Shizzle My Nizzle 2023

StuDogg101 wrote:Interesting week where I thought I was going ok, was happy with my trades (despite Carrigan outscoring Matto) but then a few dud scores added together resulted in a par-at-best 842 (round rank 13533 suggests par may be generous) and a small rank improvement to 12195.

Agonised all week over Katoa to Manu but decided to wait a week. Financially made sense, but couldn't have predicted Katoa's HIA. A few points gone begging there. Bird trade in for Holmes was great as expected even with Holmes cracking 50 again. Matterson did ok for 51 but not as good as Carrigan who he had replaced. Trying to think of the long game here. Plus I technically saved a trade, by only using 2.

As for the team itself
Boyd, best game so far and couldn't have come at a better time as my sole hooker. Was an almost certain trade out a few rounds ago, but will stay for the interim as he plugs the gap quite sufficiently for now.

Haas was his usual reliable self despite not cracking 60. McInnes hasn't seen the uptick I expected and wanted but stays the course for now. And Matterson I'm happy to have in the team, plus hoping he can push the 60 score more often than not.

Preston is great, in no hurry to move him on at all. Hosking is a worry with his minutes and Garner being named on the extended bench doesn't lessen that worry. But for now he's fine.

Cleary and SJ, doing fine.

Lemmy was good, nice to see him keep the spot with Bromwich back. Bird was great and I felt like he was the missing piece in my team that I should have traded in weeks ago.

Now my back 3. All 3 were rubbish tbh. Miller is a concern if he continues like he did on the weekend, but for now I'll just chalk it up to a one off. Same with Walsh, yes the Broncos draw might be *tougher* at the moment,  but as a big part of their attack he will be involved I'm sure. Turbo is one of my biggest regrets this season. Can't believe I traded out Teddy. That'll teach me!

Bench wasn't amazing, but could have been worse. Ford ok, IKatoa improving, Crossland about what I expected. Unfortunately EKatoa didn't go well at all. The NPRs all scored in the 20s which won't help their cashflow and Hunt still a red dot.

This week is a bit of a crunch. I'm sure if I double cow I could get Hynes although I haven't run the numbers yet. I think the smarter play is going for Manu as initially planned. Will probably have to trade in someone like Bula for that to happen, but am open to other suggestions if they're there.

Thanks for reading and have a great round

Current team:
Boyd
Ford Matto McInnes
Hosking Preston
Cleary SJ
Bird Lemmy
Miller Walsh Turbo

IKatoa Crossland

Hands Couchman (Warbrick Katoa Haas Hunt)

Bank: $31k
Rank: 12195
Trades: 21 (3)

My 2C:

Katoa -> Lane/Olakuatu
Warbrick -> Bula
Turbo -> Manu

Haven't run the numbers but I think that should work cash-wise?

mrbrownstone wrote:

My 2C:

Katoa -> Lane/Olakuatu
Warbrick -> Bula
Turbo -> Manu

Haven't run the numbers but I think that should work cash-wise?

Yeah that works cash-wise. I can go anyone up to JMK. So him, Bateman, both Kings, AFB, Olakau'atu, Carrigan, Cotter, Lane. I like Lane as an option but don't know if I want/ should have two Eels forwards even with R13

StuDogg101 wrote:

Yeah that works cash-wise. I can go anyone up to JMK. So him, Bateman, both Kings, AFB, Olakau'atu, Carrigan, Cotter, Lane. I like Lane as an option but don't know if I want/ should have two Eels forwards even with R13

Fair, of that lot it'd be between Cotter or Lane for me, I like Lane but not sure you can go wrong either way.

mrbrownstone wrote:

Fair, of that lot it'd be between Cotter or Lane for me, I like Lane but not sure you can go wrong either way.

Thanks for the advice. I like Cotter but Origin maybe on the horizon makes me second guess. The main forum haven't really allayed that concern either

Nagging feeling I maybe should have got a mid/dual but I have gone with Lane on the basis I'll be fine for R14 and they should hopefully both smash out 50s. Hopefully. Yes Lane averages less than that but let's ignore that

Matto out and locked as VC. Oof

StuDogg101 wrote:

Thanks for the advice. I like Cotter but Origin maybe on the horizon makes me second guess. The main forum haven't really allayed that concern either

Good choice not going for Cotter

Lucky your captain ended up playing!

