Rd 7 Trades

[SunderlandFan]

I'm thinking Beams Sidebottom/Coughlin to cover G Ablett

If it sounds like he could miss 4 rather than 2 weeks I could be tempted to do G Ablett Swan/Gibbs instead

[M-boy]

I might trade Scotty Lucas as he's been dropped after an underwhelming six games. Could be time to upgrade with a few of those forwards coming down in price. Gia and Franklin would be top of my list, but I haven't really looked into it yet. I'd rather downgrade to a cash cow at this stage - or at least get another cash cow in on the bench to replace Gumby and the hole in my forward line - but there's not many around as far as I've seen.

[SunderlandFan]

Buddy is at a great price, but he's just not been performing so far.

[Zuluwarrior]

Scotty Lucas has been dropped

Coach has said he'll play in the reserves this weekend.

[mjs8274]

here's my midfield dilemma, 4 out injured

Ablett
Deledio
Haselby
Travis Boak
D Rich
Hartlett (just brought in last week for Dazzell)
Beams
Anthony

i have about $250k in bank on the plus side! Am thinking of changing Hartlett and Beams for Dane Swan and a rookie/cheapy and wait for Ablett to return. Other option is Chad Cornes who i still don't have in my team yet Thoughts?

[M-boy]

Scotty Lucas has been dropped

Coach has said he'll play in the reserves this weekend.

It's worse than that sounds. According to this he could be away from the Bombers 22 for a long time:

http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/rfnews ... 72773.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

SCOTT Lucas may not play at all this weekend, and no matter how he responds to being dropped he is several weeks away from a return to senior football after Essendon yesterday chose a proactive course in a bid to reinvigorate it's struggling forward.

Coach Matthew Knights said Lucas had been left to decide if he would play for Bendigo against North Ballarat at Stawell on Sunday, or needed "a complete physical and mental rest" by taking the weekend off and resuming in the VFL the following week.

Either Jay Neagle or one-gamer John Williams will replace him against Hawthorn on Friday night, with Knights indicating that early-season successes against Carlton and Collingwood would not fast-track Essendon's long-term vision, and whoever stepped up would be given several games to shore up his spot on the forward line.

"With young players, if I bring them into the team I will probably give them a few weeks now," Knights said. "I think it's important to do that, if you bring a young player in, to give him the chance to settle in."

After weeks of public support for 32-year-old Lucas, who has kicked only four goals this season and none in the past three weeks, Knights said that while the decision was difficult, it was also clear-cut.

"We just feel in supporting Scott it's the best way to go to release the pressure valve so he can go away, find some form, and come back in some form, and (we'll) see the real Scott Lucas again. We think it's probably the best way to support him through the patch he's going through. We need to break the cycle he's in at the moment."

Knights defended the cautious pre-season approach taken with Lucas, whose 2008 was marred by knee and back injuries that restricted him to just nine games, after former captain James Hird said on Monday night that Lucas was suffering from a summer dominated by a focus on skills and lacking in hard work.

Hird also said on Foxtel's On The Couch that dropping the 262-game veteran was not the answer.

"Scotty's got to play," Hird said. "He's not a guy that handles the rotation. He's handling it well mentally, but I think he's a guy that needs consistency in his game."

Knights also dismissed the option of shifting Lucas to defence, where he won the Bombers' 2003 best-and-fairest, saying that even Dustin Fletcher's injury would not sway them from a commitment to build a back line for the future by getting games into Tayte Pears, Cale Hooker, David Myers and Michael Hurley, who will resume in the VFL on Sunday with Darcy Daniher.

"I think Scott Lucas' best football is playing forward at this stage of his career, that's the best way forward for the club and Scott," Knights said.

Lucas trained with the Bombers after yesterday's announcement, and Knights said he had taken the news well. "He's very measured and pretty calm about it. He's a very experienced man and he knows what he has to do."

Developing ruckman Tom Bellchambers might come in for his fourth game and release Patrick Ryder to help out against Lance Franklin and Jarryd Roughead in defence, although Knights said no matter how it was sliced and diced at selection, the Bombers would be inexperienced at the back.

"Blokes like Pears and Myers are going to have the ride of their life, but we can only support them. Roughead and Franklin are brilliant players. They did it on a big stage all last year and won the ultimate, so it's a good test for our young men."

The coach said Mark McVeigh (ankle) would not play this weekend.

[Five long bones]

here's my midfield dilemma, 4 out injured

Ablett
Deledio
Haselby
Travis Boak
D Rich
Hartlett (just brought in last week for Dazzell)
Beams
Anthony

i have about $250k in bank on the plus side! Am thinking of changing Hartlett and Beams for Dane Swan and a rookie/cheapy and wait for Ablett to return. Other option is Chad Cornes who i still don't have in my team yet Thoughts?

All may not be lost just yet

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/ ... 42,00.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Looks like there`s a slim chance Beams may turn up as well, but this has just put the brakes on a possible Ablett Bartel, Swan, Murphy , Hayes trade, and the decision is back to 50/50, we will know more in 24 hrs, that`s 24 hrs to work out how to destroy my FPL team

Edit : Link works now

[mjs8274]

good news ta!
will wait til team news before i do any changes thanks.

