- Joined
- 18 Sep 2014
- Messages
- 848
- Likes
- 493
- AFL Club
- Fremantle
I think that comes with a caveat this year, in that there's a shortage of reliable DEF premiums. In previous years, when we've had the likes of the bankable Goddard, Deledio, Hodge, Malceski, Mitchell, Gibbs etc, there's been no need to divert from the Guns and Rookies strategy. This year, with many of the Def premiums losing their defender status, and the top echelon of the remaining defenders likely to drop in price due to age/position/team factors, the mid-priced rookie, particularly in the 325-400k range has become more prevalent. So while historically those awkwardly priced players have little utility, I think this year more than any other, they are crucial selections.
The lesson that "the percentage of players in the $325-$375k range that go on to be keepers is very low. Well under 10%, and probably closer to 1%" is that this is a historically unreliable area to select players from. This is regardless of the upper crop available, as the amount of premium reliable defensive options does not correlate to the amount of breakout players in the $325-$375k range.
While I agree that it makes the mid priced option seem more valid than in any other year, there is still 10 defenders that will be the best 10 for 2015, and it is unlikely that anymore than 1 of the 45 players in this price range will be up there. I would suggest like every other year that there will be 2-3 defensive rookie options that will average +70 (like Langdon, Langford and McDonald) and these guys should score as well as or better than most of the 45 in the 325-$375k range.
Take the most likely options from the top, maybe a breakout player from that range if you dare, an injured warrior that is at a discounted price, and some rookies because they will score well enough and generate more cash than the non-premium, non-cash cow, non keepers.