Discussion 2023: Rate My Team

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Teams just don’t play older players out of position in match sim to accomodate younger players, you have two sides and everyone gets a go. And you don’t train older guys in the forward line whilst planning to play them midfield. They’re 100% planning on using him up forward.
They do it all the time, to the extent of not even playing them at all to give the kids chances.

I have no doubts he'll play forward, I expect he'll play primarily forward but they're far better suited developing their future midfielders and Fyfe as a forward than doing neither.

I don't think him playing forward ends him though, 25-40% midfield and the rest forward and he can push 95 if he's fit. I expect he'll play more HF anyway than anything else and be fine, essentially going back to his first two seasons role.

Being fit is my far bigger concern with him than scoring, 85 isn't a lot for a player like him.

He's far from a lock but I think we're underrating how good he is, he's shown great forward craft in his career at times (goal kicking is a huge issue though) and I think players like Fyfe we underrate how good they've been when playing forward because of how absurdly high the level is when they play midfield and that we've always picked him as a midfield so being a 105 guy isn't good enough. He's elite at forward stoppages, he's a very strong mark, he's a great leading target and he's a matchup nightmare for teams, if he could kick straight he'd be even better. He's not Dusty, Toby Greene or Heeney but he's good enough to score in the 90s.

I'll be honest though, I'm almost hoping for a niggle in the preseason so I can rule him out because he scares me :LOL:
 

Bomber18

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Im alot more inclined to pick the younger players that have a role thats easier to score points, if Thomas can average 85 as a forward/mid hes not going to have any trouble doing it at half back, even Milera could work as hes gone at 90 before playing in defence, only needs the body to hold up for 6 weeks.

Flanders and Windhager are a little more sceptical but both have massive numbers as inside midfielders in the level below and are only going to get better at their age, dont think they need to set the world on fire to get to 80 if mid time is there which I expect it will be, nobody thought Will Brodie was a good pick initially if opportunity is there players can take it.

I just dont think you can play the role Fyfe is going to play and average 90 which you are going to need when the blokes 330K, think hell be lucky to get to 80 in all honesty.

Plenty of older players have scored well but they havent had Fyfes injury history or played predominantly out of the goal square because of it.

Freo are good enough that he can sit deep in the forward line for 80% of games and only have to burst in for 5 minutes a quarter.

I'm not as quick to completely disregard last year either, he played that role because he didn't have the fitness capacity to play anywhere else and still broke down again, if he can pinch a flag in a bit part role where he has the best chance of his body holding up why wouldn't he do that, no point throwing him to the wolves in Round 5 only to miss a whole finals campaign again.

This is an open forum would be very boring if we all saw the game the same way, all the best however you choose to structure up.
To be fair, Heeney is a much better forward than Fyfe has shown and a MUCH better kick which helps maximise the value of touches.

That said, Fyfe's clearance work matched against defenders will be a huge mismatch so if they can get a lot of F50 stoppages, with an elite ruck and an elite 2nd ruck then he could score very well on the back of that.

Durability remains my main concern. For comparison a broken Danger and Dusty both hit the ~85 range last year playing limited roles, those are his peers as a player.

I don't buy into the training, they're both reducing injury risk and maximising development by training him as a forward, there's just no need to be risking him and stunting the development of the kids giving him reps this early on. If he doesn't go through at all over the preseason, then I'll be concerned!
Heeney played pretty high and was an absolute work horse to get involved in the play, doesnt hurt that hes actually a good forward aswell, dont see Fyfe as either of those things.

He might have the odd spike game where he kicks a bag with an easy draw but I still see his floor as 40.
I agree that Heeney is a better kick and is better in the forward role (you’d be surprised if he wasn’t given he’s played most of his career there).

Just wanted to highlight it is possible to average 90+ in a forward role of that nature.

T Greene is another who has done it.

I think someone of Fyfe’s calibre can do it and at $313k, it doesn’t seem like a pick with much downside.
 
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Danger and Dusty didnt have a game below 27% CBAs to get their numbers last year and I think both are miles better forwards than anything Fyfe has ever shown, is Fyfe going to spend at least a third of the game in the guts with the midfield they have? I'd argue he needs an even better split to get to the same mark due to the lack of forward craft which you just aren't getting the hang of from one pre season.
A 31 year old Bull midfielder learning FWD Craft.????

There comes a time every GREAT player must face.
 
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A 31 year old Bull midfielder learning FWD Craft.????

