The Thursday Scramble: Round 24 – Grand Final Week!

Thank god, this season is just about over, it has been one of the worst seasons that I have experienced in all the years I’ve been playing this game. Just injuries everywhere that have ruined our upgrade plans. I mean, how many of us still have Petracca in our sides and we wanted to get rid of him weeks ago… add to that the likelihood of mass restings, then it is time to Scramble!

We had to have another forced trade right!

We couldn’t get away with one more gift from this god forsaken season!  And it had to be to one of our best… The Sheez!  There is no chance he is named tonight, there is simply no reason to risk any more damage. If you still don’t have Baz back then that is your number one option, they should do an absolute number on the Tigers down at the Cattery. Other than that just look for the best matchup you can. The other ones to grab will be Rankine or Gulden. The only concern I have there is that Gulden may get himself an in game rest given their position is not going to change.

But the fun doesn’t stop there.

We knew about Sheez on the weekend, but as the week has progressed we now know the following…..

JHF  will be out with a broken toe
Trac  out with a foot injury
Durham out with a sore groin
McInerney out with a hamstring
Murphy Reid is going to miss another game
Bont is a chance to miss again if Bevo has his way

And I am sure that this isn’t all of it, that is all that we know of at the moment, there are likely to be more

I believe that players like Jackson, Nick Daicos, Errol Gulden and Grundy are all likely to either get a full game rest or an in game rest. But really, given how our teams are looking and all the outs we are suffering there isn’t really much we are going to be able to do about it.

Let’s add to that the news yesterday that Heeney, Blakey, Warner, Jordon and Bice are all also going to be missing this week.

Now, if your team can field a full premium side with all that carnage (plus whatever we get in teams tonight), then you have a far better team than I do!

Do I just give up?

Hell no, we don’t give up around here, we just play the season out. We may have shit teams that have been absolutely decimated this week but hey, that is footy, we roll with it and just keep pushing through. At least in Fantasy we have been able to deal with all this mess, in SuperCoach there are teams that have run out of trades weeks ago and are hanging in there.  Personally I am relying on Banfield, Joyce, Tom Edwards and Podhajski to get named so that I have a full side.  It just ain’t gonna happen.  But in both forms of the game, my opponents are all dealing with similar issues, so it isn’t just you.  Be the butter mouse and just keep on playing.

Just get the absolute best players you can afford after trading out the highest priced guys that are going to be missing and go for it. And for me, that means that despite trying for the last 5 or so weeks, I still have Petracca in my side and he will make it through to the end of the season. However, he is not invited on the end of season trip.

Thank You

I just want to take this opportunity to thank everyone that has been such a loyal reader of the Scramble this year (and every year I’ve done it). This has been one of the most challenging seasons that I have ever played (and I don’t dare to think how many seasons that is). I appreciate you all reading and also the comments and people helping each other out because as most of you know, I just can’t get to the comments until the Thursday night when most of my answers would be too late due to work. So a huge thanks to all of you and I hope that despite all the issues we have had this year that you have had a fun season.

Things to Remember

• Thursday night footy is back this week so make sure your Saints and Suns are in place.
• If you are in the fortunate position to have any loops, have them all prepared.
• If you are going to loop for a VC, try and pick a non playing player that is on the Sunday.  Best option for that would be JHF as the Power don’t play til Sunday lunch time or any of the Swans that are missing as they are the middle game on Sunday.
• Go get that Premiership Cup!

That’s it for season 2026, enjoy the final weekend of footy for the year and for those with teams that they support in the finals, good luck to you.  There is a SuperCoach Finals game that is open and there is going to be an AFL one that is similar to Gameday Squad too I believe, so watch out for those. And those of you playing AFLW, good luck with that season too.

Cheers everyone

Dunny

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.