Preliminary Final week! The last hurdle before the big dance! If you have made it this far well done. This is the week where we have to put it all on the line. The glory of a GF awaits the winners and 6 months of wondering what went wrong lies ahead for the rest.
I know that last week I must say I was very comfortable with my plans and looking at my team but then found myself worrying about the late outs that I was confident were going to happen and also the constant… should I play this guy or that guy. Well as it turned out, the late outs happened and that negated all the anguish I had over which player to choose as they both got a game anyway.
Fat Fingers Cost Finals!
A light hearted one to start! Heard a story at work on Monday about one of the guys who was making late changes to his team using his iPhone. All went well and subbed who he wanted etc. but then his fat fingers caused him to hit the C on Yarran taking it off of Ablett! Well needless to say he missed out on a STACK of points and to make it worse they were the difference between winning and losing. So the key is… not only don’t drunk trade, but make sure that when you are using your mobile device that you check after you have made a change so that you don’t have the same problem!
Who To Play?
Now that the trading period is basically done (mainly because most people don’t have any left) the biggest question I am getting asked is “Who should I play out of X and Z?”. Let’s have a look at a few of them that you guys have asked me about this week.
The player I was asked most about was Robbo. Well that decision is made for us. He is out due to that falcon he copped at the end of the last game so no worries there, don’t play him (tough to score from the grandstand).
Dusty Martin is one that has really struggled of late. However, he comes up against the Bombers who haven’t been travelling all that well of late. I expect Dusty to lift this week from his previous form but a score over 90 would be nothing short of a bonus!
Zorko the magnificent has also dropped off lately from his heady heights, however, he is still a very viable option! He has been scoring consistently and is still in the 80’s range so given we have no trades left and probably not a lot of choices, he is one that I would play without too much hesitation.
Gibbo is a lock. Let’s be honest this guy has saved our bacon more than once this year. If you have a premo out like Jelwood or Robbo (if you have him in the mids) then bring on Gibbo without any hesitation.
Adam Goodes finally got back to the form that we all expect and ripped out his best score since his return from his quad injury. However in a clutch game this week against Hawthorn I would be a touch nervous about him this week. I can’t see him smashing out another big score but he will certainly be serviceable and should be good for 80+.
Rocky is a premo and as much as it hurts, he does have an easy game this week against Port Adelaide. To be honest I can’t see him getting tagged and I would expect him to get his groove back. If he plays around the half forward line he will see a lot of the ball and should kick a few goals (however, if this weather keeps up it could be a nil all draw! Bloody windy in Adel)
Sam Shaw came back from a couple of low scores to put in an 87 this week. With the wide open spaces of the MCG on Sunday night I expect him to score similarly.
Lee Spurr is a guy that really has annoyed me this year. He has started to play well but given that any one that plays for Lyon is now a no no I would be loathed to pick him.
So in summary there are a few thoughts on these guys. I don’t want to put them in an order because I have seen what you guys do to the Pirate when he gets one wrong. And to be honest, all of your circumstances are different because you have some of these guys in the mids and some in the forwards. Also I think that you should also consider who your opponent has. Check that out and then see what options they have. This may help you make the decision. You could nullify one of your bad players if they have one.
General Time!
After we had the General strike last week we have a couple of cases so far this week and they are Marty Clarke, Darren Jolly and Jelwood. Oh, hang on Kosi has Soreness too… but if you have Kosi in your team I don’t think you are reading this site!
One of the big things this means is that Big Coxy and Nic Nat are going to go absolutely berzerk! They won’t have any competition!
Disappointing that Jelwood is out. He would have torn the Doggies apart. However, I don’t think he will be the only one. I can see a few more happening yet. I am not sure on Mitchell at the moment, I can see him being a late out. If it really is a calf, they may look to give him another week off.
We have all suspected that Scott Thompson and Patty Dangerfield would get a rest with the Crows soft run home. However, since they had a shock loss last week I think they should be still out there this week due to Sando being less than impressed with their effort. The other thing would be that they are playing at the MCG this week and given that is where the big one is played and they don’t play there that often it would be a good thing for his troops to get another run on the GF turf.
Things To Remember!
- Trade Trade Trade! – If you have them and you are looking at a close final, use them and get yourself to that fabled last week in August!
- The General Can Strike at Any Time! – Make sure you are listening to the news on a Friday to see if any of your guys are out or at risk of being out. But more importantly if you have someone on the bench that is even remotely alive, put an E on them.
- Never trust Ross Lyon
- Swanny is back. So put a C on him! – Swanny will be out to smash a massive score given that he has had two weeks on the sidelines. He is on Pattersons Playground and should smash it. See the advice from Calvin from earlier in the week for all the stats.
- If you are trading, pick the best availabe, no compromises! – But just do check their draw for next week too. If they get you through this week you will still need them next week.
To be honest I am sure that there won’t be too much scrambling today given that most of us don’t have too many choices left! But if you do have some choices just consider things like the player’s matchup and your matchup.
Just make sure you get through to next week! You can worry about your team for next week then.
Give me a yell on Twitter @pkd73 and I will see what I can do for you.
Good luck! Unless you are playing me of course (This includes both Tbetta and his brother Betta than Tbetta! I am playing both brothers in different leagues!)
Podcasts
Recent Comments