The Plus Four: Round 13 (Part One)

To be honest, I hate the split round. I wish it was just a weekend off footy. Would be good for the mind. The Partial Lockout has now made this week become just as stressful as any other… just for longer!

PARTIAL LOCKOUT IS FUN

It was pretty awesome to check out our teams over the weekend and be able to adjust players from next week. It’s great! Will take some stress off the unknown of next week – like we used to have to deal with. The Vice Captain Loophole failed for most, especially those who selected Hodgey as vice captain. I did, but at the end of the day I didn’t use the loophole because my week two zeros had bench partners who played this weekend… and I needed emergencies clicked – especially with the shit luck I’ve been having. So, I’m actually pumped Hodgey didn’t do much on Friday night. If I had Buddy as my VC, I’d be taking that!

It’s a shame we won’t have the Partial Lockout for next round, where we have a Thursday night game. That is where it can work perfectly for us. We won’t know the Sunday teams, so I think Virtual Sports should make it happen whenever we have a Thursday night game.

WHO WOULD? BUDWOOD!

Lance Franklin has been a frustration this year. I picked him in my initial side, knowing he would be missing Round 1 because of suspension… but thought that there was plenty of value in the big guy so stuck with it. But when he went on to miss 3 more games, Scott Gumbleton wasn’t a great replacement. Those who picked him have got it right. He has improved his average by a massive 15 points per game and has been smashing out some fantastic scores of late. Still at under $400K, he is great value and the way the Hawks are travelling, is a must have for the run home!

Get on board the DT TALK Buddy Greyhound Syndicate!

LATEST RUCK TO GO DOWN: SPECIAL K

I am happy, for Roy’s sake, that he didn’t end up trading in Matthew Kreuzer for David Hille last week. He is out for the year after doing his ACL. That sucks heaps for the big unit and also the Blues. He has been playing some sensational footy this year and has been a very consistent Dream Teamer over the season. Oh… and note to other publications, Karmichael isn’t Special K, it was Kouta and how it’s Krooozzeee.

THE FIXTURE FOR 2012 AND BEYOND

We all know next year is going to be shit for DT with a bye (or multiple ones) wrecking the game as we know it. But I wonder what will end up happening in 2012 and how that might affect the way we select our Dream Teams. As a football fan, I would love it if we played 17 games. Keep it simple. Play each other once and be done with it. That will never happen because the AFL love $ signs. m0nty has a few ideas over at Fan Footy. I’m not really sure on what I’d like, but a fair roster would be great if they can somehow work that out!

THANKS WOOSHA, BRING IN THE KIDS

It was nice to see the West Coast Eagles play two debutantes this weekend. Andrew Strijk is a $77K defender and Koby Stevens is an $89K midfielder. While they didn’t set the DT world on fire, they could be decent heartbeats on your bench to get you through the later half of the season. They probably have better Job Security than others. Still wondering if Jordan Gysberts will keep his spot in the Demons lineup.

I’M HAVING TRADE REGRET

I was down to 7 trades last week and did the vanilla thing of jumping on Jordan Gysberts. Yep, everyone else was… so why didn’t I? Considering I had no cover on my bench, it seemed like a great idea to get rid of Ben Howlett and pocket some handy cash for if one of my dudes goes down, I can trade in whoever I wanted. Great theory Warnie. But my regret is that I wanted the cash, even though I didn’t need it. In trade hindsight, I should have jumped on Daniel Conners as my 7th midfielder. Would have missed out on about $70K or so, but look at what he is capable of… 95 this week (53 the week before). Shoulda, coulda, woulda… but yeah! Hindsight is a great thing!

I HAVE A GOOD HEAD FOR RADIO

I was surprised to receive a phone call from Adam White from ABC radio on Saturday afternoon. He wanted an expert to chat about DT on air for 15 minutes or so. Not sure why they wanted my advice, considering my shit year, but it was fun! There needs to be more of it. Dream Team stuff is great to listen to and we know a few dudes who would love to have a Dream Team radio show! Hint hint!

HOW WE’RE LOOKING THIS WEEK

The DT TALK Crew are looking ok this week. First up, we have a lot of guns left next week (as with everyone) and hopefully can get some respectable scores.

• WARNE DAWGS (Warnie): 1083 from 11 players.
• destROY (Roy): 881 from 10 players.
• CALVINATOR (Calvin): 1021 from 11 players.
• I’M NOT HAPPY (Chopper): 925 from 11 players.
• MERV GRAY AUTOS (Chook): 925 from 12 players.

Also need to give a huge shout out to Chook who added a little chicken to his chook pen over the weekend! Can’t wait to meet Alex! I am sure he is going to be a decent little Dream Team coach and will find all of the best rookies!