2018 NRL Dream Team Virtual Sports/Sports Deck (VSDT) Part 1

StuDogg101 wrote:

SI wrote:

Eliminator's are up Dizzle.  As opposed to the last 10 years-this year they are available when Lockout is lifted.  Just have to remember to flick the Eliminator page over to Rd 18 as it will always default to the previous Round.

My opponent has a scary team of PODs...but I should be ok

I've had a couple of POD match ups. One of them had JAC and Tapine when they both went large a few Rounds ago but I scraped through. The other one I managed to trade late in the Round to match their 2 POD's.

At this stage I don't think there is a lot between teams; so I'm going to hold my 2 trades for during the Round.

Me: RJames, NBrown, RMartin, ARey, SJ, Cotric, Aitken, Fergo vs them: Fifita, Tolman, Surgess, DFifita, Brimson, Gutho, RSmith and TTurbo

I sold Fifita for James last week and while I could afford to bring him back this week for Sua/TPJ I don't know if I want to

StuDogg101 wrote:Me: RJames, NBrown, RMartin, ARey, SJ, Cotric, Aitken, Fergo vs them: Fifita, Tolman, Surgess, DFifita, Brimson, Gutho, RSmith and TTurbo

I sold Fifita for James last week and while I could afford to bring him back this week for Sua/TPJ I don't know if I want to

Hey mate,

I'd be getting Fifita back, especially if you are playing for the eliminator. He has a pretty solid floor but the potential to be going huge and most people will have him.

Also, I would be extremely surprised if your opponent doesn't have a better option than DFifita. Have a look at the rest of his squad to give a better idea of where the PODs will actually be come game day. Same is possibly true for Brimson and Smith too I reckon.

My round 18 match up looks like it'll be

Teddy v MBye
RTS v Katoa
Guth v Aubusson
James v Ese'ese
Martin v Hess
DCE v J Jackson

Pending trades of course. Which If I were him I'd be getting a better WFB and C.

So much luck comes into these H2H match ups but Im hopeful at this point. Certainly I'd rather my team than his!

Im currently running 11th as well so my focus at this stage is still on a top 10 finish.

Also, as an example of how much of a crap shoot H2Hs can be, I just looked at my league rankings for the first time. In Bullbenders league Im 9th despite presumably being 1st in overall rankings (at least thats what our NRFF group indicates).

I also see that the NRF FF L1 group is miles ahead in the overall league rankings. Nice work!!

Rippin and Tearin wrote:

Hey mate,

I'd be getting Fifita back, especially if you are playing for the eliminator. He has a pretty solid floor but the potential to be going huge and most people will have him.

Also, I would be extremely surprised if your opponent doesn't have a better option than DFifita. Have a look at the rest of his squad to give a better idea of where the PODs will actually be come game day. Same is possibly true for Brimson and Smith too I reckon.

My round 18 match up looks like it'll be

Teddy v MBye
RTS v Katoa
Guth v Aubusson
James v Ese'ese
Martin v Hess
DCE v J Jackson

Pending trades of course. Which If I were him I'd be getting a better WFB and C.

So much luck comes into these H2H match ups but Im hopeful at this point. Certainly I'd rather my team than his!

Im currently running 11th as well so my focus at this stage is still on a top 10 finish.

Also, as an example of how much of a crap shoot H2Hs can be, I just looked at my league rankings for the first time. In Bullbenders league Im 9th despite presumably being 1st in overall rankings (at least thats what our NRFF group indicates).

I also see that the NRF FF L1 group is miles ahead in the overall league rankings. Nice work!!

Thanks for your input bro, you're a great help with this.

Yeah I looked at his full squad and that is honestly his best 17. Pre-trades. The rest of his squad is L Leilua, Radley, L Croker, TMM, Douiehi, M Wright, Denniss and Katoa. Pretty mud in all honesty.

My problem is that I already have a squad that doesn't have room for TPJ, Sua or I Papali'i so I would be playing Fifita over one of my halves. Unless I double trade to play him over a WFB (assuming I want to play Munster over RTS/Ferguson). I dunno what do you think? If Fifita wasn't coming off Origin I'd probably do it.

