Okay people, this what we all play fantasy football for – its Finals Time, and that means your team needs to be in tip top shape, whether you have finished on the top of the ladder or are looking to make a late Premiership run from 8th spot. It all comes down to this, and to stay alive you need to do just one thing – beat your opponent. Fortunately there aren’t too many major injuries this week, although there are a couple of popular players who will need to be managed – whether that means a trade or a bench is up to you.
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So, this is it – the last game of the SC season. Obviously your trade status for this week will depend on where you are sitting on your respective league ladders and whether a victory is necessary to make the Finals or not. For many, some of the injuries from last weekend could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back, and destroys all of your hard work over the entire season. Remember, if you need to trade then DO IT – finishing 9th and out of the action next weekend will provide little consolation to you, especially if you have two vacant trades staring you in the face.
As we fast approach the SC Finals, many teams are battling hard for that top 8 or top 4 spot in their respective leagues. Whilst most of us are starting to run low on trades, last weekend so only a few players suffer injuries or suspension to keep them out of this week’s round of footy – but they were big names, and popular fantasy players. This means we are again faced with the eternal SC dilemma – to trade or not to trade? If you are trying to make the Finals, my advice is go for it – no point finishing 10th with 6 trades still in hand!
Whilst we haven’t had too much grief from the Match Review Panel in 2013, this week they made their presence felt with some significant suspensions to some key players, which could have a huge effect on SC match-ups this weekend. Not only that, but there were also some significant injuries to a couple of players as well as persistent question marks over others, leaving many teams in fantasy limbo. Of course it all boils down to how many trades you have left, but for many the choice is a simple one – make the trade or kiss the season goodbye.
It always hurts when a superstar gets grounded by injury in the fantasy world, but its ‘doubly bad’ when it happens early on in a match and affects his score so badly, as was the case last week with Brownlow favourite Jobe WATSON. However, it wasn’t just the gun Bomber who went down last weekend, with a number of other solid performers and bit-part players getting struck down and missing this week and weeks to come. I know we say it every year, but it’s around this time that your trades really start to get stretched to breaking point – remember a win now is worth four points, just the same as it was in round one. Hopefully, you still have enough to cover all your bases…
As we are getting down to the business end of the season and most teams are starting to get somewhere near completion, it’s a relief to have a week where there were relatively few injuries, particularly to star players. However, with question marks still hanging over some players from last weekend, as well as a list of new guys who will be missing this week, team selection (and bench
coverage) suddenly becomes a huge part of your ability to get over the line. With finals just around the corner, trading or not could make a huge difference – it’s all in your hands. Remember that relative good run we were having in the fantasy football world in terms of injuries and suspensions? Well, that’s quickly become a thing of the past with a nightmare round 13 leaving a number of big name players out for several weeks, as well as numerous guns and fringe players being marked as “questionable” leading in to selection for this weekend’s matches. While we bid
a not-so-fond farewell to the horrible bye weeks, we are now faced with a normal week of SC selection scarred by missing players. How many trades you have left – and how you use them – could go a long way to securing your team a victory this week and beyond. Well that wave of good luck we have been riding lately in terms of injuries to star players has stumbled a little this week, with two pretty big names biting the dust after last weekend’s round of matches. Still, as a whole the bye rounds have been fairly kind to us, and it will be a relief to get the
last one out of the way this weekend and then put our full teams back together – and sit back and watch the big scores roll in. Hopefully you still have somewhere around 10 trades left, and your team is in pretty good shape for a tilt at either the $50,000 or your league premiership – or both if you’re very lucky. In fantasy football terms we continue to ride our luck this week, after a bye round that saw only one major injury and no suspensions to speak of. At this time of year, as we try to navigate through the minefield that is the bye rounds, good fortune needs to be on our side and so far it has been. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that it stays that way, enabling us to carve our teams into the shape we need them to be in for the remainder of the season.
Maybe there is a football god, and maybe he (or she) decided to look after us last weekend, as there were virtually no serious injuries to key players to speak of. This is important in normal circumstances, but with the multi-bye rounds upon us, having players fit and healthy is even more crucial to fielding a somewhat competitive team. First things first with your SC side this week, make sure your Brisbane, Fremantle, Hawthorn, Port Adelaide, Richmond and Western Bulldogs players are all on the bench, replaced by selected players from the other 12 teams. It’s been made pretty easy for you – on the team select page, those with a bye have a blue dot next to their name – the less blue dots the better. Should
you trade this week? My gut feeling is no, unless you really need an extra player or two to possibly get you a crucial victory – and you have a few trades up your sleeve. Of course, every now and then a SC gun comes along you can’t afford to miss, and this year that is looking like being Swan Tom MITCHELL (Av 87 from one game). If you don’t get him this week, MAKE SURE you trade him in next week – he is a GUN, and will not only make you plenty of cash but score very well for you while he’s at it. |