Strategy Flex Position - Strategy Discussion

[Peter56]

I have read a lot of info about the new position, Thought it deserved it's own thread.

I see a lot of people going down the ruck player as their flex player.
For me I think this is a bit limiting. What happens if your flex player is not picked? R3? But he is not playing either so a trade is required.

I am going down the dual position player.
Gives me greater ability to move players.
Allows me to put a player that is playing in the match each week into the flex position to make sure I have a good score there each week.

Am I right in my thinking?

What are other peoples thoughts and ideas regarding the flex position.

 

[Under The Dome]

I have read a lot of info about the new position, Thought it deserved it's own thread.

I see a lot of people going down the ruck player as their flex player.
For me I think this is a bit limiting. What happens if your flex player is not picked? R3? But he is not playing either so a trade is required.

I am going down the dual position player.
Gives me greater ability to move players.
Allows me to put a player that is playing in the match each week into the flex position to make sure I have a good score there each week.

Am I right in my thinking?

What are other peoples thoughts and ideas regarding the flex position.

Extra rookie early, bye cover and then it'll go one of two ways into a dominant third ruck or a 9th/10th midfielder to avoid those pesky tags.

 

[Darkie]

@Chumpion - would you care to summarize your views on the flex position? You seem to have explained it well in previous discussions.

If you’re willing, you could potentially include the 101 version for those coming up the curve on it, and the 202 material for those looking to really optimize its use!

 

[Chumpion]

@Chumpion - would you care to summarize your views on the flex position? You seem to have explained it well in previous discussions.

If you’re willing, you could potentially include the 101 version for those coming up the curve on it, and the 202 material for those looking to really optimize its use!

Yep absolutely! I’ll put something together tonight/tomorrow and then post it up 🙂

 

[Nathan]

To start the season for me, it’s just about getting an extra mid rookie in that can hopefully eliminate that 20-50 score.

Then I can see it allowing you to pretty much bring in whatever fallen premium/rising middie you want. Even if you’re not ready to move off your rookies a certain line. It can just become a revolving door of whoever you want to bring in.

I don’t think DPP adds much to the position. It covers every line anyway and will able to move anyone through when trading.

 

[Ironhawk]

For me, I'll likely just put one of my premos there on the line I have the best bench coverage. Figure it's a spot you want to aim to lock in as one of your best 22 each week, so the lowest score to drop out is an on field one. This is because you can potentially loop out a dud score on field, but not as flex.

I don't see the point of putting a marginal player as flex, as if they go really badly, you can't loop that spot, and you then have to rely on the other 22. Keep your rookie scores on field and loopable where possible.

I'm sure everyone will play it differently though.

 

[Miller is a Steele]

It’s chopping and changing a bit for me. In my current team I’ve got a ruck there. I’m looking at starting Gawn and Boyd at R1 & R2. Then it has come down to either another ruck (usually Xerri or English), or another midfield premium/speculative pick (Butters, Brayshaw, Day, Cerra). I don’t love a lot of the defender options so I struggle to see me going for another one. Despite looking stacked early on in preseason, the forward line is starting to sort itself out with options ruling themselves out, particularly in that mid-pricer bracket. I could see me going for another forward rookie at flex if they present themselves as more worthy on-field options than the midfielders, but I find that unlikely with this year’s strong midfield rookie crop.

 

[Juzzo]

I might put Bont there because people will look at my team and it will look weak until... BAM, they look at the flex and there is The Bont!

 

[BigRuss]

It’s chopping and changing a bit for me. In my current team I’ve got a ruck there. I’m looking at starting Gawn and Boyd at R1 & R2. Then it has come down to either another ruck (usually Xerri or English), or another midfield premium/speculative pick (Butters, Brayshaw, Day, Cerra). I don’t love a lot of the defender options so I struggle to see me going for another one. Despite looking stacked early on in preseason, the forward line is starting to sort itself out with options ruling themselves out, particularly in that mid-pricer bracket. I could see me going for another forward rookie at flex if they present themselves as more worthy on-field options than the midfielders, but I find that unlikely with this year’s strong midfield rookie crop.

The more I play with teams the more taking a ruck makes sense. As you said with the quality mid rookies I’m even toying with taking 3 premium rucks at the cost of a third/fourth mid premo to try and get all the rookies on field.

In general I don’t like the flex position as a whole but I’m finding enjoyment in trying to figure out the best strategy to implement it.

 

[jel]

atm I'm leaning towards starting the flex as an extra rookie, preferably with DPP.

It would give another cash generator in the team.
I'd try to pick whoever is least likely to get a sub vest in flex, swapping out week to week on another line if the vest likelihood changes.

