Supercoach 2010

Just wondering if anyone had started to think about how they are going to structure their team next year & what mistakes they have made this year which they have learned from. One of the most important things to me is to put plenty of time in selecting your team for round 1. Do your research, the star players you choose for round 1 you do not want to trade out except for serious, long term injuries. Using trades up to swap one star to another will cost you in the end. Keep an eye on the current national under 18 carnival to see any young stars that will be picked at the draft this year. One is Tom Scully who is almost certain to go pick 1 - is a ready made AFL player. Think everyone will have him as their 6th midfielder next year (just like Daniel Rich this year). Choose your bench players wisely - this has cost me big time this year, not having backups mainly in the backline thus saving trades I know is going hurt later. When to upgrade cash cows to stars. This will be much easier next year thanks to Roachie's bargain buys! Knowing when to make the trades is crucial. Checking how durable players are. Very important not to choose players who are plagued by soft tissue injuries or because of the way they play are always prone to injury. Choosing players who use the ball well, do not give away free kicks. I am also considering choosing forward line players than play more midfield given the way the game is changing. Much harder(except for Reiwoldt) for the power forwards to kick regular bags of goals now with all the zone defences, players guarding space not the man. More consistent scoring from getting disposals rather relying on players kicking 5 or more goals to justify their price tag ( I am looking at you Buddy Franklin!). Interested in everyone elses thoughts & what strategies you will be employing next year.
Cheers

Next year I am going to choose 4 premium defenders, 4 premium midfielders and 4 premium forwards. But I am going to choose players that are listed as defenders/midfielders as my defence as defenders are inconsistant. Then I am going to choose a top draft pick as my last defender and then i am going to pick rookies who are going to play in the first round. My biggest mistake this year is not getting Gary Ablett and I can't get him because he is going up in price so a must have next year. In the rucks I must have dean cox and I might have McIntosh as he is firing this year and should have a good year next year also. I am going to try and make all of my players to play in the first week and I will not trade until round 3 when there prices go up. With trades I am only going to trade my first year players and uprade them to more premiums. Another mistake I made this year is trading a injured premium for another one. This year I am going to resist trading them and keep them on the bench and put in a top draft pick player to replace him.
Sounds Good?

Strategies sound very good Kosta. Like the idea of defenders that play midfield also (ie Lockyer).Trade strategy good also. Cox & Ablett should always be the first 2 players picked in my opinion.

And I will have a look at roachies bargains and i will chose the best bargain in each position (Backs, Mids and Forwards) then my team will be unbeatable

But my only concern is whether I will run out of money or not, if I do I may get a player who is having a bad year or a player who has a long term injury. (ie. Daniel Kerr and Robert Harvey)
i am set, i can't wait for next year now!

Mine is simple:
1) Put as much effort and research into rookies as premiums - the right rookies pay off big time.
2) Don't panic trade. Keep cool when stars/second tier players/rising rookies go down for shorter periods - 1-3 weeks. If you've done your homework on step 1 then you're covered.
3) Have an idea on who you're looking to trade in - use the watch list in SC. If you need to trade due to LTI then you're ready. This also prevents step 2. (It would be good if you can list/filter the players in the SC watch list by position - quick reference when you need a replacement in a certain position).
4) Look more closely at your league - know your opposition and check out their teams on Friday as much as the AFL teams.

Doesn't sound much, but if I had of stuck with this formula I'd be in a better position!

It's not that I've had a shocker - it's the fact I haven't planned well enough and it will catch up with me......

Oh well - live and learn!

A little early hey fellas

First year as well and made the same mistakes Kosta, No GAJ or Cox Got Cox in last week and will still pick up GAJ for finals regardless of price

I did however go with midfield backs (or Quarter backs) and midfield forwards or the boys running through the midfield (Pav, Stevie J, Skippy, Ziebel, Adcock, Houlihan) as much as I could and it has paid off! 8-0 in my league and averaging 2100

So whilst I hate not having GAJ and Cox most have been surprised being 8-0 in a work league with extra cash on the side up for grabs. Its not the be all and end all.

I think where I have gained the edge was getting the rookie picks right and beng logged in on D day (pre Rd 1 Lock out early) where no one else seemed to be able to get in and have all playing rookies which nearly ended up being the premium rookies for the year. I made a tonne of cash from the likes of Otten, Rich, Dangerfield, Ziebel, (Walker and Petrenko to a lesser extent) where most others in my league picked non playing rookies, so much so they are still not playing and made no cash at all!

