Marcz Sharkz 2011 Season Blog

Marcz Sharkz 2011 Season Blog

This will be an ongoing record of Marcz Sharkz positions/trades/mistakes and masterstrokes…

This will help me keep track of my thoughts on potential trades and make an end of year review simple…

Dream Team Starting Squad:

Backline: Goddard, Gibbs, Deledio, Enright, Grimes, Lower, Duigan.

Bench: Batchelor, Stanley, Toy.

Midfield: Swan, Boyd, Pendlebury, Bartel, Boak, Harris.

Bench: Liberatore, Prestia, Hibberd.

Ruckmen: Sandilands, Cox.

Bench: J.Tippett, McCauley

Forwardline: Franklin, N.Riewoldt, Higgins, Yarran, A.Krakouer, Petrie, Darling.

Bench: Richardson, Matera, Dixon.

Dream Team Round 1 Score 2160 Rank 2233

Happy with everyone bar Yarran (21pts). No trading yet though, keeping the faith, overall reasonably solid start…

Supercoach Starting Squad

Backline: Goddard, Gibbs, Deledio, Taylor, Grimes, Lower, Duigan.

Bench: Batchelor, Stanley, McKernan.

Midfield: Swan, Pendlebury, Bartel, Boak, Cotchin, Harris.

Bench: Liberatore, Prestia, Hibberd.

Ruckmen: Sandilands, Cox.

Bench: J.Tippett, Keefe.

Forwardline: Franklin, N.Riewoldt, Grundy, Yarran, Knights, A.Krakouer, Petrie.

Bench:Darling, Richardson, Matera.

Supercoach Round 1 Score 2420 Rank 528

Similar story – happy with everyone bar Yarran. Harry Taylor belted out a 142 as my unique defender, no trades and really happy with the rank. Hoping to maintain it…

Dream Team Round 2 Score 2259 Rank 247

Yarran bounced back with 114 and looks  like he may be able to average that 80 a game I’d hoped. Enright is on fire averaging 115 over 2 rounds, while Harris and Liberatore exceeded expectations and so was my leap into the top 1000…

BOOM

Up nearly 2000 places and my confidence is on the rise…

Supercoach Round 2 Score 2272 Rank 1310

Taylor flopped with 41 after his monster 142, Yarran bounced back with 114, Grundy my unique fwd/back knocked out 98 averaging 90, Harris and Liberatore exceeded expectations while I’m a little dissapointed with the overall rank slipping out of the top 1000 even though it’s still early…

Dream Team Round 3 Score 1997 Rank 359

With Hibberd riding the pine and giving me no real value, I shipped him out for Curnow in my only trade for the week. Unfortunately I played Harris over Curnow, seemed to be a terrible trend for me as I also had Krakouer on over Prestia and Lower instead of Duigan which amasses 104 points missed, alas. My rank hasn’t suffered too badly and I’m still around 200pts off overall…

Supercoach Round 3 Score 2053 Rank 4408

With Hibberd riding the pine and giving me no real value, I shipped him out for Curnow. Originally I was $300 short of the straight swap and was going to pass on him, then after further deliberation of next week’s move I was considering, I decided to gamble and do a double. The plan was if Z.Smith scores well in Round 3 I’d close the mpp link between Petrie and J.Tippett, so Tippett to Z.Smith and Hibberd to Curnow I went. Thankfully it looks like I made the right move so far with Curnow and Z.Smith playing well again, though unfortunately i played Harris over Curnow.

This week I had many poor performances, as most of us did. Harry Taylor is in the Sharkz Doghouse after his last 2 scores and his unique partner in crime Heath Grundy too. While it appears there is more value out there for that money, I wont be sideways shopping these 2 durables. After falling 3100 places, it’s fair to say I’m disappointed…

Plummeting

Dream Team Round 4 Score 2038 Rank 653

One trade made last week with Zach Smith replacing Joel Tippett. With a big bye this week, I had Goddard, Boyd, Riewoldt and Higgins on the bench. With less than elite opposition for my bench cover, I was happy to show some faith in Prestia, Matera, Harris and Krakouer. Unfortunately none of these names put up a reasonable score and consequently I dipped in overall ranking nearly 300 places. For Round 5 I will be missing Grimes and Cox only, so I hope to stop the steady decline and power back up the overall ladder.

Supercoach Round 4 Score 2257 Rank 4301

There was no need to trade before Round 4 commenced as I had cover for Riewoldt and Goddard. Unfortunately some other guys played like it was their week off – like Harry Taylor whose head is fair and square on the chopping block. After scoring 142 in round 1, he has amassed just 117 in the next 3 games and dropped $100k in value. In Round 5 I will be missing Cox, Grundy, Grimes and Darling so it’s fair to say I’m sweating bullets over losing overall ground when I only made up 107 places in Round 4. I just need one monster score to boost me back into the top 1000… I can’t see it happening in Round 5 without some minor miracles.

Dream Team Round 5 Score 2135 Rank 232

Common sense and gut feelings are rarely on the same page and this was the case for me with Yarran and Krakouer, I felt like Krakouer would be a sub or dropped and I couldn’t see Yarran playing much better but both wern’t ripe price wise. I wanted to get Fyfe in but his horse was bolting with a low breakeven there would be a chance that the above two couldn’t keep pace with his price rise, I went against my logic and went with my gut feel trading Krakouer to Smith, Yarran to Fyfe on Thursday prior to lockout.

What a round of crazy scores at the low end of the spectrum. I had Cam Richardson and Josh Toy on the field, and at the other end of the scale I had Scott Pendlebury, Matthew Boyd, and Drew Petrie so it all balanced out in the end and I was very happy to make my way back up the rankings.

Sharkz Are Flying

Supercoach Round 5 Score 2123 Rank 3402

It was fair to say my expectations of Marcz Sharkz round 5 Supercoach team wasn’t high. Grimes, Grundy, Cox and Darling all out due to the bye and a crop of unripe cows meant cooling my jets, Harry Taylor was prominent in my trade thoughts earlier in the week but after re-researching why I picked him in the first place I was convinced he would turn it around at some stage this year and he repaid my faith with a hundred points against Hawthorn.

To my surprise we kept on creeping up the overall table 899 places this week and my overall hopes are not quite dashed yet sitting around 500pts off the top dog. I need a couple of monster scores to get amongst it, a double this week and a double next week will be putting my best foot forward for overall and by round 9 I should know if I’m putting the overall gun back in the holster and taking a long term finals view.