Round 9 was another one of those rounds that could have gone a lot worse tbh. Pre-updates I was under 800 with a tonne of ranks lost, but updates lifted me to 835 and only a couple of hundred ranks lost. So while there were some big scores out there, those within a few thousand of my rank must have scored in the 800-850ish region. I'll take that honestly after a punishing start to the week with Matterson a last minute pull with being locked as VC. As Snatch mentioned, super lucky Cleary ended up playing!

Had to live with several punishing scores (eg Crossland), but on the bright side I was forced to play Bula so that worked out. Unfortunately my cover for Matto was...the Couch. And even then 23 was above expectations . Without Haas and Matto my pack was shorn of its two most productive members, and with McInnes underwhelming again I'm not really sure of the route to take this week.

As for a summary
Boyd with another 50. Gone from the conversations of trading out, I'm now looking at ways I can keep him of the foreseeable with his useful DPP. Not expecting 50+ every week, but in saying that if he's found his footing now maybe it's not out of the realm of possibility.

Ford did ok, 40ish is fine from him since he's supposed to be more of a bench cover player but had to fill the big shoes of Haas for a week. McInnes, as mentioned above, super underwhelming and I'm tempted to pull the pin on the experiment. Hasn't had anywhere near the role/minutes or impact I expected. Matto was locked in the third spot.

Hosking knocked on the door of 50 again. He's pretty much topped out but I'm loathe to trade out a fit player at the moment, when he is performing pretty well. Preston I have in the same boat. Particularly low score for him, but also know his potential. Is he in the conversation for trading? Sure. But I think others are putting their hands up more.

Cleary, another banger. If Hynes didn't exist then we'd all be stoked with 65(c). But he does exist, so 65 seems quite ordinary at the moment. No complaints though. SJ got 54 and I don't really know how? It's comforting as an owner that he can have a relatively "quiet" game and still score over 50. It's tempting to trade him to Hynes though, not gonna lie. The byes though...THE BYES.

Lemmy excellent, finally hit a great game since owning him, and his updates contributed to the healthy increase in score and rank at the end of the round. Bird is fine, 40 is obviously low for him, but as a centre we take those!

Manu excellent in the wet, glad I brought him in. Will be invaluable cover over the next little while , even if he gets shafted back to the outside backs. Walsh a really disappointing score. Lots of chatter on the forum going into the last few rounds about how he was going to struggle and so it has been. Putting his hand to for a trade, but with Miller out this week I don't think I can afford myself that luxury. Speaking of, 40 from Miller is another one of those middling scores. Will have to monitor the effect Ponga has on him going forward, but still a hold for now.

IKatoa on the bench, being forced to play him every week since my bench is so thin and it had been going ok so far. 33 is obviously not great, but compared to some of the others it was great. New recruit Lame plodded out a 44. I think that'll be around his base, and hopefully he can jag a few tries etc here and there for the occasional 50+. Bye coverage though, and he wasn't Cotter, so there's that. Crossland was poor, don't really know why he didn't get the same minutes but he's another that isn't meant to be a weekly score for my team so not too fussed. Bula was my ring in once Ford had to replace Haas. Great score considering playing the Panthers. Tigers had their tails up which was good to see.

Couchman score counted for Matto unfortunately. Not named this week, not sure what to do with him. Hands another low score. Haas and Hunt didn't play.

This week is looking to be another shocker. 17 fit players (including Hands) which means I'm gonna have to trade to have a decent team. Thankfully Bula allayed some fears of playing him (covering Miller) - in before the single digit score this week - so I really only need someone to cover a bench spot. Ideally someone like Couch goes, but with only $18k in the bank I'm going to have to get more creative. There's also the ever-present question of if/when I get Hynes, because he's obviously the one killing us non-owners the most.

Thoughts and opinions please, you guys have been really helpful recently and I appreciate it.

