Sik's 2nd year syndrome. (It is a thing...!)

Morning/Afternoon gentleman and ladies (depending on time zones and gender).

So..... this is my 2nd proper year of NRL Fantasy, and what a start to the season it's been. After an incredible year last year, finishing 262nd overall, which exceeded my wildest expectations. My original goal for the year was top 2000, so eclipsed that. So with my final placing a jagged a spot in the illustrious Fantasy Fanatics League 1, with the best of the best and boy do/did I feel out of my depth. I also changed my team name, from The Tuffest Troops, to Todd Carneys Gargoyles. I don't want to steal Boozys thunder, as this will be a similar topic to his. Boozy has been a massive help to me via his posts and his pm's, so a massive shout out to him.

Guns im targeting as at Round 6:
Sam Burgess:
I think his price has dropped to probably as low as it will get. He's a 50 a week player week in week out, has good byes and due to being an Englishman, SOO isn't an issue. My only concern with big Sam is the head knocks he's been getting. I know you can't preempt injuries, but should I be concerned about something like this? Or just go for it.

Bodene Thompson:
How much of a concern is his ankle injury? Has a highish BE this week due to only scoring 19 in round 5. I think I'll sit on Bodene this week and see whether;
1. He played 80 mins.
2. What is score will be.
3. What the extent of his injury is and how the Warriors are managing it.

Elliot Whitehead:
I think that the price is almost right with Whitehead. Just want to see a solid score from him first. He has only scored 50 once this year, however that included a try. He did get a 40 in round 4 before being suspended, so round 6 I think will be his audition tape to join the Gargoyles.

Cameron McInnes/Andrew McCullough
Cam:
His scores have come down a little from their lofty heights of the first few rounds, but still consistently over 50.his price is starting to plateau, so he's almost ready to get.

Andrew:
He was absolutely 100% my hooker target post Brailey, however with Kodi lingering his stupid little head around, I think Macca is just about of the table. Not going to drop the best part of 600k on a bloke who will be seeing resuced minutes.

Now the biggest question the Brailey owners of the world including myself is where to go when the Brailey train leaves the station. Segyaro, McInnes, Cook?

DCE
Though he hasn't been the best half this year, Manly are looking solid. I also think DCE will be a great POD 2nd half later in the year. He will also not play SOO, unless the Maroons injury crisis continues (Hopefully not).

Round 5 team scores:


I'll fill in all my round 1-5 info over the weekend. But let's start at round 6.

Round 6 Preview:
With 27 trades remaining and a massive $406k in the bank I can basically trade in/out anyone, but the question is who.

Preliminary trade/s Round 6:


Matagi has peaked I believe, and Sam Burgess is primed and ready to start pumping some big scores. So welcome to the Gargoyles Sam Burgess!

Talakai hasn't been overly impressive since Round 1. Holmes is coming off a big game and looks to have the FB spot locked down. So Talaki can GTFO, and Holmes can take your spot. Welcome VH. Looking forward to a big game against Melbouren in the GF rematch.

Round 6 team:


Trades remaining: 25
Cash remaining: $94k

Great looking team Sik, I probably don't need to go into to much detail as have mentioned the matagi to  Surgess trade looks solid in my message (via dpp I imagine)

Other than that trade I would sit tight, if Frawley is named then you might have a downgrade option.
Elgey has an ok BE of 17 so not an immediate trade.

Can't give much advice on Brailey as I am a set/forget situation this year at hooker but reading around Cook or maybe Hodgo/Luke next week may be an option. See how Hodgo goes after the injury scare this week.
Ride one of their prices up perhaps and use the money elsewhere?

Anyways money in the bank, cows earning still =you are in a good spot to be in (Maybe you should be the one giving advice haha)

Boozecluez wrote:Great looking team Sik, I probably don't need to go into to much detail as have mentioned the matagi to  Surgess trade looks solid in my message (via dpp I imagine)

Other than that trade I would sit tight, if Frawley is named then you might have a downgrade option.
Elgey has an ok BE of 17 so not an immediate trade.

Can't give much advice on Brailey as I am a set/forget situation this year at hooker but reading around Cook or maybe Hodgo/Luke next week may be an option. See how Hodgo goes after the injury scare this week.
Ride one of their prices up perhaps and use the money elsewhere?

Anyways money in the bank, cows earning still =you are in a good spot to be in (Maybe you should be the one giving advice haha)

Thanks for the feedback Boozy...

I definitely don't think i need to be giving any advice, I'm way too much of a noob to be handing out any credible advice.

