Jele 2024

Thought I'd start a team tracker this year. I seem to make the same mistakes/play the same way every year - hope this helps to shake things up (if not for this year than next!)

Round 1 team was:

Cook
Haas (vc) Murray Sitili
Piakura Wong
Cleary (c) Moses
Kiraz Burbo
Papy Rapana Kini

Salmon Hutchison Flanagan Chan
Levi Hughes Strange Cotric

bank: $91k

Round 1

Scored 689, rank 57,078. Obviously not an ideal start. But it was a tough fantasy week for the popular players, so no need to panic.

The Good
- The guns: Cook, Haas, Murray, Cleary. All performed/got the role I expected.
- Burbo, Wong, Rapana: relatively popular picks, but did well.

The Bad
- Got hit with the Sitili, Moses, Piakura injuries and Salmon switch. Fortunately all might be available in round 2, in which case the logic for picking them holds. Moses' groin injury the exception - maybe he plays but doesn't kick.
- Papy's score underwhelming, but everyone's got him. Kiraz too, but had plenty of ball and you get what you get at centre.

The Ugly
- The cows: Chan, Strange, Kini, Cotric. Even Levi, Hughes, Flanno, Hutch - while more or less getting expected roles, they didn't show the potential to make quick cash. Not sure there's much to do at this point, pending the emergence of some new cows. I'd guess Chan might not get a run in round 2, and remain worried about Cotric when Kris comes back.

Conclusion
Last minute, I shifted out a few mid-rangers to go more guns and cows. So Fogarty, Smithies, Luki, Flegler were all there or thereabouts. Then again so was Cotter, Tatola, Tesi Niu, Palasia. The strategy backfired a bit this week. Trading Fog and Luki out for Moses and Flanagan cost me 50 points. But if Moses didn't get hurt, could have been a different story.

Will assess trade options when the team lists come out.

Kind TLT, with only Cotric and Kini red dots. Chan, Piakura, Sitili, Wong, Levi, Moses all overcoming injury or the wrath of Bellyache. Annoyed at myself for not backing my judgement on Cotric...

A fit again Moses is worth perservering with, and I'll wait and see Murray's role in Arrow's absence. If on the edge, a try scoring run like his Kangaroos' form will do.

Some decent trade in options but nothing that makes me want to tear my team apart to grab:

- Tallis Duncan: great young player, but too much uncertainty around his role and minutes (and Arrow's return)
- Lachlan Galvin: base price starting half. Can't find any stats other than half a game in the trials, and Sezer on the bench is weird, but ultimately he seems like a relatively low risk play
- Alex Seyfarth: looked at him before round 1, but his stats as starting lock and even off the interchange turned me off. if he does switch to the edge, different story.
- Jamal Fogarty: a bit of regret, but short of a second 800m kicking game, no point in rushing him in now.
- Morgan Smithies: missed him round 1, so now going to wait until Horse is back to see how it affects his role.
- Kai-Pearce Paul: looks a great prospect, but a bit too mid-range for now, with Lucas still there or thereabouts. A shame he didn't get a few more games off the bench to push his price down.
- Tommy Talau: no, no, no, no, no.
- May brothers: not convinced they are great pickups for their price. High risk, high reward though, so godspeed to all who have or get them.

At this stage, leaning towards Cotric -> Galvin. One failed cow/backline cover for a highly rated 18 year old. What could go wrong?

I'm looking at that same trade. $35K + potential + gets rid of one of my Raiders. Everyone else can wait a week

Round 2 team was:

Cook
Haas (vc) Murray Sitili
Piakura Wong
Cleary (c) Moses
Strange Burbo
Papy Rapana Kiraz

Salmon Hutchison Flanagan Chan
Levi Hughes Kini Galvin

bank: $126k

Round 2

Scored 742, somehow managed to go backwards even after a crap round 1 to rank 61,030. Early doors and just means the punts I took aren't going as well as others. While some might bounce back, I think I will need to trade aggressively (not my strength) over the next few rounds to make up some ground.

Just made the one trade Cotric -> Galvin (hope you did too, @StuDogg101)

The Good
- Galvin. Glad I made the trade this week, as I'll need both trades this week to fix other issues. Plus he looks a good player. Didn’t include him in my 17, though…
- Papy. Good to see him bounce back.
- Cows starting to move in the right direction. Burbo continues to make coin, Chan and Strange both looked better, Piakura actually scored some points this week, Hughes might start picking up some more minutes in that Bulldogs pack.

The Bad
- Mid-rangers doing very mid-range things. Six scores in the 30s (seven including Cook), two in the 20s, explain exactly why my rank is so poor.
- Shit players in shit teams. I should have known exactly what I was going to get with Hutch, Flanagan, Salmon, but I went there anyway. Same applies for shit players for teams that I thought would be shit (but look OK) i.e. Danny Levi.

