WT Winfield - Winnie's Blues 2024

Rough start, but kinda expected with a midranger heavy strategy. Landed a few duds and missed ones that fired. Hopefully all the overthinking still pays off in the long run.





Regrets:

- Predicted Burbo playing 40-60 mins for ~30 and then getting benched or dropped Rd 2. Early setback gambling on TLT2 and ending up with Suli and Cotric instead of Kris and Burbo. Now Schuster is returning in ressies  

- Was keen on May after some unreal scores at the end of last season and finals, but had too long to think about it after creating a team 2 weeks early. Similar problem with dumping Burbo in the end, should've used a SI sticky note over Burbo's face at least.

Disappointments:

- Cotter: Was hoping he'd play out the last 10 and hit the 50, but was the final sub. Almost downgraded him to Fluki or upgraded to Hopgood, but happy to lock him in and hopefully in closer games that aren't in the heat, he'll play closer to 60.

- Tatola: Maybe playing it too safe with this pick. Seems like a good defender and ball-runner, so I dunno why he can't get the 50-55 mins consistently. I might be biased, but seems like the Bunnies defence gets torn up with him and Murray off and lack go-forward in attack. Probably just gonna plod along and I hold too long. Would've been a better score if not for double-telegraphing an OFH and then throwing the intercept instead. Likely lost his offload licence before even getting it now though.

- Piakura: Stalled cash gen, but will just take a few extra weeks to peak. Expecting ~40 scores and good JS, so can't see replacing him with anyone better without spending up.

- Sitili: I was hotter on him than Wong, but at least got both. Might have to hold if he's fit and starting, but does facilitate May and Burbo trade-ins if I go that way.

A few other 20s and 30s from Suli, Strange, Pap, Salmon and the EMGs, but not too worried with their positions and prices. Levi needed a try to save his score, but also had fuck all defence in the 1st half, so hopefully can keep hitting those 30s.

Hopefully Cotric holds that wing spot over Hoppa. Not confident JChan sticks around, maybe a bench middle if he does. Highly likely to be punted into the sun.

Cheers anyone who made it this far. This is my 3rd attempt and feels pretentious as fuck, but oh well. Maybe it helps me or someone else out with a correct call for the wrong reasons or something

Round 2

Looked like being another rough week with Cook 31, Tatola 40, Salmon 31 and Hutch 29 picking up where last week left off. Things turned around on Saturday though, thanks to the Tigers getting the momentum going.

Cotric and Sitili were on the chopping block for May, Burbo or Galvin - Wish I had grabbed any two of those, but settled on just Cotric to May.

Ended up with 841, which was enough to book 20 Fantasy Fantasy points in L2 for my boy Camo after dishing up 2 last week.

Team for Rd 2:

Spoiler:

Targets this week are Galvin and Burbo. Wouldn't mind Curran or JLussick, but need to free up some cash for Campbell or another WFB for Pap's bye. Should be able to move Rapana on after that, Moses could be a good candidate after dropping some cash.

Chopping block at this stage is Sitili, Hutch, Flanno or possibly Suli. Will see if teamlists help narrow it down.

Some notable backs dropping cash (mainly Knights):

- Best with 27 and 24, down 58k and BE 52.
- Simonsson with 30 and HIA 0, down 45k and BE 51. Should be back at CTR when he returns and sub 400k soon after. Would prefer him over Kris to avoid too many Raiders on the bye later.
- Ponga and Marzhew both dropping cash, but I'll probably be looking to grab Moses in that price range in the short term.
- Kiraz off to a slowish start. Would prefer him a bit cheaper though as Simmo could fill the dual position needs.

Thanks for reading or listening

Teamlists helped with one decision - Wong to Galvin gives a bank of $234k.

Lussick and Burbo the other targets.

If going for Lussick, I'll probably punt Flanno, leaving $91k for a WFB next week. Pretty much means only JCampbell in for Hutch or Sitili, so probably ties my Hands too much.

If going Burbo, it'd probably be for Suli. Took a punt on him and price is going nowhere. Burbo's outscored him handily and made 80k, so might be time to cut my losses.