There comes a time every GREAT player must face.
How frequently hes actually their target inside 50 is another thing that concerns me, there will be 3 of Darcy,Jackson,Taberner,Amiss and Corbett in there at all times, where's the scoring avenue if hes lost deep during games, he doesnt tackle to save his life so theres no points there.
 
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Love the Fyfe chat. Kudos to everyone throwing in their opinions and some well justified arguments to sit behind them!

For me I think he’s a fade, primarily because there are potential role AND potential injury risks. I don’t mind an educated punt on one of those, but both just means there are too many avenues for it to backfire. That said, I could easily be swayed if his ownership gets high enough as that does reduce a lot of the risks.
The other thing that could sway me is the rest of my team structure and whether I’m carrying other high risk players. I think the extra trades and boosts have meant taking these sort of punts are ok (and potentially encouraged) but I want to make sure there aren’t too many. I can justify Fyfe to a rookie I missed at round 3 if he didn’t work out, but ideally wouldn’t want to be needing 2-3 of those corrective trades.

He’s an absolute star though so no matter whether he’s picked or not, I hope to see him get a solid crack at it this year cause he’s a joy to watch when he’s fit and firing!
 
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They do it all the time, to the extent of not even playing them at all to give the kids chances.

I have no doubts he'll play forward, I expect he'll play primarily forward but they're far better suited developing their future midfielders and Fyfe as a forward than doing neither.

I don't think him playing forward ends him though, 25-40% midfield and the rest forward and he can push 95 if he's fit. I expect he'll play more HF anyway than anything else and be fine, essentially going back to his first two seasons role.

Being fit is my far bigger concern with him than scoring, 85 isn't a lot for a player like him.

He's far from a lock but I think we're underrating how good he is, he's shown great forward craft in his career at times (goal kicking is a huge issue though) and I think players like Fyfe we underrate how good they've been when playing forward because of how absurdly high the level is when they play midfield and that we've always picked him as a midfield so being a 105 guy isn't good enough. He's elite at forward stoppages, he's a very strong mark, he's a great leading target and he's a matchup nightmare for teams, if he could kick straight he'd be even better. He's not Dusty, Toby Greene or Heeney but he's good enough to score in the 90s.

I'll be honest though, I'm almost hoping for a niggle in the preseason so I can rule him out because he scares me :LOL:
That’s fair enough if you’re saying only 25-40 % mid time, that’s in the realm of possibility but I think it will be closer to 25%. With that little mid time I can’t see him averaging over 90 and the chance of failure like last year remains as high due to injury, as you’ve said.

I don’t see Fyfe playing HFF but deep forward instead based on team needs and structure. I think with his level of decline last year at his age and a move forward flagged I’m currently thinking he’s just not an option.I think he can be serviceable up forward but pinching hitting in the mids and playing KPF is not that conducive to point scoring, if healthy I only see low 80’s

Of the MP’s this year I only like Yeo and Hopper atm though so I could be being overly picky, time will tell.
 
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The two-time Brownlow medallist has now had six shoulder operations, including four on his right shoulder, and multiple reconstructions. The latarjet procedure sees surgeons take a bone graft from the shoulder blade and attach it to the injured joint to restore bone architecture and integrity.

And throw in some doggy hammies.......
Gentlemen, we rebuilt him

We had the technology
 
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I like the Structure. I have something similar until pre season, except the names have changed. It gets most of the rookies off field. No need to stress each week waiting for team lists to drop. There are always a few surprises that leap out in DEF early in the year with a role change so even more reason to start light. I see Titch and Green scoring more than the 600K Defenders.

Bowes is a nice price, if he gets selwood role or the wing ill bring him in also. Willl be interestiing what role he ends up with. Cats are stacked, have great depth, so breaking into the side will be difficult.

I have gone Grundy over Witts as it allows Thomas at F5 and McLean at F6

I have gone Titch over Kelly as it saves a few $$ and helps get the rookies off the FWD line. I am also starting Green. My Break out selection for the year.

Good Luck
Thanks,

Titch is a handy choice as he's also playing in rnd 15, my most difficult bye. I got torched over the byes last year and I'm going to keep a close eye on those even with my starting team, currently have 18 of my best 22 available for rounds 12-13 & 14 with 12 available for 15, fortunately most of my mid upgrade targets like Oliver, Steele, Neale, Mills, Merret & Brayshaw are all playing rnd 15. It's also a reason for me starting Witts.

