Aren't you worried about Chappy getting on a bit? Hurn's an interesting one as well. ANy reasoning behind them or gut feel?
Krk004 also asked about Chappy in the now closed forward thread so thought I would answer here.
So far all reports (including most importantly from fans who go to training as opposed to the fluff pieces) have been positive. Noone has mentioned an injury yet.
As a side note his girlfriend had a baby son today! So now the Bombers just have to squeeze 100 games out of Chappy
Some interesting picks there - Hurn who i dont mind if fit and rebounding off HB, Lobbe, Pav and Chapman. Interested to hear your thoughts re those players.
For me Chapman to risky, inj/resting/maybe even sub. Havent seen much of Lobbe play so cant comment there
Well, at least i'm not the only one undecided about which defenders this year...
Hi Rowsus.
In another thread you seemed a bit put off by Beams but are now saying he is a solid gold lock? Did I misread your earlier opinion?
I thought my list of 15 might raise some questions. There is one question I was expecting that is missing, is "You don't have Jack Martin as a Lock?".
I'll tackle the queries one player at a time.
Chapman. Yes, he's getting old(er), but he's just had a year "off" to freshen up. I've heard some reports that he feels his injury wasn't as bad as the Club thought it was, and he could/should have played more games. He's back playing under his "favourite" Coach, who rates him highly. I love the prospects of a player that has a good history, and is motivated to prove his old Club wrong. His game counts in the previous 3 seasons are all 20+. To become a keeper I need him to PIT70 around 95/game, his last 4 seasons averages have been: 96, 100, 101, 116. He's priced at about 87, so given his scoring history, low price, reuniting with his favourite Coach, and the "revenge" factor, he's a lock for me. The fact that he's "training the house down", and "never been fitter" is just gravy, and proof of his improved motivation.
Hurn. Long kickers of the ball have a built in "safety" factor. All kicks over 50 metres are deemed effective. Hurn is one of the better long kicks in the game. WC have a good early draw. I'm not one to get sucked into the "he's pencilled in for mor Mid time this season" type logic. Most of it is unsubstantiated, and I actually don't think Clubs think along those lines anyway! He's shown he can average in the 90's and he can sneek forward and kick a goal from outside 50.
Lobbe. I saw a few games last year, when Lobbe was in his hot streak, where he was just punishing some admittedly poor opposition Rucks. He looked really impressive, and being a young Ruck, ready to take the next step in 2014. I don't see a downside to him. I think he should at least maintain his price, remembering you need to average around 10% higher than last season to do that. If need be, I will upgrade him after the byes.
Pavlich. Super player, coming off a injury interupted 2012 preseason, and season. Discounted enough to say there is little risk in taking him. Motivated by a poor season and a GF loss, I can't see him losing Cash, and if I can fill 2 keeper spots with him and Chappy, I'm off to a flyer at their prices. It's hard to see either losing cash, if they come up short, and need upgrading.
Defenders. There is always something that sends alarm bells off in my head. If everybody is pushing up for the same horse in a big race, or the same players in SC, just stop! Unless it's Black Caviar, or Ablett, ask yourself "when people are in this "unified frenzy" for none elite champions, how often are they right?". My answer is, they get it right sometimes, but quite often there is a lot of disappointment. When the positional changes were announced, and we saw Bartel, McVeigh, Mitchell, and to a lesser extent Hodge, Kennedy and Walker all available as Defenders, the word "Lock" started getting thrown around more than a frisbee at a church picnic! Could they be the top 6 Defenders in 2014? Yes, they could. Is it more likely that at least 2 or 3 of them will fail to live up to expectations, and score at such a lower rate than last year, it causes their Coaches angst? Yes it is. Which of the 6 will fail? I don't know, but when you are talking about high priced Defenders, if you are not confident, you are better just to leave them out. I currently only have one of those 6 in my team.
Beams. I was expecting a Beams question. What I was trying to do was 2 things. Add some balance to the argument, where some people were saying things as far fetched as "he's a lock to bounce back to 120+", and a lot of others were just assuming he'd be a 115+ player. He's not a Pendlebury, Swan or Ablett yet. He doesn't have a history of maintaining a 110+ average, except for one 14 game streak in 2012. Having said all that, given his super low price, and his potential, I think it is best to start with him. Given his injury history, at the first sign of trouble, and it will come, I will be dumping him. Why take a player, you are fairly sure you will dump? Risk versus reward. At his price there is low risk, and great potential for reward. I don't think he will be a 115+ player this season, but I'm willing to start with him, and see where he goes.