Suli to Burbo gives a bank of $358k for next week, which allows for anyone to JCampbell and roughly enough bank for Rapana to Moses the following week. If Campbell's still out, it's enough to grab a sub 700k WFB through one of the shittos, probably Levi.

Wong to Galvin
Suli to Burbo
$358k bank

Looks likely. Means having to play 3 of Galvin, Hutch, Salmon and JChan. Also Burbo and Strange CTRs

Thanks for listening

Round 3

Giving myself an uppercut this week. Left points on the table with JChan's last minute out allowing me to loop Flanno's 48 (down to 46) over Galvin's 58 (up to 60). Also traded Suli to that potato Burbo like a complete moron. Probably won't even use the extra cash freed up this week if JCampbell's available.

Round 3 team

Spoiler:

First trade this week will probably be SHughes to JCampbell, leaving $186k.

Second trade would either be Levi or Cotter out, pending injury news, and how well Hutch, Salmon and Flanno score in EMG. Looking at:

Moses - Might have enough halves, but he's relatively cheap and can look at punting Hutch and Flanno next week.
Koro - Need a HK for Cook's bye and price could get out of reach soon.
Lussick - Shit score this week, but still not a bad option to fill my HK needs as long as Hands stays away.
KPP - I kinda went cold after his 80 min performance wasn't as beastly as expected after the 40 min one and returns for Lucas and Brailey (with Crossland playing some LK instead of Frizell) were a minutes threat. Would be worth jumping on this week before getting away if he's an 80 min guy.

If I trade Levi instead of Cotter then it's just the boring Fine option. Not sure he's playable, but could make some quicker cash and jag a score if needed.

Thanks for reading and/or listening

I've managed to dodge a decent amount of carnage for now. Before trades, I have Cleary, Piakura, Pap and Chan out. Still question marks over Cotter, but was not expecting him to be named this week.

Cleary and Piakura will be making way.

- First priority is a WFB. Narrowed it down to Campbell, Gutherson and DPPs Cobbo and Kiraz. Having no ctr or wfb cover is giving me tourettes, so I'm thinking I can wait on Campbell and Guth at their prices and BEs. I was hoping to pick up Simonsson in a couple of weeks, but a few Eels are putting their hand up for trade-ins now (Dylbags, Gutho and possibly Talagi) with a bye just around the corner.

I thought about Cobbo in the preseason, but wasn't sure how the switch to CTR would go. Would've had to downgrade Teddy to him, so missing him initially wasn't bad.

Kiraz is the one I'm gonna go with. Had question marks over a back injury in the preseason, and I was keeping an eye on him the first 2 rounds with a couple of low ones and price dropping. I knew a boom game would come, but was never in a position to get on just yet. I should be able to clear out the other Dogs before their bye, and then has a more favourable draw for the major byes over Cobbo, and price fits better with my plans for next week.

- Second trade I was looking at Koro, Lussick, Dylbags or KPP. I'll need a HK for Cook's upcoming bye, not urgent, but Koro and Lussick's prices are on the up. Ruling Lussick out now though due to the other Eels I'm looking at.

Koro is doing everything, but I can't forget all the shockers he was on track for last year until jagging a try. Could be one I regret missing, but could look at Grant, BSmith, JBrailey or someone when the time comes.

So really it's between Dylbags and KPP, and going with the latter due to BEs. Good chance Dyl goes close this week, but I still like to penny pinch when flush with cash since it'll be gone soon anyway

Cleary and Piakura out
Kiraz and KPP in

$531k for next week and rolling this line-up out

Cook
Cotter, Tatola, May
KPP, Sitili
Foggy, Galvin
Burbo, Strange
Teddy, Rapana, Kiraz

Smithies, Hutch, Pap, Chan
Salmon, SHughes, Flanno, Levi

Expecting Salmon and Flanno to be in the 17 with Shoes or Levi covering Cotter.

Next week maybe something like Levi + ~400k dud (Sitili, Hutch, Flanno) to Dylbags and Guth or Campbell, or Shoes to Talagi.

Thanks

Jele wrote:Yep, good trades. You seem to be in a better place than most with only red dots being bye players. I'm keeping Cleary but only because I also have Moses to trade out. But in general I like the idea of moving on red dots when they occur because otherwise they seem to be piling up this year.

