2024 FF Original Discussion Thread

Jaxon Prior drafted

The draft has been completed.
Thanks to all.

AFL Fantasy is up to date.
Can you please just check your list of players.
Iā€™m pretty sure I didnā€™t make any mistakes when assigning players.

FA will be held tonight.

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Okayā€¦
First problem with AFL Fantasy.
Emergencies (used as bench for us) can only be assigned to positions.
In principle this is okay, but the further restriction is you cannot have two emergencies to backup the same position.
So if you do not have a backup ruckman, you can only name three emergencies.

Iā€™m not sure if itā€™ll let me override this after the round is complete, but in theory, it shouldnā€™t be too tough to work around in itā€™s current state given there is a rolling lockout every round and you can keep shifting players who havenā€™t played around to maximise your filled spots.
You can also play an empty spot on the field, which means you can do ā€˜emergency loopholesā€™ through the round.

Whilst itā€™s not what weā€™re used to, I think it is manageable.

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Hey fyi @Blummers32 Iā€™m missing a Ginnivan

Damnā€¦
Iā€™ve moved him onto your team.
Iā€™ll need to check who is surplus on your list and trade him to his coach.

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Cheeky little Ginni was on my list for a second, but just vanished so I think Blummers must have sorted it

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Would you mind sending a link to the rules about FA etc please

Yep.
Itā€™s at the top of the FA page.

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2024 Team

Taylor Walker
Sam Powell-Pepper
Cam Zurhaar
Luke Bruest
Jack Petruccelle
Charlie Spargo
Darcy Jones
Caleb Windsor M/F

Clayton Oliver
Nick Martin
Conor Nash
Elliot Yeo M/D
Seb Ross
Matt Cottrell M/F
Neil Erasmus
Jaxon Binns
Ed Allan
Harvey Johnston M/F

Max Gawn
Harry Barnett R/F
Toby Conway

Changkuoth Jiath
Harris Andrews
Darcy Moore
Brennan Cox
Mitch McGovern
Nick Hind
Josh Goater
Tom McCartin

Trade Period Recap

In:Josh Goater for Picks 32 & 72

The Hotdons struggled in the backline last season, with a defence that held far too many key defenders.
We aimed to target some youth and mobile options, Iā€™ve been huge on Goater since U18s (was praying the dons got him) and think he could be elite down the track.

In: Darcy Jones & Picks 9, 39 For 6 & 68

I was extremely reluctant move from my pick 6, extremely aware my list lacks elite top end scoring talent.
Caleb Windsor and Darcy Wilson my two hopeful acquisitions. My extremely thin fwd line though was my weakness, caving at the prospect of a young talent in Darcy Jones suiting up for us.

The Draft

Pick 9. Caleb Windsor
Was my initial wish when I held Pick 6, I literally jumped punching the air when I saw he got to my pick!
This youngster is classy, fast, tall and a beautiful kick. Donā€™t even bother asking for his availability, the boys mine for the next decade

Pick 24. Sam Powell-Pepper
Sam is not your typical Hotdons pick. We donā€™t usually go for this grunt type operator.
He will miss the 1st few rounds and we arenā€™t pleased about this, but he will line up every week and is a consistent operator.
That thin fwd line needed a best 22 player

Pick 36. Seb Ross
If SPP was an unusual pick for us well Seb was downright bewildering! But with the format change to 7 mids he was a must!
Proven scorer who got 17 games in last year, strong preseason, and good bargaining chip come midseason trade period. Seb Ross just made sense.

Pick 39. Toby Conway
Max is oldā€¦ not sure if anyone can tell the way he scores and plays though.
Harry Barnett is my long-term contingency plan, but for the immediate future after Max, we have Toby who could rise to #1 ruck at Geelong very soon.

Pick 108. Matt Cottrell
M/F status is worth its weight in gold with my list composition, and thatā€™s what this bloke has. A plain and simple piece of list insurance.
He also looks like the handcuff pairing to my scoring machine in waiting, little Jaxon Binns. So if he misses hopefully the Binn manā€™s in.

Pick 114. Charlie Spargo
I needed more fwds who play and couldnā€™t decide between him, Laurie or Chandler.
Who knows which one will get the games when Kozzie is back. Kind of a meh pick, donā€™t love it, but it is what it is.

