NEW TO FOOTY TRAGIC

Dear Footy Tragics,

The “Submit Your Team” section is now broken up into two parts:

  • PART 1 – The “Submit Your Team” section as per normal;
  • PART 2 -The NEW section where I unearth a hidden gem who I expect to make an impact in 2010. These players are under priced because they have been in the AFL system for 3 years or less (this week I have extended it to 5 years) and are still trying to establish themselves as AFL footballers. I’m looking for the next Andy Otten, Patrick Dangerfield, Mitchell Brown or Taylor Walker.

PART 1:

Let’s get ready to rumble!!! The finals are upon us and it’s time to sort the men from the boys. Hours upon hours of research, studying the pre season form, monitoring club injury lists and identifying talented young rookies has hopefully got you into the top 8 of your private leagues. It’s now time to use those trades you have been saving up, to crush your mates in Week 1 of the finals.

 

View AH YEP’s Team
Round 18 Score: 2,142
Current Overall Ranking: 489
Trades Left: 4
Remaining Salary Cap: $12,200

Dear Ah Yep,

Thank you for submitting your team.

I have identified three problem areas that need attention:

PROBLEM 1 – Your 7th defender – Nick Suban has done a great job averaging 52 points per game this year, but you can’t carry any passengers during the finals. On the other hand, Peter Burgoyne has been pathetic this season and has not played since Port Adelaide’s Round 15 loss to Melbourne. I don’t see Burgoyne returning this week either after the Power’s impressive win against Hawthorn last week.

PROBLEM 2 – Your 6th midfielder – Paul Hasleby has been solid in 2009 with an average of 85 points per game, but he seems to be running on fumes at the moment, with an average of just 73 points over the last 4 weeks.

PROBLEM 3 – Your 8th forward – Hayden Ballantyne is a great 8th forward, but why didn’t he just cop the 1 week penalty from the match review panel? He challenged the ruling, was found guilty at the tribunal and is now out for 2 weeks, so frustrating!

I can’t rectify all three of these problems this week, so I’ve focused on the area where I think you can pick up the most points this week, problem 2, the midfield. I’m hoping to get you an additional 50 – 60 points this week, as well as freeing up some more cash for your last two trades.

Dane Swan has been in magnificent form this season and is my tip for the 2009 Brownlow Medal. Swan has played all 18 games this season and has averaged an amazing 123 points per game. Every time I watch Collingwood play, I ask myself the same question: Who is on Dane Swan? The answer is usually nobody. The reason why is because Swan is the hardest running midfielder in the AFL. Swan will gut run for 7 minutes flat out, running from the back pocket to the forward pocket and back again, before sprinting to the bench for a 2 minute spell. When the 2 minutes is up, Swan sprints back onto the field and does the same thing again.

Another important aspect to Swan’s game is his pace. Swan has an ungainly running style, to go with an awkward kick. However, do not be fooled as Swan is one of the five quickest players over 20 metres at Collingwood. One last point on Swan, he’s been clearly the number 1 Dreamteam player at the moment and you need to get him into your side immediately.

Keep Liam Anthony as your midfield emergency.

      PROPOSED ACTION THIS WEEK (WEEK 1 OF FINALS):

AFL Round 3 - Port Adelaide v Adelaide       OUT: Peter Burgoyne ($283,000) and Paul Hasleby ($325,800);

      IN: Callum Wilson ($75,300) and Dane Swan ($499,400).

I’ve chosen Callum Wilson simply because he is cheap and likely to play the remaining 4 games for West Coast in 2009. With a score of 55 points in his first game, he is more than adequate as a 9th defender.

PROPOSED ACTION NEXT WEEK (WEEK 2 OF FINALS): 

I’m assuming you are gunning for private league glory (you are too far behind the leaders to win the car). If you win your final this week and earn one weeks break (if you finished between 1st and 4th), do not trade next week. 

PROPOSED ACTION THE FOLLOWING WEEK (WEEK 3 OF FINALS): 

Upgrade Nick Suban to the best defender you can afford, using surplus cash freed up from my recommendation above, this will rectify problem 1. 

Hayden Ballantyne will have served his 2 week suspension by now and should return, thus rectifying problem 3. 

Finally, hold your final trade for Round 22, in case of injury. 

Good luck! 
 
 

PART 2 (NEW):

Hidden gem Week 3: Max Bailey – Hawthorn – Ruck – $86,600

This week I set myself a challenge to select a potential 3rd or 4th ruck option. My first two hidden gems have been a forward (Tom Lynch) and a midfielder (Luke Shuey). I could have easily written about yet another $86,000 midfielder who could step up in 2010, but as we all know, midfielders are a dime a dozen in Dreamteam.

Max Bailey was drafted by the Hawks with pick 18 in the 2005 National Draft. Bailey was recruited from West Perth and is now listed as a 206cm, 107kg ruckman. While 2010 will be Bailey’s 5th season at AFL level, given the amount of time he has spent out injured and the fact that ruckman take longer to develop, I still see Bailey as a young talent on the rise.

Max B Bailey made his AFL debut in his first season, playing 4 games towards the end of 2006. Hawthorn were delighted with Bailey’s progress in his first 12 months at the club and started grooming him for the number 1 ruck position. Unfortunately, Bailey has not played an AFL match since, due to rupturing his right ACL twice. The first happened in the 2007 pre season, the second during a match for Box Hill reserves in June 2008.

It gives me great pleasure to say that Bailey has played 4 of the last 5 games for Box Hill seniors. The fact that Bailey is back out on the park again playing footy is great news for both the man himself and the Hawthorn Football club.

While I’ll openly admit that Bailey is the most speculative of my three hidden gems thus far, consider the following in relation to Hawthorn’s current ruck options:

  • Robert Campbell is an honest toiler, but at 199cms he is undersized against the likes of Aaron Sandilands and Dean Cox. He also struggles to keep up with the new breed of ruckman like Matt Kruezer, Mitch Clark and Patrick Ryder;
  • Simon Taylor is a clumsy, bungling dinosaur. I’d like to see a ruck combination of Brent Renouf and Max Bailey for Hawthorn in 2010. Renouf has impressed me in his short AFL career and he is well worth persisting with. Just look at how much Clark and Ryder have improved this year, after being given opportunities due to injuries to more noted ruckmen in their respective sides.

With many dreamteams burnt in 2009 with injuries to dreamteam favourites in Dean Cox, David Hille and Josh Fraser, the need to have solid 3rd and 4th ruck options in 2010 is crucial.

While Bailey is an obvious risk given his knee injuries, make no mistake of the fact that he has all the attributes needed to become a successful AFL player. If he can put together a full pre season and show some good form in the practice matches, he could be a very nice fit for your dreamteam in 2010. Good luck Max!

Please feel free to post a comment, we welcome all feedback.

Please also advise if you’ll be considering Max Bailey for your dreamteam in 2010.