Dream Team Round 6 Score 1686 Rank 1098

Monday and Tuesday usually represent trigger happy trading ideas for me and by Wednesday i have calmed down enough to look at the big picture, this weeks short lockout period had me in a tailspin and i was staring down the barrel of a double donut shotgun pointed directly at my forward line thanks to Shaun Higgins general soreness, with minimal money and being rigid as to who i wanted to ship out the main trade i was considering was downgrading Harris and upgrading Prestia to Knights or Jack Riewoldt and taking just the one donut, the main issue was i could not convince myself either of those 2 would be a keeper in Dream Team. Then around noon on Friday more bad news Travis Boak out- ahh i was hoping he would rack it up against The Roos and kickstart his season as he has been disappointing to date, so then my thoughts shift toward Boak, i picked him to break out and provide a straight swap to an ultra premium before his first bye, nothing none are within grasp, i check my forward upgrade list and i notice with the money i have in the bank i can swap Boak for Goodes and switch Goodes to the forward line and then i can bring in Harper for Richardson or Prestia… Yes no donuts, so i pull the trigger and get Goodes for Boak and Harper for Richardson believing Prestia has more chance of regaining his place than Richardson, i leave for work believing ive done the best i could to maintain my overall ranking…

1686 is the most abysmal score i have accumulated since my first year of Dream Team when i ran out of trades in round 19. The most disturbing component of the score is there were no donuts at all, the positive is there were 6 of my finest riding the pine and i believe i made the correct move with Goodes coming in even though he scored poorly he has much more upside than Chris Knights and Jack Riewoldt.

‘Rock bottom is good solid ground, and a dead end street is just a place to turn around’

Current Team:

Backline: Goddard, Gibbs, Deledio, Enright, Grimes, Lower, Duigan.

Bench: Batchelor, Stanley, Toy.

Midfield: Swan, Boyd, Pendlebury, Bartel, Curnow, Harris.

Bench: Liberatore, Prestia, Smith.

Ruckmen: Sandilands, Cox.

Bench: Smith, McCauley.

Forwardline: Franklin, N.Riewoldt, Higgins, Fyfe, Goodes, Petrie, Darling.

Bench: Matera, Harper, Dixon.

Trades 18 Bank 44,900

Supercoach Round 6 Score 1890 Rank 3978

With less outs in this team this week and 22 trades i felt it was time to try and make some moves to set my team up for the coming weeks and make a run at overall, only Buddy, Sandi and Harry Taylor were the only scheduled outs at first and there were no down or upgrade interests in the Melb Vs Wce game so i waited until Friday afternoon to make a move… Boak out ahh, Port are terrible which is going to limit his scoring ability in Supercoach im cutting my losses and opening the MPP link to the backline by trading Boak to Heppell, im not to big to admit i made a mistake not keeping this lad in my team and i dont mind paying 311,000 for my last back. Next move was Krakouer to Jack Riewoldt, while i knew there would always be the possibility an injury would open the door for Krakouer to flourish, Jack Riewoldt will get a game every week he is available and will not get any cheaper. I swapped Grundy to the back line with McKernan to balance up cover in my backs midfield and forwards, as it turned out it was more crucial than first thought, Yarran didnt play which we were all expecting, but Grundy was a late withdrawal which could have cost me a donut had i left him up forward.

Current Team:

Backline: Goddard, Gibbs, Deledio, Grimes, Grundy, Taylor, Lower.

Bench: Duigan, Stanley, Batchelor.

Midfield: Swan, Pendlebury, Bartel, Cotchin, Curnow, Heppell.

Bench: Harris, Liberatore, Prestia.

Ruckmen: Sandilands, Cox.

Bench: Smith, Keefe.

Forwardline: Franklin, N.Riewoldt, J.Riewoldt, Yarran, Knights, Petrie, Darling.

Bench: McKernan, Richardson, Matera.

Trades 20 Bank 16,000

Dream Team Round 7 Score 1862 Rank 1484

Leading into round 7 i was going to cop a midfield donut with Liberatore and Smith being rested and Swan and Pendlebury on their bye, with overall all but shot i had planned on just accepting the zero, however after much more deliberation on personel and the eventual structure of the side i decided to make a trade that was going to be made eventually except by doing it now it wasnt going to be very profitable, however by trading A.Smith to B.Jacobs it allows me to cover byes with MPP to the backline and compliment the one i already have to the forwardline.

While the trade is of little profitability i like many others believe that Ben Jacobs could have a huge impact once he breaks into the Port Adelaide side and therefore become solid midfield and backline cover for the remainder of the season, should that not be the case he is already providing me with flexibility to cover both divisions.

After dodging bullets earlier in the year the LTI’s are starting to rear their ugly heads with Grimes now done for the season, Curnow out for the next 4 weeks and question marks over the return of Shaun Higgins- if he misses this week too he wouldve played only 4 of a possible 7 games and it is already giving me headaches.

The last 2 weeks i have dropped 1250 spots in ranking and it has put a massive dent in my overall aspirations, its all but time to review my strategy and take a finals perspective going forward, even though i have those above injury worries im not convinced il be trading before lockout this Friday.

Trades 17 Bank 64,300

Supercoach Round 7 Score 2093 Rank 4779

Leading into round 7 i was going to cop a midfield donut with Liberatore and Prestia being rested and Swan and Pendlebury on their bye, with overall all but shot i had planned on just accepting the zero, however after much more deliberation on personel and the eventual structure of the side i decided to make 2 trades, one that was going to be made eventually and another that i hoped could inject a big scorer into my team at the expense of someone i had originally envisioned keeping.

First trade was Nick Duigan to Ben Jacobs allowing me to now keep Dyson Heppell in the backline as i was losing points with one of Liberatore, Harris and Heppell being an emergency when down back i was fielding Lower or Stanley making it a 10-20 point discrepency in onfield output.

Second trade was Chris Yarran to Paul Chapman which opens up my forwardline MPP between he and Prestia, anytime you bring in a premium that has averaged 110 over the last 5 years is a positive but i really wanted to keep Yarran as i believe he could’ve been a solid 90 point 7th forward keeper, however Chris Knights was nowhere near ripe, Chapman also has the ability to take a midfield spot and i wont feel like im losing any scoring punch by having him there.

