StuDogg101 Team Tracker 2024

6 out of 21 the same - the same as me and Ando

Not very often I'd get a week scoring 900+ and be unhappy with it. In the context of the season it was good, but for a high scoring week the team underdelivered. 910 led to a rank drop to 8444.

Recap
Brailey 56 - yes boy. Oh I wish you were playing this week.

Smithies 45 - subbed in for Matto. Used to 40s from him so not unhappy.

Hoppy 68 - cracker. Surely Origin bound now.

Uto 48 - probably need to upgrade, but green dots aren't leaving for now

KPP 50 - nice. Still planning to hold.

Angus 48 - glad Hynes ended up playing so I didn't need this VC score lol can't expect huge scores every week though so all g.

Hynes 140 - glad to have him back. Guess it was a risk having him as C but I figured if he was fine to play then he was fine to captain

Brown 56 - days are obviously numbered but his scores have been pretty good overall

Iro 47 - cracker

Holmes 34 - middling score. Never know which Holmes will turn up each week. Will still miss him over Origin though

Weekes 64 - just crazy what he's been doing. Couldn't expect a 64, very happy.

Koula 45 - happy with that. But not happy he's out immediately. Can't win.

Atkinson 27 - with Hynes playing he's obviously just a passenger. Fills a gap though and if Hynes is in Origin I might need him

Bench
Galvin 63 - now we're talking

Lussick 31 - guess I just have to be happy with anything now. Need him this week so he lives

Strange 45 - great fill in

Fa'alogo 42 - another great fill in

Matto, Plath, Walsh, Salmon out

This week I had 19 green dots, but with Koula out I have 18. Walsh back so him and Koula swap. KPP and Brailey on the bye replaced by Smithies and Lussick (sigh).

Seriously considering no trades and just looping a couple. Yes, I'll have to possibly play Salmon or something, but dunno if it's worth trading/anyone worth trading to that I can afford. Can probably get a couple of loops going with Atkinson/Fa'alogo etc.

Team pre-trades
Lussick
Hoppy Plath Uto
Smithies Angus
Hynes DBrown
Iro Holmes
Walsh Weekes (Koula)

Galvin Matto Strange (KPP)
(Brailey) Salmon Fa'alogo Atkinson

Bank $2k
Rank 8444
Trades 16(3)

I haven't double checked the loops or anything but at a cursory glance I think they're OK. Almost not worth double looping, but on the off-chance Salmon goes OK I want the option.

Good luck, see you on the other side

What an average week. Thankfully once again it could have been worse. Lots of people had average weeks it seems, as I treaded water for a tiny 34 rank rise.

Recap
Lussick 15 - glad I'm forced to trade him otherwise I'd probably have stuck it out.

Plath 54 - top scoring mid in the team for the week. Which isn't saying much, but glad he didn't spit out a 30.

Utoikamanu 53 - above his average so a good week

Hoppy 51 - low by his standards, but the Eels are pretty bad as a whole so can't really complain. Good luck in Origin!

Angus 54 - I expect too much when I'm disappointed by a 54 haha. Good luck in Origin also. I think I'm in the trade him camp,  should have enough to bring him back if need be.

Smithies 27 - going to lose any money he's made at this rate. Will persevere for now but definitely an upgrade target sooner rather than later

Hynes 34 - rip. Knew the risks, did it anyway

Brown 51 - hoping Moses doesn't completely kill off his scores as I'd love to not have to trade him at the moment

Holmes 80 - another biggie but could have been more. Off to Origin. Not sure on how the Cowboys stack up with their byes etc but might just hold and see

Iro 26 - rare low score but the Sharks got pumped so...

Walsh 63 - welcome back, now have a week off lol

Weekes 51 - still going

Fa'alogo 39 - better. Anything over a 30 is a win here tbh

Bench
Galvin 77 - stoked. Will hopefully be valuable over the byes

Salmon 65 - was initially left out but with Matto and Hynes being late outs I (thankfully) got his score

Atkinson 32 - that's about it with Hynes in the team I think. Hope for more this week with him out

Strange 29 - got pumped, quietish game, average score.

