Hi Row, hope you're keeping well and the team is coming along nicely.
Thought I'd pop in and fire off my last question for you this pre season. It's a bit of an XvY for my final forward spot.
Buddy Vs Petracca. I realise they are at vastly different price points but for the sake of the excercise, Id like to discount that fact.
Buddy is a name I've not seen in very many teams going around and I started to ask myself why that is. Granted he is a bit older than most at 31 but if his pre season games are to go by he doesn't seem to have lost anything over the summer that would indicate a significant reduction in output. Gone close to 100 for the first 10 the last 2 years and seems to have gained some durability in his old age. Suspension and Injury do play a part in considering him though feel the days of Buddy shirtfronts might be behind us.
I seem to remember you taking a firm "Start or forget" stance on him in the past and was just wondering what your take is on him for the 2018 season. Like many others I have Sydney pegged as a top 4 side and if the season plays out that way you'd have to believe Buddy plays more than a bit part in that outcome. For me selecting him is an excercise based around established history and likely output.
Petracca looks to be at the other end of the spectrum for all intents and purposes. A selection based on prediction and perceived potential. I think you'd struggle to find anyone that has watched him closely and thinks he's found his limit already. I'm a huge fan of his and I think he'll be a very very good player in the future. What I do struggle with is where his extra points come from this season. He averaged 80% ToG in 2017 and while I think there will be a marginal increase this season I don't believe he has the tank to push that into the mid to high 80s that we are looking for just yet and as a result I struggle to see a real increase in ppg from extra ToG.
The next port of call is increased midfield minutes and by extension an increase in disposals. Melbourne are already a very strong clearance and contested ball side and he has some fierce competition for an inside mid role with Viney, Jones and Oliver the likely "first choice" midfield. None of those 3 have shown themselves to be proficient forwards which leads me to the conclusion that they will still spend 80% of their time on the field in the midfield, again making me wonder who's minutes Petracca will displace.
All in all I think he will improve this season, but I'm finding it very hard to see a 12+ppg increase to get him to an acceptable season long F6.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on the 2 and your expected returns for each for this season. Thanks for all the hard work you put into this thread mate, I realise it must be a very time consuming process.
Cheers.
Hi BigRuss,
I'm well, and I hope you are too. My team is looking "interesting". Given the path I chose to start this season, and picking my team, it nearly picked itself, outside of 1 or 2 picks.
I think your summary of each player is pretty spot on.
Buddy is pushing more up the ground than he did 3 or 4 (or more) years ago. This can be seen in his last 2 seasons Inside 50's being at career high levels (4.4 & 5.2, career average at the end of 2015 was 2.9!), which I believe has had a slight flow on effect in less Frees Against, which used to come a lot from "wrestling" for position in marking contests. His Frees Against count the last 3 seasons are his career 2nd, 3rd and 4th lowest, with his debut season in 2005 being his lowest. What this means to me is, his scoring has become a bit more consistent. He is less likely to have those freak 200+ SC games, but also less likely to have those sub 50 scores, as he's up the ground, and in the action more.
Petracca is a bull, and a gun, no doubt about that. I share your scepticism on his ability to boost his SC so dramatically this season though. Melbourne could have as many as 11 players looking for a decent slice of the Midfield pie in the team, all at the same time. That slices the pie pretty thin for some of them, and I agree with you, some of the others aren't as good in the Forward line as Petracca. I'd love to take a risk on picking Petracca, ANB or Harmes, but it's a real risk they get mired in that low 90's area, so I won't be taking any of them.
If Buddy keeps his cool, and stays fit, I can't see him not finishing in the top 6-8 Forwards for the season, and probably at least top 4. Petracca needs to stretch to get to that area, imo. Of course, the difference in price becomes a factor, too.
My ranges for them are:
Franklin 20-21/93-103
Petracca 20-22/86-96