Pick 131. Jack Petruccelle
Upon reflection I would have gone Jack at 114, but he is mine nonetheless.
A little whippet who is surprisingly taller than I thought, he has been mentioned with a role further up the ground. Hopefully this comes to pass as not much ball gets to their forward line.

Pick 147. Harvey Gallagher
I had Harvey last season and he was poised to make a debut before injury struck. An accumulator and creator at junior lever as a mid/forward whoā€™s numbers really took off at half back, he seems to have lost none of those attributes.
A Caleb Daniel 2.0 only faster, he has a few years to learn under the helmeted mystro before taking the reigns.

Pick 173. Harvey Johnston
I watched a lot of Harvey, Charlie Edwards and Archie Roberts play together and honestly loved each of them equally.
Hence it was a great surprise that they all ended up so spread across the Draft.
Harvey was a classy player who could rack up disposal, and slice teams apart heading inside 50.

Pick 178. Tom McCartin
Plain and simple, I needed a back up defender who plays every week as insurance

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Is free agency this week?

Yes.
There is free agency tonight at 11pm AEST.

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Shiny new logo for the Sunbury Seagulls

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My ā€œWhat was he thinking?ā€ ramble.

Firstly my list to start the season:

Aliir Aliir D
Darcy Cameron R
Jeremy Cameron F
Braeden Campbell D/M
Josh Fahey M
Brodie Grundy R
Jesse Hogan F
Jeremy Howe D
Jarman Impey D
Nick Larkey F
Brayden Maynard D
Gryan Miers F
Jesse Motlop F
Luke Parker M
Mattaes Phillipou F
Ed Richards D
Josh Sinn M
Corey Warner F
Jacob Weitering D
Bailey Williams M
Darcy Wilson M/F
Lachie Jones D
Travis Boak M
Darcy Tucher M
Billy Wilson D/M
Coen Livingstone R/F
Noah Cumberland F
Reece Torrent M
Henry DiMattia M
Kynan Brown M/F

How it breaks down positionally:

D M F R
Aliir Aliir Josh Fahey Jeremy Cameron Darcy Cameron
Braeden Campbell Luke Parker Jesse Hogan Brodie Grundy
Jeremy Howe Josh Sinn Nick Larkey Coen Livingstone
Jarman Impey Bailey Williams Gryan Miers
Brayden Maynard Darcy Wilson Jesse Motlop
Ed Richards Travis Boak Mattaes Phillipou
Jacob Weitering Darcy Tucher Corey Warner
Lachie Jones Reece Torrent Noah Cumberland
Billy Wilson Henry DiMattia Darcy Wilson
Kynan Brown Coen Livingstone
Braeden Campbell Kynan Brown
Billy Wilson

Italics = playing in other position for dual position players.

Anyway on to the picksā€¦
Pick 5 - Darcy Wilson (St Kilda)
I was hoing for Sanders but his exceptional showing early on basically gave him a neon sign saying ā€œtake meā€ and unfortunately Wim did. I was hoping Essendon would have taken Wilson or Windsor on draft night but we probably did not need either of them urgently as we had just recruited X Duursma. I liked what I had read about the two Wā€™s and after seeing that Darcy Wilson had a 97 against the aints, and averaged 102 in the U/18ā€™s I knew he would not last and it convinced me to take him ahead of Windsor. Who I think will be quite a player.

Pick 23 Lachie Jones - (Port)
Have liked him for quite a while and I have looked at Port games with a touch of envy. Probably a reach but I was pretty confident he would play regularly in Kennyā€™s best 22. He is hard, tough and a proud mullet owner, what is not to like? It was Lachie Jones Travis Boak or Shaun Mannagh and I thought/hoped maybe SM would last a little longer. I probably made a mistake as SMā€™s M/F dual position status would have been quite handy now. Thanks again Wim!

Pick #41 Travis Boak (Port)
Most unlike any sort of drafting I have done in the past I suspect. The positional changes kind of made this a necessity. Boaky is the ultimate professional getting his body to keep going when it probably should have retired gracefully a few seasons ago. He is so out of the norm for me he is probably about the same age as my first two picks put together, I was hoping to take Seb Ross or re-draft Rhylee West. Not sure if West will be best 22 but he was literally my 21st man in a 20 keeper list.

