No worries .. might have been a touch harsh in that comment .... trying to find new stuff to read after punching away at numbers each day in my research.
Only looked at a handful of rucks out of curiosity. For instance ... looking at the numbers if the following players manage to back up last years averages against this years draw:
Grundy: Would have a pre bye ave of 132 and season ave of 130. Last year he went 125 pre byes and 137 post byes. This year pre bye he faces 3 teams that he didn't go 110+ against last year (WCE 99, STK 109 and MEL 98). Currently priced at a 130 ave. Had Cox in the team last year.
Gawn: Would have a pre bye ave of 128 and season ave of 127. Last year he went 126 pre byes and 130 post byes. This year pre bye he faces 3 teams that he didn't go 110+ against last year (GEE 139/99, SYD 82 and MEL 76). Currently priced at a 128 ave. Has Preuss in the team this year.
Westhoff: Would have a pre bye ave of 99 and season ave of 109. Last year he went 107 pre byes and 97 post byes. This year pre bye he faces 7 teams that he didn't go 100+ against last year (BRI 82, RIC 92, WCE 85/86, ADE 116/73, GCS 89 and HAW 75). Currently priced at a 101 ave. Spent more time around the ball last year due to ruck duties. Also had the early bye last year.
Goldy: Would have a pre bye ave of 99 and season ave of 112. Last year he went 93 pre byes and 110 post byes. This year pre bye he faces 6 teams that he didn't go 100+ against last year (BRI 123/61, HAW 77, PTA 88, COL 76, SYD 76/123 and RIC 69). Currently priced at a 101 ave. Had a very slow start last year.
Nank: Would have a pre bye ave of 99 and season ave of 96. Last year he went 93 pre byes and 106 post byes. This year pre bye he faces 8 teams that he didn't go 100+ against last year (CAR 95, COL 128/82, GWS 95, PTA 54, MEL 71, FRE 81, ESS 98/97 and GEE 90/96). Currently priced at a 98 ave. Missed a game post bye last year.
Witts: Would have a pre bye ave of 90 and season ave of 88. Last year he went 97 pre byes and 83 post byes. This year pre bye he faces 9 teams that he didn't go 100+ against last year (STK 54 x 2, FRE 63, CAR 105/81, ADE 53, BRI 117/84, WCE 92, MEL 65/92 and GEE 82/67). Currently priced at a 89 ave. Had the early bye last year.
Now I understand that this is a very small sample size and doesn't take into account weather, injuries, match ups etc ..... and the new rules coming in this year. Also haven't watched a single match yet this year ... just trying to narrow down the pool of players to put the jigsaw puzzle together from what I've been reading and some of last years numbers, role changes etc.