Team Tracker 2K23 / Shady2K

Shady2K wrote:

Thanks mate! Yeah the Moses situation is tricky, like you said holding seems sensible as he plays major byes with a huge ceiling. But there is some logic to the madness in trading him out, so I don't hate the idea

I hadn't considered trading out Katoa but you make a point, and taking a risk on VTW could well pay off. Hard to see him not starting again but would backfire majorly if he doesn't play in R12/13 as expected

Just had a quick look and if I do Katoa to VTW, then I can trade Luke to anyone up to 537k - but no one in that range interests me at all

I think its the right thought process
How you plan to use Moses cash is important
The VTW option was simply a way to give you more cash this week if it helps, if you don't need it its not worth the gamble

But another way to look at moses as 2 weeks (This and round 13)

Ie Cheap player points this week + Moses rd13 points
Good player points this week + IKatoa rd 13points

Hope this helps your thinking

Contrastinghobby wrote:

I think its the right thought process
How you plan to use Moses cash is important
The VTW option was simply a way to give you more cash this week if it helps, if you don't need it its not worth the gamble

But another way to look at moses as 2 weeks (This and round 13)

Ie Cheap player points this week + Moses rd13 points
Good player points this week + IKatoa rd 13points

Hope this helps your thinking

The cheap player this week would be Luke who could be a 10 or a 30, so on paper the second option looks the best haha

Just had a play and saw I could skip Drinkwater this week and go Katoa/Ford/Moses to VTW/Hopgood/Matterson… would be pretty ballsy

ROUND 11 WRAP

Trade OUT: Moses + Ford
Trade IN: Matterson + Drinkwater

HOK: Boyd

Not the best week and a bit of a slide overall. Boyd was serviceable at 42 so not the worst of the bunch.

MID: Haas (vc) | De Belin | Horsburgh

Haas bounced back in a big way and JDB keeps on performing. Wouldn't surprise me if he's a NSW bolter, but he's made 150k+ already since I traded him in. Horse got binned so that slows down his money making.

EDG: Hosking | Loiero

Hosking got reduced minutes due to game circumstances so his price has stalled - with Panthers effectively having 4 edges, his time may be up. Loiero probably hold until R13.

HLF: Cleary (c) | Johnson

No complaints here again. SJ on the bye now so Katoa will sub in for him.

CTR: Bird | Manu

Bird great but Manu rolled his ankle. Reports only a week or two (and he has R13 bye anyway) so a likely hold.

WFB: Miller | Tedesco | Bula

Bula was fine for his price but the others had shit games. Miller dropping cash and Teddy just being true shitto. Miller a reluctant R13 hold and there's little point in trading out Teddy given WFB is a shit show, just a bad pick this year it seems.

INT: Fifita | Matterson | Drinkwater | Host

Matto and Drinky were about par for scoring, Fifita and Host exceeded expectations.

EMG: Luke | Lemuelu | I. Katoa | Nikorima

3 on the bye and Luke another plod score.

$77k ITB / 14 trades left (plus 8 from Round 20)

Score: 921 / Rank: 910

Potential targets:

- Main issue at the moment would be Hosking (dropping cash and possible role change). Cheaper options to trade him to would be Luki or Edwards (Bulldogs) as far as I can see. Burbo also emerges as an option but he falls in the 'shit player' category at the moment, and is a safe wait and see. With Luki, plays R13 and R16 but seems reliant on attacking stats, and also is over 500k. Edwards is more of a base guy, plays R16 and R19, is in the 300k range and has a negative BE.
- Oloapu has been on my list for a while and just waiting for him to start. He does now, so may flick Luke for him who has been a disappointing trade-in.
- My other R13 targets like Hopgood or Robson can wait until next week when we get more clarity about Origin team lists and more data on who looks the best option in general.

Luke to your pick of this week's cheapies (Burbo/Hedwards/Oloapu) seems like an easy one for your team. And then I don't mind Hosking to Luki, freeing up plenty of cash to upgrade Loiero/Boyd next week.

mrbrownstone wrote:Luke to your pick of this week's cheapies (Burbo/Hedwards/Oloapu) seems like an easy one for your team. And then I don't mind Hosking to Luki, freeing up plenty of cash to upgrade Loiero/Boyd next week.