Current team, pre-trades

Boyd
Haas McInnes Matto
Hosking Preston
Cleary SJ
Lemmy Bird
Manu Walsh Bula

Ford Lane IKatoa.....Hands

(Miller Crossland Hunt Couchman)

Bank: $18k
Rank: 12483
Trades: 18 (3)

I did the mcinnes experiment and I am pulling the plug with him being named on the bench, he’s great in real life but even with all the middle injuries and suspensions his minutes and output didn’t increase significantly

Also got the crossland raw end last week too

Your only path to Hynes looks to be through cleary, and even then it needs another trade to facilitate

I’m downgrading mcinnes to tatola, you could do similar and use the money to go cleary to Hynes if that interests you

Which hunt is that on emergency? Ben, Royce or the dragons one? If it’s Royce he at least starts this week

Hope lane kills it was on my radar

GarethEllisismyDad wrote:I did the mcinnes experiment and I am pulling the plug with him being named on the bench, he’s great in real life but even with all the middle injuries and suspensions his minutes and output didn’t increase significantly

Also got the crossland raw end last week too

Your only path to Hynes looks to be through cleary, and even then it needs another trade to facilitate

I’m downgrading mcinnes to tatola, you could do similar and use the money to go cleary to Hynes if that interests you

Which hunt is that on emergency? Ben, Royce or the dragons one? If it’s Royce he at least starts this week

Hope lane kills it was on my radar

It's Hymel, the worst one. I wish it was Ben though haha.

Yeah Tatola or Luki are tempting, preferably I would like to have a look at both this week first but might not get the choice. Especially if Tatola (understandably) doesn't play.

You're probably right about Cleary. I told myself I wouldn't trade him to Hynes, but the score difference is scary. In saying that, Penrith have the Warriors this week so it could depend which Warriors turn up whether Cleary has a good day or a bad one.

Hey Mate,

Looking at your remaining trades.

Short of selling a gun to Hynes I just don`t believe he is reachable without pulling your team apart.

Mcinnes, Crossland, Hunt, Couchman and Hands look like potential trade outs.

I would maybe look at Horsburgh and Oloapu this week.

Overall solid squad, hopefully some rank rises coming for you.

Thanks for the advice you guys.

McInnes to Horse and Couch to Oloapu at this stage. Don't think I want to play him though so might have to make a third trade.

Finally a week I'm happy with. One loop decision short of 1000, so all in all pretty stoked. Ended on 996 after the various updates, pulling my rank into the top 10k for the first time.

Ended up with the trades mentioned above. McInnes to Horse was a great trade until the Sharks played, kind of annoyed he finally got the score I expected of him AFTER trading him out, but it is what it is. Definitely can't complain with Horsburgh's score in the same slot. Couch to Oloapu was a nothing trade, but choosing to risk Hands maybe dotting down for a try or something vs Oloapu's 20-something ended up a poor decision.

Am glad I waited on both Luki and Tatola however, so got lucky there. Trade situation is still rather dire, but not yet terminal thankfully.

The team
Boyd, crazy good run at the moment and looking more like a keeper every week. So glad I always had other fires to put out so never traded him. Great bench DPP possibility post-Origin if he keeps it up.

Matto, big innings after missing last week. Zero regrets bringing him in, and hoping for more of the same over the next few weeks. Horsburgh also a good score, can't be too unhappy despite McInnes. Haas a rare "low" score. Think I'll be keeping him on the bench over Origin so as to guarantee his presence in my final team. Feeling risk-averse trading him out after the year so far.

Preston and Hosking with 125 combined. A little concerned that Preston didn't score more considering the tries, but went back up in price after last week's dip which is the main thing. No hurry to trade either of these guys, but will see what happens.

Cleary. Banger. SJ. Banger. Of course Hynes having an off week helped, but I just had a feeling Cleary was going to go off vs the Warriors and so it was. Won't get this lucky every week, but will take the gain while I can. Not like I had another captaincy option anyway so more fortuitous than anything else. SJ going to be big outside of the Warriors byes. Still probably going to have to use him to get Hynes at some point, but no hurry for now.

Lemmy and Bird doing their thing. Anything over 100 is always a great score from two centres combined, so tack on another 10 and I'm more than happy that I brought them both in (albeit later than most).

