DT 'Unique' picks 2012

[Shane Hird]

There was a bit of confusion last season when I started a 'uniques' thread with many arguing what the true meaning of what actually is an unique DT pick.

I don't really think it really matters that there are different opinions on what is a unique pick. If you think he's 'unique' and you want other DT players to give an opinion on your selection then post it and see what's said.

This year with the bye situation and the unknown about GWS, there is going to be plenty of teams with many different combinations of players and lots of DT players will be looking for an edge to be different. Many will slot in a player or two in their side that they think no one else will consider.


I'll start with a few..


Defenders:

Houli
Mackie
Newman
Rance
Hardingham

Mids:

Montagna
Simpson
Trengove
Hartlett
Hocking

Forwards:

Josh Kennedy (WC)
Luke Power
Crameri
Ballentyne
Gunston

Ruck:

Hille
Martin
Warnock
Maric
Bellchambers



Thoughts?

 

[mezaire]

Always a good topic.

Uniqueness falls into two categories for me, the ones that have a fair chance of paying off and the ones that will probably only break even at best.

I think the following falls into the first category and the rest into the second;
Newman
Monty
Simpson
Hartlett
Ballas
Gunston

 

[Knife Wrench]

Always a good topic.

Uniqueness falls into two categories for me, the ones that have a fair chance of paying off and the ones that will probably only break even at best.

I think the following falls into the first category and the rest into the second;
Newman
Monty
Simpson
Hartlett
Ballas
Gunston

I'd be hesitant to chuck Mackie into the 'break even at best' category at this stage. He had a bit of a downer year DT-wise, particularly in the first half but I think he is a good chance to bounce back.

Avgs past 5 years:
2007: 83
2008: 91
2009: 83
2010: 87
2011: 79

If he can push his average back up to the high 80s, early 90s, he'd be a decent pick.

Some other 'alternate' defenders that I'll be following over the NAB cup are:
- Newman (if this training in the midfield group amounts to anything)
- Hanley (What role will he play? Same as last year or drift into the midfield a bit more?)
- Fisher (whether he'll be called on to play a lockdown role more often with Dawson gone, or will Wilkes just fill the hole)
- Duffman (What will be his role under Lyon? Can he get back to 2010 form?)

 

[Spider Klein]

Judging by the post your team thread, Boyd and Jelwood aren't in many and if they perform well could help your team early until everyone jumps on board.

Monty I really like at his price but if you go with Hayes (which is pretty common) then you have 2 saints in middle.

Same theory for Fisher with Goddard (to some extent remove Gram from being picked to)


My unique is Gilbee, Played a lot of games last year injured and is at a good price.

Have also looked at Lucas but awkward pricing.

I also like Andrew Swallow.

 

[Brettox]

Mitch Morton - now at Sydney. Could continue a tradition of footballers re-inventing themselves in the Harbour city. Has been a decent DT scorer in the past.

Unless he is injured then forget the above.

Kyal Horsely seems like a good get for a mature player in a young team.

 

[cuzz is back]

hawkins ?
saw what he can do in the finals can he avg 70-80 is the question and be a consistent scorer

 

[nameless]

Mitch Morton - now at Sydney. Could continue a tradition of footballers re-inventing themselves in the Harbour city. Has been a decent DT scorer in the past.

Unless he is injured then forget the above.

Kyal Horsely seems like a good get for a mature player in a young team.

DT-wise Sydney hasn't helped any player.

 

[iamthestig]

Always a good topic.

Uniqueness falls into two categories for me, the ones that have a fair chance of paying off and the ones that will probably only break even at best.

I think the following falls into the first category and the rest into the second;
Newman
Monty
Simpson
Hartlett
Ballas
Gunston

Shiels, Leuenberger, Zaha and McEvoy probably fell into the second category last year too.