Trades 18 Bank 3,600

Dream Team Round 8 Score 1983 Rank 1816

After the slide of the previous two weeks i decided to be realistic with where Marcz Sharkz were at, and that was no longer in the running for overall, granted 500pts from the leader isnt that far back but my squad is crumbling around me and it was time to salvage and repair the team for league finals. The temptation early in the week was not too trade at all with Grimes value not deteriorating and the back options wafer thin with durability and form, after considering all options Curnow in the midfield and Higgins in the forwardline played a part in my decision to seek out the most durable replacement for Grimes, whilst there were some in form options Shaw and Adcock that could have been included their durability could really hurt my overall team potential, the last thing i wanted was to replace an LTI with a future one, Grimes was my 5th back and i decided to swap him to Brady Rawlings, durable no nonsense good job security cracked 100 in 3 out of 6 games just what i need to stabilize that spot. Scores from this weekend suggest it was the worst possible inclusion out of those i considered but long term i believe this was the correct decision given the state of my team and limiting injury trades.

With Shaun Higgins ive certainly flirted with the concept of axing him 3 weeks straight given his history, that said those i am looking at are falling in price and he isnt so ive been keeping that idle. Saturday afternoon i heard an interview with Shaun on triple M radio and he has almost turned me into a believer, that could be due to my teams general need to keep him but the worst case scenario is i trade him out so theres no point jumping at shadows il give him every chance to repay the faith.

Trades 16 Bank 25,600

Supercoach Round 8 Score 2053 Rank 4957

With my backline all but set and slightly unique my thoughts again were to hold off on trading out Grimes until i could find a definitive replacement, after researching the Grimes replacement for Dream Team id become slightly smitten with the durable old work horse Brady Rawlings, good job security averaged 97 the year before his role hasnt changed selected in 3.5% of teams and he was 80k under his starting price appealed to me so i pulled the trigger and got him allowing me to downgrade Nick Lower or Danny Stanley in the coming weeks. Again scores from this weekend suggest it was the worst possible inclusion out of those i considered but long term i believe this was the correct decision for limiting future injury trades.

When Harris went out with a sore hip combined with Curnow’s shoulder and Liberatore coming off being rested and only named to an extended bench in a sunday game, my thoughts were im in trouble here and i may need to restructure my projected culling of the cows, but with overall no longer in my sights i could afford to hold my horses and show some faith in Lil Libba and he delivered 117pts.

Trades 17 Bank 5,400

Dream Team Round 9 Score 2242 Rank 2117

Paul Puopolo was on the bubble and i had an embarrassment of riches down back between Nick Duigan Nick Lower and Danny Stanley, believing Nick Duigan was the best canditate for the chop as Lower has more money to earn and Stanley just come off a solid 88 and no more byes i decided to designate him my permanent bench cover down back. Downgrading Duigan cost me my Elxam League Match as i would’ve played him, but it frees up some money for a big inclusion this week.

Shaun Higgins coming back from ‘groin soreness’ was a welcome inclusion… or so i thought, after keeping him this long i feel as though im obligated to keep the faith but he is seriously giving me grey hair, i remember early last year when i was taking on a good friend head to head and seeing he had Jack Grimes and Shaun Higgins in his team i laughed out loud believing the combination of that fragile pair and his inability to keep his index finger off the trade button would give me the upper hand come finals time and it certainly did. So why the hell did i fall into the tangled web of Frank Grimes and Missy Higgins this year is something il have to chalk up too utter ignorance, id convinced myself this would be the year they would go up a cog and their bodies would have matured to the rigors of the game.

Mistakes made are experiences had, im certain Missy Higgins isnt done punishing me yet.

‘could you leave me with a scar’

Trades 15 Bank 152,00

Supercoach Round 9 Score 2379 Rank 4449

Im not going to waffle on about Collingwood for long but vicariously they affected my trading and scores this weekend, i wanted to bring Puopolo in down back for Stanley and i planned on upgrading another, however after scanning my lineup and the fixture i noticed Crows away to Collingwood who were coming off a loss, recipe for a 100 point belting in my opinion after Gary Ablett smashed them for 40 possessions and 4 goals i took the captaincy off Sandilands and anointed Swan, i had Pendlebury in my team aswell so i thought i was a lock not to fail between those two, Chris Knights verses Collingwood and a breakeven of 80+ and an average of about that equaled me cashing him in, instead of upgrading him i decided to make it a double downgrade yes a double.

I know it was not the best move for this round but if i could pinch some league wins it would be a huge bonus, if i didnt and it comes back to bite me in the bottom later in the year so be it. That said there will indeed be two massive inclusions to Marcz Sharkz for round 10 and apart from some minor tinkering the side will be set with 10 plus trades in hand. If i can scrape my way into the eight i believe il give the finals an almighty shake as im fifth in total points scored.

Trades 15 Bank 377,100

Dreamteam Round 10 Score 2047 Rank 2135

Aaron Sandilands out for 4 weeks… Ouch, yet this hurts the vast majority of coaches and there is no clear cut replacement with Cox already in my side, il ride the coat tails of one Zac Smith until the big fella returns. Albeit little Libba had more money to earn i had been eying off Leigh Montagna for weeks, with the cash from Duigan to Puopolo i upgraded Liberatore directly to Montagna, i could have used Curnow instead of Liberatore but i have yet to see Brock McClean really put a stranglehold on that spot in the team and believing he wont be far away i want to hang onto Curnow for the time being. Brandon Matera’s next run of games had me convinced he would tread water at best money and scoring wise, i couldnt be left waning on that young buck Thomas Lynch who was averaging an impressive 93ppg and so a downgrade was in order, safe to say i was impressed with Lynch knocking out 66 against the top team, could this kid become that bench cover u want to get on the field over someone you paid good money for? only time will tell. Jim Bartel if i could possibly afford to trade you now i would, seriously Chris Scott you are playing a brownlow medal midfielder in a negating half forwad role? kudos on your teams record, but u ruined my durable fourth midfielder and i appreciate it! (sarcasm). Well the ranking just keeps on sliding and i wonder just how i thought i was a chance for overall a little over a month ago. At the moment it feels like my team is a sinking boat and the water is coming in faster than two trades a week can fix and its got me feeling a little Pete Murray-esque… ‘seen better days, put my face in my hands’ Marcz Sharkz ‘has more holes than you can poke a stick at’