Thanks legend, I tentatively have Hosking/Luke to Oloapu/Edwards

I like those trades. Gives you $400k ish in the bank? which will be good flexibility for R13 upgrades.
Never owned Hosking myself but not sure he's worth the headache with the uncertainty of minutes going forward. Personally have a good gut feeling on Edwards.

Stylebender wrote:I like those trades. Gives you $400k ish in the bank? which will be good flexibility for R13 upgrades.
Never owned Hosking myself but not sure he's worth the headache with the uncertainty of minutes going forward. Personally have a good gut feeling on Edwards.

Yeah $422k for moves. I’d be after a HOK and EDG next week, probably just play 12 and skip the third WFB

Could flip Loiero for not much change and with all the bank maybe move on one of IKat or Niko too. Or Boyd, but I like his flexibility

ROUND 12 WRAP

Trade OUT: Luke + Hosking
Trade IN: Oloapu + H. Edwards

HOK: Boyd

Thought he was a keeper until recent weeks, seems to have fallen off a tad. HOK in general has been pretty dire this year but flipping him to someone who plays two bye rounds seems logical. Could always hold though.

MID: Haas (vc) | Matterson | De Belin

Likely hold Haas through Origin despite risk of lower minutes/resting. His floor/ceiling is just so much better than every other MID. Matterson had a big first half before a calf injury - no report yet how bad it is, but if he's out for a few weeks then he'll be traded out which is annoying. JDB huge again.

EDG: Fifita | Loiero

Fifita climbing to the $1m tag and Loiero plodding along. Has been really serviceable but time to move on from Loiero.

HLF: Cleary (c) | I. Katoa

The best (c) option of the week, but Katoa got subbed off early. That signals his peaked price now, and with Nikorima still rising, then likely Katoa will be traded out.

CTR: Bird | Lemuelu

Bird a late out, so I played with 16 this week with my backup CTR injured (Manu). Lemuelu an average score but still good for a CTR.

WFB: Miller | Tedesco | Drinkwater

Miller... can't wait to get rid of him. Hindsight says flipping him to Garrick this week would've been great for both cash and points. Could still do that next week, or target D. Edwards in R14. Teddy finally bounced back, and Drinkwater had a good game too.

INT: Horsburgh | Bula | H. Edwards | Johnson

Happy here - Bula had a big game and Edwards got the role. Hopefully he keeps it for a while. SJ there for the loop.

EMG: Nikorima | Oloapu | Host | Manu

Nikorima went big this week which really helped, plus his cash is still rising. Oloapu solid and helped me get rid of a dead cow in Luke. Host got benched late, but hopefully gets more minutes with their Origin players out.

$422k ITB / 12 trades left (plus 8 from Round 20)

Score: 989 / Rank: 593

Potential targets:

- It's the first big bye with R13 next week, so targeting those players.
- HOK: If Cook misses Origin then he'll be brought in. Otherwise a coin flip between Robson and Marshall-King.
- MID: Have 3 here already, pending Matterson's fitness. If he's out, then looking at bringing Harris back in who's in good form and hopefully back to being fit.
- EDG: Only have Host, so need 1 more. Hopgood is my target here if he misses Origin, otherwise will probably play short.
- HLF: Already have SJ and the Dolphins pair. Could bring Moses back or Brown, but don't feel it's necessary.
- CTR: Have Lemuelu and Bird already, assuming they're both named again for R13.
- WFB: Have Drinkwater and Miller. Some options could be Garrick, Walsh or Te Whare if he gets named. Or could just play with 2 because with trades running low, don't want to bring someone in just for the sake of a bye number. Ponga has also been named FB since TLT with Miller benched, so he's now an option (and Miller a trade-out option).

ROUND 13 WRAP

Trade OUT: I. Katoa + Matterson + Miller + Boyd
Trade IN: Cook + Harris + Hopgood + Ponga

HOK: Cook

Most hookers seemed to score well this round and Cook got a solid 60. Was looking pretty dire until he got the try.

MID: De Belin (c) | Horsburgh | Harris

JDB was on for a big score before his binning, but still good. Horse went huge and Harris got about par but he was heavily traded in.

EDG: Hopgood | Host

Hopgood went well as expected, bit annoying I didn't get him earlier but thought he was an Origin smokey. Host was plodding again - not my best trade this year. Have cash in the bank to get rid of him now.