NPRs
Matto , KPP, Brailey, Koula

This week I'm actually worse off for this bye than I thought. I guess I didn't expect so many outs when I plugged everything into the planner. Matto out is the most annoying, cuz I was counting on that extra body. Now I'm short a MID/EDG as well as two WFB (or half or centre depending on dpp). Lussick being out is an easy trade to Hands. If Matto is actually out come game day I'll probably cut my losses on him too. I think I'll then just run with 12 although Teddy is a tempting pickup for sure and also a keeper.  Have held trades as much as possible over the last few weeks so could arguably afford myself the luxury of a 3 trade week. Other than these thoughts, I'm at a bit of a loss.

Team pre trades
Brailey
Plath Salmon xxx
KPP Smithies
Brown Atkinson
Iro Strange
Weekes xxx xxx

NPRs
Hynes Matto Holmes Lussick Galvin Koula Angus Uto Walsh Fa'alogo Hoppy

Bank $2k
Rank 8410
Trades 16(4)

I don’t mind Lussick to Hands (as a half so you can move Atkinson down to WFB) and then Matto to Teddy. Just need to watch your round 14 numbers - looks like you’ve already got five on a bye? With Angus out next week you could consider moving him on now for Preston or Ming as a third trade.

Jele wrote:I don’t mind Lussick to Hands (as a half so you can move Atkinson down to WFB) and then Matto to Teddy. Just need to watch your round 14 numbers - looks like you’ve already got five on a bye? With Angus out next week you could consider moving him on now for Preston or Ming as a third trade.

Good call, I like that third trade thanks for the assist

Bit late on it this week cuz I wanted to wait until after Origin.

Last week actually ended up OK considering. Made up a few ranks to 5504 with a 679.

I didn't get Teddy in the end cuz I was worried about the bye this week, which obviously worked out great. Unfortunately I went Armstrong instead, which obviously didn't go great. Hopefully just a minor blip though. I also went Ming over Preston, when I've been pretty good with taking risks all year I took the "safer" route and it bit me a little. I mean obviously Ming is still a good option, I just have Preston points envy. And Hands did great but everyone will probably get him so it will be proportionally irrelevant.

Recap
Brailey 47 - I feel like 50 is the new 60 at hooker this season. I'd take a 47 every week from Mr Brailey.

Plath 59 - bang, didn't disappoint in the round I needed him.

Ming 47 - as above, disappointed, but only cuz of Preston's score in comparison.

Salmon 22 - only survives each week because he is a green dot.

KPP 54 - solid.

Smithies 45 - overall an underwhelming stay in my team, but will still be sad to see him go.

Hands 55 - lol.

Brown 50 - I'd love for him to keep hitting 50s even with Moses back so I can hold him till Cleary is back.

Strange 44 - another one I'll be sad to let go of, as I'd probably keep him all season for DPP. But needs must unfortunately. 44 is solid.

Iro 43 - another solid outing. If my centres average 80 combined each week I'm not going to be mad about it.

Weekes 136 - risky captain, but worth the roll and it paid off. Obviously not the higher scorer of the round, but nearly-70 on a bye round captaincy choice? Yes please!

Atkinson 51 - no Hynes, so another good score. Not as good as last time but very happy with 50+.

Armstrong 26 - my only solace is that his 26 was 26 more than I would have got if I had traded in Teddy. Also probably would have put the C on Teddy so saved me from whatever VC I'd have ended up with (if not still Weekes).