Trades 13 Bank 81,900

Supercoach Round 10 Score 2044 Rank 4644

Last weeks double down cost me some league matches but it was for the greater good, with a whopping $377,100 in the bank it was time to finish that midfield off once and for all. Ed Curnow to Leigh Montagna and Tom Liberatore to Matthew Boyd, there was another midfielder i was considering over Boyd but the track records in durability clearly favored the captain of The Bulldogs. Surely im a lock to shoot back up the ladder with a midfield of: Swan, Pendlebury, Montagna, Boyd, Bartel and Cotchin right? wrong and furthermore Bartel’s second straight sub par score was accompanied by a second place in Geelong’s best players, what the? looks like Jim has a new role. Paul Chapman was also named to the best players in that game yet he scored 65pts hmmm… Chris Scott what are you doing to my team? Trent Cotchin went missing with most other Tigers against a depleted Port Adelaide side who has surrendered some monster scores in the midfield this year, im seriously doubting my coaching at the moment, while the cattle im bringing in are durable their scores are being matched by lesser players and smashed by the fragile counterparts i deliberately didnt consider. I should note i could have taken a win in the Elxam League had i stuck with Pendlebury as my captain, yet i thought Dean Cox should go for 30+ hitouts and 20 odd possessions against The Pies, should be a safe 120pts il put him as my captain yielding 240pts if it comes off. The fall out from this i can only blame on my lack of understanding of the Supercoach scoring system as he played the game i thought he would and tallied similar stats to those i projected yet he only scored 93pts.

Trades 13 Bank 3,900

Dreamteam Round 11 Score 2087 Rank 1802

With the return of Ed Curnow i didnt have a lot on my radar except for getting Tendai Mzungu into my team, the obvious choice was Daniel Harris as he had matured in price the most, other options were Dion Prestia but i have had a strange need to keep him as i think he is going to do something big before the year is out. Looking at my backs i decided to leave as is for now as the depth i have down there with Stanley, Lower and Puopolo scoring reasonably well allows me to hold my horses. All in all not a bad round winning 4 of my 5 league games and enough bank to double up soon.

Trades 12 Bank 219,00

Supercoach Round 11 Score 2065 Rank 7478

Daniel Harris has been looking sore and missing games lately so i have been looking at options to downgrade him, originally id been eying a Matera to Didak trade but i had insufficient funds so in an effort to increase my depth and flexibility i traded Didak in via Harris opening up a second mpp link to the forward line. I have been speculative about Didak at best but at the price he was he has way more upside than Daniel Harris, should he recapture his old form its a good move if he doesnt then it will fit right in with the rest of my moves (sigh). Worth noting i considered going Matera to Jack Steven aswell as a wildcard unique, with increased midfield time he is looking important to St Kilda-while watching the match i was kicking myself for not doing the trade as he seemed to be everywhere and looked to be cracking 100 in back to back games, once the game was over and i saw he only scored 84 i wasnt so disappointed as he couldnt have played much better. After Buddy Franklin pulled out with a calf strain it left me high and dry with my first Supercoach donut of the year… and it hurt as i lost 3 of my 5 matches by less than 100 pts with stars Chapman, Cotchin, Riewoldt, Deledio, Franklin and Sandilands all on the bench.

Trades 12 Bank 30,400 

Dreamteam Round 12 Score 2036 Rank 1907

With money in the bank it was time to upgrade a back and a mid, last year i had Heath Shaw as my last back and while he was painful at times with low scores he could just as easily belt out a monster, Danny Stanley had been good to me this year and it was time to turn him into a Premium- in the above mentioned Heath Shaw, for now this leaves Nick Lower in my last defender slot which im ok with as the poor old Fremantle Dockers just keep getting riddled with injury which helps Nick hold his spot in the team.

Ed Curnow has also served me well this year but after watching him live against Port Adelaide it was clear that AC joint isnt 100% as he shirted a couple of tackles to that side, with his bye in round 23 i was convinced he had done enough for me this year and i again welcomed and old head from last years team who was under priced for his ability and average in The Extractor Sam Mitchell.

The Sharks are sitting 3rd on the ladder in The League and with 4 of the last 6 games against bottom 8 teams i can be conservative with my trades from here on, finishing top 4 is not my highest priority so much as peaking at the right time for the finals campaign because with a very even competition the winner could come from 8th place.

Trades 10 Bank 10,700

Supercoach Round 12 Score 2276 Rank 4974

Leigh Montagna was of slight concern with his medial strain and i had considered moving him on as ive been struggling in The League with 2 wins and 6 losses albeit ranked 5th in total points, the considerations were on the slide price wise and i thought it best to shelve the idea until next week if at all. This could well have been one of my better non moves this year as one of those considerations had a big buffoon fall on his leg and is now out for 6-8weeks.

So in working with my contingency plan which il talk about at seasons end i downgraded Jake Batchelor to Christian Howard who is looking to forge his spot in a Bulldogs team rebuilding for the future, then with the yield of Batchelor and Brandon Matera The Sharks welcomed young gun Cyril Rioli- Bang Bang he whacked out 113pts and helped carry The Sharks to a much needed win. With 6 games left and The Sharks 2 games out of the top 8 its now or never, of those 6 remaining games 5 are against top 8 teams including this weeks match against the top of the table Matchbox Matadors, The Sharks are on the prowl gunning for a finals berth.

Sharkz Are Circling

Trades 10 Bank 4,900

Dreamteam Round 13 Score 1755 Rank 3096

The only hole i had in my side was a potential zero in the second ruck slot, thankfully Broc McCauley played a few games and earnt enough money for me to marginally downgrade to Joel Tippett allowing Drew Petrie to cover for this week. Well i know Leigh Montagna is not going to be at his best for some weeks and im prepared to ride it out with him, he was subbed after about an hours worth of football and it hurt, but not as much as the friendly fire between James Podsiadly’s maSSive posterior and  Jim Bartel’s cranium leaving Bartel dazed confused and subbed with only a handball to his name, between Bartel’s 2 Montagna’s 45 Prestia’s 28 Riewoldt’s 29 and the Matthew Boyd Captain failure of 70 points 140 total, this was another one of those horror rounds with my only savior a poor old opponent who had anointed Jimmy Bartel his Captain for our matchup.

Captain Going Down With The Ship

Note to self never ever eh eh EVER… Captain Matthew Boyd against The Crows.