If I start Thomas in the Fwds then that'll leave me 5 short on that line, granted it's early days (very early) but with Cogs, Rozee, Taranto and McLean already missing there's not much scope there for adjustments, hopefully DPP additions help. McLean and Thomas would be stepping stones so that at least would mitigate the rnd 15 exposure. I'm very tempted to start Butters in the mids too but that (combined with the bye) would nearly fill my Fwd line and reduces options later.

My take on the Selwood factor is that Bowes and Holmes (another I'm watching closely) will cover for him, Holmes in particular because of his contested nature, with Bowes working the wing whilst Holmes attends stoppages. Definitely a wait n see on both though.

Good luck to you too.
 
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This is where I am currently sitting. Have purposely filled the bench with $124k players as is easier to downgrade and only have one $124k rookie on field for a similar reason.

Defenders - Ideal world I find the money from somewhere to run with a $600k defender at D1 but am liking the mids and forwards to much at this stage to cull one in favour of a defender. Think Daicos is very likely to improve on his overall average from last year. Main concern here being a tag but has an easy release into the midfield to help work through that. Liking the value in Yeo and Bowes on paper with the latter a wait and see as to how he fits into the Geelong 23 if at all. Rookies all pretty vanilla.

Midfielders - Laird, Oliver and Miller my VC/C options and all speak for themselves. Thinking they will fight it out for M1 this season and all have upside in them. Bont seems like a great option with Dunkley leaving and Lobb's arrival bolstering the forward line. Petracca just has a massive season in him and thinking this may be the one. Macrae and Steele both in line for that M5 spot. Rookies fairly vanilla here as well.

Rucks - Easy to be bold at this stage of the pre-season and the NicNat selection is exactly that. Really like the upside at the price with enough question marks on others. Grundy a similar prospect with plenty of upside. Witts, English and Marshall the only others at this stage I'm considering. Gone with Edwards to swing with Ratugolea in the forwards.

Forwards - Love all 4 of the premium picks and hope rookies allow this to happen. Have considered even picking one in the mids if the rookies dictate that as they all seem slam dunk options for top six. Ratugolea there as a place holder as don't think he will break into the Cats 23 to start and if the position change happens with Bruce like him as an option.

1675218135059.png
 
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This is where I am currently sitting. Have purposely filled the bench with $124k players as is easier to downgrade and only have one $124k rookie on field for a similar reason.

Defenders - Ideal world I find the money from somewhere to run with a $600k defender at D1 but am liking the mids and forwards to much at this stage to cull one in favour of a defender. Think Daicos is very likely to improve on his overall average from last year. Main concern here being a tag but has an easy release into the midfield to help work through that. Liking the value in Yeo and Bowes on paper with the latter a wait and see as to how he fits into the Geelong 23 if at all. Rookies all pretty vanilla.

Midfielders - Laird, Oliver and Miller my VC/C options and all speak for themselves. Thinking they will fight it out for M1 this season and all have upside in them. Bont seems like a great option with Dunkley leaving and Lobb's arrival bolstering the forward line. Petracca just has a massive season in him and thinking this may be the one. Macrae and Steele both in line for that M5 spot. Rookies fairly vanilla here as well.

Rucks - Easy to be bold at this stage of the pre-season and the NicNat selection is exactly that. Really like the upside at the price with enough question marks on others. Grundy a similar prospect with plenty of upside. Witts, English and Marshall the only others at this stage I'm considering. Gone with Edwards to swing with Ratugolea in the forwards.

Forwards - Love all 4 of the premium picks and hope rookies allow this to happen. Have considered even picking one in the mids if the rookies dictate that as they all seem slam dunk options for top six. Ratugolea there as a place holder as don't think he will break into the Cats 23 to start and if the position change happens with Bruce like him as an option.

View attachment 52302
Just on your Edwards selection - reading what most North supporters think of him based on preseason, he is miles off the pace for AFL so if you are looking at a ruck/fwd I think you should look at Madden from GWS who is 102K Ruck/fwd - that 21K saved could be invalauble.

Personally I would look at Oscar Allen at 210K (great JS/ looks in great shape) in your fwd like over Rat & move McLean into your fwd line over Bruce, pick another mid rookie in his place.
 
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This is where I am currently sitting. Have purposely filled the bench with $124k players as is easier to downgrade and only have one $124k rookie on field for a similar reason.

