I get it, AFL SuperCoach is quickly approaching. You’re getting into as many leagues as you can with people you don’t even know, and you secretly think that you’ve found the perfect mix of players to propel you towards success.
Why? Because you’ve read every single article written by the experts, with the prefix we all know too well: Ultimate Guide.
Now let’s rethink that for a minute. We’ve got a couple of days until the 2015 season kicks off and upon further inspection of your team, you realise that you have paid far too much attention to these guides, and on more than one occasion, the words, ‘Gee Jon Ralph and Mark Robinson, you’re geniuses’ spewed out of your mouth.
To be hypocritical, I’m telling you now that this is the guide that will save you from disaster.
First of all, hit the clear team button if you have recruited multiple players into your team on the sole basis of ‘Robbo and Ralphy has them’, or even because Al Pacino has them. I see you’ve hit the clear team button – you must be new here.
Now, we’ll actually have a look at these expert teams, drooling with expertise in selection strategies. We will welcome Jon Ralph to the podium first.
Not a lot to fault with the backline I admit. But Mitchell White takes a spot on the bench as a rookie selection. Who’s Mitchell White? A Melbourne player, a Melbourne rookie. A Melbourne rookie listed player who will not be promoted before the beginning of the season. Just a little effort is needed to scroll up and select someone who actually has a shot at being selected come Round 1, such as Hugh Goddard.
Trent Cotchin is Jon’s M3 (third midfielder). I’d say there are better options out there. Cotchin has come back again from the pre-season looking the same as he did last season. A bigger frame on him and maybe he’d be up for selection, but for now it seems likely that the big bodied taggers such as Brent Macaffer, even Maverick Weller, will have the better of him.
At least he might not have to worry about Ryan Crowley. I guess that’s a plus. Harley Bennell is also in the midfield. I would advise you against this, try and use your midfield spots on, well, pure midfielders.
What Ralphy could’ve done was replace Luke Dahlhaus in the forward line with Bennell. Personally I don’t like selecting players that score under 75 just as often as they score more than 100. But that’s just me.
Marcus Bontempelli has been electrifying this pre-season, but will be up and down that much that Ashton Kutcher will be surprised. As talented as Jeremy Cameron is, he is just not SuperCoach relevant. He will get his 10 disposals a game and kick three or four goals on a good day. Sadly not enough.
But I guess that selection’s not all bad, seeing as Sam Kerridge has been included. The same Sam Kerridge that has scored under 40 in 10 out of his 26 career games. The same Sam Kerridge that has scored over 100 just three times. But that doesn’t matter because Ralphy “likes him as a player this year”.
Now for Mark Robinson. We know he loves a beer, and I like Robbo a lot, but I can’t tell if too much or not enough of the drink is the cause for a few of these selections.
Jarryn Geary plays a team first role, which usually results in his opponent having little impact, and himself having little impact. Don’t be fooled by one NAB Cup game. Please, don’t. I’m trying to help you here. If Ryan Crowley gets done then Clancee Pearce will likely take over tagging duties, and then we have $200,000 spent on a bench player.
Jed Bews’ magnificent pre-season scores of 28, 29 and 37 has really forced Robbo’s hand here. Or foot. Or whatever part of his body he used to select this backline. But then his backline was captioned with “No risks in defence”. Straight to the point. I can’t figure out if it was sarcasm or not.
Trent Cotchin at M3. Just like Ralphy. I’ll try to ignore it. I think that Robbo is one premium short in the midfield, likely a result on overpaying for Geary, Bews and the like.
Cyril Rioli has been selected as his third forward. I mean, I might take Rioli too, if his hamstrings weren’t made of elastic bands. A risky selection, at least that was acknowledged. Mark has picked Robbie Tarrant, labelling him as a “point of difference”. I’m getting tired, so all I’ll say about that is that there’s a reason for very few people selecting him.
I hope you all make the right decisions heading into Round 1 with regards to your SuperCoach team. For the first-time readers, the right decision is to never log back in again, because rather than watching the game you will be watching the players. And after Round 1 is completed you’ll need to attend anger management classes because you’re stuck playing catch up all season, until you run out of trades in Round 14.
And all because you succumbed to the ‘expert advice’ of the ultimate guides. Thank you Jon. Thank you Robbo.
But never fear, because now you’ve read this article.
Who’s in your ultimate team? Pick the best team and compete with other fans for daily prizes on Draftstars. For the best odds on the game try out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Think. Is this a bet you really want to place? Set a deposit limit.
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