 

[nameless]

From looking at teams on here i'd think that some interesting 'gun' unique players could be;

Gibbs
Bartel
Mitchell
Carrazzo
L. Anthony
Fisher
Cloke
Thomas

 

[yogibbear]

DT-wise Sydney hasn't helped any player.

That was true up until 2 yrs ago.

 

[mezaire]

Shiels, Leuenberger, Zaha and McEvoy probably fell into the second category last year too.

I started with McEvoy, thought there was always going to be upside and that was reasonably obvious.

Luey fell through the gap for alot as Cox and McEvoy seemed to have more upside.

I'll give you Zaha and Shiels but I think the other two showed plenty in the pre-season to show what the were capable of and may of been missed by alot beacuse of their position.
Luey and McEvoy's uniqueness was over prtected by the fact that many coaches saw better options in their positions, rarther than taking a punt.

I guess the same might happen this year if there is a 3rd ruck rookie that has a killer NAB. How many people are going to change from Orin and Giles or have the guts to start one on the field, where as if one of the top two didn't exist then the uniquness gets lost as more teams will add them.

Does that make sense?

 

[Keystone agony]

Doubt Montagna will be unique at all.

Boyd could be a good unique already well said by a few, i must admit i am now considering him purely because he is a safe bet and has a good round 11 bye which benefits my team alot.

Higgins, Cloke, Fyfe, Mitchell, Marc Murphy loom as interesting prospects for me in regards to uniqueness, also maybe Lecras aswell. Watson and Dawes.

Kieran Harper is also someone i liked.

 

[yogibbear]

This was my attempt.... :/

 

[JDWCE]

Personally I think there could be some stellar unique picks in the mids. A few that come to mind;

Trengove
Melksham
Jobe Watson
Bartel
Cotchin

Personally I really like the look of Trengove this year but whether or not I have the balls to pick someone like him is another story

 

[Schulzenfest]

Thread needs more Brad Ebert.

Averaged 81 at the Eagles when he was a mid and before the sub rule was introduced, and has had 2 years of development since then. Will get more gametime at Port than he has anywhere else and will spend more time in the midfield than ever before, isn't damaging enough to ever cop a tag, is underpriced due to being played out of position/as a sub last year and has reportedly been tearing up the training track. Could easily average 90-100 this year and is priced at 62. I'm probably not picking a midfield midpricer this year, but if I was going to pick one it would definitely be Brad.

 

[CrozaN]

Doubt Montagna will be unique at all.

Boyd could be a good unique already well said by a few, i must admit i am now considering him purely because he is a safe bet and has a good round 11 bye which benefits my team alot.

Higgins, Cloke, Fyfe, Mitchell, Marc Murphy loom as interesting prospects for me in regards to uniqueness, also maybe Lecras aswell. Watson and Dawes.

Kieran Harper is also someone i liked.

Looks like your views on Boyd have changed rather quickly

 

[Keystone agony]

Looks like your views on Boyd have changed rather quickly

Hehe, yeah purely because their seems to be no one else.

I still dont have him in my current team and by not picking him and trying to get on an undervalued premium/keeper i allow myself to upgrade another Dog in Lake who comes with his injury risk. My side is starting to look very midpricey which im not too concerned about as people wont be upgrading as much until after the byes unless it means not bringing in more than 2 in the same position for the same bye round.

I still think Boyd will drop in avg. I think he will avg closer to 112. Just his R11 bye is so good for the mids. I actually picked Rockliff trying to be slightly unique came home with a 122 avg in last 10 rounds of the year. However i have been told that he is set for some tags and with him relying on such cheap footy could be an easy player to shut out of games.

 

[CrozaN]

Hehe, yeah purely because their seems to be no one else.

I still dont have him in my current team and by not picking him and trying to get on an undervalued premium/keeper i allow myself to upgrade another Dog in Lake who comes with his injury risk. My side is starting to look very midpricey which im not too concerned about as people wont be upgrading as much until after the byes unless it means not bringing in more than 2 in the same position for the same bye round.