HLF: Johnson (vc) | Nikorima

Couple of 30s here. Probably the spot where points went begging with other HLF options going big (Eels).

CTR: Bird | Lemuelu

Bird got limited minutes but Lemuelu went about expected.

WFB: Tedesco | Drinkwater | Ponga

Drinky had a great game and Ponga started poor but came around to a decent score. Ended up with 12 playing this week.

INT: Cleary | Fifita | Haas | Manu

EMG: Loiero | Bula | H. Edwards | Oloapu

$305k ITB / 8 trades left (plus 8 from Round 20)

Score: 684 / Rank: 473

Potential targets:

- Pending TLT and Origin fallout

PLANNING AHEAD

Just putting some thoughts down on paper. Prior to R14, my team has $305k bank and the 21 players are split as:

Keepers

Bird, Cleary, Cook, De Belin, Fifita, Haas, Harris, Hopgood, Johnson, Lemuelu, Manu, Tedesco

Note: Hopgood will require a trade out in R27 with the Eels bye (if I have a trade remaining then)

Borderline

Bula - great WFB backup and average so far. Plays R16 and R19. Could be surplus if other WFB 'guns' are brought in
Drinkwater - similar to Bula. Played R13 and will also play R16. His stay in the team depends on his form
Horsburgh - plays R19 so he'll stick around until then at least. He is role dependent because of Ricky. If he keeps his role then he elevates to keeper
Ponga - HIA status pending. Otherwise is good WFB/HLF backup

To be cashed out

H. Edwards (plays R16, then traded out R17 during Bulldogs bye to avoid Bulldogs/Sharks/Tigers bye issue)
Host (out this week, just need to decide who to bring in)
Loiero (plays R16, then traded out after that dependent on cash/who's available)
Nikorima (likely out in R15 for Fainu, mentioned below)
Oloapu (plays R16 and R19, could even just be a season hold as HLF backup)

R16 numbers

As it stands, my R16 availability is

HOK: x
MID: Hopgood, H. Edwards, x
EDG: Loiero, x
HLF: Ponga, Oloapu
CTR: Manu, x
WFB: Drinkwater, Bula, x

Targets

HOK: Robson (him and Cook cover each other's byes perfectly and likely a keeper), Turpin (shit player but if he gets 80 minutes with Cheese's injury then he may need to be considered)
MID: Fainu (acts as both a cash-out at $250k and a bye number, ideally he keeps the spot moving forward), Fisher-Harris (cheap and assuming increased minutes throughout Origin period)
EDG: One of Papali'i, Bateman or Nikora (all heavily discussed on forum)
HLF: With Ponga (assuming no Origin) he covers both WFB and HLF, so I'd only need to bring in one of either position. For HLF, Moses or Brown are options but are expensive and will also require a trade out in R27
CTR: No interest here for another number unless a basement option appears as a cash out
WFB: Kiraz for cheap option with potential (also plays R19) or D. Edwards for the better scorer (but doesn't play R19). Edwards a good choice as doesn't require a R27 trade out, so Ponga would play HLF if Edwards is the one traded in

R19 numbers

As it stands, my R19 availability is

HOK: Cook
MID: De Belin, Horsburgh, Harris
EDG: Hopgood, x
HLF: Johnson, Oloapu
CTR: Bird, Lemuelu
WFB: Bula, x, x

Targets

HOK: -
MID: -
EDG: One of Papali'i, Bateman or Nikora as per R16. All 3 play both R16 and R19
HLF: If an Eels half is traded in then they'll replace Oloapu, otherwise not required
CTR: -
WFB: Kiraz as mentioned above is an option, otherwise Bula will be the only playing one here. Gutherson or CNK are playing options but don't see them as keepers, so trades remaining will decide if someone gets brought in

ROUND 14 WRAP

Trade OUT: Host + Bird
Trade IN: Robson + Papali'i

HOK: Cook

An overall disaster of a round for a lot of people I guess. Cook was solid without being outstanding - can see why most were frustrated with him originally.

MID: Haas | De Belin (vc) | Horsburgh

Haas got a decent score considering he backed up, and Horsburgh was solid. He looks to have peaked, but if he keeps scoring around 50 then he can stick around. JDB got a cat 1 HIA, so he'll miss R15 and R16 (bye) but I think he's a hold. The time off could do him some good.