My team currently:
Smith Cook
Taupau James (TPJ IPapali'i)
Arrow Lolo NBrown RMartin JTrbo (Sua)
SJ ARey Munster (LLewis)
Aitken Cotric (Tuala Holland)
Ferguson Teddy RTS (Katoa Denniss)

7 trades, $261k

StuDogg101 wrote:

Thanks for your input bro, you're a great help with this.

Yeah I looked at his full squad and that is honestly his best 17. Pre-trades. The rest of his squad is L Leilua, Radley, L Croker, TMM, Douiehi, M Wright, Denniss and Katoa. Pretty mud in all honesty.

My problem is that I already have a squad that doesn't have room for TPJ, Sua or I Papali'i so I would be playing Fifita over one of my halves. Unless I double trade to play him over a WFB (assuming I want to play Munster over RTS/Ferguson). I dunno what do you think? If Fifita wasn't coming off Origin I'd probably do it.

My team currently:
Smith Cook
Taupau James (TPJ IPapali'i)
Arrow Lolo NBrown RMartin JTrbo (Sua)
SJ ARey Munster (LLewis)
Aitken Cotric (Tuala Holland)
Ferguson Teddy RTS (Katoa Denniss)

7 trades, $261k

Surely Fifita is an upgrade over Munster as your fourth reserve? Not sure what you mean about him coming off Origin, but he is also one guy who can pump out a massive score. If I was your opponent, looking at your two teams, i’d probably captain him too in an effort to double down on him as a PoD. Getting him in at least reduces that risk.

My round 18 eliminator match-up looks like (pre-trades):

Him vs Me

James vs Ese’ese
Martin vs Brown
Widdop vs AReynolds
Mitchell vs Aitken
Hopoate vs Taikarangi
Hiku vs CWalker

Not much in it I would have thought. I could trade in James (for Martin who is currently my 18th man) or play Martin to reduce one PoD. Am inclined to see how Ese’ese, Brown and Taikarangi go on Friday night and assess then.

jelejasof wrote:

Surely Fifita is an upgrade over Munster as your fourth reserve? Not sure what you mean about him coming off Origin, but he is also one guy who can pump out a massive score. If I was your opponent, looking at your two teams, i’d probably captain him too in an effort to double down on him as a PoD. Getting him in at least reduces that risk.

I just mean I haven't been Fifita's biggest fan these bye rounds due to all the reduced minutes/introduction of Woods etc etc. Don't know why I mentioned Origin that was definitely a mind blank lol I'll definitely pick him up

StuDogg101 wrote:

Thanks for your input bro, you're a great help with this.

Yeah I looked at his full squad and that is honestly his best 17. Pre-trades. The rest of his squad is L Leilua, Radley, L Croker, TMM, Douiehi, M Wright, Denniss and Katoa. Pretty mud in all honesty.

My problem is that I already have a squad that doesn't have room for TPJ, Sua or I Papali'i so I would be playing Fifita over one of my halves. Unless I double trade to play him over a WFB (assuming I want to play Munster over RTS/Ferguson). I dunno what do you think? If Fifita wasn't coming off Origin I'd probably do it.

My team currently:
Smith Cook
Taupau James (TPJ IPapali'i)
Arrow Lolo NBrown RMartin JTrbo (Sua)
SJ ARey Munster (LLewis)
Aitken Cotric (Tuala Holland)
Ferguson Teddy RTS (Katoa Denniss)

7 trades, $261k

I'd be trading TPJ for Fifita. Fifita doesn't play Origin any more so no dramas there.

My rationale for trading in Fifita is that Fifita is your opponents best chance of beating you, i.e. his main POD. Cancel that out and Im pretty sure you win this matchup.

Also, I would keep a close eye on the matchup and if you are going really well, with Muster and ARey scoring well, I would consider benching SJ and running with a more consistent forward as your last reserve.

Also, taking another quick look at your team, I would also consider trading Fergusson to Turbo. BEs, averages, and prices suggest thats a decent option!

You have a good team. You are missing JTrbo though. By my calcs you could get him next week though if you double traded traded Sua and Papalii. Even if you brought in Fifita this weekend.

jelejasof wrote:My round 18 eliminator match-up looks like (pre-trades):

Him vs Me

James vs Ese’ese
Martin vs Brown
Widdop vs AReynolds
Mitchell vs Aitken
Hopoate vs Taikarangi
Hiku vs CWalker

Not much in it I would have thought. I could trade in James (for Martin who is currently my 18th man) or play Martin to reduce one PoD. Am inclined to see how Ese’ese, Brown and Taikarangi go on Friday night and assess then.