Thanks mate. My midranger strategy is kinda lucking out with all the gun injuries so far. May be costly on trades if some don't turn into keepers though. I would've liked to punt Levi and Shoes this week, but I've been burned too many times from trading a green dot over a red, even when hitting their BE seemed unlikely. Both have very achievable BEs though, so don't hate being kinda forced to hold and maybe one jags a decent score.

Your bad luck continues with those injuries Murray playing injured and then Haas and Moses going down since I posted in your team tracker about being scared of them, when I just had Cook and Cleary. I'd definitely be holding Cleary in your spot this week too after freeing up Haas cash and Moses a definite trade. Sounds like some chance of Cleary returning next week, so would be a welcome bonus if he did. I think Ivan will take the cautious approach, but I'm prepared for the facepalm when he rocks up and cracks a hundo

Great trades mate Kiraz is very good and with that valuable DPP and I like KPP.

Cotter good to go too which is great.

I would have warned you about Kiraz - i think he will be quite up and down and is dependent on the BD playing well which wont happen every week

That said i chose cobbo expecting him to be more reliable and look how that worked out. interested to see what next week will bring now as this week is worth forgetting quite quickly

The Dolphin Conspiracies wrote:I would have warned you about Kiraz - i think he will be quite up and down and is dependent on the BD playing well which wont happen every week

That said i chose cobbo expecting him to be more reliable and look how that worked out. interested to see what next week will bring now as this week is worth forgetting quite quickly

Yeah I liked the look of Cobbo too, just a little more expensive and not a great origin bye schedule. At least we can chuck them in the CTRs next week and should hit keeper averages for the season. I was worried Kiraz would be close to 700k after his bye, so felt I had to make the move this week - totally forgot about Wighton though and he gave Kiraz a bath in the 1st half.

Gutho and Talagi this week and next might've been the better options for WFB and CTR, but feel DBrown is a must have at that price and don't want 3 Eels for their upcoming bye, so gonna need to pick 2. Hopefully they go easy on the Tigs

Round 4

Plenty of luck going my way to avoid most of the carnage and shittos scoring overs. Locked in Cleary and Piakura to KPP and Kiraz. Should've known deathriding Guth vs Tigers wasn't gonna go well At least I can get Burbo back out of the squad and forget that ever happened.

Round 4 team:

Spoiler:

Gotta be happy with Foggy as C, but missed an opportunity with Cook. Reminded me of last year when Cleary was out and I captained hot stuff Hopgood instead of Grant in a costly move. Will just stick with the Fog now though and hope for some attacking stats.

Trades this week pretty much locked in. Burbo and Sitili out for DBrown and Gutho, leaving $50k. Toyed with the idea of trading Galvin since we'll have 3 trades on his return and plenty of 400k players ready to move on, but probably won't.

Team this week would look like

Cook
Smithies, Tatola, May
JChan, KPP
Foggy, Hutch
Strange, Kiraz
Rapana, Teddy, Pap

Cotter, DBrown, Gutho, Flanno

Galvin, SHughes, Salmon, Levi

I think I can choose between SHughes or Salmon as 17th man this way (via Cotter/Smithies switch) or chuck Levi above if both suck.

Might look at Chan to Iro next week if he holds the spot and then figure out my forwards. Nikora and Piakura on the watchlist. Flegler would've been good last week and possibly this week, probably have to miss out now though.

Thanks for reading

Just wanted to say thats a fantastic loop

Good luck this week!

Cap'n Ranta wrote:Just wanted to say thats a fantastic loop

Good luck this week!

Thanks mate, good luck too. Enjoying your posts in the different trackers (and past years).

The loop seemed almost too good to be true, but every chance they all disappoint haha. Hopefully Salmon hits a decent score and then I can use Galvin to loop Flanno and Levi too.

WT Winfield wrote:Round 4

Plenty of luck going my way to avoid most of the carnage and shittos scoring overs. Locked in Cleary and Piakura to KPP and Kiraz. Should've known deathriding Guth vs Tigers wasn't gonna go well At least I can get Burbo back out of the squad and forget that ever happened.