[M-boy]

Good news indeed.

There's a suggestion on Big Footy that Beams might play as well, but with the Collingwood-St Kilda game not until Monday night we'll not know.

here's my midfield dilemma, 4 out injured

Ablett
Deledio
Haselby
Travis Boak
D Rich
Hartlett (just brought in last week for Dazzell)
Beams
Anthony

i have about $250k in bank on the plus side! Am thinking of changing Hartlett and Beams for Dane Swan and a rookie/cheapy and wait for Ablett to return. Other option is Chad Cornes who i still don't have in my team yet Thoughts?

I think it depends in part on who you're up against in the head-to-head MJ. It also depends on who you're missing elsewhere and how many trades you've got left. I've got a similar problem in the mids except without Ablett (thankfully): Hartlett-Beams-Robinson-Anthony. Robinson and Anthony aren't going to play and Beams might not. I can cope with that but I've got Scott Lucas as a forward and no forward cover. So I probably should do something because Lucas isn't coming back anytime soon, imho. I've got 17 trades but I'm reluctant to use too many more, especially as these aren't LTIs.

If Ablett's your only guaranteed omission and Beams might play, and you can beat your opponent with 21 players (or even 20) then I say do that. Especially if you've used a few trades. Beams and Hartlett will be back soon, Ablett's only going to miss three weeks and Anthony might be back as well. His fortnight out seems to have stretched into months, but when he comes back he's going straight into that Roos side and he's going to rip it up (hopefully!).

If you've got other donuts and tough fixtures this week and next (because realistically Gazza and Anthony aren't going to turn out for Rd 8 either) then there are some rookies that should play, or even mid-pricers like Coughlan who are worthy of consideration. Too Serious has some listed on its blog (although it is primarily a SuperCoach site so you have to make allowances for the price differences and the different scoring system).

[M-boy]

Buddy is at a great price, but he's just not been performing so far.

Good point. And he's got a massive break even. Haven't looked it up but it must be 110+. Then again, you don't get bargain guns who are playing well. If they were playing well and scoring well they wouldn't come down in price so - although ideally you'd bring in someone who has turned it around - sometimes you've got to bring in players you think will turn it around. And the Hawks have Essendon this week, that's as good a chance for a big score as Buddy's going to get. Gia's in a similar position: having to buck his recent averages, although it's less severe because his b/e isn't so high.

Jonathan Brown or Simon Goodwin are other options for me. Not seeing much love for Goodwin out there.

Incidentally, for those of us with Mitch Robinson...

http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/ ... fault.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Carlton
Richard Hadley, who was omitted two weeks ago, was again among the Bullants' best, as was Jordan Bannister. Mitch Robinson played well despite being tagged and could be in line for a recall, while Brad Fisher again put in a solid team effort and Joe Anderson played well off half-back. Half-back Shaun Grigg will have a fitness test to see if he has overcome the ankle injury that has kept him from playing the past two weeks.
.

Then again, the 'In The Mix' column last week said much the same thing.

[SunderlandFan]

I think this round may be the crunch round for many teams - risk taking a couple of donuts so you can hang onto trades or risk making a trade to keep up with the pack and then run out. My memory might be a bit fuzzy but it seems like there are loads more injuries to popular players than this time last year.

[M-boy]

My memory's shit too but Bowden's the only one I can think of last season. Oh, and Goddard but I think he missed the start so that's not the same thing.

[Sarky]

I'm tempted to let Warren come in for Lucas and wait for SJ (BE - 128) or Franklin (BE - 132) to drop further.

Wish I'd chosen Riewoldt over Pav last week as Harvey's replacement, (played it cautious, and wanted to get Richo in a couple of weeks after, and didn't think I could afford to get them both)

Tempted to pick him up now as he's still only got a breakeven of 80, but feel i've missed the boat (and $17,000) on that.

[M-boy]

If you can afford him, then I don't think you've missed the boat. Fair enough you're not getting the bargain you would've had before rd5, but he's almost the same price he started with and now you're getting a forward averaging 120ish.

I can see the merits in bargain-hunting with other guns though.

[Tippaz]

here's my midfield dilemma, 4 out injured

Ablett
Deledio
Haselby
Travis Boak
D Rich
Hartlett (just brought in last week for Dazzell)
Beams
Anthony

don't sell Ablett. he's too valuable. even if you're playing donuts, you'd be better off keeping him through his injury.

Hartlett/Beams/Anthony is the problem area. my advice - get Coughlan (176k)
if you've got 250k in the bank you could probably bring in another gun for Beams/Hartlett.
i'm thinking Beams -> Coughlan, and, Hartlett -> big gun (Joel Corey perhaps?)

and whatever you do... DON"T buy Chad Cornes as a mid. he is available in the backs, you should only ever buy him in the backs.