Pick # 59 Darcy Tucker (North)
Another likely best 22 player for his feeder club. Unusually for me I was looking a touch short in the midfield especially after Luke Parkerā€™s injury (for those new to the league I was one of those guys that traditionally did not mind recruiting players that were ā€œstraight Cā€™sā€ Poulter was another consideration but I was not sure if he would be best 22 at the dogs.

Pick #77 - Billy Wilson (carlton EWWW!)
Dual position D/M and played in the practice match against Melbourne so I thought he was every chance to be picked by ā€˜Crazy Vossyā€™ in opening round or hopefully be a replacement for former Cruncha Sam Docherty. Alas No and No. But he must be close to senior selection also averaged 80 in the U/18ā€™s,

Pick #95 - Coen Livingstone (West Coast)
Another who played in the last practice match so I thought he might be a surprise selection for the Eagles sooner rather than later. He had a good write up about him ā€œOne of the most damaging players in the WAFL Colts booting 20 goals and averaging 16 disposals and 22 hitouts in 14 games.ā€ Couple this with a fairly average showing by the other WCE rucks mind you -2 from 34 minutes is not a lot to write home about! He also averaged 96 in the WAFL Colts.

Pick #113 - Noah Cumberland (Richmond)
I just like what he can bring to the table, fairly quick and a pretty long kick it is pick 113 and there are no Greg Broughtonā€™s around that I can see.

Pick #130 - Reece Torrent - BL
Following Simon Black, Elliot Yeo, Daniel Rich and Deven Robertson as a young WA mid trying to make it into the Lions side. Already quite a unit at about 184 cms and 83 Kgs. I am hopeful he may move up the pecking order after the serious knee injury to that should be Bombers player Keidean Coleman (but donā€™t start me on how the lie-ons got a time extension x2 and yet they were still allowed to have more time to match our bid!) Reece averaged 84 in the WAFL Colts.

Pick #146 Henry Di Mattia (Filth)
I know he is injured but if I can just hold on for a bit I am sure he will get games and show why he was so highly touted. Not exactly sure where he fits in to his feeder sideā€™s best 22 but hoping he does.

Pick #161 Kynan Brown (Melbourne)
Wearing the #41 for Melbourne is a nice start in my book. Played in the practice match beating of the visy park cheats and although he did not play much it made me think he is is close to getting a spot. Also had a healthy average of 97 in the U/18ā€™s so he can play against boys, and I am hoping he can do it at the elite level.

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We were on the same wave with the Wā€™s! I loved Caleb but Darcyā€™s praccy games had swung me

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FFs have been processed.

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Iā€™ve put together what my thoughts were through the pre-season.

My Keepers List

Long term, I think Iā€™ve got a good group of reliable forwards. Allen, Pedlar, Moore and Ugle Hagan should all be good and Iā€™ll have Mackenzie playing in the forward line until heā€™s a midfielder.
I have plenty of midfield players but players like Roberts, Johnson and Sheldrick need time to develop.
The backline was weak. Long term, there is only Luke Ryan and Kane Ferrell that can be relied on. The rest of my defenders are decent for now, but Iā€™m aiming to upgrade them at sometime.

So going into the draft, my focus was on young defenders.

Pick 8 - Arie Schoenmaker StK B
I think Arie could be a Luke Ryan type scoring defender. Heā€™ll need some time to develop, but I leaned towards defenders with this pick and hopefully one of Caddy or Walter would be available by the next pick.
Others in the mix: Nate Caddy, Jed Walter

Pick 13 - Jed Walter GC F
I love Jedā€™s aggression and think he could be a more mobile forward than a key position forward. Heā€™s definitely going to be a keeper, so I need to be sure to give him the time he needs to develop very much like I have with JUH.
Others in the mix: Will Graham, Sam Durham

Pick 26 - Ethan Phillips Haw B
This was a bit of a reach at this pick. If there was more exposed form on Oā€™Sullivan, I would have taken him, but I didnā€™t want to take on another player that needed time to cement their spot in their teamā€™s 22. I did need some defensive options and Phillips is a high chance to get games given Hawthornā€™s backline woes. His scoring could be similar to a lock down defender which is the biggest knock on him. Iā€™m hoping he could be a Luke Ryan type scorer, but itā€™s just hope. This is likely to end up being a poor pick.
Others in the mix: Connor Oā€™Sullivan, Dylan Williams, Harvey Thomas, Shaun Mannagh