Manu, Walsh and Bula all had a good week. The fact Bula's 46 was the lowest was a blessing really as I had no option but to play him. Manu probably lucky to get 50, but we take those. Nice to see Walsh back amongst it also.

Bench
Lane really underwhelming. Gonna hold for now, but 30s are just not good enough for that price. If he wasn't needed for R13 I'd probably jump off.
Ford similar. So many demerits hurt his score, so 32 actually ended up being reasonable. Out this week though and now puts him on the chopping block as trade fodder.
IKatoa, great game and a great score. Will have him back in after the Dolphin's bye and I'll probably just play him next to SJ in R13 to save the trade.
Oloapu/Hands were my two loop-ees. When Olo was on 26 I was 100% taking that score, but then his downdates to 23 then 21 put me right off. Hindsight and all but I'd probably take the same risk again despite Hands being abysmal.

This week with the Newcastle boys back and the Dolphins out, I'm in a similar position to last week. Currently 17 green ticks, but those include Olo and Hands, so probably best to trade to at least put those two back in a looping scenario. Haven't really looked at trade options this week, as TLT just dropped as I was typing this out, but I can't imagine I have many good choices out there. Hoping the $83k in the bank can at least get me a reasonable 18th man.

Feel free to offer up some early suggestions, otherwise I'll probably update this with some trade ideas tomorrow.

Boyd
Haas Matto Horse
Preston Hosking
Cleary SJ
Bird Manu
Bula Miller Walsh

Lane Crossland Oloapu Hands
(Ford Lemmy IKatoa HHunt)

Bank: $83k
Rank: 8525
Trades: 16(3)

Ford and some cash should get you someone you are happy with, I’ve got Ford and am ditching him as he misses the next two weeks

Great score this week

If I've got my maths right, I think you can do Ford + HHunt to Tatola + Luki with 3k to spare. Or if you want to maintain WFB coverage then you could always take the punt on Ponga instead...

Otherwise if you only want to make one trade then I'd say Ford to whoever you can afford - Su'a probably not the worst option?

mrbrownstone wrote:If I've got my maths right, I think you can do Ford + HHunt to Tatola + Luki with 3k to spare. Or if you want to maintain WFB coverage then you could always take the punt on Ponga instead...

Otherwise if you only want to make one trade then I'd say Ford to whoever you can afford - Su'a probably not the worst option?

Definitely looking at Su'a as my one trade, best of a bad bunch since i can't stretch to Tohu. Although Tatola and Luki are an interesting proposition that I hadn't considered. Appreciate the feedback from you and GarethEllisismyDad, gives me some things to ponder.

StuDogg101 wrote:

Definitely looking at Su'a as my one trade, best of a bad bunch since i can't stretch to Tohu. Although Tatola and Luki are an interesting proposition that I hadn't considered. Appreciate the feedback from you and GarethEllisismyDad, gives me some things to ponder.

Twal is also quietly going alright if you're looking for a slightly more left field option in that price bracket. L3 games:

51 (48 mins)
59 (55 mins)
54 (56 mins)

Obviously doesn't play R13 though so probably not worth it.

Another tough round, updates pushed me to 908 but that still meant a ranking loss of about 700 to 9288. That was almost solely because of Hynes, as I was sitting in the high-5000s going into that last game. Knew it was going to hurt though, so not like it was unexpected. Traded in Su'a as my only trade and that went ok so that's one positive!

The only true disappointments were Hosking and Lane, the latter of which hurts more seeing as he's now a trade out on top of the average performances the last few weeks. Another round beckons where I have exactly 17 fit players (but Hands still doesn't really count).

Team summary

Boyd below his average, but still happy to let him sit for a bit longer.

Haas, huge week again. Scary that he can score like that with what seemed like so little effort. Won't be trading him out as I don't want to risk not being able to bring him back in. Horse and Matto hovering around that 50-mark which is the lower area of where I want them. R13 crew though so hopefully Origin doesn't mess with that too much.

Hosking poor, only playing half a game didn't help but for the first time he looked a bit off pace. Will probably trade him next week, but he's a necessary number this week even if he's going to lose money. Preston still chugging along, no issues there.

Cleary and SJ, huge week for both. A pity both were eclipsed by Hynes, but can't expect quiet weeks from him every week so just have to take it on the chin.