EDG: Fifita | Loiero

Well... Fifita did nothing. Not his fault, Titans were just awful. He'll lose cash but I don't have the trades to trade him out and back in. Loiero continues his plodding ways which is fine for now.

HLF: Cleary (c) | Johnson

Here it is, the yearly Cleary injury. Gone for 6 weeks with a hammy and (c) for 17 points. Will talk about targets below. SJ though got a season high, killed it.

CTR: Lemuelu | Manu

Fuck centres, next.

WFB: Drinkwater | Tedesco | Bula

Drinky has been great since I got him in, and Tedesco bounced back from Origin as most would've expected. Bula continues to beat expectations and looks like a keeper.

INT: Papali'i | Harris | Robson | Hopgood

Chose Papali'i over Bateman which seems wrong for this week, ah well. Harris and Robson solid 50s, and used Hopgood as a loop for Nikorima.

EMG: Nikorima | Oloapu | H. Edwards | Ponga

Nikorima went big this week again and has made lots of cash, but his time is expiring. Edwards and Oloapu eeked out some more cash and are holds until at least after R16. Ponga will sub in for Drinky since he's on the bye in R15.

$19k ITB / 6 trades left (plus 8 from Round 20)

Score: 821 / Rank: 470

Potential targets:

- Need a replacement for Cleary. Hynes is the next top dog but assuming he's in Origin, he misses 16/17/19 and then R20 is a short turnaround in New Zealand. Probably not the best for buck. I could bring Moses back (lol idiot why'd you trade him out to begin with?) who has a better schedule moving forward. I hate that Eels miss R27 as that's a guaranteed red dot though. Cherry-Evans is another option as an elite scorer but misses Origin rounds.
- Fainu is someone I have my eye on if he starts again in TLT. Cheap $250k who plays R16. My cashout option is Nikorima, who although has cash to make, is the best candidate to trade out as my other options are either keepers or play R16. I see Fainu as a cashout, not a cash cow. If he makes money, great, but I think he can stick around in the EMG and hope he keeps playing, or he becomes a red dot for looping (mainly given trades are scarce, but you never know).
- Looking ahead for R16, I'm missing a CTR. My shortlisted options for those are either Ramien or Penisini if I want to spend a trade to fill that spot.
- If I make the moves as above, then the R16 team will run out as:

Robson
Hopgood Edwards Fainu
Papali'i Loiero
Moses Oloapu
Manu Ramien/Penisini
Drinkwater Bula Ponga

WFB: Drinkwater | Tedesco | Bula this went well for you!

you gained 3 ranks!

love your write ups, got good squad depth here.

I'd be tempted by moses, dont think he plays any origin and covers the bye rounds and if Dylan is stood down, he will have a huge impetus on him to be the main man,

scary not having hynes or cleary though, with trades getting low (not quite as low as mine)

good luck,

GarethEllisismyDad wrote:WFB: Drinkwater | Tedesco | Bula this went well for you!

you gained 3 ranks!

love your write ups, got good squad depth here.

I'd be tempted by moses, dont think he plays any origin and covers the bye rounds and if Dylan is stood down, he will have a huge impetus on him to be the main man,

scary not having hynes or cleary though, with trades getting low (not quite as low as mine)

good luck,

Surprised I gained any ranks at all haha

Was set for a lift to the 300s before JDB and Cleary in the last game, unfortunately

The 8 trades in R20 will be of use to bring Hynes or Cleary back

ROUND 15 WRAP

Trade OUT: Cleary
Trade IN: Ramien

HOK: Cook

Great score from him but looks like he'll get his Origin jumper which nullifies his R19 usefulness. Imagine he's still a hold though.

MID: Haas (c) | Horsburgh | Harris

Great week from the MIDs particularly captain Haas who top scored in the round with a 93.

EDG: Papali'i | Loiero

Nice from IPap but Loiero got a season low score. Not much to tackle when your team is scoring 50 points. A bit annoying with some cash to be lost but he's a hold for R16.

HLF: Johnson (vc) | Nikorima

SJ continues to gun and Nikorima went well again. The bye week could be finally time to trade him out though.

CTR: Lemuelu | Manu

Average from this bunch but will keep as long as they're healthy.