It is going to be a messy week with so many outs. Was already relying on Hynes and Walsh to get close to 17, so those two out is no bueno. Fingers crossed Holmes and Hoppy back up, but I don't like my chances. Down to 13 if they don't play, before trades. Obvious trade candidates are Smithies and Strange - both of whom I'd probably keep if I didn't need green dots this week. Hynes I'll probably trade despite him likely not playing Origin again in a hurry just cuz he's worth so much money. If I want a chance at 17 players this week I'll have to try find another trade candidate, but nothing obvious right now. Koula I'm just gonna have to suck up and play despite his positional switch simply for numbers, for example.

Team pre trades
* = if backing up
Brailey
Ming Uto Salmon
KPP Hoppy*
DBrown Galvin
Iro Koula
Atkinson Armstrong Fa'alogo

Hands Holmes*
(Hynes Walsh Plath Strange Smithies Weekes)

Bank $494k
Rank 5504
Trades 13(4)

Not the greatest back 5 I've ever seen that's for sure.  Want to see what kind of prognosis there is on Walsh or he might be the fourth trade target that I'm looking for. With 13 trades remaining I feel like I can afford to make 4 this week to try field 17. Just have to be mindful of the remaining byes with single digits trades left. If Holmes and Hoppy both don't back up it's going to be a hard slog and I'll probably lose any ranks I just gained. But we shall see.

Edit: just checked a few options and one I like is I can grab Fifita and Twal for Smithies + Strange + bank. If Holmes backs up I have 17 and suddenly things aren't looking as dire. Means I can hold Hynes and Walsh to see what happens. I haven't been in the main thread today so haven't seen any Origin wash-up chat if there's something obvious I'm missing.

Best of luck guys!

Ey up mate, 13 trades remaining is better than most so I think you're all good to burn all 4 but if you can get away with just 2 trades and still playing 17 that's solid.

I'd be pretty confident both Hopgood and Val both back up and think the two trades you named are spot on. Maybe pencil in a 3rd back up trade of Walsh to someone in case Ming is a late out as rumoured?

Walsh is going to miss quite a few games over the coming weeks and the Broncos have a solid deputy in Sailor so can afford to wrap him in cotton wool.

Armstrong news has caused a trade pivot for now, and rejigged the order in case I need to reverse.

Walsh to Fifita
Smithies to Twal
With an Armstrong to Latrell ready to go and a Hynes in the back if I need a 4th trade. Still waiting on the Val news which could also force the trade

Round 14 was one of those that starts with so much promise, but ended up a bit of a fizzer. Thankfully I brought in Latrell or I probably would have gone backwards in rank. 769 resulted in a 200ish rank rise which was horrible considering I was up 3k at one point in the weekend.

Recap
Brailey 21 - had to take his score by the time it came around that he was on the bench. Not worth trading anyone else out and only had exactly 17 players so that was that. Will probably hold this week and see how it goes, but unexpectedly on the trade block otherwise.

Twal 49 - these kind of scores are why I generally try avoid Twal. Hearing he's possibly injured was also annoying, so hopefully he does actually end up playing. Tigers still poos though.

Uto 44 - see above. Don't know why I did it to myself to own two Tigers forwards lol. 44 is OK, but barely.

Ming 39 - bum trade really. Average last 2 weeks and now the bye so can't even take advantage of Preston's injury (which isn't as bad as first thought). Perhaps not the budget keeper I thought he might be.

DFifi 126 - saved his score with the try. Considering back to back C on him again this week...but with Hynes back seems like an unnecessary play. Hopefully more involved though, expecting a big game from the Titans.

KPP 48 - standard game. Ear to the ground about his availability this week.

DBrown 36 - just not the same with Moses back, but even so I expected 45+ average. Hopefully Moses makes Origin

Hands 33 - last week was obviously too good to be true. But hopefully continues to make some money at least.

Iro 39 - chat in the main thread about him being a sell. I definitely see him as a keeper unless something happens otherwise. With Val in the other spot I think they are as good a combo as any. I'd take 39 from a centre any day.