I still think Boyd will drop in avg. I think he will avg closer to 112. Just his R11 bye is so good for the mids. I actually picked Rockliff trying to be slightly unique came home with a 122 avg in last 10 rounds of the year. However i have been told that he is set for some tags and with him relying on such cheap footy could be an easy player to shut out of games.

Didn't you say before you had players a head of him that share the round 11 bye? Least thats what i remember you saying.

The reason i dont like Boyd is because of his bye and i like other players better than him with the same bye round. The dogs also have a fairly tough start WCE, Collingwood, Stkilda, Geelong and Sydney before the round 11 bye. Its not real tough, but not as easy as many other teams.

Boydy will be one player i look to trade in after his price is lowish from Geelong and Sydney games, than after the R12 bye hes in my team.

For me the dogs are on the way down, Boydy is getting older and older, slower and slower. He doesn't possess great kicking skills and it wouldn't surprise me to see him get tagged every now and again as the is the buldogs second best midfielder. Also clear that the dogs have targeted inside midfielders in the past 2 years with a plan to play them and transition the old guys (Boyd, Cross, Cooney out) with Clay Smith, Libba and Wallis gradually taking more and more time away from them in the midfield.

I personally dont see the upside.

You also mentioned how you think the dogs are on the down, where i think its completely the opposite. New coach, new game style, solid pre-season, good young list coming through, i think we are more on the up than anything. Boyd won't cop as much attention as you think. Cooney has had a solid pre-season and will most likely cop the hardest tag and last year Griffen had his breakout season so the opposition can't let him slide under the radar too. No doubt in my mind Boyd will still average around 110+ this year.

 

[spence]

Hehe, yeah purely because their seems to be no one else.

I still dont have him in my current team and by not picking him and trying to get on an undervalued premium/keeper i allow myself to upgrade another Dog in Lake who comes with his injury risk. My side is starting to look very midpricey which im not too concerned about as people wont be upgrading as much until after the byes unless it means not bringing in more than 2 in the same position for the same bye round.

I still think Boyd will drop in avg. I think he will avg closer to 112. Just his R11 bye is so good for the mids. I actually picked Rockliff trying to be slightly unique came home with a 122 avg in last 10 rounds of the year. However i have been told that he is set for some tags and with him relying on such cheap footy could be an easy player to shut out of games.

The great thing about Rockliff's game, though, is he always scrambles himself to 100. For example against Sydney he couldn't find much of the ball and got beaten by their midfield but he still racked up 13 tackles. He is a mini version of Swan, he kicks more than handballs, marks, tackles and kicks 1-2 goals a game. So his ceiling is huge especially if he can keep avoiding the tag, and either Black or Redden gets it. But Like Keystone agony mentioned he will probably get some more attention which I think is a slight downside. But he definitely won't get it on a regular basis and IMO is a great chance to average 120+

 

[Keystone agony]

Yes Crozan i had ST and Rocky ahead of him. However i than talked to a Brisbane player and he said they are expecting Rocky to get a fair bit of attention next year. I thought Black and Rich may get a tag but he reckons each will get their time and black may not be worth tagging now, they may move a focus to Rocky and Rich.

For me Crozan the dogs are in a rebuilding phase and you cant say hard nut onballers like Wallis, Libba and Clay Smith wont start eating into the midfield time for Boyd, Cooney, Griffen, Cross ect. The new coach will see it as a year to start a transition phase from old to new. Cooney will probably play/start more forward, Cross may play a more defensive halfback flank/wing role. Boyd and Griffen will start in the middle but like the modern game rotate a lot more forward than past years. Im not sure how Boyd will go on a half forward flank. I don't like picking premiums that i think will avg 5 under what they got the previous year.

