ELIMINATOR 2023

If I've done a good job of spot-the-difference, then ET vs EGF comes down to:

Murray vs Tapine
Garrick vs Ramien
Munster vs Matterson
Cook vs Graham
Bateman/Harris vs Gutherson/Possible Trade-In?

EGF has two trades left
ET has one trade left (I don't plan to use it)

Snatchpato wrote:I feel acknowledged.

Kids today, always need validation, back in my day we were happy with a clip round the ear and some crumbs off the floor.

Good luck to all of you!

easytiger wrote:If I've done a good job of spot-the-difference, then ET vs EGF comes down to:

Murray vs Tapine
Garrick vs Ramien
Munster vs Matterson
Cook vs Graham
Bateman/Harris vs Gutherson/Possible Trade-In?

EGF has two trades left
ET has one trade left (I don't plan to use it)

I’ll be taking Guthos 46 (aka rolling over and dying). My primary concern right now is not falling out of the top 50 in the last two rounds

My 4 are all done for 187, pending a sneaky Haas to Tapine trade as a final hurrah to drop Bula's 35. Jagged two tries, but a little below the 200 average I was hoping for. Ramien's butter fingers will haunt for me awhile. Could've been worse though.

Aardvark with 78 from Manu and DRussell, leaving Latrell and Frizell needing 110 to steal the win. Averages should see me canter home by a couple of points Hopefully neither are still carrying last week's injuries to make a game of it

Thanks mate, just caught up on your posts from the main thread. Scores got even closer with another update to Latrell overnight. Just 6 points in it currently.

Really unlucky with Latrell there, but goddamn it was frustrating watching him play so badly and rack up the fantasy points. 2-3 dropped balls leading to tries, flat-footed TBs and shocking passes.. I forgot how much I hate him until I got back into fantasy

I expected more out of Graham and Russell too. I would've played it the same, especially with Teddy going down and Garrick's status unknown. I couldn't really consider the Haas to Tapine trade, but still threw that out there. Now Horse could be lame too.

I'm definitely the villain in the match-up with ET Gotta be at least one douchebag that everyone wants to see lose by 1 or 150 and I'm your man for that

WT Winfield wrote: Gotta be at least one douchebag that everyone wants to see lose by 1 or 150 and I'm your man for that

Wayne is that you ?

WT Winfield wrote:Thanks mate, just caught up on your posts from the main thread. Scores got even closer with another update to Latrell overnight. Just 6 points in it currently.

Really unlucky with Latrell there, but goddamn it was frustrating watching him play so badly and rack up the fantasy points. 2-3 dropped balls leading to tries, flat-footed TBs and shocking passes.. I forgot how much I hate him until I got back into fantasy

I expected more out of Graham and Russell too. I would've played it the same, especially with Teddy going down and Garrick's status unknown. I couldn't really consider the Haas to Tapine trade, but still threw that out there. Now Horse could be lame too.

I'm definitely the villain in the match-up with ET Gotta be at least one douchebag that everyone wants to see lose by 1 or 150 and I'm your man for that

Not sure about that, with all the great work you and Rob do with team lists.

There are lots of clouds hanging over my players this week and I can hear the buzzards circling my team as it tries to limp home to the finish line... (or at least the starting line this week)

SEMI FINALS

(25) Winnie's Blues 1046 - 1038 Captain-Role Model-Aardvark (12)

(3) NRLFF - Easy Tiger 1086 - 1026 CNKo de Mayo (7)

So the final is set....

ELIMINATOR FINAL 2023
(25) Winnie's Blues vs NRLFF - Easy Tiger (3)

One Tigers fan will finally experience joy. Will team lists be kind to WT, or does ET reign as lord of the byes?

Truly an honour. H2H can throw up some janky results, but at this stage of the season and with this group of people (13 fanatics in the top 100 and over a third of the FOG in the top 1k) it takes some serious run good to navigate so many rounds.

Could have been a very early exit for me when I gave up the bye in the qualifying round and jagged a narrow 3 point victory over Random. Hopefully no investigations into the unfair momentum buff I gained there

Highly likely that I'll be using both remaining trades this week to go for broke whether it means having 15-18 green dots and letting Rd 27 sort itself out. No one counts final round rank drops anyway..

Good luck to ET.. really need to hold off Tens Machines in the Tigers league/overall. Bastard's coming home strong.

Appreciate Rob's hard work and No Worries behind the scenes too

It's really is a great (and surprising) honour to get here.
TBH I was just hoping I would win my first match-up, so any other win has been a bonus.

I think the underlying motto with any Eliminator challenge is the classic adage "it's better to be lucky that good", and as such I mostly put reaching the GF as down to 90% good fortune and about 10% good planning.

I wish you all the best for the weekend Winfield, I think after putting yourself at risk with the Random-Wildcard, you would be a very deserving winner!

Thanks mate. We'd both be deserving winners Your consistent high rank the whole season and good karma from running Lord of the Byes shouldn't go unmentioned.

