Bye rounds are huge in SuperCoach 2011. Much planning must be put around them. For the first 3 rounds, Gold Coast, North Melbourne & Adelaide have byes. This means players will take an extra week to jump in price. Picking rookies / cheap players from these teams to start the season is less important. An extra week is given to check out the goods. An easy example is Drew Petrie, who will also miss Round 1 through suspension. He will take 5 weeks to jump in price.
Picking players from teams that also coincide with SuperCoach byes is a possible strategy. If shooting for league championships. At the same time, it comes across as a little silly to fully prioritize. It is merely an idea to keep in mind. The occasional player pick may be influenced by this.
MPP
Multi-position Players. For 2011, MPPs are a huge boon. In 2010, MPPs were a bit of a novelty. Nice to have, but rarely used. The greatest benefit of MPPs is being able to place a midfielder in the forward or back line.
In 2011, MPPs will be very handy. Bye rounds that put a champion on the bench can be better covered with MPPs. It is vital to keep an emergency player (who is active in that round) in the 3 key positions - Forward, Defence & Midfield. MPPs will allow a SuperCoach to shuffle the team around easily to achieve this.
An argument could easily be made to ensure that most champions selected for the Forward & Defence positions should be MPP. Although an individual round is fairly insignificant ( top 8 teams progress to finals etc), the difference is definitely worth considering.
MPP types
The key area of MPPs are Defender/Midfielder & Midfielder/Forward. Ignore Defender/Forwards (picked for their dual position). If looking to slot a Defender/Forward into the team, merely place them in the preferred position & leave them there for the season. Ruck/Defenders, blah.
The Ruck/Forward combo again has potential. Last season it was the K Tippett/Lobbe combo. I would wager it didnt help any SuperCoach in 2010. For 2011, both are still available. As well as J Tippett, the younger brother, although he is rookie listed on the Sun's list. Ignore. K Tippett is injured, Lobbe is at best a poor bench option.
However, D Hale & D Petrie are the Ruck/Forward picks of 2011. Strongly consider them. With the knowledge of Petrie missing 2 games at the start of the season. Both are extremely cheap. Petrie could be brought into the team at a later stage. If Hale is selected for Round 1, which seems a near-certainty, he could easily make the starting team.
With MPPs, it doesnt matter who is selected in which position. They can be shifted around at will. The only recommendation would be to select a single one of each Def/Mid & Mid/Fwd in the midfield. Even with trades, they can be shifted around to keep one in midfield.
Rolling Lockout
Only Carlton & Richmond players need be finalised by Thursday night. The rest of the team can wait till Friday afternoon for finalisation. Also, keep in mind the quirks offered by the rolling lockout, the optional captain & emergency picks.
Good Luck to the SuperCoaches of 2011. I look forward to the fun & banter ahead.
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