Yep that's what i like about him as well Spence. That's why he was in my team for sometime. I now have an undervalued premium which was one of my 7-8 premium mids i was considering from the get go and means i can upgrade Lake to another player who is also an undervalued keeper so pretty happy with that. I could potentially be starting with 17 keepers. A lot are undervalued but not too concerned by them.

 

[CrozaN]

Yes Crozan i had ST and Rocky ahead of him. However i than talked to a Brisbane player and he said they are expecting Rocky to get a fair bit of attention next year. I thought Black and Rich may get a tag but he reckons each will get their time and black may not be worth tagging now, they may move a focus to Rocky and Rich.

For me Crozan the dogs are in a rebuilding phase and you cant say hard nut onballers like Wallis, Libba and Clay Smith wont start eating into the midfield time for Boyd, Cooney, Griffen, Cross ect. The new coach will see it as a year to start a transition phase from old to new. Cooney will probably play/start more forward, Cross may play a more defensive halfback flank/wing role. Boyd and Griffen will start in the middle but like the modern game rotate a lot more forward than past years. Im not sure how Boyd will go on a half forward flank. I don't like picking premiums that i think will avg 5 under what they got the previous year.

Yep that's what i like about him as well Spence. That's why he was in my team for sometime. I now have an undervalued premium which was one of my 7-8 premium mids i was considering from the get go and means i can upgrade Lake to another player who is also an undervalued keeper so pretty happy with that. I could potentially be starting with 17 keepers. A lot are undervalued but not too concerned by them.

Fair justification Keystone.

For now Boyd is in my team, although i seem to change my team daily. I guess after the NAB cup, things will be much more clearer. I did have Rocky in my team as well, but i am worried about the attention he might be copping this year, so it has scared me off him a bit.

Back on topic, i can see Bartel/Mitchell/Judd/Stanton/Priddis/Swallow all being a pretty 'unique' pick this year. So much depth in the midfield this year .

 

[SaintsSeptember]

Not sure this thread works. If you post your "Unique" pick and everyone thinks its a good idea, it may not stay unique.

To me most of the discussion is on Known Premiums, Former Premiums, Rookies.

The hardest picks are those who are midpriced a will become premiums ( or close to it )this year.
For year's its been going to be Chris Masten.
Some other names I could throw up , Andy Otten? David Mackay? These guys havent yet reached their potential ( but will they ever) Jack Steven broke out last year ( average 80 ) but he's only 22 and looks like he will only improve this year.
David Armitage never really got a good crack under Lyon, but every year he's cracked the ton on a few games. New coach, new role?

 

[Keystone agony]

^ I would be all over Stanton if byes didnt occur this year, still thinking about picking him in my team instead of my undervalued premium. For me Barlow is a lock and one of Swan/Pendles aswell, so i cant find room for him as it means a guaranteed zero in round 12 in the mids unless i waste a trade.

 

[yogibbear]

Surely the tagging order at Brisbane would be:

Black > Adcock > Rich > Redden > Rockliff

I'm doing that based on Black having more impact / better decision making and the rest based on kick eff %.

 

[Keystone agony]

Surely the tagging order at Brisbane would be:

Black > Adcock > Rich > Redden > Rockliff

I'm doing that based on Black having more impact / better decision making and the rest based on kick eff %.

Very optimistic thinking

Adcock will likely play in defense

Black is getting very old, he still wins hard pill and dishes out but clubs tend not to tag these types as much any more as there are easier players to stop ala wingmen/outside players who get most of their possessions uncontested.

From talking to insiders in the club they expect an even share between Black, Rich and Rockliff. If Rockliff isn't being tagged than he will certainly be getting a lot more work put into him and much more closely played on than he did last year. Last year he was still unknown to many clubs. Now he is a B&F winner things change.

For me it goes

Rich> Rockliff> Black> Redden

Whether he can handle it we are not sure. But paying big dollars for the 4th most expensive player in the game is very risky and something im not willing to take a risk on when you look at the rest of the other midfield options.