WFB: Tedesco | Bula | Ponga

Great week for the WFBs as well with all of them scoring tries. Bula is firming as a keeper and Ponga proving very useful mid season.

INT: Hopgood | Ramien | H. Edwards | Oloapu

Hopgood got an early shower and less work due to Eels running rampant. Edwards looks to have peaked so he hasn't been the best trade-in, so he's out after R16. Oloapu on the other hand will kick off his cash gains significantly and is a hold.

With Ramien, very very poor score with Sharks getting thrashed. Didn't expect that. Logic with him is that I needed an extra CTR in the team as I only had 2, and wanted someone who played both major byes. My choice was between Ramien and Penisini, and settled with Ramien as he's 100k cheaper. Penisini was close to 600k which practically makes him a top 17 player which I don't want moving forward. This slot is just for a CTR back up and at best an 18th man, so went for the cheaper option. Sharks actually have a decent draw moving forward so he should be fine, but just very annoying for this week.

Had Fainu pencilled in originally but reversed that once he was benched. And he still score more than Ramien. Classic.

EMG: Fifita | De Belin | Robson | Drinkwater

Below par score this week and a bit of a slide with all the firepower in the EMG and a wad of cash in the bank.

$522k ITB / 5 trades left (plus 8 from Round 20)

Score: 997 / Rank: 656

Potential targets:

- With teams for R16 and SOO2 now released, looks like I'll lose Robson but Hynes now becomes a premium target. Can afford to go Nikorima straight to him.
- After that, I'm short a MID and a HOK. There's not any MID that interest me except maybe Garlick as a stop-gap but that seems like a waste of a trade.
- For HOK, maybe Turpin or Simpkin. Turpin is a bit annoying as I could've got him a few rounds ago for cheaper instead of Robson, but really didn't think Robson would make Origin. With Simpkin, he's base price but adds to my R17 woes. Before getting Simpkin I already have 6 Tigers/Bulldogs/Sharks out. 1 is Edwards who will be moved on to someone. Oloapu could also be traded but he's making good cash and nothing really of interest in his price range. All of this leans me to skipping Simpkin. So Turpin would be the only option, but then no idea who to trade out for him. Maybe one of Robson or Cook? Or just skip entirely.

My team for R16 currently looks like:

X
Hopgood H. Edwards X
Papali'i Loiero
Hynes Oloapu
Manu Ramien
Drinkwater Bula Ponga

Agree with your Trade targets mate, get Hynes as a priority and then Turpin.

So that locks in Niko to Hynes.

In terms of trade outs I'd actually be looking at Fifita and Cook.

Fifita - Holbrook has shown he's more than happy to rest him and another 30min game is going to see his price absolutely plummet. His BE is already in the 90's so could trade him out and have a plan to get him back after Origin when he's back playing 80.

Cook - Looked dangerous at weekend but that was only against the Dragons and misses 3 of the next 5 and that's if he backs up RD17.

A ballsy play would be Niko, Fifita, Cook > Hynes, Turpin, Gun MID that plays 16+17

This would still leave you quite a bit of bank which could be used for upgrades too rather than having to bring in cash outs.

Your rank 656th so if you can nail the next 4 rounds there is no reason you can't push that top 100.

Ando wrote:Agree with your Trade targets mate, get Hynes as a priority and then Turpin.

So that locks in Niko to Hynes.

In terms of trade outs I'd actually be looking at Fifita and Cook.

Fifita - Holbrook has shown he's more than happy to rest him and another 30min game is going to see his price absolutely plummet. His BE is already in the 90's so could trade him out and have a plan to get him back after Origin when he's back playing 80.

Cook - Looked dangerous at weekend but that was only against the Dragons and misses 3 of the next 5 and that's if he backs up RD17.

A ballsy play would be Niko, Fifita, Cook > Hynes, Turpin, Gun MID that plays 16+17

This would still leave you quite a bit of bank which could be used for upgrades too rather than having to bring in cash outs.

Your rank 656th so if you can nail the next 4 rounds there is no reason you can't push that top 100.