Frawley is on my radar this week as a cash out for Elgey. I think Elgey will be a revolving door against the raiders this week. A definite candidate for the Carter award. If I were Canberra, I'd get Paulo on and just tell him to run at Elgey. I think he will score sub 20 this week. If Frawley can jag a starting spot and play 60+ he should score 30s. Running behind a big Bulldogs pack should help his scores, and he had huuuuge kick metres last week.

Round 6.
So, Round 6 is in the books. Had my best score of the year so far with 871. Also had my first rise up the overall rankings to 5501 overall.



Was very happy with the Sam Burgess trade. Not fussed on the Holmes trade, but most fullbacks don't do well against Melbourne. I did have Frawley in for Elgey, but reversed it, the did it again, then reversed it. Then went to trade him in again on gut feeling and missed lockout by 1 min. But oh well.

Bring on Round 7!

Glad you brought Surgess in and unlucky on the Frawley trade.
It was a thing where you had to wait to an hour before the game to decide, then make a calculated guess that wasn't a sure thing.

Sometimes it's better not to make a trade than an impulsive one and regret it later, but Holmes should pick up when isn't playing in torrential rain

Anyways it's a good score Sik

Boozecluez wrote:, but Holmes should pick up when isn't playing in torrential rain

Just like Slater should?

code delta wrote:

Just like Slater should?

Well not letting the game slip through your fingers would be a start for Slater

Boozecluez wrote:

Well not letting the game slip through your fingers would be a start for Slater

But this is fantasy world and I'll take his points.

Round 7 Trades


Ive decided to bring Nikorima in for Lamb. Lamb hasnt been very impressive... He has had a couple of reasonable scores, but also some bad ones. Im not expecting huge things from Nikorima, however he does have good job security. Hes also a good cashout for Lamb, and should achieve the same scores. So get in here Nik.

The 2nd trade ive decided to do is Jacks to Frawley. Frawley has been very impressive in his first 2 games, and the Dogs look like a far better team with him on the field. With the inclusion of Munster, Jacks time is now coming to an end. Bringing Frawley in also nets me some more cash for upgrades. So fingers crossed Frawley can lock down the starting HLF spot.

Trades Remaining: 23
Cash Remaining: 270k

Round 7 Results
So, Round 7 is done and dusted. I again achieved my highest score of the year so far with 975. All my players performed except for Frawley and Sironen. However, still stoked with the score. I Also had my best weekly ranking of 208, and my overall rank has jumped up to 2503.

Frawley didnt perform to expectations, but all halves have off games. Hoping that he can lock down the starting spot. But will be happy for him to come off the bench and play 55-60.

The Nikorima trade feels like a stroke of genius. He was one of the highest scoring halves for the week, and exceeded what I thought hed get by miles, but ill take 66 from a half any day of the week. If he can average out to 35-40, ill be happy with that.

Round 8 Trades


First trade is Yates out, Chrichton in. Who can ignore a big Angus? Chrichton goes alright as well. Yates has peaked, and I think Chrichton is a must trade in.

Sironen to Whitehead. Not 100% convinced on Whitehead, however Sironen has gone off. For the first time this season he didnt play 80min. I think this trend will continue. Whitehead scored his first 50+ without a try. I think he will continue to score similar scores to last year, and at his price tag he is a must have.

Trades Remaining: 21
Cash Remaining: 118k

Im looking to double trade next week, then hold trades until round 12 byes. Fingers crossed I have no injuries or suspensions, and neither does my team.

How many trades are you expecting to use over the bye rounds and then have to close out the game?

Probably use 3 trades on each of the major Bye rounds.

Aiming to have at least 13 play in each of the major bye rounds.

Then have 5-6 trades remaining from Round 20 onwards for any injuries.

Last year I ran out of trades in round 22 I think. So I think my team is in better shape in comparison to last year. So this is the plan.

What do you think?

Well done on getting Grand Angus!

Chewie wrote:Well done on getting Grand Angus!

Thanks Chewie. Wanted him last week, but went for a downgrade instead. But got him now which is the main thing.

Teams looking good Sik, some crazy depth you have.
Going to have some hard decisions who to leave out of your team this week, wish I had that problem haha
Anyways keep up the good work bro

How's your team shaping up for the byes ?

Tight H2H last week, a real nailbiter and nothing in it.
Chin up, this is where the season gets interesting and you make some moves

Hey boozy. Not looking too bad. Will elaborate....

Just outside the top 1000... at 1104. So hopefully can go deep into that top 1k thru the bye period.