IMO, if he plays more in the midfield, I don't see there being enough upside for him to be a top 8 defender at this stage. He's still much more uncontested than contested, already averaged 26 disposals per game last season (including kick ins), take that up to 30 and even with an increasing contested possession rate from 25% to lets say 30%, how much of a point increase is that (considering you're also removing free points from kick ins)?
2023: SC Planning Thread
- Thread starter Gruffles
- Start date
So I've decided to look through my starting side from 2022, to see where I went wrong (a lot). Finishing outside the top 10k overall can probably be attributed to an atrociously unbalanced starting squad the Wednesday Night season opener.
Let's go through line by line and see who passed and failed.
Dawson - Pass.
My best pick of the season; Dawson started steady but powered home through the back half of the year. One of the few shining lights in defence.
Ridley and Whitfield - Fail.
Both absolutely atrocious, both I held for far too long, and both blocked out Hewett. Awful selections.
Short - Fail
Started strong but fell off a cliff.
Hinge, McCartin, Gibcus, De Koning - Pass
Hinge the most borderline, making just under $100k and missing some games before he was traded; if there were better rookies in defence he would have failed, but the cupboard was bare, so he just did enough.
So 5 passes and 3 fails, but 4 of those passes were rookies where they basically just need to play and generate cash, so not a strong start in the slightest. Will the midfield improve things?
Macrae - Fail
Started really strong, including dual 150s as C in Rounds 4 and 5, but really dropped off. Lost about 13ppg avg on his 2021 season. For $700k, it can't be anything but a fail, even if he was one of the top mids anyway.
Steele - Fail
Second highest priced pick; copped an injury and had to be traded. Started a little slow, worked his way into the season, then dropped a couple of poor games followed by the injury.
Miller - Pass
Just barely scrapes into the pass category; one would have been a lot happier to pick him up sub $600k than to start him; dropped 4ppg on 2021; started the first couple of games okay, then fell into a trough due to tagging/soreness, before exploding for the latter half of the year. Was equal second most captained player, alongside Macrae in 2022 for me.
Oliver - Pass
Most captained for my side in 2022; with more than both Macrae and Miller combined. Dropped a 68 v Port in Round 4 which opened a window of opportunity for those who faded him but a 168 two rounds later left that door only a sliver open.
Neale - Pass
Nothing really needs to be said, right?
Berry - Pass
Made about $100k; scored mediocre but could have been worse. Just scrapes through with a pass.
Horne-Francis and Daicos - Pass.
JHF out early but the real regret was trading Daicos to Crisp in Round 11, for $180k. Daicos ended up making another $180k, and averaged 100.8 to Crisp's 85.33 over the latter half of the season.
Owens, MacDonald, Hough - Fail
MacDonald and Hough sort of came okay in the end, but far too late for me. Clogged up my bench, making nothing for the most crucial period for cash generation.
Okay so six passes and five fails, but the most expensive players failed, and shocking cash gen kept team value down. Up to 11 passes and 8 fails now. Onto the rucks, a major minefield
Grundy - Fail
Scored fine, got an LTI, had to be traded. Unlucky break.
Hayes - Pass
Scored fine, got an LTI, had to be traded. Was $102k.
Dixon - Pass
Covered Hayes with a 96. Legend.
Two passes and a fail in a line that gave many problems. Hayes R2 was probably my most inspired decision in 2022; I cannot imagine how bad things would have been without it. 13 passes, 9 fails before we get into the forwards.
Dunkley - Pass
Every single season Dunkley as a FWD is generally considered a must have; he did perfectly serviceably in 2022; but it's a testament to the belief he has garnered that a season pushing 120+ isn't considered outlandish an expectation for him.
Butters - Fail
Just didn't score quite enough, and got traded before he came home hot in the last few rounds.
Conigilo, Brodie, Xerri, Rachele - Pass.
Coniglio and Brodie did enough to basically finish as keepers starting as value midpricers; Xerri and Rachele made enough cash with a couple of decent on field scores.
Baldwin - Fail
Wasted spot.
Martin - Pass
Shining light; was a safe field option for the first 3rd of the season.
So 6 passes and 2 fails in the forward line. Grand total the split goes 19-11.
Of those 11, six were genuine premiums or fallen premiums, one was a breakout contender in Butters, and 4 were rookies that generated no cash, which is half the bench doing nothing.
Lessons to be learned from this?
Don't do what I did and try to squeeze in cheap rookies; the ones you pick have to play; even if it means sacrificing a $600k+ mid; it's probably worth it in the end.
That's really not too bad a side to be honest. I think there's two main lessons, one which you identified (rookies first, then premos) and another...
There were a fair few popular mid-price picks that went bang early, none of which you had (English, Cripps, Sicily, Hewett, Preuss if you had cover). I think being swift and decisive in R3 to pivot your side if it's needed is essential to not falling behind the pack.
There were a fair few popular mid-price picks that went bang early, none of which you had (English, Cripps, Sicily, Hewett, Preuss if you had cover). I think being swift and decisive in R3 to pivot your side if it's needed is essential to not falling behind the pack.
