Back, due to popular demand, is the 2010 team that would have claimed the car without a solitary trade – the ideal starting squad for last season (see 2009 version here: http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=627387).
Below is the team, that without a single trade, would have won the 2010 DT competition by 14 points. I am sure there are different combinations with different points and even larger margins, but this will do (don't forget to scroll across and up/down).
Firstly, note how durable the side is. 11 of these 22 players played every single game during the season, whilst another 7 played 20+. It was only Barlow, Pods, Rockliff (all great value for the output they produced) and Sandilands (dominant in his position) who were not in this bill. BUT, even when these players (and others) did miss games, this team has exceptional coverage with Stratton, Martin, Howlett and Grant in particular scoring very well from the bench when it was required.
How many hype players were in this squad? A few - Malceski, Waters and arguably our old favourite Thomas (though he wasnt that popular). But, where is Josh Hunt? Kennelly? Dangerfield? Shaw? Hille? Tippett? These players were all very popular this time last year, and though many of them did their job as cash cows and the like (though some didnt!), none of them were good enough to make it into this side. Yet this side is hardly full of uniques either - in fact I would say that outside of Jack and Rischitelli who many didnt consider (mainly due to the fact mid pricers in the midfield are generally frowned upon) most of these players are pretty common. Most of us would have strongly considered each and every one of these guys.
STRUCTURE
This year there were many more rookies, with the midpricers being sacrificed for these guys. We were very much blessed with guys like Scully, Barlow, Podsiadly and Rockliff all producing at outstanding levels for their price tags.
Like last year, I have also split it up into a club by club view:
9/22 from teams ranked 1st-4th
6/22 from teams ranked 5th-8th
3/22 from teams ranked 9th-12th
4/22 from teams ranked 13th-16th
That equates to 15/22 from top 8 sides.
But also look at those who improved and those who declined significantly in the 2010 season. Collingwood (4th to 1st) had 3/22, as did Sydney (12th to 5th), whilst Freo (14th to 6th) also had 2. These 3 sides combined were the most improved (particularly for Freo/Syd who went from well outside the 8 to middle of the 8) and they combined for 1/3 of this side. Alternatively, Adelaide (5th to 11th) and Essendon (8th to 14th) fell significantly, and only contributed one player between them. So perhaps we should look to avoid players who are part of a team we think will (or could) drop, whilst trying to pick those who could potentiall jump up the ladder in our attempts to find a Nick Malceski or Dale Thomas type.
Finally, I put together a list of how these players improved in 2010:
Like in the 2009 version, basically every single player improved on their previous years output. The only exception was Goodesy who's durability in an otherwise injury wrought forward line means he still made the cut. On average though, each player in this side improved by 14ppg - even those supposed "fully priced premiums" of Swan, Gilbert, Chapman and co managed small increases that are so valuable.
So, some things that maybe we should consider in 2011 when making our DT squads:
- Durability really is king, however good cover is also very important, particularly with the buys to occur in 2011. How durable is your plan side looking then?
- Make sure every player in your starting squad is someone who you think will improve - even if it is only a couple of points. Of course, this side shows that even guys like Swan/Chapman who are streets ahead of those in their position are very valuable.
- Look for breakout contenders in improving sides - particularly those looking to break into the top 8
- Underpriced keepers are gold
- Being unique doesnt mean just having unique players (though the odd one or two helps), it can also mean a unique combination of players. Nothing in this side is overly surprising, yet it would have won easily.
- How many of the BF hype players paid off? Not many. So how will Otten, Knights, Adcock and co go in 2011?
- How many players from the improve sides (saints, freo and sydney) did you have in your initial 22 in 2010?
All that with 20 grand and 20 trades up my sleeve!
Enjoy
Below is the team, that without a single trade, would have won the 2010 DT competition by 14 points. I am sure there are different combinations with different points and even larger margins, but this will do (don't forget to scroll across and up/down).
Code:
Pos Name Starting Price Team Total Points Rounds Played Rounds Missed and who Covered
B Goddard, Brendon $455,700 SK 2382 21 15 (Stratton)
B Sam Gilbert $391,500 SK 2051 22
B Hodge, Luke $366,800 HW 2166 21 22 (Stratton)
B Mackie, Andrew $365,100 GE 1846 21 21 (Stratton)
B Lake, Brian $356,900 WB 2195 22
B Malceski, Nick $242,800 SY 1885 22
B Waters, Beau $152,800 WC 1838 21 19 (Stratton)
B Davis, Phil $94,500 AD 762 15
B Stratton, Benjamin $89,500 HW 1186 20
C Swan, Dane $523,500 CO 2708 22
C Pendlebury $454,700 CO 2343 22
C Rischitelli, Michael $309,600 BL 2118 22
C Jack, Keiran $272,400 SY 1992 22
C Scully, Tom $157,500 ME 1661 21 10 (Howlett)
C Barlow, Michael $105,800 FR 1428 13 10 (Martin), 15-22 (Howlett and Martin)
C Martin, Dustin $149,500 RI 1501 21
C Howlett, Ben $77,800 ES 1184 15
R Sandilands, Aaron $419,800 FR 1860 19 19-21 (Warnock)
R Leuenberger, Matthew $202,100 BL 1702 22
R Warnock, Robert $101,800 CA 638 11
R McNamara, Seamus $77,800 0 0 0
F Chapman, Paul $494,500 GE 2388 21 13 (Grant)
F Goodes, Adam $434,800 SY 2083 22
F Harvey, Brent $388,900 NM 2084 22
F Thomas, Dale $336,300 CO 2096 22
F Douglas, Richard $289,000 AD 1940 22
F Rockliff, Tom $101,100 BL 1657 19 1-2 (Gumbleton), 6 (Grant)
F Podsiadly, James $77,800 GE 1389 17 1-2 (NONE), 8/18/22 (Grant)
F Grant, Jarrad $96,700 ES 948 17
F Gumbleton, Scott $94,500 WB 1270 17
SUB TOTAL 43812
Points from Coverage 1820
Swan Permanent Captain 2708
TOTAL 48340
WINNER 48326
MARGIN +14
Firstly, note how durable the side is. 11 of these 22 players played every single game during the season, whilst another 7 played 20+. It was only Barlow, Pods, Rockliff (all great value for the output they produced) and Sandilands (dominant in his position) who were not in this bill. BUT, even when these players (and others) did miss games, this team has exceptional coverage with Stratton, Martin, Howlett and Grant in particular scoring very well from the bench when it was required.
