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 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:

View In Watts We Trust’s Team
Round 21 Score: 2,145
Current Overall Ranking: 620
Trades Left: 0
Remaining Salary Cap: $7,300

      Dear In Watts We Trust,

      Thank you for submitting your team.

Congratulations, you have made the Grand Final of your private league and you appear certain to finish inside the top 1,000 teams overall in 2009. 

Unfortunately, I can’t help you this week because you have run out of trades, but I will take the opportunity to give you some assistance for 2010. 

As I’ve mentioned previously, my aim each year is to win the car. We all know that there is no prize for coming 2nd. At the mid point of the season, I conducted a full analysis of my dreamteam and faced the reality that I had no chance of winning the car in 2009. Rather than fade meekly towards Round 22, I’ve used the past 10 rounds to experiment and try a few different strategies in my preparations for 2010. Here is the verdict: 

  • Experiment 1 -Burn my trades early - In previous seasons, I’ve always stuck by the theory of keeping 1 trade up my sleeve for every week remaining in the competition. This theory has merit, but consider this alternative: The dreaded 0 has the same effect whether you cop it in Round 10 or Round 22. Why save a trade in Round 10 and cop a 0, just in case a player gets injured later in the season when you might need that trade? Why wouldn’t you cover the 0 in Round 10 and back your trading strategy in to have sufficient depth by Round 22 to cover for a couple of injuries?

Ross Lyon I used my final trade prior to Round 19, but it’s fair to say the last 3 weeks of my season have been easily my best of the season. What’s more, I had 25 players to choose from in Round 19 (when Ross Lyon rested half his team) and I’ve had 28 players to choose from the last 2 weeks. Had I saved up my trades for Round 22 it would have been a waste because I’ve already got a full squad of players. 

Another very important factor to consider is that our team values rise significantly over the course of the season. While we all understand that this translates into higher scores this time of year, it also means it’s easier to select 22 quality players because you should have already made $100,000 plus on each of your early season cash cows. This cash can be spent boosting players 15 - 22. 

One of the reasons this strategy has worked for me in the later part of 2009 is that I stay well away from injury prone players e.g. Paul Chapman. I don’t understand why Paul Chapman is in 45,452 teams. Sure, he averages 112 points per game when he plays, but he has only played 17 games this year. What’s even more significant are the weeks he has missed, Rounds 8, 10, 19, 20 and most likely 22. Note that the Rounds in bold are our finals! As my fellow Footy Tragic panelist Dan would say, “I’d never consider Paul Chapman, the man has hamstrings made of crepe paper”. 

While I have changed my tune from previous seasons about saving up your trades, I’m seriously considering adopting the burning trades early strategy again in 2010.  

  • Experiment 2 - The unique selections - I don’t want Gary Ablett, Chris Judd, Tarkyn Lockyer or Nick Riewoldt, I want Scott Thompson, Marc Murphy, Paul Duffield and Colin Sylvia. If your aim is to win the car, you don’t pick the same players that the leaders of the competition have. You need a point of difference. How can you make up a gap of 1,000 points from Rounds 10 - 22 when you make trades that make your team almost identical to the competition leader? The answer is, you can’t!

Don’t be afraid to be an individual and pick someone a little bit different. It may not work, but you’ll never know if you don’t have a crack. There is nothing I hate more in dreamteam than the sheep. Just remember, sheep get slaughtered, literally. Don’t be a sheep. 

Now back to In Watts We Trust, best of luck for your Grand Final this week. The return of Stevie Johnson this week is timely with the unfortunate (and utterly ridiculous) suspension of Buddy Franklin. 

      PROPOSED ACTION THIS WEEK (WEEK 4 OF FINALS):

      None - no trades left.

PART 2 (NEW):

Hidden gem Week 6: James Strauss - Melbourne - Midfield - 2009 price $86,600.

In my final article in this six-week series, I’ve chosen a player who has been cruelled by injuries in 2009. He has played only 7 games of footy this year (3 VFL senior games and 4 VFL reserves games) due to a combination of ankle / leg injuries which restricted him early in the season and a left shoulder injury which required a reconstruction in July this year.

James Strauss James Strauss was selected by Melbourne with pick 19 in the 2008 National Draft. Strauss was recruited from the Oakleigh Chargers and is listed as 185cms, 82kgs. Strauss represented Vic Metro in the 2008 Under 18 National Championships, where he averaged 14 possessions over his 5 games in the carnival.

Strauss is a very athletic, fast (4th overall in the 2008 Draft Camp for the 30 metre repeat sprints) and hard running midfielder, with elite endurance. Strauss also reads the play very well and is an excellent kick of the football on both sides of his body.

While Strauss has been unable to get out of 2nd gear in 2009 due injury, the good news is, he will be up and running for the start of Melbourne’s 2010 pre season campaign in October. I also like the fact that Strauss has a fairly strong body for a 19 year old, which gives him a greater chance of playing senior footy for Melbourne in 2010. In addition, Melbourne has proven that they are not afraid to throw their young kids into the deep end, because basically they have no choice.

There is no doubt Strauss has the potential to play a number of games for Melbourne next year. With the benefit of a 2nd pre season and the hope of remaining injury free during the season proper, Strauss is definitely one to keep a close eye on over the pre season.

Good luck James!

PS - It was great to see my Week 3 hidden gem Max Bailey get through the game against Richmond last Saturday night and perform solidly, collecting 66 dreamteam points along the way. Keep up the great work Max!

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

Please also advise if you’ll be considering James Strauss for your dreamteam in 2010.