You are looking good mate! I'd probably let that one ride!

Widdop and Hiku should lose him that match up!

I'd be playing Martin though! He's becoming a fantasy gun!

Rippin and Tearin wrote:

I'd be trading TPJ for Fifita. Fifita doesn't play Origin any more so no dramas there.

My rationale for trading in Fifita is that Fifita is your opponents best chance of beating you, i.e. his main POD. Cancel that out and Im pretty sure you win this matchup.

Also, I would keep a close eye on the matchup and if you are going really well, with Muster and ARey scoring well, I would consider benching SJ and running with a more consistent forward as your last reserve.

Also, taking another quick look at your team, I would also consider trading Fergusson to Turbo. BEs, averages, and prices suggest thats a decent option!

You have a good team. You are missing JTrbo though. By my calcs you could get him next week though if you double traded traded Sua and Papalii. Even if you brought in Fifita this weekend.

Easy to miss but I do have JTrbo. As for TTrbo I was looking at keeping Fergo until Ponga came back - decided to trade Ponga out to get a viable back 5 - plus he has funnily enough been a great scorer in the centres all season. I'll get in Fifita and see how the weekend progresses. I've never been this far in the Eliminator so it's definitely a priority.

StuDogg101 wrote:

Easy to miss but I do have JTrbo. As for TTrbo I was looking at keeping Fergo until Ponga came back - decided to trade Ponga out to get a viable back 5 - plus he has funnily enough been a great scorer in the centres all season. I'll get in Fifita and see how the weekend progresses. I've never been this far in the Eliminator so it's definitely a priority.

So you do, my bad

What would you do with this team

Smith Farah
James Fifita Lodge JFH
JTrbo Surgess TLolo Martin Gallen Arrow
SJ DCE Thurston Lewis
Aitken Niukore Takarangi Doueihi
Tedesco TTrbo RTS Ponga Lomax

5 trades, $567k in the bank

Lets assume I spend 1 trade on getting Cook back for Farah, what is the next best way to improve my team?

Ryan Matterson back in if he ever gets fit enough?
Taupau, Brown or Crichton can come in for JFH/Lodge

Any ideas anyone can see?

Ranked 95th and out of the eliminator, so nothing really to play for (except maybe a shot at a weekly)

Rippin and Tearin wrote:

You are looking good mate! I'd probably let that one ride!

Widdop and Hiku should lose him that match up!

I'd be playing Martin though! He's becoming a fantasy gun!

Who would you play Martin ahead of?

Current lineup is:

Smith, Cook (r)
Fifita, Taupau, Ese’ese (r)
Taumalolo, JTurbo, Brown, Surgess (r), Arrow (r), Martin
SJ, ARey
Aitken, Taikarangi
Tedesco, TTurbo, CWalker

I guess Ese’ese, Brown or Surgess are the candidates but I think i’d rather play them early in the round in case JTurbo, Cook or Arrow get rested

Milchcow wrote:
What would you do with this team

Smith Farah
James Fifita Lodge JFH
JTrbo Surgess TLolo Martin Gallen Arrow
SJ DCE Thurston Lewis
Aitken Niukore Takarangi Doueihi
Tedesco TTrbo RTS Ponga Lomax

5 trades, $567k in the bank

Lets assume I spend 1 trade on getting Cook back for Farah, what is the next best way to improve my team?

Ryan Matterson back in if he ever gets fit enough?
Taupau, Brown or Crichton can come in for JFH/Lodge

Any ideas anyone can see?

Ranked 95th and out of the eliminator, so nothing really to play for (except maybe a shot at a weekly)

I can’t see anything else. I’d prioritise strengthening your 3rd/4th reserve(s) first. For me Taupau and Brown are better options than Crichton. You could wait a week or two on Farah/Cook to assess Farah’s form and see if Cook gets impacted by Origin resting etc. Equally as long as Niukore or Taikarangi are starting 2RF, there’s no guarantee that Matterson is a real upgrade.

jelejasof wrote:

Who would you play Martin ahead of?