Trades 9 Bank 19,500

Supercoach Round 13 Score 2062 Rank5624

After switching Joel Tippett to Zac Smith for potential earlier in the year it finally came back to haunt me with both Clark and Sandilands not playing, high on my list of considerations for Clark was Paddy Ryder the problem being The Bombers are leaning away from the three talls these days, Bellchambers then Hille have been rested in consecutive weeks and it could well be Ryder around the time of Dean Cox’s bye in round 15 which would mean trading again… YUK! Ben McEvoy was also to be considered but has Michael Gardiner knocking down the door and a bye in week 14 so he is out aswell due to a potential zero/trade for the following week. My thoughts shift to potential MPP for the ruck slot so i can utilize Petrie in their but if the incoming MPP isnt playing round 15 and Sandilands isnt back im still looking at a zero/trade grrrr, this leaves me with the following options David Hale and Kurt Tippett, Hale was out of The Hawks side due to a knee injury and hadnt really nailed down a spot earlier in the year either, Tippett wrenched his shoulder last week and was subbed out of the game early. On scoring potential there isnt a lot of differential but on job security Kurt Tippett has the upper hand aswell as in the durability stakes so begrudgingly Zac Smith to Kurt Tippett it is. Expensive bench cover i know but i feel this is a move that will help later on in the year, imagine if Sandilands or Cox are under an injury cloud but play on a Sunday and are named in a squad of 25 but im not sure one will play or not, with Zac Smith to Joel Tippett id have to then set Petrie as my ruck emergency and risk missing out on one of his scores or leave him forward and potentially get a zero in the rucks. While this ruck move does not guarantee im covered for round 15 it offers the best possible scenario for rucks and forwards combined.

Leigh Montagna could not possibly be over that medial strain and although he has been named in the side i felt his scoring potential would be sub par at best, whilst my ladder position in other leagues are in good shape im not looking so flash to make finals in The League and im not ready to fold so i had to move him along for a gun with Bartel also struggling but not injured, to be honest i didnt even consider many others i just turned to an old reliable member of years gone by and Leigh Montagna morphed into one Gary Ablett Junior.

Both moves were looking to have paid off until James Podsiadly’s maSSive posterior crashed into Jim Bartel’s cranium leaving him dazed confused and subbed with only a handball to his name, it certainly hurt Marcz Sharkz in the main matchup going down to the top of the ladder The Matchbox Matadors by 46 points.

Distraught, Despair, Despondent.

Trades 8 Bank 27,700   

Dreamteam Round 14 Score 1952 Rank 4872 

I was feeling a little froggy with my forward line in tatters, Nick Riewoldt on a bye, Lance Franklin suspended and having to play the likes of Charlie Dixon and crew, but there isnt much i can do with these colts making minimal money and only really Ian Callinan on the horizon playing his first game. I was able to field a full side without needing to trade so i had to hope for some big games from the youngsters… well none came and even the sharks premiums played under their best, late withdrawals crippled our score and for the first time possibly ever i lost every league game. There is nobody to blame but myself, sideways trades here and there have caught up with me and im going to have to pull out some tricks to go all the way this year.

Trades 9 Bank 19,500

Supercoach Round 14 Score 1932 Rank 9787

So i went with no trades, im all but set and want to preserve trades for finals in the leagues i am competitive in, great news with Sandilands returning also. Bartel was named after his concussion and was then a late withdrawal, to compound that Mzungu was my emergency leaving Jacobs and Prestia’s decent scores on the bench and not counting, it didnt stop there Cyril Rioli twinged his hamstring, Alan Didak pinged his calf and Big Sandi re-injured the same toe that had kept him out the previous month. Honestly im a broken coach i feel like Neil Craig right now.

Where Too from Here…

Trades 8 Bank 27,700

Dreamteam Round 15 Score 2115 Rank 5969

Aaron Sandilands out atleast four weeks what to do what to do… if i hold him its a certain donut this week and if i hold him until he comes back ive got premium money sitting on the bench, the only two candidates to replace 211 in my opinion are  Ben McEvoy and Todd Goldstein and once i broke things down it became clear i didnt want either, Ben was going along reasonably well until a recent streak of three big scores has bumped his average up 10 points. Todd has a bye first week of finals and being a Kangaroo he also nullifies my MPP to the forward line with fellow Roo Drew Petrie.  Zac Smith is almost but not quite what i need when it comes to a second ruckman, that said im going to give him a chance.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing even short term, round 13 i toyed with the idea of paying an extra 10k for Matthew Lobbe instead of Joel Tippett as id heard cries for Port to give Lobbe games to build him up for the future, eventually i decided the 10k would be better served in the bank than spent on maybe’s. Fast forward two weeks and Dean Brogan announces his retirement all but gifting the number one Ruck position to Matthew Lobbe, what a waste of a trade by me bringing in the non playing Tippett as i now downgrade Sandilands to Lobbe to free up money and best utilize Petrie if Smith and Lobbe fail.

The depth of my forward bench isnt good which contributed to Sandilands exit, so then i took the money of the Lobbe trade and turned Charlie Dixon into Colin Sylvia a fallen premium with a favorable finals shcedule, here i am once again bringing in a premium a week before his bye a la Fyfe, Shaw and now Sylvia. In this particular case it was almost a case of must do due to the fact id already committed myself to getting him weeks ago for my last forward upgrade, overall is shot, a donut looming this week and next week being a non league game anyway. This trade all but completes my team with money in the bank for emergency and finals strategies.

Trades 7 Bank 95,400

Supercoach Round 15 Score 2336 Rank 10,229

Facing a zero in the ruck and much more time on the sidelines for Aaron Sandilands i decided we part ways and suitors were.

:Goldstein finals bye rules him out

:Mumford suspended and knee issues
:Mark Jamar history of injury and missing games also coming off a PCL strain this year already

:Brad Ottens as fragile as they come, in his thirties and with a finals bye

:Ben McEvoy, no more byes starting to hit his straps and is tremendously important to his team when they win which factors into the Supercoach scoring, trade done.

Injuries are mounting in my forward line with Cyril (hamstring), Didak (calf) and now Buddy rolling his ankle im almost glad to see a league bye next weekend giving these guys time to heal. I locked in Dane Swan as captain this week and while he scored 102pts it pales in comparison to that of Gary Ablett who smashed the Dockers for 185pts, its become increasingly apparent he is to become my permanent captain.

Trades 7 Bank 68,300

Dreamteam Round 16 Score 2134 Rank 4621

No league games in Round 16 meant no trades were made.

Since Dane Swan has returned from Arizona he has posted scores of 125, 130 and 148 in his last three games.

Sweet Home Arizona, The Dream Team Machine Is Back…

Buddy managed to play after being projected as an out early in the week by media, Sam Mitchell was amazing again with another 30+ possession game and since i picked him up he has posted scores of 129,110,132,128,137 and 119pts a great effort and has been an amazing buy for $373,800 and since increasing to $453,500.

