Q1: “Should I spend all of my salary cap on my starting squad or keep some money in the bank?”
Q2: “How do I know who is going to be starting In each game before the lockout?”
Q3: “Should I trade every week? Should I ever pay for an additional trade in points? When should I use my wildcard?”
A: I’d consider making that free trade every week unless you are happy with your team. I’m of the mentality that you can always be improving your line up and you want to be changing with the trends, as teams and players come into and fall out of form many times during a season. In other words, you want to be constantly evolving your team, and the free trade you can make each week plays a big role in that.
As for spending points on additional trades – my advice is don’t do it. If you have a full squad of players available, there shouldn’t be any need to and chasing points in this way is a huge risk, as you have to drop 3 to get someone in. So even if they put up six points for you, you’re only earning 3. I never did it during my title-winning season; and while I did it twice last year, I was burned both times. So I’d say avoid at all costs, unless you are desperate for a change.
I like to take a positive attitude to using the wildcard. So instead of throwing it away early in a desperate attempt to get back into the game, hold onto your wildcard as long as you can. Wait until teams previously thought out of contention start putting form together in the new year, and use it to add their key players to your team while getting rid of players from teams that the wheels are falling off of. It happens every season – Perth has done it two years in a row, while Adelaide have a reputation of falling apart in January. A late use of the wildcard could be what catapults you from top 200 to top 10 and into contention. Flicking the switch on the wildcard should be a decision made after a lot of consideration and not as a desperation move.