How many hype players were in this squad? A few - Malceski, Waters and arguably our old favourite Thomas (though he wasnt that popular). But, where is Josh Hunt? Kennelly? Dangerfield? Shaw? Hille? Tippett? These players were all very popular this time last year, and though many of them did their job as cash cows and the like (though some didnt!), none of them were good enough to make it into this side. Yet this side is hardly full of uniques either - in fact I would say that outside of Jack and Rischitelli who many didnt consider (mainly due to the fact mid pricers in the midfield are generally frowned upon) most of these players are pretty common. Most of us would have strongly considered each and every one of these guys.
STRUCTURE
Code:
Premiums/Keepers Mid Pricers Rookies Total
Backs 5 1 1 7
Centre 2 2 2 6
Ruck 1 1 0 2
Fwd 3 2 2 7
11 6 5 22
This year there were many more rookies, with the midpricers being sacrificed for these guys. We were very much blessed with guys like Scully, Barlow, Podsiadly and Rockliff all producing at outstanding levels for their price tags.
Like last year, I have also split it up into a club by club view:
Code:
AD 1
BL 3
CA 0
CO 3
ES 0
FR 2
GE 3
HW 1
ME 1
NM 1
PA 0
RI 0
SK 2
SY 3
WB 1
WC 1
TOTAL 22
9/22 from teams ranked 1st-4th
6/22 from teams ranked 5th-8th
3/22 from teams ranked 9th-12th
4/22 from teams ranked 13th-16th
That equates to 15/22 from top 8 sides.
But also look at those who improved and those who declined significantly in the 2010 season. Collingwood (4th to 1st) had 3/22, as did Sydney (12th to 5th), whilst Freo (14th to 6th) also had 2. These 3 sides combined were the most improved (particularly for Freo/Syd who went from well outside the 8 to middle of the 8) and they combined for 1/3 of this side. Alternatively, Adelaide (5th to 11th) and Essendon (8th to 14th) fell significantly, and only contributed one player between them. So perhaps we should look to avoid players who are part of a team we think will (or could) drop, whilst trying to pick those who could potentiall jump up the ladder in our attempts to find a Nick Malceski or Dale Thomas type.
Finally, I put together a list of how these players improved in 2010:
Code:
Player 2010 2009 Difference
Goddard, Brendon 113.4 103.7 9.7
Gilbert, Sam 93.2 89.1 4.1
Hodge, Luke 103.1 83.4 19.7
Mackie, Andrew 87.9 83.7 4.2
Lake, Brian 99.8 81.2 18.6
Malceski, Nick 85.7 55.2 30.5
Waters, Beau 87.5 NA
Swan, Dane 123.1 119.1 4.0
Pendlebury 106.5 98.3 8.2
Rischitelli, Michael 96.3 70.4 25.9
Jack, Kieran 90.5 62 28.5
Scully, Tom 79.1 NA
Barlow, Michael 109.8 NA
Sandilands, Aaron 97.9 95.5 2.4
Leuenberger, Matthew 77.4 46 31.4
Chapman, Paul 113.7 112.5 1.2
Goodes, Adam 94.7 98.9 -4.2
Harvey, Brent 94.7 82.6 12.1
Thomas, Dale 95.3 76.5 18.8
Douglas, Richard 88.2 65.7 22.5
Rockliff, Tom 87.2 NA
Podsiadly, James 81.7 NA
Like in the 2009 version, basically every single player improved on their previous years output. The only exception was Goodesy who's durability in an otherwise injury wrought forward line means he still made the cut. On average though, each player in this side improved by 14ppg - even those supposed "fully priced premiums" of Swan, Gilbert, Chapman and co managed small increases that are so valuable.
So, some things that maybe we should consider in 2011 when making our DT squads:
- Durability really is king, however good cover is also very important, particularly with the buys to occur in 2011. How durable is your plan side looking then?
- Make sure every player in your starting squad is someone who you think will improve - even if it is only a couple of points. Of course, this side shows that even guys like Swan/Chapman who are streets ahead of those in their position are very valuable.
- Look for breakout contenders in improving sides - particularly those looking to break into the top 8
- Underpriced keepers are gold
- Being unique doesnt mean just having unique players (though the odd one or two helps), it can also mean a unique combination of players. Nothing in this side is overly surprising, yet it would have won easily.
- How many of the BF hype players paid off? Not many. So how will Otten, Knights, Adcock and co go in 2011?
- How many players from the improve sides (saints, freo and sydney) did you have in your initial 22 in 2010?
All that with 20 grand and 20 trades up my sleeve!
Enjoy