Pick 34 - Dylan Williams PA B
Williams should slot into my round 1 18 and should be picked more often than not. The hope is he doesnā€™t get the sub vest and can rid himself of the 30ish scores he had last year to push for an average in the high 60s.
Others in the mix: Brad Close, Jaidyn Stephenson, Will Hayward, Harrison Jones, Connor Oā€™Sullivan, Nick Haynes

Pick 44 - Brad Close Geel F
Pick 45 - Jaidyn Stephenson NM F
After picking 3 defenders, I turned my focus to forwards. Close and Stephenson are capable of high scores and Iā€™m also hoping they become multi position players that can ease the pressure on my midfielders. I really like these two picks a lot.
Others in the mix: Will Hayward, Harrison Jones, Jamie Elliott, Kade Chandler, Ben Miller, Max Heath / Tom Campbell, Kieran Strachan, Connor Oā€™Sullivan, Conor McKenna, Oskar Baker, Rory Atkins, Robbie Fox

Pick 62 - Will Hayward Syd F
Pick 64 - Marlion Pickett Rich FC
These two picks probably werenā€™t required. In hindsight, I should have prioritised defenders or midfielders instead. I rate Hayward, but I may have enough forwards and need cover elsewhere. Marlion Pickettā€™s dual position should give me enough flexibility early in the year to cover any shortfalls in my 18.
Others in the mix: Harrison Jones, Jamie Elliott, Kade Chandler, Ben Miller, Max Heath / Tom Campbell, Kieran Strachan, Harry Cunningham, Esava Ratugolea, Harrison Petty, Corey Wagner, Oskar Baker, Rory Atkins, Robbie Fox

Pick 71 - Luke Edwards WCE C
I had Edwardā€™s a few years ago and completely forgot about him as he couldnā€™t get his body right. I was surprised that he played so many games last year and Iā€™m hoping he gets more games this year and I can stick him on the bench or in the 18 at times.
Others in the mix: Harry Cunningham, Max Heath / Tom Campbell, Kieran Strachan, Corey Wagner, Esava Ratugolea, Harrison Petty, Oskar Baker, Rory Atkins, Robbie Fox

Pick 107 - Brayden Cook Ade C
I rate Brayden, but this was really just a pickup with the expectation that Iā€™ll delist him sometime during the year and use the list spot to help fill a shortfall in my weekly 18.
Others in the mix: Oskar Baker, Esava Ratugolea, Rory Atkins, Robbie Fox, Patrick Parnell

Overall
Iā€™ve got 10 forwards, 12 midfielders, 1 ruckman and 8 defenders.
I probably need more defenders so Iā€™m hoping to address that through free agency. I also pivoted with how Iā€™m looking to back up Marshall. Iā€™m hoping Max Heath or Campbell are in the free agency pool and that I can pick them up in the unlikely chance Marshall isnā€™t available to play.
Iā€™m happy with the Walter and Schoenmaker long term picks and the Close and Stephenson short term picks. The rest are pretty questionable.
Iā€™m hoping some of the more experienced players (Close, Hayward, Stephenson, Bergman, Florent, Markov) can be used as trade bait to help improve next yearā€™s draft picks. Iā€™m also hoping to trade out one or two of the excess midfielders should Roberts, Sheldrick and Johnson become more dependable at the selection table.

I think Iā€™ve reached a point where Iā€™m happy with the mix of developing players vs experienced players and I need to just keep building on that through the draft and trade period as needed.

Iā€™m not sure where Iā€™ll end up this season. I was 11th last year which I think was higher than I expected so a few spots above that would be a great result. This season is so different to previous years. Iā€™m not even sure what kind of scores I can expect to reach. Itā€™ll take a few weeks to sort out what works and what doesnā€™t and then another few weeks to make adjustments.

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Throwing it out for consideration. Do we want a back up communication method for when Blitz isnā€™t go?

Iā€™m sure we will have whatsapp or can set up a group somewhere?

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Iā€™m fine with WhatsApp or Messenger as a backup.
As long as this forum is the default.
Could also be used for reminders (trade deadlines, keeper deadlines, draft picks, FAs, etc).

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Either works for me. Good idea AB.

Either are fine with me, I use both