The Ugly
- The guns: if last week the guns were my saving grace, this week was the reverse. Cook, Murray, Moses, Haas, Cleary are all meant to be reliable high scorers. For their combined price of $4.21 million, 298 points (including captaincy) and an average of less than 50 is very ugly.
- Roosters forward rotation. Ready to kick Sitili to the kerb (at least Wong has the game to score well in limited minutes), although the irony is not lost on me that it may be for Terrell May.

Conclusion
Plenty of candidates putting up their hands to be traded out – fortunately at the same time as a number of buys are emerging. Luckily don’t have to deal with Luki, Kris, Talau etc. But Sitili, Wong, Hutch, Flanno, Levi, Kini, Salmon, all on the chopping block.

Terrell May, Finefeuiaki, Lussick, Curran, Fainu, Aitken all pre-TLT possibilities, along with Cotter, Smithies, Fogarty who I missed last week. Probably too late on Hosking - well done to those who got on.

Unlucky start mate, but will make up a lot of ground when the guns fire. I could only fit Cleary, Cook and Teddy in as my guns, so to see Haas, Murray and Moses alongside Cleary and Cook is scary.

Cotric to Galvin worked out well. I probably should've done that and then punted Sitili for May when he got the start.

Similar names for me on the chopping block. Wong's minutes are a bit shit, but scoring well enough and making money. Levi and Salmon I'll just try to stash in EMG. Sitili getting decent minutes and can get an attacking stat, have to think about him. Hutch and Flanno really aren't inspiring me.

I've gotta get Galvin this week.. maybe Burbo too. Lussick and Curran ones to think about though, but also JCampbell cash to keep in mind for Pap's Rd 4 bye. Finefucky can wait I think. Not sure he's worth it if only getting 50-60 mins, but is cheap..

Jele wrote:Round 2

Scored 742, somehow managed to go backwards even after a crap round 1 to rank 61,030. Early doors and just means the punts I took aren't going as well as others. While some might bounce back, I think I will need to trade aggressively (not my strength) over the next few rounds to make up some ground.

Just made the one trade Cotric -> Galvin (hope you did too, @StuDogg101)

The Good
- Galvin. Glad I made the trade this week, as I'll need both trades this week to fix other issues. Plus he looks a good player. Didn’t include him in my 17, though…
- Papy. Good to see him bounce back.
- Cows starting to move in the right direction. Burbo continues to make coin, Chan and Strange both looked better, Piakura actually scored some points this week, Hughes might start picking up some more minutes in that Bulldogs pack.

The Bad
- Mid-rangers doing very mid-range things. Six scores in the 30s (seven including Cook), two in the 20s, explain exactly why my rank is so poor.
- Shit players in shit teams. I should have known exactly what I was going to get with Hutch, Flanagan, Salmon, but I went there anyway. Same applies for shit players for teams that I thought would be shit (but look OK) i.e. Danny Levi.

The Ugly
- The guns: if last week the guns were my saving grace, this week was the reverse. Cook, Murray, Moses, Haas, Cleary are all meant to be reliable high scorers. For their combined price of $4.21 million, 298 points (including captaincy) and an average of less than 50 is very ugly.
- Roosters forward rotation. Ready to kick Sitili to the kerb (at least Wong has the game to score well in limited minutes), although the irony is not lost on me that it may be for Terrell May.

Conclusion
Plenty of candidates putting up their hands to be traded out – fortunately at the same time as a number of buys are emerging. Luckily don’t have to deal with Luki, Kris, Talau etc. But Sitili, Wong, Hutch, Flanno, Levi, Kini, Salmon, all on the chopping block.

Terrell May, Finefeuiaki, Lussick, Curran, Fainu, Aitken all pre-TLT possibilities, along with Cotter, Smithies, Fogarty who I missed last week. Probably too late on Hosking - well done to those who got on.

Eels and Sharks away from home in the first two rounds isn’t the nicest opening set of fixtures. Hoping the next couple of games at home are more competitive and the Dogs can score some points.

I’ll make my mind up on those two after those games.

WT Winfield wrote:Unlucky start mate, but will make up a lot of ground when the guns fire. I could only fit Cleary, Cook and Teddy in as my guns, so to see Haas, Murray and Moses alongside Cleary and Cook is scary.

Cotric to Galvin worked out well. I probably should've done that and then punted Sitili for May when he got the start.

Similar names for me on the chopping block. Wong's minutes are a bit shit, but scoring well enough and making money. Levi and Salmon I'll just try to stash in EMG. Sitili getting decent minutes and can get an attacking stat, have to think about him. Hutch and Flanno really aren't inspiring me.

I've gotta get Galvin this week.. maybe Burbo too. Lussick and Curran ones to think about though, but also JCampbell cash to keep in mind for Pap's Rd 4 bye. Finefucky can wait I think. Not sure he's worth it if only getting 50-60 mins, but is cheap..