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So I've decided to look through my starting side from 2022, to see where I went wrong (a lot). Finishing outside the top 10k overall can probably be attributed to an atrociously unbalanced starting squad the Wednesday Night season opener.
Let's go through line by line and see who passed and failed.
Dawson - Pass.
My best pick of the season; Dawson started steady but powered home through the back half of the year. One of the few shining lights in defence.
Ridley and Whitfield - Fail.
Both absolutely atrocious, both I held for far too long, and both blocked out Hewett. Awful selections.
Short - Fail
Started strong but fell off a cliff.
Hinge, McCartin, Gibcus, De Koning - Pass
Hinge the most borderline, making just under $100k and missing some games before he was traded; if there were better rookies in defence he would have failed, but the cupboard was bare, so he just did enough.
So 5 passes and 3 fails, but 4 of those passes were rookies where they basically just need to play and generate cash, so not a strong start in the slightest. Will the midfield improve things?
Macrae - Fail
Started really strong, including dual 150s as C in Rounds 4 and 5, but really dropped off. Lost about 13ppg avg on his 2021 season. For $700k, it can't be anything but a fail, even if he was one of the top mids anyway.
Steele - Fail
Second highest priced pick; copped an injury and had to be traded. Started a little slow, worked his way into the season, then dropped a couple of poor games followed by the injury.
Miller - Pass
Just barely scrapes into the pass category; one would have been a lot happier to pick him up sub $600k than to start him; dropped 4ppg on 2021; started the first couple of games okay, then fell into a trough due to tagging/soreness, before exploding for the latter half of the year. Was equal second most captained player, alongside Macrae in 2022 for me.
Oliver - Pass
Most captained for my side in 2022; with more than both Macrae and Miller combined. Dropped a 68 v Port in Round 4 which opened a window of opportunity for those who faded him but a 168 two rounds later left that door only a sliver open.
Neale - Pass
Nothing really needs to be said, right?
Berry - Pass
Made about $100k; scored mediocre but could have been worse. Just scrapes through with a pass.
Horne-Francis and Daicos - Pass.
JHF out early but the real regret was trading Daicos to Crisp in Round 11, for $180k. Daicos ended up making another $180k, and averaged 100.8 to Crisp's 85.33 over the latter half of the season.
Owens, MacDonald, Hough - Fail
MacDonald and Hough sort of came okay in the end, but far too late for me. Clogged up my bench, making nothing for the most crucial period for cash generation.
Okay so six passes and five fails, but the most expensive players failed, and shocking cash gen kept team value down. Up to 11 passes and 8 fails now. Onto the rucks, a major minefield
Grundy - Fail
Scored fine, got an LTI, had to be traded. Unlucky break.
Hayes - Pass
Scored fine, got an LTI, had to be traded. Was $102k.
Dixon - Pass
Covered Hayes with a 96. Legend.
Two passes and a fail in a line that gave many problems. Hayes R2 was probably my most inspired decision in 2022; I cannot imagine how bad things would have been without it. 13 passes, 9 fails before we get into the forwards.
Dunkley - Pass
Every single season Dunkley as a FWD is generally considered a must have; he did perfectly serviceably in 2022; but it's a testament to the belief he has garnered that a season pushing 120+ isn't considered outlandish an expectation for him.
Butters - Fail
Just didn't score quite enough, and got traded before he came home hot in the last few rounds.
Conigilo, Brodie, Xerri, Rachele - Pass.
Coniglio and Brodie did enough to basically finish as keepers starting as value midpricers; Xerri and Rachele made enough cash with a couple of decent on field scores.
Baldwin - Fail
Wasted spot.
Martin - Pass
Shining light; was a safe field option for the first 3rd of the season.
So 6 passes and 2 fails in the forward line. Grand total the split goes 19-11.
Of those 11, six were genuine premiums or fallen premiums, one was a breakout contender in Butters, and 4 were rookies that generated no cash, which is half the bench doing nothing.
Lessons to be learned from this?
Don't do what I did and try to squeeze in cheap rookies; the ones you pick have to play; even if it means sacrificing a $600k+ mid; it's probably worth it in the end.
My first trades were in Round 6 with Trades Made: JHF > Preuss, CMac > S. Hayes, Berry > Hewett; so although I take it as a point of some pride that I managed to hold for that long, it's also a salient point that sometimes there isn't going to be a regression to the mean (Ridley and Whitfield going back up, Hewett coming down).
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I don't think starting Macrae (and then keeping him) is a fail at all he went massive early and by the time his form fell off he was that must have that everyone brought him in! If you did what i did and didn't start him then brought him in after round 5 because he was killing me, then he was a fail!!
I think R6 is way too late now that we have the extra trades and boosts (*it didn't used to be), unless you've absolutely nailed most of your starting picks.
I think I'd made at least four trades by R3 last season (!), bringing in Cripps, Heeney and Preuss and pushing out Crisp and a few others I can't remember.
