Position 2023: Midfield Discussion

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I need someone to help me with Laird.

Highest priced player, over 700k. Previous best season was 116. Yes, I know he has only moved to midfield within last 2 years.

Crouch and Sloane playing more. Is a tag coming now?

I just need some help on the love for a guy that's 700k and has done it once.
Devils advocate
2022, Laird with Crouch in the team - only 2 of 9 of Lairds scores were above his season average of 127.
It seems Crouch may impact his scoring.
 
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That is concerning. But how did he get to his 127 average.
2022 - Laird with Crouch 114.8/without 124.9
This only gives laird an av of 120 and he was 127 must be a discrepancy in your figures there with a 50-50 split I know he didn’t play that many though

Edit: 9 games played together laird missed rd 1&2 started with a 90 then 17 strait 100+ and 14 of his 20 games were a captainable score
 
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This only gives laird an av of 120 and he was 127 must be a discrepancy in your figures there with a 50-50 split I know he didn’t play that many though

Edit: 9 games played together laird missed rd 1&2 started with a 90 then 17 strait 100+ and 14 of his 20 games were a captainable score
Fantasy points, rather than SC points. Correct, 9 games played together.
 
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i couldn't help myself... laird with Crouch SC
93,143,120,123,116,123,142,125,144 ave 125.44

without crouch SC
105,118,136,156,130,154,140,144,145,97,133 ave 132.55
I have him at 120.8 with Crouch in 2022. Still very respectable, and he's in my team RN, but im not starting him if Crouch is named round 1.
 
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now the question is the 13 ppg difference due to crouch, or lairds lack of preseason and slow start, or just laird going nuclear on a weak draw the last half of the year?
answers on a envelope.
 
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Watch the Melbourne/Tigers game.

I thought I saw a much different approach the there style compared to last year.

Oliver playing off half back I don't like at all for SC.

Much faster on the spread from stoppages and lots of different rotations through the middle and stoppages
They looked great BUT I have Oliver at M2 and I'm thinking he drops to 110 average.. 💬 Ng now he could be a wait and see until Salem is back. Then reassess.

Any thoughts from the Melbourne Supporters ?
 

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Watch the Melbourne/Tigers game.

I thought I saw a much different approach the there style compared to last year.

Oliver playing off half back I don't like at all for SC.

Much faster on the spread from stoppages and lots of different rotations through the middle and stoppages
They looked great BUT I have Oliver at M2 and I'm thinking he drops to 110 average.. 💬 Ng now he could be a wait and see until Salem is back. Then reassess.

Any thoughts from the Melbourne Supporters ?
My thoughts are don’t get too wrapped up in what bonafide SC royalty do in pre-season matches.
 
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Watch the Melbourne/Tigers game.

I thought I saw a much different approach the there style compared to last year.

Oliver playing off half back I don't like at all for SC.

Much faster on the spread from stoppages and lots of different rotations through the middle and stoppages
They looked great BUT I have Oliver at M2 and I'm thinking he drops to 110 average.. 💬 Ng now he could be a wait and see until Salem is back. Then reassess.

Any thoughts from the Melbourne Supporters ?
My thoughts are don’t get too wrapped up in what bonafide SC royalty do in pre-season matches.
It's a tough one because if you're anything like me you're always searching for a few extra dollars towards somewhere else and all of a sudden these Jedi mind tricks start.
 
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I need someone to help me with Laird.

Highest priced player, over 700k. Previous best season was 116. Yes, I know he has only moved to midfield within last 2 years.

Crouch and Sloane playing more. Is a tag coming now?

I just need some help on the love for a guy that's 700k and has done it once.
I share your concerns on him and haven’t seen this mentioned much lately, maybe early in preseason I did. I know he’s relatively new to the role but a spike year at his age is a bit of a red flag to me. He has been saved from years of the grind in the midfield like other mids who tend to decline the season they turn 29-30 but there’s still a lack of evidence for his immense scoring power compared to Oliver or what we had with Macrae previous to last year.

The stats with and without Matt Crouch only further support that idea that he could regress.

I still expect him to have a great year but think he lands somewhere between the 129 and 116, 122 if I had to guess :LOL:

I don’t think a player has ever had his kind of spike season at his age (that I know of) so I’m expecting some regression. Also had an easy fixture and next to zero tags (does handle them well), those two things change a bit I reckon
 

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I don’t think a player has ever had his kind of spike season at his age (that I know of) so I’m expecting some regression. Also had an easy fixture and next to zero tags (does handle them well), those two things change a bit I reckon
Laird age 27 SC 116, age 28 128 = +12 or + 10% spike.
Ziebell age 22 SC 95, age 25 SC 95, age 28 SC 91, age 30 SC 108 = +13 on previous best or +14%
Burgoyne P age 27 SC 89, age 29 SC 110 = +21 or +23%
D Cox had a 10 point spike at 29, H Shaw a 12 spike at 29,
 
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Laird age 27 SC 116, age 28 128 = +12 or + 10% spike.
Ziebell age 22 SC 95, age 25 SC 95, age 28 SC 91, age 30 SC 108 = +13 on previous best or +14%
Burgoyne P age 27 SC 89, age 29 SC 110 = +21 or +23%
D Cox had a 10 point spike at 29, H Shaw a 12 spike at 29,
Cheers Rowsus, appreciate those stats. All those players seemed to have regressed to some extent the following year, which fits in with with what I think might happen with Laird (although I think the late move to the midfield is contetually significant).

I should have been more specific though, I was thinking of someone who had a spike year that is a huge 120+ type season at his age or older, Cox's season does fit that mould.

Do you have similar thoughts on him or are you considering starting? I've got Clarry but not Laird.
 

Rowsus

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Cheers Rowsus, appreciate those stats. All those players seemed to have regressed to some extent the following year, which fits in with with what I think might happen with Laird (although I think the late move to the midfield is contetually significant).

I should have been more specific though, I was thinking of someone who had a spike year that is a huge 120+ type season at his age or older, Cox's season does fit that mould.

Do you have similar thoughts on him or are you considering starting? I've got Clarry but not Laird.
I have Laird, and I recently ditched Clarry.
I try to follow a set format for picking my team.
The first step is: Choose your 2 or 3 C/VC options, and don't look at the dollars.
I'm struggling to find a safer option than Laird, given his consistency since his Midfield move.
If there were no C/VC's to be had, or there were 3 or 4 consistent types I was tossing up, I'd probably go without Laird.
 
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