Koula 11 - as with Brailey, just not worth using a trade on last round and it cost me. I expected poor, but not 11 poor. Big disappointing trade and a big sell regardless of what happens with Turbo.

Mitchell 99 - welcome to the team. Will ride the roller coaster. Even if he gets picked for Origin, no regrets on the trade.

Fa'alogo 52 - hope he has a quiet week this week in real life but stoked for a 50 from him last week. Up to $430k so hitting good levels.

Atkinson 39 - you know, not bad. Losing his spot back to Trindall though...that is bad. Another probable sell, but might hold depending on what happens with Hynes.

Bench
Salmon 38 - sad he was my highest bench scorer this week. Rough. 38 from Salmon is good though lol don't get me wrong.

Galvin 33 - and injured. Was another possible cut priced keeper but with everything happening surrounding him, who knows?

Holmes 33 - happy with that backing up from Origin.

Hoppy 29 - also backing up and now a back injury. Itchy trade finger to go gun to gun with him...

As for this week, I have 17 without trading. But that includes, Brailey, Twal, KPP, Hynes, Koula and Hoppy who are under varying selection clouds. Really want to get Aitken but seems exorbitant unless using Hopgood. Galvin, Salmon, Atkinson and Koula other potential trade outs. Don't really want Sharpe but could really be easy money. Tempted to hold trades otherwise and wear another couple of weak scores. Hoping for more news on Twal, KPP and Brailey etc though.

Team pre trades
Brailey
Twal Uto Plath
Fifi KPP
Hynes Brown
Holmes Iro
Latrell Weekes Fa'alogo

Hoppy Koula Hands Strange
(Galvin Atkinson Salmon Ming)

Rank: 5321
Bank: $8k
Trades 10(4)

This is a strange season and I'm not quite sure of how to proceed, but if I can stumble to R20 I'm confident I can get through to the end of the season with the extra 8 trades. We shall see. Good luck for this week

This game giveth... and it taketh away. Had a smashing round 15. Had enough trades to cover the late outs, and managed to field 13. 923 for the round and up to rank 2590. Highest of the season.

Recap
Brailey 37 - great score considering the circumstances

Utoikamanu 81 - finally rewarding the faith. Pulled through when I needed him. Hoping for more this week!

Watson 63 - late in for Hopgood. Not messing around with an injury that we know little about. Happy to have Watson though and I knew if he played well he was also probably playing himself into Origin but it is what it is.

Plath 53 - Mr Consistent. Glad to have him.

Aitken 46 - 10 below his average which is kinda funny cuz I was very happy with 46 in a tough week.

KHaas 44 - late in when Fifita was ruled out. Pains me that he is out this week. Guess I'll have to be happy with that 44

Hynes 114 - average captaincy score, but at least it was over 50. Hynes will go one of two ways since he was dropped from Origin. Super good or super shit. Let's wait and see.

Brown 54 - feels like the upper limit with Moses around. Will be Cleary fodder in the coming weeks I imagine.

Holmes 57 - just keeps delivering. Should probably have traded over this period but he killed it back end of last year and I doubt I can get him back if I do trade him...so I won't.

Iro 50 - bruh. Keeper written all over him.

Mitchell 59 - same as Watson. Knew the Origin risks but happy to have taken them on and got 150+ points in 2 weeks from him.

Fa'alogo 57 - pity it was against the Warriors, but every cloud etc etc. Wing not ideal but hopefully he can still get his hands on the ball and score something semi decent this week.

Weekes 33 - glad I didn't have the C on him this week lol if his floor is 33 I am happy with that going forward.

Bench
Hands 43 - nice. Money and points gimme gimme

Sharpe 55 - dumb purchase just before the bye, but had other trades to finance. The score itself is a bonus.

Strange 54 - great round to top 50, thanks mate.

Koula 23 - was out of my 17 until all the late outs. Not worth trading cuz I knew I'd need him in the 17 this week. Hopefully he gets more than 23 though. Dud trade still.

