG season	Ave Diposals	Diff between Ave First ½  of Year to Second ½	Standard Deviation (Consistency)
Sidey (2014)	19	24	26.7	+13%	23.7
Rocky (2013)	21	24	27.4	+11%	25.2

 

	Ave	First 5 games Ave	Ave when scoring 100	100+ Scores	120+ Scores	High Score	Low Score
Sidey (2014)	108	100	123.6	11	7	147	56(Playing out of position – DEF)
Rocky (2013)	103	105	126.2	10	6	144	63(Playing out of position – FWD)

Now this may be drawing a very long bow…but those numbers are very very similar.

We know that this game is way more than numbers and who is in and out of the team, make a lot of difference to how a player scores.

So how about the Pies players in 2015

He doesn’t have Beams there anymore so he will get the Tag…
Maybe, will it impact him negatively?. Not sure. He played 2 games this year without Beams..Scored 96 and 124. We can go back to 2013 when Beams was missing, but Sidey was playing a very different role, so not sure we gain anything from that.

Swanny is not getting younger, had a “putrid” season last year by his own account and from what Buckley has said

“He still has the capability to be a very good player in our side.

“I’m less worried about All Australians and B and F’s as I am about him being a very strong team-mate and playing his role.”

I read this as Swanny playing more up front like he did last year. Shouldn’t impact Sidey

No more Luke Ball…Sidey played 5 games in 2014 without Ball for an average of 112.

Pendles will do what Pendles does….Play through the tag and still dominate. Shouldn’t impact Sidey

Greenwood, Crisp, Thomas, Kennedy, Adams will all rotate through the midfield. Helps Sidey continue his EPP role.

Lastly he has an enormous tank….as evidenced by his heat map but also by the fact he has the 3rd highest Time on Ground % (88%) of all premium midfielders. Behind only Ablett (90.6%) and Stevie J (88.3%)

 

Why shouldn’t I pick him?

1. Whilst he had a good year he did miss 3 games through suspension… Is this a sign of the Smiler becoming less smiley?
2. No Beams/Ball – Whilst I don’t believe this will impact him, nobody knows for sure. Definite risk for him to get more attention.
3. That Pesky Round 12 Bye – Shared with Ablett, Pendles, Barlow, Heppell, JPK, Parker, Prestia, Watson and Fyfe
4. His Name/Smile/Moustache/Magpieness

Deck of DT Rating:

ACE – I really think that Sidey will explode this year. He showed great signs last year with those 7 scores over 120, 3 of them over 140. He has all the signs of being a pig…. I know it is an enormous call, but I think there is definitely more to this guy than you would think. Very confident that he will be a top 8 midfielder by years end and he has a great track record against his early opponents. Would be a nice POD to give you a leg up on the rest of the competition.

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