Yep, Sitili to May was the play. Ah well, a week late is better than not at all (I hope).

Not sold on FF, but need the cash if I'm going to sell Sitili and Flanagan.

Kind of hoping Haas is out - as I'd be pretty tempted to use his cash to get Lussick along with May. Might even consider Cook out...

Liverpool_Bulldog wrote:
Eels and Sharks away from home in the first two rounds isn’t the nicest opening set of fixtures. Hoping the next couple of games at home are more competitive and the Dogs can score some points.

I’ll make my mind up on those two after those games.

Yeah, as long as Salmon keeps starting (and making slow coin) then he can stay. As for Hutch, I still think he's a better option than Flanagan (low bar I know), so I'd only sell this week if I need the extra $41k for a trade.

Jele wrote:

Just made the one trade Cotric -> Galvin (hope you did too, @StuDogg101)

I sure did, thankfully! 1 less fire to put out this week

Jele wrote:Kind of hoping Haas is out - as I'd be pretty tempted to use his cash to get Lussick along with May. Might even consider Cook out...

oh well, Haas and Wong -> Lussick and May it is.

Round 3

Scored 830, 2,989 for the round and up to 18,530 overall. Still a while to go, but heading in the right direction.

Round 3 team was:

Cook
May Murray Salmon
Piakura (vc) Chan
Cleary (c) Moses
Kiraz Burbo
Papy Rapana Kini

Salmon Galvin Sitili Strange
Levi Hutchison Flanagan Hughes

bank: $410k

Two trades this week were Haas + Wong -> May + Lussick

Was hoping to be a bit aggressive with my trades, but Haas out long term meant everyone had to pivot. I was pretty sold on selling him with a one week absence, so if anything the longer absence was a bit disappointing!

The Good
- Galvin: Going to be hard to dislodge from that Tigers team, or my 17, going forward
- Kiraz: Never in doubt...
- Cleary, Moses, Rapana: Good to see them bounce back
- Flanno, Hutch: bought themselves another week or two in my team. Suddenly flushed with halves.

The Bad
- Unreliable cows: I guess they are cheap for a reason, but everyone has a bunch of very unreliable cows at the moment – this week I played Strange, Burbo and Kini for their 12, 15 and 18 points, while leaving Flanno and Hutch’s 46 and 37 points in my emergencies
- Lussick’s 28 points was disappointing, but his role was good (80 minute hooker) so we move on to next week.

The Ugly
- Souths: that’s it.

Conclusion
With $410k burning a hole in my pocket, I’ll be doing two more trades this week I think. If Kini is out (and even if he isn’t), he’s probably first gone with Levi not far behind him. That gives me about $1m to play with. Of course, there’s extra cash in Flanno, Hutch or Sitili if needed.

First thoughts are a decent WFB and a playable MID/EDG especially with Papy and Chan on the bye, but it depends on what TLT throws up. I suspect I will be short of Teddy (+ Finefeuiaki). But I might be able to get Ponga, and should definitely be able to afford Turbo instead. Alternatively, maybe a combo like Campbell (if named) and Kai Pearce-Paul. I’d really like Fogarty, but with plenty of halves and not enough WFB and EDG/MID depth, that’s probably where I have to focus.

Down to 15 pre trades with Cleary, Moses, Chan, Papenhuyzen, Kini and Piakura out.

Need a WFB and another player ($410k in the bank). At this stage, I’m leaning towards holding Cleary as I can still manage a couple of decent trades by trading out Moses and Kini (I think).

Option 1: Moses + Kini -> Hynes + Campbell - $14k ITB after trades. Captain Hynes.

Option 2:  Moses + Kini -> Fogarty + Ponga - $21k ITB after trades. Captain Cook or Murray.

Option 3: Moses + Kini -> Brown + Turbo - $72k ITB after trades. Captain Cook or Murray or ... Turbo

Team pre trades
 
Cook
May Murray Hughes
Salmon Sitili
Galvin Hutchison
Burbo Strange
Kiraz Rapana Kini

Levi Lussick Flanagan Cleary
Moses Papy Piakura Chan

I like that Hynes gives you the option of a great captain this week, but which one do we get? The 95 point Hynes against the Raiders or something more low to mid 60s? This seems like the safe play.

I can’t tell you which way to go between two and three, but if I had that decision to make, I’d go number two, even though it is slightly less bank. Also, I’m not too flash about a Murray captain, and let’s say the Bunnies do climb out of their rabbit hole, and put a score on, I can’t see much more than a 50s score for Cook. So, if you did option 2, you MAY want to think about a risky fun captain choice this week.

ForanAgainst wrote:I like that Hynes gives you the option of a great captain this week, but which one do we get? The 95 point Hynes against the Raiders or something more low to mid 60s? This seems like the safe play.