Back down to earth with a thud this week though. Watson and Latrell in Origin. Can handle that, I knew the risks when I brought them in. Last minute trade in of KHaas only for him to be out this week stings though, and Twal being out too just adds to the dud trade list for the season.

My solid 12 for the week is now a dismal 9. I don't think it's worth burning 4 trades to field 13, but perhaps 2 or 3 to hopefully not lose too many of my gains from last round. No real idea of targets, seen lots of Wighton discussion but other than his price I don't feel like he has much going for him. Can't do Brailey to JMK directly so will either have to be happy with Api (poet) or finance the trade up via someone else. This is the only scenario where I see Wighton as a potentially viable trade option. Other than that... I'm clueless.

Team pre-trades
...
Uto Plath Ming
DFifi Aitken
Strange ...
Koula ...
Fa'alogo Weekes ...

(Brailey Watson Hynes Iro Mitchell Twal Hands Brown Sharpe Holmes Atkinson KHaas)

Bank: $129k
Rank: 2590
Trades: 6(4)

You're going to have to move on Brailey and Atkinson anyway, so why not do it this week? You could bring in JMK and Wighton for example as round 16 and 19 scorers.

Jele wrote:You're going to have to move on Brailey and Atkinson anyway, so why not do it this week? You could bring in JMK and Wighton for example as round 16 and 19 scorers.

Yeah definitely what I'm tilting towards. Wighton best for that price despite my reluctance. Cheers for the push

StuDogg101 wrote:

Yeah definitely what I'm tilting towards. Wighton best for that price despite my reluctance. Cheers for the push

FWIW I second Jele's idea. Klese and Twal outs are a kick in the nuts.

Took the hit and paid for it. To be honest, didn't fall back as much as I expected to. But still lost all the gains I made last week. 539 with 11 players, dropping me back to 5055 in rank.

Recap
JMK 46 - did ok. Hooker is such a bum position this year I am going to try avoid making anymore trades there after having brought him in.

Utoikamanu 52 - didn't watch the game so was fine with 52. But after seeing some highlights etc I think I expected more. Still fine though, pretty reliable at the moment.

Plath 46 - will just say he's consistent every week and be done with it

Ming 41 - below expectations

Aitken 48 - the game didn't lend itself to a big score from him, but even then he got a 48. I'll take it.

DFifi 128 - will happily take that on a bye round.

Strange 33 - up and down game as it seems to be with the Raiders as a whole recently.

Wighton 38 - new recruit did ok filling the void for this week. Will hopefully provide value going forward. 38 beats a 0.

Koula 36 - expected low, got 36. Happy. Relieved.

Weekes 48 - back to delivering

Fa'alogo 23 - couldn't have expected much more tbh. Has done his job and time to go.

Will wait for Origin before making any decisions, but will likely need a couple of trades to get a decent lineup or move some guys along. I definitely need an EDG so will have to weigh up options there. The rest depends on who backs up and whether Twal returns.

Team pre-trades
JMK
Uto Plath Ming
Aitken ...
Hynes DBrown
Iro Strange
Fa'alogo Weekes Sharpe

Hands Strange
Holmes Watson Twal
(Fifita KHaas Wighton Koula Latrell)

Bank: $24k
Rank: 5055
Trades: 4(4)

6 red dots, two purple. Twal has to go, probably Koula too...then hope Holmes and Fa'alogo play

Man I have ballsed up these bye rounds something chronic. A mixture of bad luck, straight-up bad trades and some poor team management has left me falling backwards in rank after the one great week I had a couple of rounds ago. Had Pryce traded in last week until the very last minute when I switched to Howarth. Wasn't the worst trade ever till he got injured. I was surprised to see him named this week to be honest (not complaining, and I hope he plays...just surprised). The other trade was Nikora which was obviously a banger. Ended up playing with 16 though instead of using a third trade, and although I went back in rank again, it could have been worse. Did have quite a few low/below average scores though which didn't help.