Bird going strong, still glad I finally got him in despite his price. Manu copped the injury so disappointed score-wise. Going to hold though as his DPP etc could be valuable going forward.

Walsh finally went bang again, showing a bit more of what he's capable of. Bula and Miller not so extravagant, but at least they weren't single digits or something.

Bench

New recruit Su'a did the business with a 53. Crossland good without being amazing. Will stick for a bit longer and see what happens. Lane just so unlucky and hadn't been setting the world on fire anyway, is an immediate trade and I won't be going back. Learned my lesson from last week and took Olo's score over risking Hands and it worked out this time round.

So heading into this week, the must-trade is Lane. Oloapu being named to start is a bonus so am happy to foist him right into the 17 this week. As for the trades ins, I'm leaning towards waiting a week on Burbo and Hedwards doesn't exactly make me feel secure, but I feel like I'm going to aim towards one of them. Anyone know if Hymel Hunt even exists anymore? Haven't seen him on any teamsheet in first grade or otherwise in ages. Might just turf him for Burbo despite what I just said about waiting.

Team for this week, pre-trades

Boyd
Haas Horse Matto
Hosking Preston
Cleary IKatoa
Bird Lemmy
Walsh Miller Bula

Su'a Crossland Oloapu Hands
(SJ Lane Manu HHunt)

Bank $14k
Rank 9288
Trades 15 (3)

Thanks for reading, and for any advice. Good luck for this week!

Yeah, I think HHunt to Burbo is an easy one to clear out that dead spot, don't see him reappearing any time soon. And then Lane to your choice of gun.

By my calcs you can afford up to 675k for Lane, so Tohu probably the best option? In which case might be best to just hold Lane for this week and grab him next week.

The last few weeks have just been a nightmare. All the effort put into bye planning and it's all blown up in my face. Bought Lane. Injured, out. Matto. Ditto. And now Su'a too! Rough times. Add in Burbo (not that he would have contributed much) and Walsh being selected for Origin, and my not bad 11 or 12 is now down to a below average 6. Plus Hands who doesn't count.

All that probably wouldn't irk me so much if I hadn't had such a poor week last week. A mediocre 870, had to play Burbo with Bird withdrawn, and so many sub-40 scores it just wasn't my week. Lost a few thousand ranks just to rub it in.

Quick rundown
Boyd, fine, no issues. Will probably keep for the byes at least. Titans will be handy at the back end of the byes.

Haas and Horse, another good week for them. Matto got an injured 39.

Su'a great 61. Been a good buy overall, just sucks so bad that he's out this week. Hosking I decided to hold another week and he got a good 56.

Cleary amazing, lucky in some respects that I don't have Hynes so he's my captain by default. IKat started for SJ, super disappointing 20.

Bird was out, Lemmy with a semi-quiet 38.

Bula has been fantastic. Walsh had a quiet one and Miller just sucks it turns out.

Preston had another awesome game. Crossland was underwhelming, Oloapu wasn't much better and Edwards probably did a little worse than I expected. Burbo subbed in for Bird...nuff said.

So this week I'm ideally wanting to use 3 trades max, leaving me with 10. I think even that is cutting it fine. One plus is my $297k bank, will be putting that to use this week. One of IKat and Crossland need to go, as a superfluous half for this round, particularly as I can't loop them. Umm. Probably need to jettison one of Hosking or Preston. Still leaning Hosking here.

Thinking about trading Haas as his cash will be handy, but I've got a sneaking suspicion that he will still whoop some ass even backing up from Origin. Will probably have to hold Miller and take the cash hit just as a number for this week. Not overly keen on Ponga, been burnt way too many times in the past. The only player I definitely want to trade in is Tohu, everyone else is fair game pretty much. Just gonna throw some shit at the wall and hope it sticks.

Team for this week
Hands
Horse
No EDG
SJ, IKat/Crossland
Bird, Lemmy
Miller

(Boyd, Haas, Matto, Su'a, Hosking, Preston, Cleary, Manu, Oloapu, Hedwards, Walsh, Bula, Burbo)

Bank: $297k
Trades: 13(4)
Rank: 11128

Finishing ranked anything better than 20k will be a win this round