Fairly happy with things at the moment, there is the ever present temptation to pick off some drifting premiums here or there but for the moment im happy to hold out and preserve those trades for a strong finals campaign.

Best Current Dream Team Lineup

Backline: Goddard, Shaw, Rawlings, Deledio, Gibbs, Enright, Lower.

Bench: Puopolo, Batchelor, Toy.

Midfield: Swan, Boyd, Mitchell, Pendlebury, Montagna, Bartel.

Bench: Mzungu, Prestia, Jacobs.

Ruckmen: Cox, Smith.

Bench: Lobbe, J.Tippett.

Forwardline: Franklin, Fyfe, Goodes, Sylvia, Petrie, Higgins, Nick Riewoldt.

Bench: Darling, Lynch, Harper.

To be honest in my assessment so far some sideways action has hampered the overall completion of my side but it is still strong enough to make a run deep into the finals. My backline in theory needs one more upgrade, however im happy with Nick Lower as my seventh back at the minute as Backs have been wafer thin and Paul Puopolo is vying for that spot on a week to week basis. Bartel and Montagna ive been a little disappointed with form wise but they are proven guns and i will be keeping faith in them come finals. The MPP setup i have im really happy with albeit not as extensive as my Supercoach Team, the depth of it is strong enough to cover holes.

Trades 7 Bank 95,400

Supercoach Round 16 Score 2096 Rank 9140

No league games in Round 16 so no trades were made.

Hmm did i just recently say Gary Ablett permanent Captain?

Noooo!!! Another Captain Failure.

Knee strain and subbed out of the game with 19pts epic failure in the captain department, reports today upon the scan are he has no structural or ligament damage and could face Richmond this weekend so good news there.

Buddy Franklin backed up and played after doubts all week he would not with an ankle/calf injury he sustained the previous week.

Backline: Goddard, Gibbs, Deledio, Heppell, Rawlings, Taylor, Grundy.

Bench: Lower, Puopolo, Howard.

Midfield: Ablett, Swan, Pendlebury, Boyd, Bartel, Cotchin.

Bench: Mzungu, Jacobs, Prestia.

Ruckmen: Cox, McEvoy.

Bench: K.Tippett, Keefe.

Forwardline: Franklin, Chapman, Rioli, N.Riewoldt, J.Riewoldt, Petrie, Didak.

Bench: Darling, McKernan, Richardson.

Major flexibility with multi position players for every possible division, currently Heath Grundy has been playing as a forward so Nick Lower and Paul Puopolo play as my seventh defender as their scoring has been better than the likes of the seventh forward option. Kurt Tippett is providing solid bench cover in the Ruck and can swing forward if Petrie is out or on a bye. The Midfield has two forward MPP’s and a Backline MPP on the bench.

Trades 7 Bank 68,300

Dreamteam Round 17 Score 2252 Rank 4106

Heath Shaw… >_< thanks for the 4 weeks of service aswell as losing money, something your quite well versed in as we were all made aware of when he was suspended for the rest of the home and away season for betting on football.

Donkey

This certainly had me needing to trade him out at 4:15pm on a Friday, rather than go into a tailspin and make a silly decision i made a calculated choice to hold him and sort it out next week as i had cover. The rest of the team looked to be solid enough to get the jobs done so no trades were made.

Who would have thought Dane Swan would have been statistically my worst Captain choice of those i considered… Jimmy Bartel knocked out 120, Leigh Montagna racked up 124, Pendlebury 123 and Matthew Boyd just pipped Swan’s 101 with a 102.

Some small oversights on my behalf leaving Prestia on the bench over Mzungu and darling on the field over Lynch, in the end i was happy with 2252 for the round as it got me the win in most leagues and keeps me moving in the right direction.

Trades 7 Bank 95,400

Supercoach Round 17 Score 2239 Rank 11,283

Hawthorn were on a bye which meant no Buddy and Cyril playing this week, while there are a million moves id like to make the reality is this is all but the side il be taking into the finals. With no impending zeroes i was happy to structure up the side with the use of my MPP’s to the best i thought they would score as to limit a big score on the bench. Pendlebury was my captain and he didnt let me down with 145pts, Ablett surprisingly did play and had an outstanding game also. Disappointments were Nick Riewoldt, Harry Taylor, Jack Darling, Brady Rawlings and Ben McEvoy, to a lesser extent Trent Cotchin who kicked 3 goals in the first quarter only to fizzle out like the rest of his team and only post 88pts. Big surprises were Nick Lower (146pts) who had it on a string and Drew Petrie after last weeks pathetic 31pts against The Pies pillaged The Dogs for 157pts.

While i have a plethora of depth throughout the team, its apparent im lacking star power beyond the top few options in each division, if things go to plan il make a last ditch effort to strengthen the team going into my finals campaign.

Another big fall in rankings have seen me drop out of the top 10,000 for the first time this year, the way things are going i dont expect to make up too much if any ground with that lack of star power previously mentioned, i dont want to jump at shadows for the sake of ranking numbers when im focusing on finals and this far back.

Trades 7 Bank 68,300

Dreamteam Round 18 Score 2368 Rank 4072

The initial plan with not trading Heath Shaw last week was to let Sam Fisher fall in price but to also weigh up the Matthew Suckling factor, he has been ripping out some great scores and The Hawks love to chip it around down back. What i didnt count on was him having back issues and not being selected, choice just became a whole lot easier Heath Shaw to Sam Fisher in almost a straight swap price wise. The game was a blowout and The Saints went cautious with Fisher substituting him out just after half time on 66pts… OUCH yet still believe it was the correct move at the moment.

What a monster round for scores, i posted 2368 my highest score ever yet i only just won most games and my overall ranking went up a measly 34 places, quite shocked yet happy for the wins which were crucial in most cases with just the one home and away match left in leagues prior to finals.

Trades 6 Bank 89,900

Supercoach Round 18 Score 2382 Rank 12,397

With no real need to trade yet i was inclined to hold firm with the 7 left, worth noting though over previous weeks i was eying Heath Shaw the week he ended up being suspended and this week it was Chris Newman on my radar and he sustained what is possibly a serious knee strain. Dare i look at another defender? i believe i have several weak links both forward and back due to my strategy of building depth with my squad, yet every time i look to bring in a premium defender something goes awry. I scored 2382 which was my biggest score besides the opening round 2420 i believe but still i lost two of my five league matches, it appears il make finals in four of the five leagues but its fairly evident my strategy has become my undoing in The Elxam League with everyone elses teams looking loaded.