Recap
JMK 12 - oh man, this is that bad luck I was talking about. Was happy to ride this horse through the home stretch after the bye, but it was not to be. At least he's worth over $600k, although I was hoping he would be pushing much greater heights than that.

Ming 66 - finally hit a score. Anything above 50 is good from him going forward.

Plath 65 - keeps delivering. Unfortunately timed bye, but at least it will be out of the way.

Uto 39 - I guess after good scores the last couple of rounds I should have anticipated a lower one. Will be interesting to see how the returning troops affect his scores, even if they don't directly affect his position/minutes.

Nikora 63 - try-induced banger, but still a banger from the new recruit. Can only hope he continues in a similar vein.

Aitken 57 - another who keeps delivering. Another that I will miss this week!

Hynes 108 - low-ball captaincy choice, but at least it was a common one. If 54 is the low score of someone with the yips then I'm happy with that tbh.

DBrown 29 - gonna ride him through till the end of the byes as originally intended, however Moses (as expected) had just pulled the rug out from underneath him. I just hope that he can put up scores that kind of keep his value before I trade him.

Strange 41 - it is going to be hard to say goodbye to this fella if/when I trade him in. Obviously not lighting up the world every week but he has filled multiple gaps this season when required, and has more often than not delivered a reasonable score. If I can angle for him to have a bench/emg spot later in the season then I will be doing my best to make that happen.

Iro 38 - keeps going.

Weekes 47 - fullback this week is a bummer. Will hold and see how he goes, but the fact he is over $600k now indicates how well he's done. Excellent stepping stone to a gun in the coming rounds.

Fa'alogo 36 - haven't seen the latest late mail, but seems like Papy is good to go this week after all, last I saw. This puts Fa'alogo on the trade block, but might have bigger fish to fry this week, will see what happens.

Sharpe 23 - need tries to hit 50s, and this proves it. On the bench this week, not idea. Not really enough value to trade so will probably have to stash and hold.

Bench
Watson 51 - funny that this is below average for him. Backing up though so not bad at all.

Howarth 32 - obviously not a great start for the new recruit with the injury etc, but on paper wasn't the worst trade I thought. I hope he plays, but only if he isn't hampered by the injury.

Hands 21 - my backup hooker now has a guy on the bench bleeding his minutes (and scores) dry. I will have to start him this week (unless I trade in a hooker), but as with Sharpe he doesn't really have any trade value himself. Will probably have to hold.

As for this week, I currently have 17 with no trades. However this includes, Fa'alogo (bench), Sharpe (bench), Howarth (possibly injured) and Hands (Arthur on the bench). KHaas still being out is such a kick in the nuts, wasted trade really. Would have been ultra useful these last few weeks. I only have 2 trades remaining, so I'll have to try get what I can out of some of them and maybe trade a couple of others. No trades next week is potentially scary though, with lots of fringe Origin players around, but I might not have a choice. Hands in particular is a concern, but as I mentioned above, he's my only hooker in the squad so I will probably play him which frees up JMK's money for any position, not just hooker. If Howarth is named to play at cutoff then I'm happy to run that risk. The other two are the bigger concerns, as bench backs just don't score well at all - if they even get on the pitch. Speaking of the bench, mine is weak as shit this week but not much I can do about that.

Team pre-trades
Hands
Watson Ming Uto
DFifi Nikora
Hynes DBrown
Holmes Iro
Mitchell Weekes Sharpe

Strange Wighton Howarth Fa'alogo
(JMK Plath Aitken KHaas)

Bank $180k
Rank 6216
Trades 2(2)

Good luck for this week guys

Another backwards step unfortunately. Sharpe was low as expected, Uto was very quiet, Val was a bit below par and Hynes didn't set the world on fire as captain. Played Hands over Fa'alogo too (and would again in the future in the same circumstances), but that only cost 8 points.

