2023 Mrbrownstone - New and Improved 2024 Edition

Just realised that trading Ford would leave me with no MID cover and an absolute over-abundance of Edges (Katoa, Loiero, Carty, Doorey, Preston, Butcher).

Maybe trading Butcher is the play.

Well and truly stuck in the weeds on trade thoughts this week.

My current plan is Cheese + Ford -> Robson + Preston.

Advantage of this is not having to worry about hooker with Smith, Boyd et al being duds so far. However I'm not super keen on trading Ford, still think he has decent money to make and trading him leaves me without mid cover.

So the other option I'm considering is Butcher + Cheese to gun HOK (could afford anyone) + Preston. This leaves better squad balance long term with Ford still covering mid, but a weaker 17 this week as I'd have to loop AKP and I Katoa hope for something playable, with Doorey also moving up to 16. I'm also not that keen on selling Butcher as I think he'll come good, but I have an overabundance of EDG options (Katoa, Loiero, Hopgod, Carty, Doorey, Preston) and he seems the one least likely to make money immediately.

There's also the option of Smith + Ford to Tohu + Preston. That leaves me with MID cover but no HOK cover, with Boyd at hooker and I Katoa filling in at HLF this week.

So to summarise (assuming Smith out and Preston in is a constant in all 3 scenarios):

a) Ford to Robson, leaving no MID cover and Doorey/I Katoa in the loop
b) E Butcher to gun HOK. Could afford Cook/Grant and still have a bit of bank left, but a weaker 17 this week with Doorey playing and I Katoa/AKP in the loop.
c) Ford to Tohu, leaving no HOK cover, Boyd at HOK, I Katoa filling in at HLF, and Doorey/AKP in the loop.

It's a bit of a mess whatever way I do it. I'm starting to think B makes the most sense when I put it like that - can afford a premium gun, maintain solid cover when Ford is back next week, and still have ~100-200k to play with depending on who I get out of Robson/Grant/Cook.

mrbrownstone wrote:Well and truly stuck in the weeds on trade thoughts this week.

My current plan is Cheese + Ford -> Robson + Preston.

Advantage of this is not having to worry about hooker with Smith, Boyd et al being duds so far. However I'm not super keen on trading Ford, still think he has decent money to make and trading him leaves me without mid cover.

So the other option I'm considering is Butcher + Cheese to gun HOK (could afford anyone) + Preston. This leaves better squad balance long term with Ford still covering mid, but a weaker 17 this week as I'd have to loop AKP and I Katoa hope for something playable, with Doorey also moving up to 16. I'm also not that keen on selling Butcher as I think he'll come good, but I have an overabundance of EDG options (Katoa, Loiero, Hopgod, Carty, Doorey, Preston) and he seems the one least likely to make money immediately.

There's also the option of Smith + Ford to Tohu + Preston. That leaves me with MID cover but no HOK cover, with Boyd at hooker and I Katoa filling in at HLF this week.

So to summarise (assuming Smith out and Preston in is a constant in all 3 scenarios):

a) Ford to Robson, leaving no MID cover and Doorey/I Katoa in the loop
b) E Butcher to gun HOK. Could afford Cook/Grant and still have a bit of bank left, but a weaker 17 this week with Doorey playing and I Katoa/AKP in the loop.
c) Ford to Tohu, leaving no HOK cover, Boyd at HOK, I Katoa filling in at HLF, and Doorey/AKP in the loop.

It's a bit of a mess whatever way I do it. I'm starting to think B makes the most sense when I put it like that - can afford a premium gun, maintain solid cover when Ford is back next week, and still have ~100-200k to play with depending on who I get out of Robson/Grant/Cook.

Well given I've done B (admittedly over the course of two weeks, Robson last week, E Butch out this week) that's the plan I like the best.

If not, based purely on numbers I prefer C over A. No cover for a single player isn't so bad, but no cover for 3 players is a bit dicey (like my WFB this week ). Also, love the idea of Tohu, I just can't justify it this week.

Maybe ditch A and consider B and C against one another to simplify your thoughts.

Snatchpato wrote:
Well given I've done B (admittedly over the course of two weeks, Robson last week, E Butch out this week) that's the plan I like the best.

If not, based purely on numbers I prefer C over A. No cover for a single player isn't so bad, but no cover for 3 players is a bit dicey (like my WFB this week ). Also, love the idea of Tohu, I just can't justify it this week.

Maybe ditch A and consider B and C against one another to simplify your thoughts.

Thanks for your thoughts mate, I think I'm locking in B at this point. Came down to thinking Ford is more likely than Butcher to make money, I still think Butcher will do well but need to sacrifice one of my edges for better overall balance.

mrbrownstone wrote:

Thanks for your thoughts mate, I think I'm locking in B at this point. Came down to thinking Ford is more likely than Butcher to make money, I still think Butcher will do well but need to sacrifice one of my edges for better overall balance.

