The Friday Scramble: Round 15

Well we have survived another year of the byes, well survived is a strong word, we made it to the other end. But now we need to get ourselves settled and ready to go for the push to the finals! We have already had one game this week and hopefully you have gotten off to a great start, if not, then Let’s Scramble!!

The Last Thursday Night Loophole

We have had our last Thursday night game for the season which means it was our last crack at the Captain Loophole for the year. Calvin had a few options for us in last night’s game.  How did they go?

Taranto 79 He didn’t have a big night with Kelly and Cogs getting all the ball.
Kelly 120 Over this week’s line and spot on our normal line. Take this one.
Coniglio 112 Not quite what we were looking for but if you don’t like taking a risk you could take this one.
Merrett 102 Once again Merrett has had a poor last quarter.  His quarter splits were 35, 14, 37, 16. He just isn’t being consistent. Don’t take this score.

Cal set the line at 115 for last night given the options are a little light on for the rest of the round. It really comes down to what options you have in your side. There wasn’t anyone other than Kelly and Coniglio that were worth taking so it looks like Dangerfield is the best option from here.

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#AskDunny

Time to cash in ROB?? It helps me upgrade Worp to Kelly or Toranto and have cash in the bank…or do I get Stack off field for Houli or Laird??

— JBG (@jbg_82) June 26, 2019

Now I realise that your two trade in options of Kelly or Taranto have already played but if you haven’t pulled the trigger yet then I like that option. You have a lot of cash sitting on the bench in ROB that isn’t really doing anything for you. So if you haven’t done your trades yet then I do that. I don’t mind the idea of getting Stack off the field but my priority would be to cash in ROB and use that cash to upgrade. You say that you can get to Kelly or Taranto and have cash in bank and this means you can then use that cash for another upgrade next week.  That is the best option.

Rookie defenders seem most reliable, but which would be best premium defenders to aim for in the run home? Have Lloyd, Witherden & Sicily as my premiums. Also thoughts on trading rookies before reaching full price – how much value can be lost?

— Kerry Stead (@melbournegames) June 26, 2019

Great question. I agree that the rookie defenders are certainly the most reliable at the moment with guys like Hore, Naish and Logue. But there will be a time when they need to be moved out and if you only have the three premium defenders then it would be time to move one on now. And whilst I am looking at those defenders, Witherden is only just a premium. He hasn’t had the season that we were all hoping for from him. He is averaging 80 but we really hoped for 100 from him.

As for trading rookies before they reach their top value I don’t have a big issue with this as whilst you may miss out on some cash you are also missing out on points by holding the rookie. Early in the season I would say hold, but when you get to this point you either hold a guy that is scoring you 60s for some more cash or have a guy that can score you 100s. Obviously you don’t want to trade out a guy with a negative BE or someone that hasn’t made much money, but someone like ROB that hasn’t reached his peak but isn’t on your field is an easy trade. Similarly someone that has a be somewhere in the 20s or 30s is also one that you could pull the trigger early on.

Upgrade Brodie smith or Rockliff?

— Craig Moyce (@CraigMoyce) June 26, 2019

Both decisions that many coaches are facing this week. In AF, I suspect that most have already traded Rocky out, but if you are playing RDT or SC then you if you have held him this long I would hold him this week. He will play SANFL tomorrow and I doubt he will play more than the one game. Brodie Smith is an interesting one. If you have upgraded everywhere else then yes I would upgrade him. But if you have rookies on field elsewhere I would leave Smith for now and upgrade them first. If you are short of cash to get a rookie up to a premium then you can do Smith as that is probably not going to cost you quite as much.

Downgrades

Just a quick word on downgrades. When you downgrade from here on out you may want to change your focus a bit. Now you want to be looking at not only cheap guys but also guys that are a better than 50% chance to play for the rest of the season. These guys are going to be your bench cover and if you are running out of trades in RDT or SC you will need to rely on them.

One of the keys here is the job security of the blokes. When you have a choice always take the one with the better job security, you will be thankful for it later on in the season.

Selection Table

Hately finally got his third game!!!  I know it was last night so too late to pick him up, but he showed again why he should get more opportunities. 13 touches 6 marks and 5 tackles and he used it well with 84% efficiency. Surely this is enough to get him another game!!

CRIPPA!!!!! Patty Cripps is apparently out for 1-2 with a foot sprain.  I think my eyesight is going in my old age but I didn’t see him on the injury lists. This is something that our sport does so badly! In the limited trade forms you have to hold but in AF then feel free to trade him out.
Darcy Fort is back out again so there goes that cash generation again.
Milera is out injured with a back injury, he was running laps and hopefully back next week.
Nic Nat is back!!  Great to see the big fella back and whilst I wouldn’t get him in a salary cap format yet, if he is on the waivers in your draft league go get him.
Petruccelle is out and if you still have him this is the time to trade him.
Buddy is out as we all knew he would be. If you have him trade.
Balta has been dropped this week with Soldo coming in. If you have persisted with him this long it is time to cut ties with him now.
Brayden Preuss has come into the extended squad.  This alone is enough for me to not put the C on Gawn.

Things to Remember

• Get those premiums back on field!
• RDT and SC trades are all sticky today!
• If you plan on using the loophole then make sure you have the E on the premo you have on the bench, remember to do that as we are back to normal now.
• Don’t trade in a rookie that won’t play.

Great to see our players all back available again! Hopefully you have improved your side over the bye period and you can reap the rewards now! Not long to go now until finals so hopefully you are well placed in your league. If not then you may want to look more at picking up some unique players.  As they say, you gotta risk it to get the biscuit!

Hope you all have a great weekend, I know I will be (particularly if the Power can get up again) and I will see you all again next Friday morning!

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