Recap, will keep it brief

Cook 47 - new trade in, average score. 2024 guys.

Ming 74 - fantastic

Watson 65 - also fantastic

Uto 28 - second time he's done me dirty on a week I've needed him

Nikora 69 - has been a great trade in so far

DFifi 56 - good

Hynes 104 - sad to see him go despite his struggles. Found my Cleary cash at least

DBrown 42 - I'm concerned he's gonna end up a keeper now that I have to trade Hynes. We shall see though.

Iro 42 - keeps going

Val 32 - hoping for a big run to end the season

Latrell 70 - another big game but gone otherwise. A shame.

Weekes 46 - poor score at fullback /s

Sharpe 11 - expected low score off the bench but not worth trading and is now super useful this week

Bench
Wighton 67 - killed it

Strange 57 - also killed it

Howarth 34 - glad he played in the end

Hands 28 - took over Fa'alogo. Reasonable considering the limited minutes

NPR
Fa'alogo 36 - can't have predicted that off the bench

This week I only have one trade, and 11 players since Latrell is unexpectedly out. Actually not too bad judging from conversations about the place. Unfortunately the 2 positions I'm missing are both WFB, so looks like I'll be scraping the barrel to find a Latrell replacement for this week (and hopefully the rest of the season).

Team for this week
Cook
KHaas Uto Plath
Fifi Nikora
Brown Wighton
Iro Aitken
Sharpe ... ....

Hands
(Hynes Latrell Watson Weekes Strange Val Ming Howarth Fa'alogo)

Bank: $58k
Rank: 7727
Trades: 1(1)

Will be glad when these byes are over. Apart from one great round it's been the worst I can remember for my team. Best of luck!

Another difficult week, but at least it resulted in a slight ranks rise. Ended on 611 which I thought was reasonable considering a couple of shitters, and the unfortunate injury to Aitken and playing 1 short.

Recap
Cook 51 - he's here to stay now so just have to hope for the best

Plath 35 - had a trio of disappointing scores from my mids this week, and this was the best of them. Obviously playing hooker is hurting his scoring but he's also here to stay so fingers crossed.

KHaas 31 - so far one of my worst buys this season, luckily for him people like Twal existed who became far worse trades. At least he's a green dot now.

Uto 27 - man what happened? Can't even crack 30 now? With trades scarce he might have to stay, but with so many better players above him, if I can afford to upgrade, I will.

Fifita 124 - great score on the week I needed it. Will be hard to take the armband off him, but will depend on my trades this week.

Nikora 73 - no Hynes, no problem. So far. Just hoping he keeps up the form (aka tries).

Wighton 58 - could be my buy of the byes tbh. Considering I wasn't overly keen and needed a push to grab him, he has been great so far. Ingot lucky for sure.

Brown 57 - his stocks just rose with poor Moses being injured again. Glad I held firm on him till R20 as initially intended. Got lucky again.

Iro 61 - has been one of the MVPs this season for sure.

Aitken 5 - this stings. Took the gloss off the week.

Garrick 59 - new recruit hit his straps immediately. Couldn't risk Turbo, no way.

Sharpe 30 - green dot is about it now.

So for this week I currently have 12 green dots, 2 purple dots (Holmes, Sharpe), 4 on the bye and 3 injured. The green dots include Fa'alogo however, so can't expect another two tries rescue job off the bench this week. Can't do much about Holmes, if he plays then great, if not then I'll be down to 16 again (presuming I make 4 trades).

The 3 injured are Ming, Aitken and Latrell, so a bit of cash to splash around. Pretty sure I'm just going to go Cleary for one trade and roll the dice with nothing to lose. The other trades I'm not sure. Cleary can slot into HLF and Wighton can move to CTR for Aitken, so I can pretty much go any position from there. Also quarter of a mill in the bank so can hopefully make something work.