A few keys to doing well;

• Be adaptable.
  Focus your strategy where the value lies.
  Research, research and research some more.
  This year, I wanted to go in with a Guns and Rookies strategy.
  This means, that I select premiums who I think will be in the top 7 in each position.

My premiums to start off with this year were:

Goddard, Cornes, Fisher, Gilbee, Newman

Ablett, Pendlebury, Selwood, Judd

Cox

Pavlich, Chapman, Deledio

Overall these where fairly good picks to begin with and helps to set up the year.
Getting the right rookies with this strategy is key. I.e I started both Rich and Otten on the field a key to the strategy working is getting these high scoring rookies. Can be a very risky path though....

Using some early trades to fix up mistakes is vital, but mainly in the rookies.
Do not sideways an under-performing premium.
Aim big with your premiums. If you want to finish the season strongly you need the best of the best. Don't skimp at the start.

Just a few tips, good luck to everyone for the rest of the year.

Cheers

Excellent advice Snake Eyes - can see why you are at the top of the tree with the premiums & rookies you had at the start of the year as well as your keys to doing well. Have already put in place a selection policy for next year. Choosing top 4 backs, forwards, mids & Cox for next year with an aim to fill the remaining spots with the gun rookies/ guys coming off injuries so under priced. Then having a list of guys I will upgrade rookies to when price is right. Thanks for reinforcing what I believe is formula for better success in 2010.
Cheers

at this stage then who are your must haves for next year and maybe some smokies that are playing at the moment? Really what we want to know is who everyone thinks wil be the 2010 Sam Gilbert or Zac Dawson or greg broughon?

My must have will have to be
Rievwolt
Ablett
Cox/Sandilands
J selwood
Goddard
Dal Santo

Any tips for the big rises in 2010??

Agree with your must haves Agreco. Also on my list are Montagna, Hayes, S Johnson, Davis, Didak, Drummond - problem is fitting them all in! Depends on their respective prices. Smokies for next year :- Trent Cotchin if he has full pre season, Robbie Warnock as 2nd ruck ( depends on pre season also). Definite rookie in my starting team as 6th mid fielder is Tom Scully - gun Vic under 18 captain.Should go pick 1 at draft. Ready made AFL player like Rich this year.

I'll be keeping some money up my sleeve at the start just in case that when i want to downgrade rookies there aren't many people to downgrade too. Lots of people are now looking for downgrade options but there arent' many left so i will be keeping some cash. Will have a few locks in each position aka Cox and a few others, but will chosse a few players in each that aren't necessarily rookies but good value. Guys i have my eye on are Cotchin, David Hille, Kerr (possibly), Palmer, etc... guys who aren't rookies but are good value. Will be looking at a few second or 3rd year players too.

Although i'm more focused on league wins than overall so this strategy won't work that well if you're going for overall wins.

The best thing i did this year was choose rookies that were playing straight away and would keep their place in the team. Not necessarily the best rookies but they have served me well in cover for injuries. Guys like Zac Dawson, Mitchell Brown, Nic Suban.

My strategy for next year will be as follows:

1: Don't put anyone in the midfield that can be put somewhere else. For e.g: This year i put Goodwin in my midfield at the start of the year, I should of had him in my forward line. There are a lot more quality midfielders than any other position so it is important to keep that in mind.

2. Pick rookies who are likely to play in the first 3 rounds. You can get cash from these guys by the time others are ready to play in later rounds. For e.g: This year i got guys like Rich, Collins, Garlett, Robinson, Hill and Ziebell who all played early in the year. Players i steered away from like Liam Anthony, Natinui, Watts make great downgrades later in the year. Perfect scenario is Andrew Collins who has been a benchy of mine all season, He is likely to get up to about $400,000 in the next couple of weeks. By then Liam Anthony will be playing and i can downgrade Collins to Anthony and make a cool $310,000 plus points i have had from Collins all year. Now if i had Anthony since round one there would have been several games where i would have had to cop a 0 and also i wouldnt have the extra cash to upgrade another midfielder to a premium.

3. Keep about $400k in the kitty at the start just in case you get a major injury and need some extra cash in an upgrade.