I can’t tell you which way to go between two and three, but if I had that decision to make, I’d go number two, even though it is slightly less bank. Also, I’m not too flash about a Murray captain, and let’s say the Bunnies do climb out of their rabbit hole, and put a score on, I can’t see much more than a 50s score for Cook. So, if you did option 2, you MAY want to think about a risky fun captain choice this week.

Thanks mate, yeah I'm leaning against Hynes as it makes next week very dicey too, and probably in favour of option 2.

Although I've just realised if I trade Piakura out instead of Kini, I can afford Tedesco instead of Ponga.

Pros: Teddy in better form, looks to have rediscovered his mojo/fantasy pedigree
Cons: Piakura might be back soon enough and still has cash to earn, Teddy might not have as much latitude against the Panthers' defence

Round 4

Scored 760, up almost 10,000 places to 9,039 overall. Moving on up.

Round 4 team was:

Cook (c)
May (vc) Murray Hughes
Sitili Salmon
Fogarty Galvin
Strange Burbo
Tedesco Kiraz Rapana

Lussick Levi Hutchison Flanagan
Cleary Chan Papy Kini

bank: $52k

Two trades this week were Moses + Piakura -> Fogarty + Tedesco

In the end, Kini -> Ponga would have been a better call than Piakura -> Tedesco, but hopefully Teddy will prove me right over the long haul.

The Good
- Captain Cook: is there a better feeling in fantasy than captaining the highest scorer of the round? Being one of the few to do so was the cherry on top.
- Flanno, Hutch, Levi: those 40s will keep the cash gen coming (Strange’s 37 gets an honourable mention too)

The Bad
- Galvin and Cleary: thank goodness for that half depth
- My WFBs combining for 89 points.

The Ugly
- Lussick: has gone from bad to ugly, and after a brief two week stint averaging 25, I think he has to go.
- Edge depth (or lack thereof): not sure I can continue to rely on a combination of Sitili, Salmon, and Chan. This is where Hopgood’s DPP would have been handy.

Conclusion
I’d love to slow down trading but don’t think I can yet. I looked closely at KPP last week and went Fogarty instead, but this should be the week to bring him in. It probably means either a straight swap for Lussick, or selling two of Lussick, Sitili, Salmon, Hutch, Flanno, Burbo, or Levi for KPP and a cow. Hopefully team lists make my choice easier.

17 green dots pre trades although that includes Sitili. I’m thinking I still need to get rid of red dots, as the last couple of weeks shows how quickly a lack of depth can bite you in the ass.  

In terms of positional coverage, I’d like to strengthen my EDG with KPP (or maybe Crichton). Gutho seems like the buy of the week and may mean I can use Rapana for an upgrade in a week or two. Other guys I’ve looked at include Blore, Brailey and Flegler.

I’m not sold on Talagi due to a lack of base, and I feel pretty dirty for even looking at HSS or Schiller. I barely noticed J.Hunt on the field last week against the Cowboys, and I assume Piakura will be back soon to replace him anyway.

Moving up the pay scale, I am struggling to see anyone below $408k (at EDG or any other position) I would want to bring in. I think I’ve missed the boat, such as it was, on Finefeuiaki and I refuse to consider Jacob Host.  

Unfortunately I’m about $10k short of a straight swap from Lussick to KPP and without any viable cows, I can ‘t see any combination of Lussick, Sitili, Salmon, Hutch, Flanno, Burbo or Levi to get me there.  

Which leads me to conclude that it might be worth trading out Cleary with two weeks still on the sidelines.

Option 1: Cleary + Kini -> KPP + Gutherson + $95k ITB.
Option 2: Lussick + Sitili -> KPP + someone less than $408k
Option 3: Lussick + Sitili -> Blore or Brailey + Angus + approx. $44k ITB
Option 4: Lussick -> Blore or Brailey + approx $59k ITB

Welcome any other suggestions, especially that doesn’t involve selling Cleary… For example Lussick + Sitili + $52k ITB gives me $993k to play with? Or just Lussick gives me $577k?

Team pre trades

Cook (c)
May (vc) Murray Hughes
Sitili Salmon
Fogarty Hutchison
Strange Kiraz
Teddy Papy Rapana

Lussick Levi Flanagan Burbo
Cleary Kini Chan Galvin

I like option 2 with Blaize being the trade in. KPP helps with the lack of EDG depth and should make money and give good scores.

Probably a bit unfair as Captain Hindsight but knowing the cows were lacking pushing such a low bank getting Fog and Teddy means the bank to push up kinda has to come from Cleary (or downgrading a WFB to Campbell).

Think its a toss up whether in 2 weeks it'll be better to keep or spend your Cleary money. I'd probably keep Cleary. Blore, Brailey and Angus will all be ripe for picking if the roles are good in 1-2 weeks.