The Thursday Scramble: Round 22 Finals Week 2

The eliminating and qualifying is done. From here it is all do or die for your matchups. There is no looking back now!  Time to Scramble!!

What a strange season?

I don’t want to jinx it but normally around this time in the season we are really battling to make trades and cover all the season ending injuries and suspensions. But the last couple of weeks we haven’t seen anything like that. So what do you do with all those trades? We have heard from Roy that he has actually been losing points by making some of his trades in recent rounds and I have suffered the same fate.  So is there a time where you just don’t have to use the trade?  Well yes it is an option but I would then be using those trades you can either boost that bench and you an also do a bit of downgrading to some of these new rookies that are getting a game and bank a little cash to use in coming weeks as often the player you want to trade out has lost some cash.

Season done? What now?

So if you are only playing for leagues and get knocked out don’t despair, you can still improve that ranking as other coaches in a similar position simply give up and stop looking at their teams. Keep making moves and keep playing.
But importantly if the season is over perhaps you should be like Calvin and start looking towards next year already. Keep a watch on who is doing well and who isn’t. But the one thing that we should see more of now is with the teams that are no longer in contention for finals they are likely to start playing a few more of their fringe players. Just watch what their role is, particularly if there is a veteran who is likely to retire or really take a back seat next year.  This is where we start to see who the breakout players are going to be next year. Keep a bit of a black book on them and it will give you a bit of a head start on who you should be watching as a part of pre-season.

Take a risk!

We say it all the time, if you are the underdog in one of these knockout finals and you are focussed solely on leagues, don’t be afraid to take a bit of a risk. Check out the Scale of Hardness and find which position and which team has the best matchup this week and bring that player for someone that has a red matchup.

Do the same with your captain, you can play the straight bat that Calvin will set up for you, but again, if you need to find a heap of points, then take a bit of a risk with your captain. Find a guy that can go huge early in the round and then see if they come off for you. The first game on the Saturday is the last game that I would do this in though as otherwise you are starting to limit your options.

Things to Remember

• Check your C before the first game not just your VC (a very good coach only checked their VC and not their C who was playing in the same game last week and no it wasn’t me)
• Similarly, triple check all your loops and the timing. Set yourself an alarm if you need to so you don’t forget to check.
• Use the scale. I say this every week this time of year as it gets more important as each week goes by.

That’s about it from me this week really folks. To be honest, there wasn’t much to write about this week as there has been no carnage, no suspensions or anything really that we need to navigate around. I am sure the Fantasy gods will get me back at selection tonight though! Also a bit busy with work this week too so sorry about the shortness of this week’s article.

Have a great weekend and get yourself a win. I will see you all again next Thursday.  As always, hit me up if there is anything specific you need covered as we head towards next week’s Prelim finals.

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.