2023 Mrbrownstone - New and Improved 2024 Edition

Well with Walsh suspended that makes that decision for you I guess! Did you have any EDG in mind? I think you can get anyone up to Nikora, with Bateman slightly out of reach. Are you happy holding Lemmy in his current role? I think I'll be holding him for now at least, but interested in your thoughts going forward

GarethEllisismyDad wrote:which of your wfb are you thinking of keeping long term?

whats your plans with tapine (i own him and want rid)

are you interested in piakura as a cash down edg cover

I guess Walsh's suspension has made that decision for me - DEdwards/Bula/Teddy/Ponga should be decent enough WFB to run home with (touch wood). Maybe a luxury trade to Latrell at some point if I can afford it, but anything else seems a bit sideways.

Barring other fires to put out, Tapine is gone in R20 to facilitate one of the uber-guns I don't own (Cleary/DiFi/Yeo). Piakura I'd be more interested in if he played 19, but might still be cheap enough in R20 to be a useful cashdown to facilitate one of those gun upgrades.

StuDogg101 wrote:Well with Walsh suspended that makes that decision for you I guess! Did you have any EDG in mind? I think you can get anyone up to Nikora, with Bateman slightly out of reach. Are you happy holding Lemmy in his current role? I think I'll be holding him for now at least, but interested in your thoughts going forward

Yup Walsh made the decision for me, at least that saves some flip-flopping on who to trade. You're right, can afford anyone up to Nikora so it'll probably be him - at least there's 0 origin risk there and he's a bit poddy which might not be the worst thing. My only worry is having 4 gun edges to run home with (Hop, Nikora, iPap, and DiFi to come) but I think that should be ok. To do a bit of planning out loud, ideally I run home with something like

Grant
Haas TohuYeo
iPap DiFi
Hynes Cleary
Manu Penis/Lem(?)
DEdwards Tedesco Bula

Robson Hopgood SJ Nikora

Ponga X X Kris

That would mean NAS, Turpin, Simpkin, Tapine, and maybe Lem are disposable from my current team to buy DiFi, Cleary, Yeo and a 19th/20th man. At current prices, Yeo + Cleary + DiFi plus two ~300k cashouts equals 3.297 mil. NAS, Lem, Simpkin, Tapine, Turpin equals 2.653 mil, hopefully NAS/Simpkin/Turpin have about 250k more to make between them, so call it 2.903 mil.

Still roughly 300k short, so the other option is to get Blore instead of Nikora as cheaper alternative who should still make a bit of cash too. That's fairly tempting, but I can't help but think I'm overthinking it - planning rarely works out that neatly, there'll probably just be another gun injury/suspension so I'm better off getting in Nikora now and re-evaluating the rest when needed.

To answer your other question, Lem I think is a hold til R19 and then reevaluate.

mrbrownstone wrote:

Yup Walsh made the decision for me, at least that saves some flip-flopping on who to trade. You're right, can afford anyone up to Nikora so it'll probably be him - at least there's 0 origin risk there and he's a bit poddy which might not be the worst thing. My only worry is having 4 gun edges to run home with (Hop, Nikora, iPap, and DiFi to come) but I think that should be ok. To do a bit of planning out loud, ideally I run home with something like

Grant
Haas TohuYeo
iPap DiFi
Hynes Cleary
Manu Penis/Lem(?)
DEdwards Tedesco Bula

Robson Hopgood SJ Nikora

Ponga X X Kris

That would mean NAS, Turpin, Simpkin, Tapine, and maybe Lem are disposable from my current team to buy DiFi, Cleary, Yeo and a 19th/20th man. At current prices, Yeo + Cleary + DiFi plus two ~300k cashouts equals 3.297 mil. NAS, Lem, Simpkin, Tapine, Turpin equals 2.653 mil, hopefully NAS/Simpkin/Turpin have about 250k more to make between them, so call it 2.903 mil.

Still roughly 300k short, so the other option is to get Blore instead of Nikora as cheaper alternative who should still make a bit of cash too. That's fairly tempting, but I can't help but think I'm overthinking it - planning rarely works out that neatly, there'll probably just be another gun injury/suspension so I'm better off getting in Nikora now and re-evaluating the rest when needed.

To answer your other question, Lem I think is a hold til R19 and then reevaluate.

Blore averages 49 when starting in the back row (minus the low minute game).

If he keeps that role to the end of the year I think you could definitely play him every week while you upgrade to those Uber guns that you mentioned. Blore also with no tries in that average.

Liverpool_Bulldog wrote:
Blore averages 49 when starting in the back row (minus the low minute game).

If he keeps that role to the end of the year I think you could definitely play him every week while you upgrade to those Uber guns that you mentioned. Blore also with no tries in that average.