Thanks mate, main thing is my low trades so not sure if I can afford the out and back in with Fifita. R17 is actually a long turnaround and in Suncorp so he could get his normal minutes too

But I don't mind the Cook shout with the amount of games he misses. Hmm

Shady2K wrote:

Thanks mate, main thing is my low trades so not sure if I can afford the out and back in with Fifita. R17 is actually a long turnaround and in Suncorp so he could get his normal minutes too

But I don't mind the Cook shout with the amount of games he misses. Hmm

I feel you about the being low on trades but I think there's a very good chance Fifita drops 100k, combine that with someone who makes 100k you net 200k. That's Loiero > Fifita paid for. As long as whoever you replace Fifita with is a season keeper I think it's worth it.

And with all of that, you'd still have a huge bank to get Cleary back once he's fit.

Like I said it's quite a ballsy move but you'll fly up the rankings if it pays off.

Ando wrote:

I feel you about the being low on trades but I think there's a very good chance Fifita drops 100k, combine that with someone who makes 100k you net 200k. That's Loiero > Fifita paid for. As long as whoever you replace Fifita with is a season keeper I think it's worth it.

And with all of that, you'd still have a huge bank to get Cleary back once he's fit.

Like I said it's quite a ballsy move but you'll fly up the rankings if it pays off.

Yeah good points. I could go Fifita > Turpin which gives me a massive bank roll to make a move on Edwards and Loiero next week

Then when the 8 trades kicks in I'd just be aiming for Cleary and Fifita in the run home

Shady2K wrote:

Yeah good points. I could go Fifita > Turpin which gives me a massive bank roll to make a move on Edwards and Loiero next week

Then when the 8 trades kicks in I'd just be aiming for Cleary and Fifita in the run home

I like it mate, it’s pretty much what I have planned. The two players I 100% want post-Origin is Cleary and Fifita once the 8 trades kick in, then I’ll try hold the other 6 to cover injuries.

If my calculations are correct I will have 1 trade left from my original 36 so will use that as a bonus trade on a POD Gun who can help close the gap on Booze

TEAM UPDATE

After some tinkering I'm more comfortable with the idea of these trades...

Nikorima + Fifita > Hands + Hynes. Gives me a whopping $709k bank.

Nikorima: Has done his job as a great cash cow. With his bye this week it's a good time to move him on.
Hynes: Can afford Nikorima to Hynes before anything else, locked in with him missing Origin.
Hands: His HOK/HLF coverage is actually invaluable and he has a spot in that Eels team regardless if Hodgson is there or not. Kinda a gamble that Hodgson is out longer but at least he'll get 80 minutes this week. Simpkin adds to R17 outs and Turpin costs more and requires a trade out later. I see Hands as a pure cash out who happens to play R16/19.
Fifita: Yep... needed a sacrificial goat for the plan and to have 17 green dots next week. He's prone to reduced minutes, and if that happens, his price will plummet. Even if he averages 60 for the next few rounds then he'll still drop under 800k. The plan to get him back is when another higher priced option has their bye, like Harris R22 for example. Otherwise an injury/suspension will make a decision for me.

R16 team (12 playing) would then be:

Hands
Haas Hopgood Edwards
Papali'i Loiero
Hynes (c) Oloapu
Manu Ramien
Drinkwater Bula Ponga

Johnson De Belin Horsburgh Cook
Harris Robson Tedesco Lemuelu

Then R17 will roll around. My plan then would be Edwards + Oloapu > Grant + K. Haas. The K. Haas option gives me approx. $500k bank which is enough to go Loiero to Cleary in one trade (casualty ward says R21 which is a while away though). It's a lot of $$$ to leave hanging around though for 4-5 weeks, so I could just get another gun instead of K. Haas and deal with Cleary later whenever he becomes available.

In terms of big guns who are more likely to back up, I like Cherry-Evans or Munster. Going this route leaves me with approx. $50k-100k bank. So if I want Cleary down the track then it'll cost 2 trades (with the R20 refresh). 1 to cash out someone, and 1 to trade Loiero to Cleary.

R17 would roll out as:

Grant
Haas De Belin Horsburgh
Hopgood Loiero
Johnson Hands
Lemuelu Manu
Tedesco Drinkwater Ponga

Harris Cook Robson (Cherry-Evans/Munster + $50-100k) OR (K. Haas + $500k)
Hynes Ramien Papali'i Bula

1 trade remaining until R20 refresh

Any thoughts appreciated!