The Friday Scramble: Round 18

Wow! So we have had a few injuries here and there lately but nothing like this week where we are all scrambling to check our bench cover or the best player option. This is why we make sure we build a handy bench with guys that cover for you. I talked about it a bit last week, but I wasn’t thinking that we would be seriously looking at it hard this week!
Now I didn’t put it out there asking for questions as I was fairly confident in what I was going to get back, so I will have a look at what to do with some of these guys and a few other bits and pieces as we Scramble our way through Friday!

Thursday Night Loophole.

So last night we had the options of…. What? Hang On? We didn’t have one? Just as I was starting to get used to having these games. But yes it is true we have no more of them this year. But I think the AFL will slide a few more in next season as they seem to be rating fairly well from what I understand. I know that a lot of fantasy coaches won’t be too happy about that but hey, just like we did with the substitutes, we will all adjust if it becomes the new normal.

Carnage all over the place!

I don’t mind if we have one LTI in a week but to have two and then two other guys going down that are on a lot of fields (well at least one was) that just makes things bloody difficult! So I will have a quick look at my thoughts on what to do with some of these guys.
I am going to focus on AF pricing here as it is what the majority of people play but they probably won’t be massively different options in the other forms.

Nic Nat. Firstly this is shattering for the big fella as he damaged his knee that wasn’t already reconstructed! But for us Fantasy Coaches we can’t dwell on this and we have to find someone to fill the spot this week.
The biggest problem with Nic is that he isn’t priced very highly and we are struggling for a quality ruck around that price point. At his price you need $120k to get up to Goldstein and more than that to get to one of the big three. If you are tight on cash you can go $30k up to Nank or just $7k to get to Jacobs. If you have no cash then your only options are Bellchambers or Lycett.
I am a bit nervous on what Bellchambers will do and also Lycett. If you have the cash then Nank is definitely your man and if you can’t quite get to him then I guess Jacobs is where you go next (caveat: I have traded him out at his bye and hence he should have a huge finish to the season).

James Sicily. Wow, this one really hurts, he has been a very popular selection this season and after those two early suspensions he has been great. If you have him down back then for me the players that I would target based on how much cash you have would be Lloyd or Angus Brayshaw. I really like both of them and Brayshaw is most likely to come into my side due to him getting more mid time now and he is $10k cheaper! If you don’t have the cash to get to them Whitfield or T Macdonald are the ones that I would look to.
Up forward then you can pick anyone for less cash than Sicily other than Devon Smith, Westhoff, Dangerfield or Menegola. So really there are plenty of options. But if you have $15k then I would be going up to Dangerfield. But if you have to go down then go to Rocky, Wingard or Heeney.

Paddy Ryder looks like he will only be out for one or maybe two weeks. Now being a ruck we don’t tend to have much in the way of backup. So if you do have some cover you could keep him and address other issues, but in AF you can certainly trade him out as you are more likely to have cover on the other lines. In RDT and SC then you may need to just be wary of the number of trades you have before making a big decision. At this time of year I like to keep trades when I have less than 3 for season ending injuries.

#AskDunny

What implications does Ryder’s injury have on Port’s relevant players? Rocky, Hoff etc

— Gav Haines (@GavHaines) July 19, 2018

Good question there Gav. Look for me I don’t think it is an issue. He has averaged 102 so far this season and in the 5 week period earlier this year when Ryder was out with his achilies injury he averaged 99.6 (in Supercoach he averaged 106.8 over those 5 weeks which was 3.4 more than his full season average) . So really it shouldn’t hurt too much. What it does mean is that he will be around the ball more as he will play in the ruck more. With Rocky I don’t think it will make any difference. He isn’t getting as many of his points from sharking hitouts, he has been getting them in general play (from what I am seeing anyway).

Westhoff or Danger? Surely Danger goes big with the run home.

— Jaxon (@jaxonconnor11) July 19, 2018

I really want to say Danger here just given his history and what we know he is capable of but when you look at the numbers they are both averaging 102 for the season so far. If you have a look at the Scale of Hardness then the decision is Westhoff. I think he is going to be more consistent but you never know with Danger, he can have another 150 or he can have a 75. This is an extremely close call and if I had to make it I think I go Westhoff at this point just because of his role at the moment.

Selection Table

Just the highlights this week on the ones that are fantasy relevant.

Jimmy Webster misses again through injury with a groin issue. They say 1-2 weeks, I think hold at this point if you have good cover.
Sam Murray has been named!! And not extended bench this time!
Darcy Cameron finally gets a game. This is a concern for those that are using him as a captain loophole in Supercoach!
Michael Hibberd is out (is this a blessing in disguise). If I had enough trades in RDT and SC he would be out and if I didn’t have other issues in AF he would also be gone! Word is that he is only out for one hopefully so I am holding for now. Joel Smith comes in to cover for him so that means most of us should have cover.
Kreuzer is being managed. Hopefully this means just the one week. Perhaps Darcy in might just be the thing Kreuzer owners need!
Robbie Gray has been named. Kenny seems to think he is ok to play. I am a touch sceptical, I think he is a huge risk to be a late out, so I would make sure that I have cover for him.

Things to Remember

• Don’t forget to set your emergencies. As we get deeper into the season they become more critical.
• In SC and RDT I would be loathed to go under 3 trades with this much time left in the season. If you are covering a one week injury then I would try and hold and use your bench. Who knows what the next few weeks will throw at us.
• Check your opponents if you are just playing for leagues. You may not need to trade and can take a donut if they have as many or more issues than you!

Well I hope everyone that went to the DTTalk night in Melbourne had a great time last night. I am sure there is a hang over or two around the place this morning (I am looking at you Calvin) but I am sure that if it was anything like the one in Adelaide it was a fantastic night with a heap of laughs and frothys. Have a great weekend and hopefully we don’t cop any more injuries this week. Catch you all next week!