Yeah I think I am leaning that way now. With 5 trades left (ideally enough to get him in and back out) and figuring out above that I'm a touch short of ideal cash gen for a final 17, I think it's worth the risk. If he maintains his current scoring there's cash to be made.

Worst case, I'd sooner be stuck with Blore at 17 and have the cash to easily grab Cleary, than be stuck with Nikora at 17 and be struggling elsewhere trying to figure out how to get Cleary.

Another so-so week, scored 846 to have the smallest possible rank rise from 4343 to 4242 (yes, really). Can't seem to get out of the early 4,000s, feels like I've been stuck there for weeks. Trading in Blore and Simpkin worked well at least (at least until I saw Blore was benched this week). For this round, I'm looking at:

Simpkin
Hopgood Tohu Tapine
iPap Blore
Hynes SJ
Penis Lem
Bula Kris X

Teddy, Robson, Haas, NAS, Ponga, Grant, DEdwards, Manu

268k, 4 trades.

Not sure there's much to be done this week. Will re-evaluate what to do with Haas next week. Only trade I'm somewhat considering is Turpin -> Munro as a cashout. Would leave me with a bank of 572k to target Difi and Cleary next week. Would love any thoughts as usual.

With 4 trades, bringing in a short term trade for this week is possibly doable, if there's someone worth bringing in. Finding a worthwhile target is the bigger issue

I guess issue with Munro is that if he doesn't make cash he may become a dead spot in your team. Same applies to many people you could bring in.

You can easily cash out Turpin next week if required to fund Fifita when there is a bit more clarity around team lists

Similar with Haas - there's no advantage to be gained by trading him this week (unless maybe if you wanted Bateman/Nikora at EDG instead of Blore), if you do trade him though, you don't really lose anything waiting until next week.

Thanks mate, I appreciate the thoughts. Yeah, the more I think about it the more I don't mind the idea of grabbing a short term WFB to field 13. What's the point of saving trades if you're not gonna use them to field a full team?

The other advantage would be that I can feel a bit more comfortable moving on one of Bula/DEdwards next week. I feel like having 4 gun WFBs (Teddy, Bula, DEdwards, Ponga + Manu and Kris as cover) is overkill, would rather invest in a more reliable scoring position.

Options I'm looking at are Kiraz, S Katoa, Te Whare, or just cashing all the way down to Munro. Quite like Kiraz, a guy with a ceiling of 90 for the price is good going, but the way the Bulldogs are playing scares me off. Might just grab Te Whare and hope he can keep making cash. At least his dual also gives me a bit more flexibility to move on Lem too if he goes back to the bench.

I like the VTW trade. He's there or thereabouts in the team so hopefully somewhat reliable (for now). Just depends if you want to spend that extra coin over say, Munro. I'm tossing up a similar situation and the cash for future investment is very tempting vs the risk of it becoming a dead spot

Having run the numbers, if I get Munro instead of VTW, then next week I can afford:

Blore -> DiFi
Tapine -> Yeo
Bula -> DCE

That would leave me with:

Grant
Yeo Haas Tohu
DiFi iPap
Hynes SJ
Manu Penis
Teddy Ponga DEdwards

DCE Robson Hopgood NAS

Lemuelu Simpkin Kris Munro

A proper cashout to field 13 this round and facilitate 3 guns next week. I think that's worth the risk.

mrbrownstone wrote:Having run the numbers, if I get Munro instead of VTW, then next week I can afford:

Blore -> DiFi
Tapine -> Yeo
Bula -> DCE

That would leave me with:

Grant
Yeo Haas Tohu
DiFi iPap
Hynes SJ
Manu Penis
Teddy Ponga DEdwards

DCE Robson Hopgood NAS

Lemuelu Simpkin Kris Munro

A proper cashout to field 13 this round and facilitate 3 guns next week. I think that's worth the risk.

I like it, with your 4 trades plus the extras you can re adjust if you get ridiculous run of injuries or suspensions

Had a reasonable week last week, score of 718 took me to 3470. Highest rank of the year so far so may the charge continue.

This week, I'm suffering from a case of too much bank (first world problems, I know). After a bit of playing around, I think my plan is:

Blore -> DiFi
Bula -> DCE
Tapine -> Bateman

Then next week, one of SJ/Hopgood, NAS, and Simpkin to Cleary, Murray, and a cashout (approx 280k if price changes are kind). At full strength, that would leave me with:

Grant
Haas Murray Tohu
DiFi iPap
Cleary Hynes
Manu Lemuelu
Teddy Ponga DEdwards

DCE Hopgood Bateman Robson

Penis *Simpkin replacement* Kris Munro

5 trades for injuries.