 

[Couch Coach]

atm I'm leaning towards starting the flex as an extra rookie, preferably with DPP.

It would give another cash generator in the team.
I'd try to pick whoever is least likely to get a sub vest in flex, swapping out week to week on another line if the vest likelihood changes.

Why not just put one of your premiums in flex and an extra rookie on the field?
The Premo will then replace which ever rookie is the lowest without you having to guess.

 

[Athomas]

For me, I'll likely just put one of my premos there on the line I have the best bench coverage. Figure it's a spot you want to aim to lock in as one of your best 22 each week, so the lowest score to drop out is an on field one. This is because you can potentially loop out a dud score on field, but not as flex.

I don't see the point of putting a marginal player as flex, as if they go really badly, you can't loop that spot, and you then have to rely on the other 22. Keep your rookie scores on field and loopable where possible.

I'm sure everyone will play it differently though.

Yeah pretty much this. Unless there was an abundance of ruck choices people really wanted (lets say Reidy & Boyd were in the R1 game without Marshall etc) then I won't be rushing to jam a ruck in there (in this example I don't really like Reidy anyway)

I'd say every week would probably be a different premium in FLEX, depending on how any loopholes go in other positions. For example if you loop a speculative defender rookie and they score 80, I'd move a DEF premium to FLEX and play whichever DEF rookie was next in the pecking order at D6.

Of course requires your team to be set up for DPP movement (a DEF/MID link, a FWD/MID link ideally)

Haven't really analysed the FWD/RUC's but from memory I don't think there's any standouts so would be unlikely I have a RUC in FLEX, at least in the early stages of the season.

 

[Wheedus]

This is very helpful. Thanks all.

 

[Chumpion]

Here is my short flex position write up - please call out anything that seems wrong or anything missing!

What is the Flex position?

The flex position is a 23rd on field spot that can be filled by a player from any position. This means unlike previous years, you could have 3 rucks on field!

Key things to note:

• Unlike other positions, the player in the flex spot won’t be covered by an emergency. Meaning if the player in that spot doesn’t play, you’ll get a zero.
• The flex spot is independent of the “best 22 or 23” rule (more on that below).
• If you move a player to the flex spot before you trade them out, you will be able to “update trade” to any position. If you trade them out from their normal position but then move the newly traded in player to the flex, you’ll only be able to trade in someone from the original position. For example, if you trade a defender rookie to a defender premium, and then move the defender premium to the flex spot, if they are a late out you can only update trade to another defender even though they are in the flex. But if you move the rookie to the flex spot and then trade them, you can update to someone from any position.

Best 22 and the flex

I want to call this out specifically as it’s probably been the biggest source of early confusion. The flex spot is a 23rd on field position, and best 22 means you get to drop your 23rd worst score, but those two things are independent of each other! It’s not a case of the flex player covering your worst score, it’s just a mechanism for you to have a 23rd score. Heaven forbid your flex scores 5, that’ll likely be the score that drops out. Similarly if they are a late out and you get a 0 for them.

Strategy 101

Personally I don’t think the flex spot should drastically change how you build a SuperCoach side. In previous years we’d build the best 30 we could and then agonise over the players we left out, this year we just get to put in 31 players and then start agonising!

My approach is to build my team the traditional way, lock in some captain options and my rucks, and then keep adding rookies. Then once filled, slowly remove the weakest rookies and replace them with premiums or midpricers until I run out of cash. The flex will be beneficial in that I can keep an extra rookie from a more favourable line if they seem a better pick. Eg, an extra mid rookie over a forward line one.

Strategy 201

The best use of the flex will probably evolve over the season, with the early part of the season focussed on cash gen and the ability to fit an extra rookie with a great BE in when you might previously have struggled for room. Middle of the season will be bye management, and the last part will be around getting the best premium in as the 23rd on field (likely a mid or ruck).

It’s too early to say for sure the best use of the flex, so it’s important to stay open minded and adapt to the season.

Early flex strategies

Just going to give the bones of these but happy to field questions or elaborate more if needed. Also please add more as this is by no means an exhaustive list!

“3 rucks”
By selecting a ruck in the flex spot, you can field 3 premium rucks each week. The appeal here is that rucks often have the best scoring profile, and there for having an extra is great. There is also the ability to use a forward rookie to cover a ruck out if you have the right DPP. Personally I think this strategy might have short term gains but loses the number one benefit of flex spot which is its flexibility.

“Cash gen”
Use this extra position to field an additional rookie to maximise early cash generation. This strategy probably aligns most closely to traditional SuperCoach team building.