Being this was my first full season of Supercoach i could chalk it up to rookie mistakes, but i expect more from myself than that regardless and im disappointed with the way ive brought myself undone not aiming for elite upgrades. That said its too late to undo whats done and im looking to make the most of the team created, if there is all types of bedlam come finals like ive forecasted il be in with a chance to cause some upsets.

Trades 7 Bank 68,300

Dreamteam Round 19 Score 2432 Rank 4283

No Trades made with the league bye, looking to next week to firm up my finals run…

Booming score in a week when i didnt need it… oh well.

Trades 6 Bank 89,900

Supercoach Round 19 Score 2557 Rank 11,812 

League bye this weekend but im not remaining idle in the trade market Nick Lower is peaking and Sam Fisher has bottomed out, no brainer to use one trade one cash cow/backup into a top five defender in Supercoach.

Trades 6 Bank 24,000 

Dreamteam Round 20 Score 2248  Rank 4326

With most finals berths locked up i could have not made a move yet, in one league i was fighting for a spot and had some concerns over Zac Smith’ body language and an impending bargain i had been eying off for many a week.

Zac Smith to Shane Mumford who is starting string it together finally and Paul Puopolo to Jed Adcock, both inclusions fired out 90’s while Smith and Puopolo could not combine for 90pts, i got the win i needed and believe ive improved the scoring potential of my team.

Trades 4 Bank 23,100

Supercoach Round 20 Score 2199 Rank 13,546

With a plethora of players to choose from in my current squad i thought id roll the dice by not trading this week and giving myself a solid 6 trades for my finals campaign.

The massive failure came in the form of a last minute change from Scott Pendlebury as Captain to Dean Cox who last week chalked up a booming 213pts and was facing a depleted Richmond team notorious for giving up big points to rucks, Nic Nat was named on an extended bench after having the previous week off.

Unfortunately Nic Nat played and Cox suffered a stomach strain of sorts which severely hampered him to 78pts while Pendlebury went for 133pts and a host of others peeled off big scores to rub salt into my greedy wound.

Got Too Greedy…

Trades 6 Bank 24,000

Dreamteam Round 21 Score 2207 Rank 4720

Strong team available and a double chance in some leagues so i decided to opt out on trading this week, 4 trades can dissolve really quickly this time of year with restings etc… Nick Lower has been burning the last few weeks but this week he has all but derailed my elimination finals scoring just 11 prior to being subbed off in the third quarter. In fact i did not win a single final in dreamteam this week other than the the interstate Elxam matchup leaving me in a shady predicament this weekend attempting to bounce back against teams who are in hot form. While my gut tells me Lower cannot be trusted my head says surely not again… possibly a big game even.

One things certain, il be facing some tough choices prior to lockout with Enright and Bartel already out.

In The Face Of Elimination We Must Rise Up…

Trades 4 Bank 23,100

Supercoach Round 21 Score 2515 Rank 11,059 

Time to strengthen my team as best i can and taking 6 trades into the final four weeks meant i can afford a double week one. Thoughts of trading out the underperforming Jack Riewoldt, the new substitute specialist Alan Didak or even Deon Prestia after having some achilles soreness were my initial thoughts but then it dawned on me… Kurt Tippett’ contract for my team is now up and he didnt really bring what id hoped which was playing every week, as it turns out David Hale was the better choice way back then coming off a knee injury, anyway il downgrade Big Tippett to Little Tippett and free up 200k to make Jack Darling a top 5 forward in Supercoach… Enter Matthew Pavlich.

No silly Captain thoughts this week im just going to stick it out with Pendlebury, while 102 isnt terrible i dont consider it to be a pass when putting the C on a player 120 is even par in my opinon.

Belted out a respectable 2515 with my captain not exploding and earned a preliminary final in berth in my three league matches, this is extremely satisfying with four trades in hand meaning i can double in each of my last two finals games.

Success Is Just Around The Corner…

Trades 4 Bank 28,200

Dreamteam Round 22 Score 2183 Rank 4261

Facing Elimination in all leagues it was time to get busy, Nick Lower not being selected made my decision on whether to stick with him or not much easier. Normally i would want to hold onto a premium bye or not but looking at Corey Enright’s run home combined with a lack of bench money to convert into a premium defender i decided to trade Enright to Matthew Suckling and Lower to Grant Birchall, love the Hawks run home and the way they chip it around down back. So i benched Brady Rawlings who has been inept, insipid, and mostly unplayable of late… turns out he outscored both inclusions yet im still happy with the moves ive made going forward.

The way Tendai Mzungu has been playing of late warranted him being on field so it was almost a blessing in disguise that Jimmy Bartel had a bye this week, he didnt let me down knocking out a solid 92pts. Petrie, Fisher and Montagna flopped majorly but everyone else pulled their weight, we got wins across the board and im off to four Preliminary Finals this weekend which im extremely happy with.

Eyes On The Prize…

Trades 2 Bank 11,800

Supercoach Round 22 Score 2127 Rank 12,532

Byes all round with three Prelim’s booked for next week meant i could afford to hold those four trades ive banked, that said i was keeping a keen eye on my teams progress for the following week as injuries and form will play a part in my emergency selections. After last weeks inclusion of Matthew Pavlich i was gaining confidence with my forward line and then twang, calf injury possibly done for the year, if he is done then he will need to be moved on which hurts, yet atleast he is of a decent value for a straight swap… just hurts to have a trade already in the gun before teams are even announced.

Im sure my opponents will have similar if not the same headaches so there is no point dwelling upon what cannot be undone, this is hopefully where my early strategy of compiling depth over pure premiums repays me if there are indeed multiple outs that two trades cannot cover, rather timely that Alan Didak has made his way back into the Collingwood side and racked up 30 possessions in his first non substituted game.

One thing is for certain had i not made it through the first week of finals i would have gone out in straight sets posting a mediocre/sub par 2127, its a calculated gamble week to week and like Kenny Rogers says…

“You Gotta Know When To Hold’em… And Know When To Fold’em”

Trades 4 Bank 28,200

Dreamteam Round 23 Score 2258 Rank 3742

Four Preliminary Finals two trades and Sylvia suspended for they year, for the most part i was thinking stay conservative and bank those two trades for Grand Final week… but what if i dont get there… for any of them

Ok no doubt now that i would rather make Grand Finals with no trades than have trades with no real reason to use them, id looked at the equation from every angle and my heart was telling me to trade Jack Darling to Brad Green, after being green vested last week he is going to be chomping at the bit get some pill this week and he faces the Gold Coast Suns, everyones favorite whipping boys for big scores, then il turn Sylvia into Brent Harvey giving me tremendous depth through the middle and forward, the backs are stitched up with once premium Brady Rawlings as my emergency.

