SuperCoach Team Structure 2012

[Rik E Boy]

Well folks this is the quietest ever SC pre-season that I can remember. Seeing as I'll be pissing off overseas next weekend...no, it's the weekend after! That means I'm going to get in first with a bit of pre-season observation which can be a bit problematic prior to the launch of NABasketball.

From my reading so far this summer it seems plenty of coaches who rank a lot higher than I do tend to favour the straight out Guns and Rookies strategy which I call the GNR or Guns and Roses Strategy. The idea is to have four premiums on each line and include two first rucks as well and fill out your team with Rookies. Traditionally teams who have followed this strategy have had to make fewer trades to get to their final 22 thus giving them a chance of cranking up scores when the late season donuts get rolled out.

This year though something new appears to have arisen...the four rookie Ruck Strategy. This strategy ignores the traditional 'set and forget' policy that is used by a majority of coaches and having 5 Premiums on each line instead of four. The thinking behind this is as follows....

PREMIUM RUCKS

Cox - Can he sustain his form with Nick Nat expected to take a greater role this season.
Goldstein - Had a breakout year last year but Hamish McIntosh wasn't available last year.
Sandilands - Can the big unit stay on the field and will Lyon opt to use him this way when they have Clarke and Griffen on the list as well. He could start to turn into Ottens here.
Mumford - A gun scorer but he's a box of Fruit Loops with a few funky MRP charges against him. Another Risky get.

Luenberger appears to be the most solid bet but his longevity has been questionable also. McEvoy is a ruck who looks pretty tempting.

So if we are going to 'get rookiefied' what are our options

ROOKIE RUCKS

Redden - Won't play early as the Power will go Renouf and Lobbe but could be a decent R4 or a trade down option later on in the year.
Jenkins - Adelaide Rookie ruck who might get the chance with Maric and to a lesser extent Sellar off the scene.
Giles - Looking like the Zac Smith of 2012 and most coaches will have him
Rowe - Recruited to fill a FWD role at Carlton and some gamer pundits might go the MPP with Roughead (even though he's very inconsistent and overpriced for mine). Rowe will play mostly as a forward though so this will affect his scoring.
Stephenson - Geelong have 'done a Pods' with this bloke and I reckon you can count on him getting games early although the Cat rotational policy will probably deliver less than 18 games for mine.
Derexxcz - Can't spell his name but the Tiger is as strong as an Ox and was ready to go last year before injury intervened.

The four rookie ruck strategy is one worth thinking about this season. Even playing three of the above will enable you to boost one or maybe two of your other lines. I can see the top priced ruckmen coming down in price a bit this season so I'm reluctant to splash the cash on a set and forget strategy.

Then finaly there are the multitude of 'mid pricers' who tempt you with promises of faboulous scoring and price discounts. This year the following will tempt but I believe a maximum of one on every line is about as risky as you want to get.

Defenders

Paul Bower
Marty Clarke
Brian Lake
Nick Malceski
Josh Drummond

Mids

Shaun Higgins noooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Micheal Barlow
Adam Cooney



Forwards

Jonathon Brown
Jason Porplyzia

There's probably a few more out there. Well, you lot don't want to talk about SuperCoach but I do so there.

regards,

REB

[Alaska]

Have they changed the scoring as they suggested at the end of last year on Too Serious, so that the Ruckmen would be less attractive?
Also what has happened to Too Serious?

[Rik E Boy]

Have they changed the scoring as they suggested at the end of last year on Too Serious, so that the Ruckmen would be less attractive?
Also what has happened to Too Serious?

We'll have to wait until Feb 1 to find out more details. TooSerious aren't taking it TooSeriously if you ask me! Logged on for some research and got bubkus.

regards,

REB

[Q.]

Last year, defence was the goldmine for rookie cash cows. This year it will be important to identify which line boasts the best rookie prospects and, if it isn't the defence, then one of those defence mid-pricers is definitely worth taking the risk (could be huge upside to Lake, Drummond, Clarke).

As for the lack of action on fantasy football sites, perhaps they are all concertedly keeping their cards close to their chests, but I think that once the NABasketball starts we'll be flooded with a heap of analysis. At the moment, all you can do is be aware of any players having their pre-season interrupted through injury.

[Hondo]

Have they changed the scoring as they suggested at the end of last year on Too Serious, so that the Ruckmen would be less attractive?
Also what has happened to Too Serious?

As far as I am aware the scoring system is unchanged for rucks

So to me the premium rucks remain pretty attractive starting options

[cossi11]

i am still waiting on my AFL prospectus to be delivered, maybe all the fantasty sites are doing the same thing??

[Q.]

Dawson Simpson goes in for back surgery and will miss at least three months. Makes Stephenson a viable starting ruck.

[Gingernuts]

My strategy of steering clear of Adelaide players worked a treat last year, but I reckon big Sauce Jacobs might be handy in the ruck this year. He was in solid 100+ form by the end of last season.

[Hondo]

I can see the possible benefit in starting one rookie in the ruck but I am not yet sold on starting two rookie rucks. It makes your whole season very dependent on how they go as cash cows and before Zac Smith rookie rucks were terrible cash cows. You only picked them in case you needed them to back up a short term injury. They weren't cash cows to trade out.