Current lineup is:

Smith, Cook (r)
Fifita, Taupau, Ese’ese (r)
Taumalolo, JTurbo, Brown, Surgess (r), Arrow (r), Martin
SJ, ARey
Aitken, Taikarangi
Tedesco, TTurbo, CWalker

I guess Ese’ese, Brown or Surgess are the candidates but I think i’d rather play them early in the round in case JTurbo, Cook or Arrow get rested

Hey man, yeah it is a bit tricky. I guess in a normal week I'd probably play him over Ese'ese at this stage, but this week, given the risk of players being rested post Origin, I'd be closely monitoring how your head to head is running, and perhaps even playing both Ese'ese and Martin just to be safe. I.e to make sure you get a full 17 on the field and mitigate the chances of getting screwed by a later injury / rested player withdrawal. It would mean you could end up excluding Arrow from your 17 but given you have a big advantage in your match up already, and a risk Arrow could be rested/play small minutes like last round orator Origin, I might take that option and play it safe!

Do you have an alternative for Teddy?

Milchcow wrote:
What would you do with this team

Smith Farah
James Fifita Lodge JFH
JTrbo Surgess TLolo Martin Gallen Arrow
SJ DCE Thurston Lewis
Aitken Niukore Takarangi Doueihi
Tedesco TTrbo RTS Ponga Lomax

5 trades, $567k in the bank

Lets assume I spend 1 trade on getting Cook back for Farah, what is the next best way to improve my team?

Ryan Matterson back in if he ever gets fit enough?
Taupau, Brown or Crichton can come in for JFH/Lodge

Any ideas anyone can see?

Ranked 95th and out of the eliminator, so nothing really to play for (except maybe a shot at a weekly)

This week is as good as any to go for a weekly given a number of teams are going to struggle to field 3 good WFBs IF Teddy is in fact rested.

I'd keep Farah over Cook as thats a nice POD to pretty much all other serious teams and I'd look to find a way to get a complete 17 for this round. I.e use the cash to upgrade Lomax. If you got someone like C Walker, you could then later switch him to half and get rid of JT to balance your side out a bit.

Matterson looks like he's close so yup I would find a way to bring him back as soon as he's starting. Although I like the look of Niukore at C. I'd continue to play him.

I also think Fifita to Taupau could be a nice reverse POD play too given FIfita's string of sub average scores.

Saving grace for me with Teddy potentially being rested is the fact that they're playing the Titans and Brimson is my back-up.

EDIT: Just realised with the new setup, I won't even have to swap him in.

Rippin and Tearin wrote:

Hey man, yeah it is a bit tricky. I guess in a normal week I'd probably play him over Ese'ese at this stage, but this week, given the risk of players being rested post Origin, I'd be closely monitoring how your head to head is running, and perhaps even playing both Ese'ese and Martin just to be safe. I.e to make sure you get a full 17 on the field and mitigate the chances of getting screwed by  a later injury / rested player withdrawal. It would mean you could end up excluding Arrow from your 17 but given you have a big advantage in your match up already, and a risk Arrow could be rested/play small minutes like last round orator Origin, I might take that option and play it safe!

Do you have an alternative for Teddy?

Thanks mate. The Teddy news (is there anything more yet?) is a big problem. I can play Katoa but would have to slot him in tonight. Otherwise I run the risk of an AE from Brimson, Doueihi, Mann, Matthews or Paseka (a pretty motley bunch with the chance of going very low). This is one area where the new reserve rules in NRLF have it over this comp...

jelejasof wrote:

Thanks mate. The Teddy news (is there anything more yet?) is a big problem. I can play Katoa but would have to slot him in tonight. Otherwise I run the risk of an AE from Brimson, Doueihi, Mann, Matthews or Paseka (a pretty motley bunch with the chance of going very low). This is one area where the new reserve rules in NRLF have it over this comp...

I'm in the same boat. If Teddy doesn't play AE is from Brimson, Doueihi or Katoa.
Eliminator opponent also has Teddy and Katoa but also JMK to choose from. Think I'll roll the dice on Teddy turning up and hope my opponent does the same.

Bugga. They turned Katoa into TTurbo. Good move.