Think it's the right call mate, we can jump on Butcher if he looks like making money later. With that said, allegedly Angus is out of rehab, so he might be back around origin times.

Truly haven't the faintest idea what to do with trades this week.

I don't think my team looks all that bad on paper, but my rank certainly says otherwise.

Cook
Haas Tapine Hopgood
E Katoa Carty
Cleary Doueihi
Alamoti HSS
Miller Warbick AKP

Preston Boyd Loiero Ford

Doorey I Katoa Talau Teddy

WFB looks disgusting with Teddy on the bye so first thought is I probably have to do something about that. I have exactly enough cash to do Talau to Sloan which might be an option, or also Boyd to Walsh. Those would leave me without CTR or HOK cover respectively so not ideal.

Doueihi, Doorey, Boyd, and Loiero are all on the potential chopping block but I'm not fully convinced any of them are necessarily sells.

Probably a case of seeing what TLT throws up, but open to any thoughts/suggestions until then.

mrbrownstone wrote:Truly haven't the faintest idea what to do with trades this week.

I don't think my team looks all that bad on paper, but my rank certainly says otherwise.

Cook
Haas Tapine Hopgood
E Katoa Carty
Cleary Doueihi
Alamoti HSS
Miller Warbick AKP

Preston Boyd Loiero Ford

Doorey I Katoa Talau Teddy

WFB looks disgusting with Teddy on the bye so first thought is I probably have to do something about that. I have exactly enough cash to do Talau to Sloan which might be an option, or also Boyd to Walsh. Those would leave me without CTR or HOK cover respectively so not ideal.

Doueihi, Doorey, Boyd, and Loiero are all on the potential chopping block but I'm not fully convinced any of them are necessarily sells.

Probably a case of seeing what TLT throws up, but open to any thoughts/suggestions until then.

That is a nice team!
Who would you be putting the C on this week? Tough call with Cleary, Cook and Haas, hopefully you pick the right one!
My advice would be getting rid of Talau for Sloan for some nice cash gen, holding Teddy will allow you to then advance loop between Warbrick and AKP.
Boyd did enough to hold IMO and his DPP is valuable with your team makeup, can always reassess him when his bye comes up soon.

Genderbender wrote:


That is a nice team!
Who would you be putting the C on this week? Tough call with Cleary, Cook and Haas, hopefully you pick the right one!
My advice would be getting rid of Talau for Sloan for some nice cash gen, holding Teddy will allow you to then advance loop between Warbrick and AKP.
Boyd did enough to hold IMO and his DPP is valuable with your team makeup, can always reassess him when his bye comes up soon.

Thanks for the thoughts mate. I'll probably end up sticking it back on Cleary, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't tempted by Haas just for his floor so far.

I think Talau -> Sloan is probably the most sensible play unless TLT throws up some surprises, although it does mean running the gamut with no centre cover. Just accelerates the need to get Bird sooner than later I guess.

id be beefing up WFB, lots of edges in there than can be traded out, preston, e katoa, ford, hopgood and cartwright have you covered for that position,

you do have lots of options though, i guess wait to see what TLT brings up

As I hoped, TLT makes trade decisions a bit clearer.

Doueihi -> SJ seems like a fairly easy trade. I bought Doueihi to be a 5/8 where he averages 60 not a fullback where he averages 37. Role change means he's an easy sell. Even if he goes back to the halves at some point it's just nice not having to worry about the Tigers tinkering with things every week.

In terms of SJ, the base is just too appealing to pass up. The bulk KMs + goal kicking is very nice. Early days obviously but he's gone from averaging 350km last year to 500km this year and 0.7 goals last year to 2.2 goals this year. Hard to ignore that sort of bump in base, with the added bonus that he plays R13, the Warriors look decent this year, he should make a bit of cash, and it's nice to own a player from the team I support in real life.

The second trade is a bit less clear. I'm currently tossing up:

a) Doorey -> Lemuelu. That seems to be the popular call, and it's always hard to go past an EDG available at CTR. Probably the sensible option.
b) Boyd -> Koro/Brailey. Beef up hooker a bit with Boyd not really impressing.
c) Doorey -> Stefano. The minutes are very nice and enjoy watching him play. Do I really want to own another Tiger though?
d) Talau -> Sloan/Perham/CNK. Beef up WFB a bit given I have to play both AKP and Warbick otherwise this week with Teddy on a bye.

As always, would love some thoughts. I'm quite tempted by D tbh, flick an injured player, beef up WFB and it means going forward AKP and Warbick can just sit in the EMG.

Just realised if I get Burton instead of SJ, I can do:

Doueihi -> Burton
Talau -> Lemuelu

I'm finding that very tempting.

You have cook so I don’t think your second trade to brailey or koro is a priority

I think you second trade depends on who you can stomach playing more HSS or AKP/warbrick

I think I’d have to get a playable WFB, either walsh, perham or Sloan with my preference being that order

Warbrick and AKP fill me with dread, and HSS whilst not setting the world alight is less likely to score single digits (at least that’s how I see it)

All that said lemelu is a ctr that will average well so is a decent trade in

I guess it depends on your tolerance for potential atrocious wfb score this week

Once you get Doueihi > SJ done, you've pretty much covered HOK down to HLF and it's just your WFB that needs work (much like mine).