Was Smith a one off or is he the new mould given the changed scoring system for the rucks from last year.

I feel this could be one of the biggest decisions to make this season.

I haven't got a fixed view one way or the other yet and will wait and see how pre-season form goes.

[Alaska]

I agree the previous years experience with rookie rucks shows them to be very unreliable. Some play but do not score others score 50-70 but only play occasionally or latter in the season.
I think we have Stephenson as the Zac rookie for this year but I would not like him as a starter.
I think the big question with the new prices is the set and forget Sex on the Beach duo the best option?

[Banker]

Like last year, the guys prepared to do the research for bye weeks will have a huge advantage

I'm considering deliberately 'throwing' a game, and cop a heap of zeros for one of the Bye Rounds. Then hopefully dominate the other 2 bye weeks.... Big call!

[Interceptor]

There's probably other options if you want to get started early without having SC Gold, but this fan-made Excel-based selector isn't bad.
Has 2012 prices, with MPP labels.
Pick your team by entering '1' in the Select column and it updates accordingly.

[Dogmatic]

Have they changed the scoring as they suggested at the end of last year on Too Serious, so that the Ruckmen would be less attractive?
Also what has happened to Too Serious?

Looks like the saved bookmark you had for Too Serious has changed.
Try this one.

http://tooserious.net/

[Alaska]

Thanks Stats you are spot on. Although it has not improved on performance.

[Gingernuts]

2 Days until it opens!

[Interceptor]

Q & A (pinched from BF) with 'Impromptu', 2011 SC winner.

1. What do you consider to be the basic types of players in Dream Team and SuperCoach?

Traditionally, my Dream Team and SuperCoach teams comprise of a set number of premium and rookie players with only a small portion of mid-priced players. Therefore, I favour the 'guns and rookies' approach.

Premiums are there because you need them in your team to score points because, all things being equal, premiums will score more points than non-premiums. Furthermore, if you don't have enough premiums in your initial team then you won't have enough trades to be able to have a full team of premiums, which is an important objective.

Rookies are the cash cows that are there to increase in value and then traded for another rookie to generate cash or upgraded to a premium.

Mid-priced players are players I don't usually pick as you are caught between rookies and premiums. The question that needs to be asked is whether the mid-priced player is a cash cow, a keeper or both?

I always try to look for value in players, however I generally have a rule not to look for value in the midfield. The reason is that historically the midfield is where you score the most points. I also try to avoid high draft pick rookies as they cost more and therefore may impact the structure of my initial team. However, the main reason that I avoid high draft pick rookies is that it is easier to generate cash when a player costs less. For example, it is easier for a player to increase from $100K to $300K rather than $160K to $360K. Naturally, high draft pick rookies in theory have a better chance of scoring more and have better job security than other rookies.

2. What sort of basic 30-player team structure should I aim for in my initial team?

Team structure in 2012 should include:

* At least 10 premiums
* At least 1 permanent captain (Ablett, Swan, Pendlebury)
* A bundle of multi-position players (MPPs) to cater for the bye and injuries
* A balance of GWS rookies, general rookies and mature aged rookies

3. Are there any differences in selecting a team aiming for a high overall ranking compared to aiming to win my league grand final?

My DT/SC team is generally aimed at achieving a higher overall ranking. However, I don't believe there should be much difference in selecting your initial team as they go hand-in-hand. In order to make the league grand final you have to win to make the final 8, which requires you to trade to upgrade your players.

The only time it may impact you is if you need to upgrade a player when aiming for overall position with limited trades remaining, which means then they cannot be saved for league finals.

4. How should I factor in the byes in the selection of my initial team?

I think all DT/SC participants must take the 2012 multiple-bye rounds in consideration, when deciding their initial team selection. I don't believe that you should turn your team upside down to avoid zeros during the bye rounds as it is inevitable. However, you need to try to minimise it to 2-5 zeros for the multi-bye rounds (noting that 2 zeros appears to be the absolute minimum).

My advice is planning your team to avoid zeros even though it may not be your best team.

5. You are well known for your unconventional and lateral thinking with your initial team selection, especially with your previous 8 rookie midfield (2010) and starting without Brendan Goddard (2011), can the BigFooty community expect something similarly unconventional in 2012?

At this stage, Pendlebury, Cox, Sandilands, Buddy Franklin, Judd, Murphy and Gibbs will not be in my initial SuperCoach team, however, I'm considering having Izzy Folau in my team.

6. Finally, give me one final piece of advice that only a SuperCoach winner could tell me!

Always be open minded with other people's DT/SC advice on a strategy, team structure or a player. You may disagree with the advice, but be open minded.

[Alaska]

Well CD have confirmed that there will not be a change to the Ruck scoring this year:
"No change to the formula this year, so as long as the number one ruck keeps playing high game time, numbers will stay high."
So my plan of Sex in the Car will not work as Kruse will not be selected as No. One Ruck.
Back to Plan A I think, so late for a crucial decision.