Dear Footy Tragics,

Round 1 is now just 15 days away and we only get one more look at our players before locking them into our starting squad of 30. With a limit of only 20 trades over 22 rounds, the importance of nailing our squad of 30 players prior to Round 1 cannot be underestimated. In an ideal world, our trades should be used to cover for injuries, rather than to cover for poor player choices at the selection table.

The best advice I can give you to help nail your squad of 30 players is to conduct your own thorough research. Personally, I prefer to stick to the mainstream media and Footy Tragic to obtain information on my players. The AFL website is useful for this purpose, as is The Herald Sun and The Age if you reside in Victoria. If you live outside Victoria, I understand it can be difficult to obtain information on interstate teams. For example, the WA media focus almost exclusively on West Coast and Fremantle, and the SA media focus on Adelaide and Port Adelaide. Fortunately, this problem is now largely overcome given the fact most articles are now available online.

While the information you obtain from these sources is invaluable, as an old school footy lover, I refuse to pick any players in my dreamteam unless I have seen them myself (either live at the ground or on TV). Personally, watching a player once is not enough for me, I prefer to see my player in action at least two to three times before locking him in.

The problem here is many of the bargain buys we are all searching for play for struggling teams such as Richmond or Melbourne, with both of these teams knocked out of the NAB cup in Round 1. With no TV coverage of NAB challenge matches, we are left with only one option, watch these games live.

Adelaide Crows Training Session

With NAB challenge games this weekend at: Southport, Visy Park, Narrandera, Fremantle, Casey Fields, Morwell and Mount Gambier, most of us have the option of watching at least one NAB challenge match this weekend (unless you live in Adelaide or Tasmania)!

I’ll be heading out to Visy Park, Melbourne this Friday afternoon to check out the Carlton vs Adelaide match. My main focus will be on players such as Marcus Davies from Carlton ($89,500 defender) and Phil Davis from Adelaide ($94,500 defender / forward). Both of these players are currently in the mix for me, but given the fact I have hardly seen them play, I want to check them out first hand.

Watching NAB challenge games live may seem too extreme for your liking, but its all part of the due diligence required when selecting your initial squad of 30 players. I consider it a one percenter, which could be the one percent advantage you gain over your opponents this season.

Analysing player stats is a very important component of dreamteam, but it is no substitute for watching players with your own eyes. Avoid the temptation to take short cuts with your dreamteam, because as the saying goes “there are no shortcuts to any place worth going”.

Good luck!