Have spent about two hours playing around with trades this afternoon when I should have been working hahah so not at all set on that. I could also just do:

Blore -> DiFi
Tapine -> Cleary

And figure the rest out. If you can afford Cleary may as well get him ASAP?

Would love any thoughts as always.

Damn that would be a strong final team

Can’t believe we are both finally trading tapine out

I think that going to cleary this week depends on your risk tolerance

It would suck to miss his points but would it suck more for a reoccurrence of his injury or him to only play part, the way my money etc is spread im gonna wait a week

One thing about your team is there are no PODs so to speak, does that bother you? Maybe DCE would count, I’m not saying you need them, it’s just something that struck me when looking at it

GarethEllisismyDad wrote:Damn that would be a strong final team

Can’t believe we are both finally trading tapine out

I think that going to cleary this week depends on your risk tolerance

It would suck to miss his points but would it suck more for a reoccurrence of his injury or him to only play part, the way my money etc is spread im gonna wait a week

One thing about your team is there are no PODs so to speak, does that bother you? Maybe DCE would count, I’m not saying you need them, it’s just something that struck me when looking at it

Thanks mate, hopefully things become clearer in the next couple of days as we see if there are any injuries and suspensions out of Origin and get more definitive over whether Cleary's playing.

Not too concerned about a lack of PODs, my thinking has always been just get the players who you think will score best regardless of whether they're PODdy. Currently Murray at 2.43% owned in the top 5000 and DCE at 1.7% would both count, but I wouldn't expect those numbers to stay so low for long.

Had a solid round, 975 saw a slight rank rise up to 3189. Selling Bula instead of DEdwards looks like a bit of a shame, but hopefully Cleary's return can help his scoring.

This week, I think NAS -> Murray for about 35k is a no-brainer. Who would have thought that at the start of the season. Locking that in.

Then, unfortunately Bateman not getting dual has ruined my plans to sell Hopgood or Tohu. That leaves me either doing:

1) SJ -> Cleary. Not that keep on selling SJ especially with the Warriors favourable draw, however I don't really want to have two Warriors for their bye given my 18-21 (Penis, Graham, Kris, Munro) is fairly weak. Given I'm still stuck in mid-3000s purgatory, getting on Cleary early and anti-Podding SJ may be the kind of aggressive move I have to make. Leaves 5 trades for injuries.

2) Robson + iPap -> Koro + Cleary. I think Koro can probably match Robson from here on with a game in hand for 130k less, and iPap to Cleary is an obvious upgrade, especially with iPap being a tad underwhelming. This would leave Hopgood as my only cover for MID and EDG which is a bit risky given Haas, Murray, and Tohu all have byes. If any other MID/EDG is out those weeks I'd be in trouble. Leaves 4 trades for injuries.


3) Hold SJ one more week, see how Cleary goes, sell SJ on the bye (or see what else happens and let injuries/suspensions make the call for me).

Would love any thoughts. SJ to Cleary was my initial plan, and probably less risky from a coverage POV, holding for an extra week may be wise but I feel like if I want to make a play for the top 1000 then getting on Cleary ASAP is the way.

mrbrownstone wrote:Had a solid round, 975 saw a slight rank rise up to 3189. Selling Bula instead of DEdwards looks like a bit of a shame, but hopefully Cleary's return can help his scoring.

This week, I think NAS -> Murray for about 35k is a no-brainer. Who would have thought that at the start of the season. Locking that in.

Then, unfortunately Bateman not getting dual has ruined my plans to sell Hopgood or Tohu. That leaves me either doing:

1) SJ -> Cleary. Not that keep on selling SJ especially with the Warriors favourable draw, however I don't really want to have two Warriors for their bye given my 18-21 (Penis, Graham, Kris, Munro) is fairly weak. Given I'm still stuck in mid-3000s purgatory, getting on Cleary early and anti-Podding SJ may be the kind of aggressive move I have to make. Leaves 5 trades for injuries.

2) Robson + iPap -> Koro + Cleary. I think Koro can probably match Robson from here on with a game in hand for 130k less, and iPap to Cleary is an obvious upgrade, especially with iPap being a tad underwhelming. This would leave Hopgood as my only cover for MID and EDG which is a bit risky given Haas, Murray, and Tohu all have byes. If any other MID/EDG is out those weeks I'd be in trouble. Leaves 4 trades for injuries.


3) Hold SJ one more week, see how Cleary goes, sell SJ on the bye (or see what else happens and let injuries/suspensions make the call for me).

Would love any thoughts. SJ to Cleary was my initial plan, and probably less risky from a coverage POV, holding for an extra week may be wise but I feel like if I want to make a play for the top 1000 then getting on Cleary ASAP is the way.