For that reason I'd be looking at Talau to Sloan for a bit more consistency over AKP, and look at Lemuelu next week (his price wont change much).

You'll also be getting Teddy back next week so a backline of Teddy Miller Sloan isn't actually so bad.

Might have to cop a bit of a dud score this week with a weak backline, but when byes roll around it will happen to everyone from time to time.

I think overall the team looks good, and you're in a strong position.

Thanks for the thoughts guys. Do you reckon Sloan is the play over CNK/Perham?

I'm pretty tempted by CNK tbh, thought he looked good in R1 and that HIA has meant he's still affordable.

Sloan probably the better cash-grab, but I'm afraid as soon as I get him the tries dry up and he goes back to being the guy who's scored 13 and 9 in 80 mins at FB with tries.

CNK I think is going to be rocks and diamonds, just like many of the Warriors. As a Warriors supporter I just feel like we're plagued by inconsistency compared to other teams not to say the Dragons are any better, but you know.

I like CNK as a player, but dunno if it's ever really going to translate to fantasy. I feel like he's got more dud scores in him than 50+ scores in this team. Guess it's weighing up his potential vs whether Sloan has actually improved. Plus that price difference, if that has any further bearing on your team

mrbrownstone wrote:Thanks for the thoughts guys. Do you reckon Sloan is the play over CNK/Perham?

I'm pretty tempted by CNK tbh, thought he looked good in R1 and that HIA has meant he's still affordable.

Sloan probably the better cash-grab, but I'm afraid as soon as I get him the tries dry up and he goes back to being the guy who's scored 13 and 9 in 80 mins at FB with tries.

I’m less high on Sloan than many others, have perham and he’s doing adequately, can’t see him ever scoring 60+ or anything (though who knows if the bulldogs carve up one week)

Sloan definitely has the potential for lowest and highest scores

And CNK was impressive in round 1, scoring excellently

Think you should trust your gut

The only distance advantage Sloan has is easier cash generation, but he is to me the biggest wildcard and plays for the worst of the 3 teams

StuDogg101 wrote:CNK I think is going to be rocks and diamonds, just like many of the Warriors. As a Warriors supporter I just feel like we're plagued by inconsistency compared to other teams not to say the Dragons are any better, but you know.

I like CNK as a player, but dunno if it's ever really going to translate to fantasy. I feel like he's got more dud scores in him than 50+ scores in this team. Guess it's weighing up his potential vs whether Sloan has actually improved. Plus that price difference, if that has any further bearing on your team

GarethEllisismyDad wrote:

I’m less high on Sloan than many others, have perham and he’s doing adequately, can’t see him ever scoring 60+ or anything (though who knows if the bulldogs carve up one week)

Sloan definitely has the potential for lowest and highest scores

And CNK was impressive in round 1, scoring excellently

Think you should trust your gut

The only distance advantage Sloan has is easier cash generation, but he is to me the biggest wildcard and plays for the worst of the 3 teams

I echo both of these sentiments.

I think CNK is going to be more reliable, seems to have a bigger base in terms of RM than the other two. Less likely to put up a single digit score, but probably less likely to put up a 60+ score as well (unless the stars align). I think for these sorts of players as well it does come down to who you enjoy watching more as well. Like, at the end of the day Fantasy is a game, and enjoying games is much more important than min/maxing IMO (unless that's what you find fun about games). It's why I've gone Turbo this week when arguably there were more accurate trades to be made.

Personally, if I didn't already have CNK here's how I would rate them:

1. CNK
2. Perham
3. Sloan

I have no idea why, but I don't rate Sloan like I do the other two, but I've been wrong before. I think go with your gut like Gaz said.

Thanks for all the thoughts guys. I'm thinking after all that I might just hold the second trade tbh. I'm not sure Sloan is that much more likely than AKP/Warbick to score well and I also have my doubts about him without scoring a try.

I also think I'd rather save the 100k that trade would use to target Hosking/Brailey next week.

Usually when I'm in this much doubt, it's never a bad idea to just save the trade.

Watch Sloane score 85 now.

mrbrownstone wrote:Thanks for all the thoughts guys. I'm thinking after all that I might just hold the second trade tbh. I'm not sure Sloan is that much more likely than AKP/Warbick to score well and I also have my doubts about him without scoring a try.

I also think I'd rather save the 100k that trade would use to target Hosking/Brailey next week.

Usually when I'm in this much doubt, it's never a bad idea to just save the trade.

Watch Sloane score 85 now.

great thought process! Hope you played Warbrick over AKP!

Snatchpato wrote:
great thought process! Hope you played Warbrick over AKP!

Had to play both. I'd have taken 64 combined so thrilled with Warbricks score.