“Floating Donut”
By fielding a DPP cheapie with lots of late games, you can use the flex spot to loop two E scores from different positions against each other and take the best one. For example, if you have a D/F donut, you can look at an E from the backline and forward line and then swap the flex donut onto whatever line of the rookie that scored best. Useful for best 22 rounds but less so in the early bye best 18 rounds.

TLDR: The flex spot is a positional change to facilitate a 23rd player on field. You won’t get an E score if they don’t play, so if you can’t monitor team announcements lock them in early, and if you don’t need to flex spot for any trades or player movements for the round, then just lock it away.

 

[Chumpion]

I have read a lot of info about the new position, Thought it deserved it's own thread.

I see a lot of people going down the ruck player as their flex player.
For me I think this is a bit limiting. What happens if your flex player is not picked? R3? But he is not playing either so a trade is required.

I am going down the dual position player.
Gives me greater ability to move players.
Allows me to put a player that is playing in the match each week into the flex position to make sure I have a good score there each week.

Am I right in my thinking?

What are other peoples thoughts and ideas regarding the flex position.

This broadly aligns to my thinking around using this spot for flexibility early, especially until the first batch of DPP additions.
One thing to note, you don’t necessarily need to have a good score in the flex spot - if it’s your worst it’ll be the 23rd that drops off. So the main priority is having a player that will 1. Definitely be playing (as you get no emergency) and 2. Isn’t someone you’d want to loop (eg, a weaker rookie).

 

[Chumpion]

To start the season for me, it’s just about getting an extra mid rookie in that can hopefully eliminate that 20-50 score.

Then I can see it allowing you to pretty much bring in whatever fallen premium/rising middie you want. Even if you’re not ready to move off your rookies a certain line. It can just become a revolving door of whoever you want to bring in.

I don’t think DPP adds much to the position. It covers every line anyway and will able to move anyone through when trading.

I think this approach is where I’m at - utilise the flexibility as the season unfolds. Often there is a stand out downgrade option but their position doesn’t always line up with the best rookie to cull. Once more DPP additions come in that won’t be as much of an issue but it’s still handy to have the extra freedom!

 

[Chumpion]

For me, I'll likely just put one of my premos there on the line I have the best bench coverage. Figure it's a spot you want to aim to lock in as one of your best 22 each week, so the lowest score to drop out is an on field one. This is because you can potentially loop out a dud score on field, but not as flex.

I don't see the point of putting a marginal player as flex, as if they go really badly, you can't loop that spot, and you then have to rely on the other 22. Keep your rookie scores on field and loopable where possible.

I'm sure everyone will play it differently though.

People should print this out and put it on whatever screen they SC on. Gold!

 

[Chumpion]

It’s chopping and changing a bit for me. In my current team I’ve got a ruck there. I’m looking at starting Gawn and Boyd at R1 & R2. Then it has come down to either another ruck (usually Xerri or English), or another midfield premium/speculative pick (Butters, Brayshaw, Day, Cerra). I don’t love a lot of the defender options so I struggle to see me going for another one. Despite looking stacked early on in preseason, the forward line is starting to sort itself out with options ruling themselves out, particularly in that mid-pricer bracket. I could see me going for another forward rookie at flex if they present themselves as more worthy on-field options than the midfielders, but I find that unlikely with this year’s strong midfield rookie crop.

I think the problem with the ruck flex approach is you’re really boxing yourself into a bit of a corner, although doing it with Boyd as R2 makes more sense than if you had a premium R2 as you’d definitely need an exit strategy if Boyd isn’t fieldable.
One small strategy call out though - I would put your second premium ruck at R2 and make Boyd your flex. If all goes well it doesn’t really change anything, but St Kilda play the day after the dogs and north so if Boyd is a late out or the sub, you can pivot to a different rookie if he’s the flex.

 

[Darkie]

Terrific work @Chumpion, thanks very much for your write-up! It should help a lot of coaches as they navigate the flex for the first time, or try to optimize its use as the season progresses!

 

[Philzsay]

Strategy I'm leaning to atm:

● Create my best squad as per normal.
● Select my 22 as per normal.
● Move one of my premium mids to the flex position. Key criteria is no injury concerns, or history of late outs, someone reliable to get 100 odd each week.
● Allows the squad to have an extra rookie mid. Usually there ends up being more rookie options in the mids.
● This allows an extra rookie mid on field, who generally as the 4th to 6th best mid rookie scores better than the 3rd to 5th best def or fwd rookies. Plus allows looping of rookie mids one effectively one rung lower on the quality scale.