Don't cut SJ, not worth it mate, I like your option 2. iPap has been very underwhelming as a fellow owner so Cleary is a massive upgrade. I take it you're looking at Koro for his HOK cover but his missed tackles are a concern for me.

Can you stretch up to Cotter at $525k? Think he will have a good end to the season and he is 200k down on starting price and the Cowboys look like the side they were at the back end of last season?

Ando wrote:

Don't cut SJ, not worth it mate, I like your option 2. iPap has been very underwhelming as a fellow owner so Cleary is a massive upgrade. I take it you're looking at Koro for his HOK cover but his missed tackles are a concern for me.

Can you stretch up to Cotter at $525k? Think he will have a good end to the season and he is 200k down on starting price and the Cowboys look like the side they were at the back end of last season?

Can't stretch to Cotter via that route, but I could forgo Murray and do NAS to Cotter and iPap to Cleary, which I don't mind at all.

Keep SJ whatever, warriors play the 5 worst defences in the comp on the run home!

Posting this from the main thread as well:

Option 1:

Manu -> Lomax (or Timoko/Graham et al, any centre in that price bracket)
iPap -> Cleary (could also be Tohu, either or)
NAS -> Murray

4 trades for injuries, Hopgood my only MID/EDG cover.

Option 2:

NAS -> Cotter
Manu -> Cleary

5 trades for injuries. Means I have to play Kris at centre this week and in R26 when Penis has a bye, but going forward Penis and Lem would be my starting centres and I could push Robson or Cotter to 18th man. Could also trade iPap or Tohu to Cleary in this scenario, but that leaves me with the above issue of Hopgood being my only cover for 5 positions.

Option 3:

Robson -> Koro
iPap -> Cleary
NAS -> Murray

4 trades for injuries. I reckon Koro can probably match Robson from here with a game in hand. Same MID/EDG issue.

Option 4:

SJ -> Cleary
NAS -> Murray

Stick with the original plan. Leaves me with better team balance. I've been stuck in the mid 3,000s for ages, hope that getting on Cleary ASAP and anti-Podding SJ helps.

When I write it out like that, option 2 seems like the play as long as I can get away with Kris at centre during Lemuelu and Penisini's byes. Having 3 gun centres in Manu/Penis/Lem, plus Kris as cover, with Penis at 18th man is probably overkill. Manu is almost 10 points overprices based on just his games at centre now, I don't see him spending any more time at FB or 5/8 this year so probably a decent time to move on.

If I go that route, I'm lining up like this at full strength:

Grant
Hopgood Haas Tohu
DiFi Bateman
Cleary Hynes
Penis Lemuelu
Teddy Ponga DEdwards

DCE SJ Robson iPap

Cotter Graham Kris Munro

My worry with that though is having SJ and Tohu on a bye next round and Hopgood and Penis in R26 considering my 18-21 isn't great.

mrbrownstone wrote:Posting this from the main thread as well:

Option 1:

Manu -> Lomax (or Timoko/Graham et al, any centre in that price bracket)
iPap -> Cleary (could also be Tohu, either or)
NAS -> Murray

4 trades for injuries, Hopgood my only MID/EDG cover.

Option 2:

NAS -> Cotter
Manu -> Cleary

5 trades for injuries. Means I have to play Kris at centre this week and in R26 when Penis has a bye, but going forward Penis and Lem would be my starting centres and I could push Robson or Cotter to 18th man. Could also trade iPap or Tohu to Cleary in this scenario, but that leaves me with the above issue of Hopgood being my only cover for 5 positions.

Option 3:

Robson -> Koro
iPap -> Cleary
NAS -> Murray

4 trades for injuries. I reckon Koro can probably match Robson from here with a game in hand. Same MID/EDG issue.

Option 4:

SJ -> Cleary
NAS -> Murray

Stick with the original plan. Leaves me with better team balance. I've been stuck in the mid 3,000s for ages, hope that getting on Cleary ASAP and anti-Podding SJ helps.

When I write it out like that, option 2 seems like the play as long as I can get away with Kris at centre during Lemuelu and Penisini's byes. Having 3 gun centres in Manu/Penis/Lem, plus Kris as cover, with Penis at 18th man is probably overkill. Manu is almost 10 points overprices based on just his games at centre now, I don't see him spending any more time at FB or 5/8 this year so probably a decent time to move on.

If I go that route, I'm lining up like this at full strength:

Grant
Hopgood Haas Tohu
DiFi Bateman
Cleary Hynes
Penis Lemuelu
Teddy Ponga DEdwards

DCE SJ Robson iPap

Cotter Graham Kris Munro

My worry with that though is having SJ and Tohu on a bye next round and Hopgood and Penis in R26 considering my 18-21 isn't great.

I like option 2 with Timoko. All his byes are done and Canberra have looked a lot better since the early rounds.