The Friday Scramble: Round 21

It’s win at all costs from here on in. No more second chances. All our finals are knockouts to win the big one. But if you have lost and are out of the finals don’t give up just yet! There are three weeks to go with rankings at stake. Just three weeks to Scramble!

Semi Final Week

Just three weeks to go and it is all knockout games. But you might have the week off which is even better.

Obviously if you are playing or even if you aren’t then you need to trade out the guys that are done for the rest of the season or are looking to be out for at least a week or two with injury.

If you have the week off then you may want to use that to enact a bit of strategy. You may want to think about two ways you can go.

Strengthen your team.
You could use this week to trade out an underperformer (Sick Dawg I am looking at you) and bring in a stud. This way you are getting the best possible team you can on the park and being ready to go for next week and being strong.

Double Downgrade
You may want to take the opportunity of your bye this week to double downgrade to build a bit of a Warne chest ready to pounce next week. There is certainly some merit to this strategy. If you have no injuries and no other issues that you need to worry about this week then you could certainly take this path. But don’t do it if you do have an injury to deal with. There is always the risk that you get another two injuries next week and then you have three to deal with.

All or Nothing
If you are playing this week then you simply have to do everything you can to win. This could mean one of the following strategies:

• Match a unique. Find the key unique in your opponents team and bring them into yours.
• Create a unique. If you both have a premium that you think might underperform this week then trade them out and bring in a premo that you think will have a big game.
• Pick a different captain. It is very rare that we look to go against the Pirate. But if you are looking to get one up on your opponent then you may want to pick a different captain and see if you can get an advantage that way.

Selection Table

This was what I would call a fairly uneventful week at the selection table for this time of year.

Jezza Cameron comes back in, just when we need him. If you are in the rolling lockout forms of the game then this is the perfect opportunity to loophole him.
Preuss is out! Not that he had much impact on Gawn last week.
Heppell is back but don’t count on a massive score on him.
Snelling is out injured which hurts those that were relying on him as cover.
Caleb Daniel is now gone for the season with a hammy. Must trade.
Dan Hannebery is back. Not fantasy relevant but great to see.
Sam Jacobs is in the squad. Not sure if he will make the cut but if he gets a game this could spell trouble for O’Brien’s ability to score.
Nank is back! Only relevant for those that held him in draft leagues.
Stack is also back which is some good bench cover.

Things To Remember

• Any trade ins must have a reference to the Scale of Hardness with just three games to go.
• Captain choice will be critical this week with the two big dogs playing each other. You may want to look elsewhere.
• Try and keep bench cover where you can. Late outs are always on the cards this time of year.

That’s about it from me this week everyone, a fairly short Scramble as there isn’t a great deal to report on this week. No massive injuries or controversies that will affect our teams. Just make sure you have your team set and ready to go and that you get the win in this all important week.

Lastly a big shout out to the 300 or so competitors in the DT Shiva draft competitions who all start their finals this week, whether they be to take out their league or to avoid relegation. Thankfully I will be in the major finals this year and won’t get relegated like last season. Check out www.dtshiva.com.au if you are interested in the biggest draft relegation and promotion league for AFL.

See you all next week as we try and win our way into the big dance!