Round 4 team:

Spoiler:

Gotta be happy with Foggy as C, but missed an opportunity with Cook. Reminded me of last year when Cleary was out and I captained hot stuff Hopgood instead of Grant in a costly move. Will just stick with the Fog now though and hope for some attacking stats.

Trades this week pretty much locked in. Burbo and Sitili out for DBrown and Gutho, leaving $50k. Toyed with the idea of trading Galvin since we'll have 3 trades on his return and plenty of 400k players ready to move on, but probably won't.

Team this week would look like

Cook
Smithies, Tatola, May
JChan, KPP
Foggy, Hutch
Strange, Kiraz
Rapana, Teddy, Pap

Cotter, DBrown, Gutho, Flanno

Galvin, SHughes, Salmon, Levi

I think I can choose between SHughes or Salmon as 17th man this way (via Cotter/Smithies switch) or chuck Levi above if both suck.

Might look at Chan to Iro next week if he holds the spot and then figure out my forwards. Nikora and Piakura on the watchlist. Flegler would've been good last week and possibly this week, probably have to miss out now though.

Thanks for reading

Can you please explain with your genius brain how this loop works?

Rabbits21 wrote:
Can you please explain with your genius brain how this loop works?

Appreciate that mate, but I do have my blonde moments haha.

Salmon is the only EDG in my 14-21 currently with Smithies at MID, so if he scores well enough, I leave it and he's forced to count for JChan regardless of bench position. If SHughes (placed higher) outscores Salmon and it's passable, I move Smithies to the bench via Cotter, so now Smithies fills JChan's edge spot and it grabs my highest placed EMG (currently Shoes, but can switch Levi and Galvin if both Dogs suck and play him instead).

Ideally Salmon scores well enough to book, so I leave Cotter/Smithies alone, but then I can do another loop by switching Galvin and Flanno and playing Levi if Flanno sucks.

Pretty lucky with the schedule allowing it to fall into place this week. All three probably shit the bed, but good to have a chance at jagging another 30-40 from someone.

Hopefully that explained it. The way I worked through it, I saw JChan, a red dot edge playing first game, so he starts since he can't be moved after lockout for a conventional bench loop. Then I put my other edge players into the starting line-up except the guy I wanted to loop (Salmon), who goes in the EMG. That forces him to count at edge unless I put another one somewhere above him, which can be done by switching Smithies back to the bench for Cotter since they play later. Once I started moving those players around and checked the schedule it became clearer how to use Galvin and Levi in there too.

WT Winfield wrote:

Appreciate that mate, but I do have my blonde moments haha.

Salmon is the only EDG in my 14-21 currently with Smithies at MID, so if he scores well enough, I leave it and he's forced to count for JChan regardless of bench position. If SHughes (placed higher) outscores Salmon and it's passable, I move Smithies to the bench via Cotter, so now Smithies fills JChan's edge spot and it grabs my highest placed EMG (currently Shoes, but can switch Levi and Galvin if both Dogs suck and play him instead).

Ideally Salmon scores well enough to book, so I leave Cotter/Smithies alone, but then I can do another loop by switching Galvin and Flanno and playing Levi if Flanno sucks.

Pretty lucky with the schedule allowing it to fall into place this week. All three probably shit the bed, but good to have a chance at jagging another 30-40 from someone.

Hopefully that explained it. The way I worked through it, I saw JChan, a red dot edge playing first game, so he starts since he can't be moved after lockout for a conventional bench loop. Then I put my other edge players into the starting line-up except the guy I wanted to loop (Salmon), who goes in the EMG. That forces him to count at edge unless I put another one somewhere above him, which can be done by switching Smithies back to the bench for Cotter since they play later. Once I started moving those players around and checked the schedule it became clearer how to use Galvin and Levi in there too.

Too technical for me

I'm just not good at explaining things concisely.

If there's anything to the KPP out rumour, then it's fallen apart already. Will have to play Salmon and Smithies at edge and probably just loop Shoes and Levi for 17th man.

Gotta love advanced looping. Really adds to the game! Good luck, I hope it all goes swimmingly for you

StuDogg101 wrote:Gotta love advanced looping. Really adds to the game! Good luck, I hope it all goes swimmingly for you

Thanks mate, good luck too!

Nice to see you around the trackers like Ranta too. I've realised this is where the good oil is