[Tippaz]

Scotty Lucas has been dropped

Coach has said he'll play in the reserves this weekend.

yeah... bigger that!! he was doing a decent job too - probably had another 50k in him
i'm afraid it's time to let him go.

[Tippaz]

my trades were going to be:
Simmonds -> Spencer
Lucas -> Franklin

but a few things have thrown me
- Houlihan omitted
- still no sign of Raines, or Broughton leaves me with a backline dilemma
- Meesen out injured for the season, but Spencer not in the 25man squad. what?
- Simmonds is back (will probably play forward in place of Richo tho)

Franklin is set for a big game against Essendon... you can trust me on that one!!!

[M-boy]

- Meesen out injured for the season, but Spencer not in the 25man squad. what?

I read he didn't even play for Casey in the VFL last round. Thankfully my rucks have been solid so far because I've eff all on the bench.

[Zuluwarrior]

Lost Skipworth Benny Warren
Beams Joel Corey


Going on that earlier thread on BigFooty (True value of a zero), I think its soooooo important to get someone like corey in early on for Beams. I know beams still had plenty to rise in value, but Id rather have an extra 2-3 weeks of Coreys extra points. The only loss in that pair of trades is skippy for Warren, but with Laidley not keen on his rookies, keeping Ben Warren in the team is as good an indication that he'll play plenty this year across the HF, and i cant think of anyone who would challenge his position either.

Liking my mids so far (:)) with GAblett & Hartlett on bench

[uncsi]

I'm down 5 backs but wasn't planning to do a back trade this week. So do I stick to my plan and cop 3 donuts, or trade a back and only cop 2? Hmmm

Not sure what £350k ish back to go for if I go that route though. Hodge, Mackie, Gilbert, Gram??

Whichever one I pick is bound to cop an LTI the way things are going

[M-boy]

I was going to leave it this week and hope my opponents have the sort of injury/selection crisis I've got, but the only injury problem they've got is that Taylor Walker's not injured.

Franklin is set for a big game against Essendon... you can trust me on that one!!!

Hmm... interesting. A Bombers fan promising a big game for Buddy. Definitely worth consideration.

[SunderlandFan]

Houlihan, Beams, Ablett - still no Broughton, GIA might not get much of a game - it's carnage.

Only one trade for me this week, because I'm running out too early.

Either G Ablett Bartel

or M Robinson Sidebottom/Coughlin

[M-boy]

Lost Skipworth Benny Warren
Beams Joel Corey


Going on that earlier thread on BigFooty (True value of a zero), I think its soooooo important to get someone like corey in early on for Beams. I know beams still had plenty to rise in value, but Id rather have an extra 2-3 weeks of Coreys extra points. The only loss in that pair of trades is skippy for Warren, but with Laidley not keen on his rookies, keeping Ben Warren in the team is as good an indication that he'll play plenty this year across the HF, and i cant think of anyone who would challenge his position either.

Liking my mids so far (:)) with GAblett & Hartlett on bench

A bit early with that Beamer trade Zulu? He'll be back next week, at least he should be.

[X-Man]

Done my trades

Ablett Bartel
Hartlett Coughlan (will probably regret this in the longer term but thought sod it. Last year I had too many trades in the bottom 8)

Too many potential donut chances. I'm leaving well alone now for a couple of weeks as I should have players coming back (Skipworth, Robinson and Anthony)...

[Sarky]

With Petrenko uncertain to play I'm thinking of upgrading slightly him earlier than intended to Hodge(104)/Fisher(90)/Mackie(60).

They all cost the same and as I'll (barring injury) be keeping them I guess I'm less interested in breakevens and more just simply who'll score best til the end of season. Though I might be able to pick Hodge up for cheaper later on as his form doesn't seem to be picking up any.

Any thoughts would be appreciated. (Unless they're stupid thoughts. Though I probably wont be able to differentiate between stupid and sensible thoughts anyway, so I guess I will appreciate them all and happily ruin my team.)

[Zuluwarrior]

Good thoughts sarky.

With Tom Harley back this week for the cats, Mackie is a must have from here on in- he'll be free to play the roaming defender role similar to last year. Get him this week too, as his BE is so low, he wont be cheaper for the rest of the year.
(i know we play each other this week, but that advice was for the benefit of FISO- hope you choose a rotten captain )

Seriously though, Petrenko Mackie -trades like this- doesnt get any better.... wait, cant get any better trades than this in DT. Good work pal

[SunderlandFan]

Okay I can't decide - keep Ablett or trade him?

I'm supposed to keep him right? I don't like donuts though

[M-boy]

Okay I can't decide - keep Ablett or trade him?

I'm supposed to keep him right? I don't like donuts though

I'm not answering this. Just quoting it so you can read it again. Silly girl.

[SunderlandFan]

Okay I think I've got it. I keep Ablett and do M Robinson Coughlan - donut avoided and only one trade burnt but I still have The Son of God in my team.

[M-boy]

... and think yourself lucky you're fielding a team of 22, rather than 18 or 19!