Was ranked 14k after R1 but up to ~900 after R3 and it set up the season (from a side not too different to yours).
I think I'd made at least four trades by R3 last season (!), bringing in Cripps, Heeney and Preuss and pushing out Crisp and a few others I can't remember.
Was ranked 14k after R1 but up to ~900 after R3 and it set up the season (from a side not too different to yours).
To me, this is the most salient point.
Obviously a bit hard to navigate with the extra trades, but those who 'reset' their teams early got a leg up on those who didn't. The fella who won it did exactly that.
There was nothing wrong with the starting side, but a few early adjustments would have made a world of difference.
Obviously a bit hard to navigate with the extra trades, but those who 'reset' their teams early got a leg up on those who didn't. The fella who won it did exactly that.
There was nothing wrong with the starting side, but a few early adjustments would have made a world of difference.
So I've decided to look through my starting side from 2022, to see where I went wrong (a lot). Finishing outside the top 10k overall can probably be attributed to an atrociously unbalanced starting squad the Wednesday Night season opener.
Let's go through line by line and see who passed and failed.
Dawson - Pass.
My best pick of the season; Dawson started steady but powered home through the back half of the year. One of the few shining lights in defence.
Ridley and Whitfield - Fail.
Both absolutely atrocious, both I held for far too long, and both blocked out Hewett. Awful selections.
Short - Fail
Started strong but fell off a cliff.
Hinge, McCartin, Gibcus, De Koning - Pass
Hinge the most borderline, making just under $100k and missing some games before he was traded; if there were better rookies in defence he would have failed, but the cupboard was bare, so he just did enough.
So 5 passes and 3 fails, but 4 of those passes were rookies where they basically just need to play and generate cash, so not a strong start in the slightest. Will the midfield improve things?
Macrae - Fail
Started really strong, including dual 150s as C in Rounds 4 and 5, but really dropped off. Lost about 13ppg avg on his 2021 season. For $700k, it can't be anything but a fail, even if he was one of the top mids anyway.
Steele - Fail
Second highest priced pick; copped an injury and had to be traded. Started a little slow, worked his way into the season, then dropped a couple of poor games followed by the injury.
Miller - Pass
Just barely scrapes into the pass category; one would have been a lot happier to pick him up sub $600k than to start him; dropped 4ppg on 2021; started the first couple of games okay, then fell into a trough due to tagging/soreness, before exploding for the latter half of the year. Was equal second most captained player, alongside Macrae in 2022 for me.
Oliver - Pass
Most captained for my side in 2022; with more than both Macrae and Miller combined. Dropped a 68 v Port in Round 4 which opened a window of opportunity for those who faded him but a 168 two rounds later left that door only a sliver open.
Neale - Pass
Nothing really needs to be said, right?
Berry - Pass
Made about $100k; scored mediocre but could have been worse. Just scrapes through with a pass.
Horne-Francis and Daicos - Pass.
JHF out early but the real regret was trading Daicos to Crisp in Round 11, for $180k. Daicos ended up making another $180k, and averaged 100.8 to Crisp's 85.33 over the latter half of the season.
Owens, MacDonald, Hough - Fail
MacDonald and Hough sort of came okay in the end, but far too late for me. Clogged up my bench, making nothing for the most crucial period for cash generation.
Okay so six passes and five fails, but the most expensive players failed, and shocking cash gen kept team value down. Up to 11 passes and 8 fails now. Onto the rucks, a major minefield
Grundy - Fail
Scored fine, got an LTI, had to be traded. Unlucky break.
Hayes - Pass
Scored fine, got an LTI, had to be traded. Was $102k.
Dixon - Pass
Covered Hayes with a 96. Legend.
Two passes and a fail in a line that gave many problems. Hayes R2 was probably my most inspired decision in 2022; I cannot imagine how bad things would have been without it. 13 passes, 9 fails before we get into the forwards.
Dunkley - Pass
Every single season Dunkley as a FWD is generally considered a must have; he did perfectly serviceably in 2022; but it's a testament to the belief he has garnered that a season pushing 120+ isn't considered outlandish an expectation for him.
Butters - Fail
Just didn't score quite enough, and got traded before he came home hot in the last few rounds.
Conigilo, Brodie, Xerri, Rachele - Pass.
Coniglio and Brodie did enough to basically finish as keepers starting as value midpricers; Xerri and Rachele made enough cash with a couple of decent on field scores.
Baldwin - Fail
Wasted spot.
Martin - Pass
Shining light; was a safe field option for the first 3rd of the season.
So 6 passes and 2 fails in the forward line. Grand total the split goes 19-11.
Of those 11, six were genuine premiums or fallen premiums, one was a breakout contender in Butters, and 4 were rookies that generated no cash, which is half the bench doing nothing.
Lessons to be learned from this?
Don't do what I did and try to squeeze in cheap rookies; the ones you pick have to play; even if it means sacrificing a $600k+ mid; it's probably worth it in the end.