Current team, pre trades
Cook
Watson Uto KHaas
Fifita Howarth
Wighton Plath
Strange Holmes
Garrick Weekes Fa'alogo

(Ming Aitken Mitchell Sharpe)

(Iro Nikora Brown Hands)

Rank: 6846
Bank: $250k
Trades: 8(4)

On the home stretch now, will take each week as it comes and let's hope for no injuries

Last week was bookmarked by several trades and trade reversals, before finally deciding on 4 trades. Aitken, Mitchell, Ming and Sharpe to Cleary, Haas, Campbell and Gray. I needed 2 WFB for 17 so JC and Gray seemed as good options as any (obviously didn't end too great but no regrets). My biggest fail was not switching the C back to Cleary after one of the multiple reversals, so had to cop Fifi as C which cost me a few points. My own fault though, normally thorough with those kind of things.

Recap
Cook 79 - banger

Haas 53 - new recruit and expecting some big things. Obviously backing up didn't help last week but I wanted him in immediately just in case, and 53 wasn't too bad

Uto 41 - better than the last few efforts, but far cry from half a dozen rounds ago. Will stick for now, but on thin ice.

Watson 31 - another backing up, so anything beats a 0

Fifi 112 - 56 normally OK for a captaincy, but knowing I had it on Cleary for most of the week makes it a bit annoying. I'll cop it lol

Howarth 60 - great score from essentially a bye round gap filler. Now has DPP, so pretty happy to keep him in the emergencies for as long as I can

Cleary 76 - glad I didn't wait, now just need to hope he doesn't break

Plath 32 - just bleeding cash now. Still don't think I can trade cuz it seems a bit pointless. But I'll definitely be reconsidering a starting gig for him

Wighton 53 - another great score from what was also a bye round gap filler

Holmes 30 - OK there's the score backing up, now hoping for a big end to the season

Garrick 53 - does well when Manly does well. I can't bring myself to pick Turbo despite his 90...

Weekes 29 - either trade fodder or in the emergencies haven't decided yet

Fa'alogo 12 - same as Weekes. Almost not worth trading though, but these bench scores just aren't it

Bench
Campbell 42 - average score from the new recruit. Will hope the Titans end the season strongly now I have him

Gray 29 - chose him over Hopoate but at least he wasn't injured. Filled the gap for the week

Strange 27 - same as Weekes and Fa'alogo. Trade fodder if I need it, but hard to trade a green dot even with Fogarty back

KHaas 16 - been one of my worst trades.

This week looking to make no trades with my 21 green dots for the first time in god knows how long. Will just mean picking a 17, which we all know never goes as planned. As much as I want to use the 4 trades for upgrades, I better save them for the inevitable injuries etc.

Probable team for this week

Cook
Haas Watto Uto
Fifi Nikora
Cleary Brown
Holmes Iro
Garrick Campbell Weekes/Gray

Wighton Plath Strange Howarth
KHaas Weekes/Gray Fa'alogo Hands

Rank: 8012
Bank: $79k
Trades: 4(4)

Can't decide on my bench, or who to start out of Weekes or Gray. Angling Gray but we'll see. Almost hoping for a late out from one of the benchies so I can rig up at least one loop.

Good luck for this round

Quick one this week as teams even out and progress is hard to make. Updates took me to 995 which was a bit deflating thanks to Garrick, Utoikamanu and Nikora mostly. It did mean a tiny rank gain though to 7983.

Only choices this week is on the bench. Don't think I'm gonna trade, but Yeo is tempting before his price gets out of touch. Will take two trades though unless I trade a keeper, which I'm loathe to do. Can at least loop some of the noobs this week, although I do have to play Weekes.

Team pre-trades
Cook
Haas Watto Uto
Fifi Nikora
Cleary Brown
Iro Holmes
JC Weekes Gray

Plath Strange Wighton (Garrick)
Howarth KHaas Hands (Fa'alogo)

Bank $79k
Rank 7983
Trades 4(4)

Best of luck again guys