The real concern for me here though is that Mzungu will be stuck on the midfield bench or Harvey would stay there due to my double MPP to the forward line… couple that with the fact Boomer is often tagged heavily against St Kilda to the point where he scores well below his average, this bothers me as his Grand Final matchup against Richmond is super favorable… arrrrgh i cant trade him in if he doesnt get me to the dance so change of plans.

Alan Didak could be an option but he is facing stiff competition in Grand Final week against The Cats, and again that double MPP means i lose Mzungu to play him… I look to cheap MPP forward options… damn would be nice to see Ian Callinan make a comeback this week but alas he has not… Jamie Bennell what the hell is he doing down here for $100k, he was averaging 50+ around round 12 until Melbourne started using him as a substitute and he was in and out of the side here and there, this is cheap cover for the midfield and i can snag the most elite forward i dont have Stevie J.

Time to roll the dice, Stevie will either equalize or be my point of difference and i like his matchups…

Time To Roll The Dice…

Trades 0 Bank 38,200

Supercoach Round 23 Score 2199 Rank 14,053

Well thanks for the one game Pav, done for the year oh well… this week is somewhat of a luxury for me with most of my squad healthy and multiple emergency options but still four trades so i may aswell strengthen my team.

Paul Puopolo has served me extremely well and i could not find a palce for him on field so i cashed him in by trading to Jason Tutt, this yielded me 220k and therefore allows me to be lavish with my next three trade ins… first cab off the rank is trading Pav out to Nick Dal Santo who has been killing it of late, this also gives me the odd benefit of now setting Jimmy Bartel or Trent Cotchin as my emergency but who knows what happens next week resting wise and my aim is to upgrade two backs if all goes according to plan and if a mid gets a rest i just play Jimmy or Cotchin.

Trades 2 Bank 96,000

Dreamteam Round 24 Score 2115 Rank 4368

Sam Mitchell late withdrawal >_< but luckily for me all my opponents had him some without cover, Yes we made all four Grand Finals and even though Stevie J didnt turn it on and Green and Didak did, im happy we have Stevie heading into the Friday night blockbuster as he dominated The Pies last time around… Tuesday arvo news of Nathan Fyfe being done for the year has rocked me, if ive already lost a player on Tuesday what more carnage awaits?

The answer is plenty, a few weeks ago i acquired Birchall and Suckling especially for the matchup against The Gold Coast Suns in Grand Final week, what i did not foresee weeks ago was that the final week of the regular season would be meaningless to The Hawks and they treated it accordingly resting Birchall, Franklin, Rioli, Sewell, Burgoyne, Lewis, Bailey… well you get the picture. This left my Grand Final side looking like this:

Back: Goddard, Gibbs, Fisher, Deledio, Adcock ,Suckling, Rawlings Benched: Birchall, Batchelor, Toy

Midfield: Swan, Pendlebury, Boyd, Mitchell, Montagna, Bartel Benched: Fyfe, Jacobs, Bennell EMG

Rucks: Cox, Mumford Benched: Tippett, Lobbe EMG

Forward: Stevie J, Goodes, Petrie, N.Riewoldt, Higgins, Mzungu, Prestia Benched: Franklin, Lynch, Harper EMG

I set Lobbe as my emergency in the ruck as i had an inkling Cox would too get the same treatment as The Hawks stars and not play, this could be a point of difference if others dont do the same… as it turned out it was a non factor and he played.

Captaincy was of vital importance and i need to nail it to make a difference with such a decimated side, all week i was going Matthew Boyd as he had toweled up The Dockers in Perth for 162pts earlier this year and even more so now The Dockers have the cue in the rack resting players… then before going to work i started to feel uneasy about the choice so i did some more number crunching… Swan’s averaging 10+ more points a game over the last five games and Boyd hasnt really gone big since round 14 against The Suns, from memory Ling cant keep up with Swan and he has been averaging high 120’s… everyone else is going to go Swan, do i want to lose based on a Captaincy choice that went against a form player in favor of a potential big game… no Swan for The Captaincy it is.

Oh how i would come to rue that decision just hours after making it, yes almost all my opponents went Swan too but Boyd rubbed my nose in it smashing out 155pts, rolls eyes further more some of my point of difference players such Mumford and Higgins failed miserably, it was fairly evident to me early in the round that i would not be successful this year and nothing really changed losing all four Grand Finals by an average of 95 points.

Early season trades chasing overall position haunted me late…

Trades 0 Bank 38,200 

Supercoach Round 24 Score 2325 Rank 13,601

Won two of the three Preliminary Finals which im happy with, as mentioned above The Hawthorn resting of players was crushing, losing Franklin and Rioli from my forward line when they were to play The Gold Coast Suns will hurt my gross output, that said i think Rioli was the main pain as most already have Big Buddy, this also threw a spanner in the works of my final two back upgrades which were to be Birchall and Suckling yet everyone in the midfield was named so i could afford to trade out Bartel or Cotchin to Heath Scotland a MPP and therefore have Dyson Heppell switch onto the midfield bench, Scotland has been the standout defender of those i did not have. Trade number two was a no brainer for me Adam Goodes has been on fire and money was no object, playing against the lowly Lions at home he figures to rip it up and he did so, my Grand Final Side was:

Back: Scotland, Goddard, Gibbs, Deledio, Fisher, Grundy, Taylor, Benched: Tutt, Howard, Rawlings EMG

Midfield: Ablett, Pendlebury, Swan, Dal Santo, Boyd, Cotchin Benched: Heppel, Jacobs, Prestia EMG

Ruck: Cox, McEvoy Benched: Keefe, Tippett EMG

Forward: Goodes, Chapman, Petrie, N.Riewoldt, J.Riewoldt, Mzungu, Didak Benched: Rioli, Richardson, McKernan

Really didnt give it a second thought on The Captaincy with all the grunt gone from Hawthorns midfield it was Gary Ablett for me and he delivered as projected with 170pts .

Trades 0 Bank 60,600

At the end of the year i made eleven Grand Finals across several competitions and won three of them, this is my eighth premiership in three years and im happy to have kept up with this blog as it will be invaluable for years to come…

Marcz Sharkz 2011 Season Blog

Special Thanks To Ossie85 For All His Hard Work This Year In Creating And Maintaining The League …