The Thursday Scramble: Round 10

Double Digits! 10 rounds in now. And is this game getting any easier? Hell no!   But we are faced with some big decisions to make this week. So let’s get to it and Scramble!

Time to Plan

I mentioned last week we only had 6 trades left before the byes, I was slightly wrong with that as of course in round 12 we will get our three trades.

So what do we need to do differently this year?  Well as discussed last week we will have 5 rounds of byes with a maximum of four teams on the bye at any one time. This is a far cry from the 6 teams we have been used to. So it gives us far more flexibility, particularly when there is a best 18 format and so few players missing.  Yes there are going to be some tricky rounds, but with three trades a week and just four teams on bye you should be able to fairly safely navigate the 5 week period.

Normally I would be saying that you need to load up your back end teams and then focus on picking them off before their bye and replace with the guys from the early byes.  However, it is a bit late to start trying to do that now. All I would suggest for this season is to make sure that you are evenly balanced as much as you can be with your premiums. If you can avoid having big chunks of your premiums missing in any given week then you will be well placed. So as you do your upgrades over the next fortnight keep that in mind.

There has been a lot of talk about bringing in Sinclair this week and with very good reason and that is because he is on the one bye where there are just the two teams being Fremantle and St Kilda. To me, anyone on that bye is certainly going to be preferred over other players. This is what makes it so frustrating that Caleb Serong isn’t performing as we would have liked currently. Don’t fill your team with these teams but you can certainly afford to be a touch heavier in them as it will definitely benefit you in the other rounds.

So my approach this year is going to be a little different as I am going to still be targeting the best available in the next two weeks while paying a little respect to the fixture, but certainly not as much as I would have in the past. And the strategy of trading out players who haven’t had their bye for those that have is always in play.

During the bye period, don’t be afraid to cash in a player that may not have quite reached their peak if they are going to get you to a premium that has already had their bye. Yes you might miss a little cash gen but if it means you are getting a far better player at the right time then it is worth it.

Can we trade out a player we thought would be a safe bet all season?

Well of course you can and of course you are referring to Caleb Daniel. Someone we thought would be a safe bet all year thanks to his propensity to find the footy and being a part of North now who were in desperate need of someone with his skills.

Again, refer to my comments above. We are now in full upgrade mode around the byes and if he can get you up to a premium by either upgrading him or downgrading him to get someone else up then it should be well worth it. The ideal time to do this is during the 3 trade weeks as the cash you can make out of downgrading him could be enough to get you an upgrade on two fattened mid pricers so in that circumstance I would say go for it. Remember it is the race to get a fully upgraded side, not a race to make the most out of every player in regards to cash.

Things To Remember

• We aren’t at the byes just yet so keep battling away to get your best choices on field.
• There has been a number of injuries of late and this gives opportunity to others. Always take this into account with your trades.
• Past Performance isn’t always a good indication of Future Performance. We are seeing that in the past the matchup against McInerney would have been a frightening one. We saw Xerri dispel that theory. So it can be done.

Have a great week of footy, keep preparing that team for the bye period where you want to come out of it with a fully upgraded team.

Dunny

A passionate Port Adelaide Fan who simply loves footy! That is how I would describe myself. Catch my weekly article "The Thursday Scramble" with all the last minute things to think about for the weekend Follow: @pkd73.