I didn't join LotB because I've always sucked at bye rounds and figured I'd burn an extra trade or two trying to salvage some respectability (maybe that was your plan? incredible foresight if so), and my trophy cabinet just doesn't have room for participation trophies like say, a Matt or Welshy.

With the Garrick news dropping, Manu comes in for me and pending additional trades, it's shaping up to be:

WT vs ET
-----------
Yeo vs Harris
DCE vs Munster
Haas vs Bateman
Ramien vs Lemuelu
Bula vs Colquhoun

Carrigan/midranger trade-in vs Your trade-in

Munster going large and Ramien + Bula tanking are my biggest worries.

WT Winfield wrote:Thanks mate. We'd both be deserving winners Your consistent high rank the whole season and good karma from running Lord of the Byes shouldn't go unmentioned.

I didn't join LotB because I've always sucked at bye rounds and figured I'd burn an extra trade or two trying to salvage some respectability (maybe that was your plan? incredible foresight if so), and my trophy cabinet just doesn't have room for participation trophies like say, a Matt or Welshy.

With the Garrick news dropping, Manu comes in for me and pending additional trades, it's shaping up to be:

WT vs ET
-----------
Yeo vs Harris
DCE vs Munster
Haas vs Bateman
Ramien vs Lemuelu
Bula vs Colquhoun

Carrigan/midranger trade-in vs Your trade-in

Munster going large and Ramien + Bula tanking are my biggest worries.

My strategy at present is just to hope and pray that at least one, but hopefully two of Colquhoun, Kris and Garrick play.
It's not a good strategy...

Ramien vs Lemmy is the most 50-50, but Ramien is more likely to go big.

The other four I think are squarely in your favour. I have regrets getting Munster over DCE (who should also get GK assuming Garrick is gone)

Nevertheless, the Fantasy Gods do like to play their little games, so I guess we'll wait and see how things stand in the final wash up (hard to imagine the Harris try run continuing)

Yeah I had a little time to study your team and try to figure what I'd do.. Kris being named is promising, Garrick too I suppose. At least suggests Kris is close enough to play next week.

My gut feel is Garrick will miss both and Teddy will play next week, so I'd probably look at Garrick to Nikora or Mofo assuming Colq doesn't play. If Colq's promoted in the cut, then maybe Walsh, Kiraz or Tracey to fill the WFB spot.

Probably less appealing way to spend the last trade, but Colq to Weaver a possibility.. I didn't see the Titans game, but saw he kicked for 700+ metres.. Playing Panthers probably had a lot to do with that though.

I've locked in Garrick to Manu again.. Somewhat undecided on the last trade. VTW to Tracey or Sandon to Laurie seem like the better plays for overall, but gut is starting to tell me to just lock in Teddy to Carrigan and take cover for next week.

Congrats to WT Winfield, 2023 Eliminator champion!!

Big achievement from 25 seed

Will have the final details and some other stuff tomorrow

Thanks mate Honestly still pretty shocked after the run I had. Hopefully not too much trouble for the jewellers to resize the crown after my head grew a few sizes overnight.

Celebrations have been subdued as it would feel like kicking Easytiger while he's down after a pretty rough weekend. If someone like Welshy had somehow made the final, I'd be doing the whole song and dance, spiking the ball in the endzone, swinging back and forth on the rim and straddling Welshy from the front and giving him the old "How do them chestnuts feel son?!". The excessive celebration fines would definitely eat into my winnings and I'd probably owe you some money when all was said and done.

It's definitely the highlight of my fantasy career. I was always a H2H player, starting back in 2015 on NRLF with some mates, family members and celeb teams to fill out the league. I made the final in 2018 in a shortened season thanks to our admin screwing up the schedule, but couldn't get the job done. We moved to Supercoach for '19 and '20 but no success for myself.

It's been a great return year with easily my highest overall finish, winning my first H2H league courtesy of Bullbender (shoutout to Revs for sending me the code) and now capping it off with the Eliminator win against a stacked field.. just unbelievable really.

Can't thank Rob and No Worries enough for organising the comp and everyone who participated for making it interesting and providing the lols.

Commiserations to Easytiger who's had phenomenal season being ranked in the top 20 in all but one round since Rd 6 and would have been a very deserving winner if not for mass carnage striking.

Thank you to my family and friends also..

Look mum! I did it!

Celebrate away my friend, these things don't come around often in my experience, so live it up, enjoy it and bask in the adulation that is well deserved!

I'm honoured to have played a part in the final, and I'm more than happy to have come second to an outstanding competitor and all round good sort, that when all is said and done, was simply far too good for me.






Huge thanks again to Rob (and No Worries) - I thoroughly enjoyed the comp, and rode my luck as far as I was able.
The match introductions were always a highlight of the week.
All round a great competition played in great spirit

Thanks mate! Might crack a beer tonight now that it's official. Looking forward to a relaxing weekend to close the season despite more carnage on the horizon. I was just thinking that a top 2k finish would be awesome when I jumped back in this year, so wherever I end up now is just a bonus.

Maybe won't be that relaxing as I morph into living vicariously through your team and everyone else in the FOG with a shot at the prizes