Defenders - Ideal world I find the money from somewhere to run with a $600k defender at D1 but am liking the mids and forwards to much at this stage to cull one in favour of a defender. Think Daicos is very likely to improve on his overall average from last year. Main concern here being a tag but has an easy release into the midfield to help work through that. Liking the value in Yeo and Bowes on paper with the latter a wait and see as to how he fits into the Geelong 23 if at all. Rookies all pretty vanilla.

Midfielders - Laird, Oliver and Miller my VC/C options and all speak for themselves. Thinking they will fight it out for M1 this season and all have upside in them. Bont seems like a great option with Dunkley leaving and Lobb's arrival bolstering the forward line. Petracca just has a massive season in him and thinking this may be the one. Macrae and Steele both in line for that M5 spot. Rookies fairly vanilla here as well.

Rucks - Easy to be bold at this stage of the pre-season and the NicNat selection is exactly that. Really like the upside at the price with enough question marks on others. Grundy a similar prospect with plenty of upside. Witts, English and Marshall the only others at this stage I'm considering. Gone with Edwards to swing with Ratugolea in the forwards.

Forwards - Love all 4 of the premium picks and hope rookies allow this to happen. Have considered even picking one in the mids if the rookies dictate that as they all seem slam dunk options for top six. Ratugolea there as a place holder as don't think he will break into the Cats 23 to start and if the position change happens with Bruce like him as an option.

View attachment 52302
Very similar backline to mine, I have Goater instead of Wilmot on the field, not a huge fan of the Petracca pick mainly because of his influence playing forward, could be interesting though if he gets DPP, Rucks are a conundrum for me, like most. Exactly the same top 4 Fwds.
 
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I'd personally be very surprised if Fyfe wasn't used as a midfielder.

I dont think he's going to average 115 again, albeit he'd be a couple of injuries from having to take that role, but no reason he can't push 95-100 quite easily if he can stay fit.

This is a guy who averaged 73 as a skinny kid playing as a forward and then jumped to 108 in his second season still playing about 50/50. He only needs 85 so the cut-off is pretty damn low. For comparison a gimpy and completely broken Dusty got that playing as a pure forward in what was an ordinary side last year.

Will be watching closely in the preseason, to me there's very little reason for Fyfe to train with the mids, he already knows the position and his forward craft needs a lot of work.

Definitely not a lock yet but there's plenty of cheaper alternatives and I like to placehold the expensive option in the group as far easier to go cheaper but gets hard to move up.

Fyfe is one of the prime guys who could wreck your season. He's going to be in a majority of teams if he's fit come round one, not taking him is going to be the risky choice and it could be the right one but it's still high risk and relatively low reward, your best case is you're right and you gain a trade and some points over other sides come round 3 and that a few ride him right to the bottom and ruin their seasons. Your worst case is you're one of the few having to trade him in or you have your entire season ruined by doubling down (see wogitalia, 2022 with Sicily, James...).
This is exactly right, same can be said for a lot of these mid pricer types but especially the higher owned ones.

Games changed with all the extra trades, burning trades on failed mid-pricers is no longer as damaging as it used to be.

There is always good mid pricers to jump on, and still the option of turning 2 mid pricers into a premo and a rookie if all else fails.
 
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Thanks,

Titch is a handy choice as he's also playing in rnd 15, my most difficult bye. I got torched over the byes last year and I'm going to keep a close eye on those even with my starting team, currently have 18 of my best 22 available for rounds 12-13 & 14 with 12 available for 15, fortunately most of my mid upgrade targets like Oliver, Steele, Neale, Mills, Merret & Brayshaw are all playing rnd 15. It's also a reason for me starting Witts.

If I start Thomas in the Fwds then that'll leave me 5 short on that line, granted it's early days (very early) but with Cogs, Rozee, Taranto and McLean already missing there's not much scope there for adjustments, hopefully DPP additions help. McLean and Thomas would be stepping stones so that at least would mitigate the rnd 15 exposure. I'm very tempted to start Butters in the mids too but that (combined with the bye) would nearly fill my Fwd line and reduces options later.

My take on the Selwood factor is that Bowes and Holmes (another I'm watching closely) will cover for him, Holmes in particular because of his contested nature, with Bowes working the wing whilst Holmes attends stoppages. Definitely a wait n see on both though.

Good luck to you too.
I'm expecting Bruhn to replace Selwood, hes really next to useless as a forward and they just gave up a first rounder to bring him to the club.

Holmes is just as important on the outside with his transition running both ways and Bowes has been training all over the ground.
 
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