Tips for Fantasy teams

A few random idea's about fantasy team's this year some will make sense while,others may not work as well as expected.


Don't get a lot of Saint's
They were great for fantasy teams last year, and that is why they cost so much this time. If you do want a lot of Saints, grab two or three as possible captains, add some bargain Saints, and then wait for others to become more affordable during the season and trade for them at that time.

Don't build your team with multiple-position players that you don't want.
You could have Tippett up forward, Pavlich and Hodge in the middle, Rohan and Lobbe on your bench, to take advantage of moving players around who are eligible at two positions, but if you don't think those players are the best value at their price you could be costing yourself fantasy points every week.

Usually the top-priced player loses a lot of value.
Maybe there has only been one exception to this, and that was Ablett last season. He won't be able to do it again as he is distracted and will be in the new's a lot more.

Get the "contract year" players.
Players will be able to use the Gold Coast's bank account to push up their price, so there is plenty of incentive for those coming out of contract to do a bit more and that can help their stats.

Plenty of cheap onballers, few in other positions.
This could change, but right now it looks like there is a lot of value among the cheap fantasy midfielders, and little elsewhere. So the bench midfielders for your fantasy team will be the best source of making money, and there should be plenty of good options when you want to trade them out.

Older players can suddenly decline in ability.
For a few early years in their career the player will increase in stats, then there is a plateau when they are at their best for several years, what fantasy coaches need to avoid is the sudden drop in production that occurs later in their career.

Find out who the nominated rookies are.
The teams with one or no veteran-list players will pick a rookie or two who is eligible to play all the time. These players can be the best of the rookies to have on your fantasy bench to start the season.

Try not to use trades in the ruck.
Ruckmen can get hurt a lot, so sometimes it isn't the best to use trades in that spot when you don't have to. Keep your healthy and playing ruckman, because if you send him out you could get someone who is injured in a game or two. Fantasy coaches last year might have thought about trading out a fit ruckman for Ottens, Hille, Charman or Leuenberger and while that could have produced a few more fantasy points it did end up costing them another trade soon after as the ruckmen went down hurt.

Long kicks are good kicks.
Hurn, Gilbee, Drummond, they kick the ball long and this usually means it is counted as an effective kick in the fantasy games that use those stats.

Always pick your emergencies, and your captains.
Don't forget to do this every week, and even a player who is an emergency for their AFL club is a better pick as emergency for your fantasy player than nothing, as there is a chance they could play that round.

Especially avoid old players at bad clubs.
They won't be playing for draft picks this time, as they have all been sent north to the Gold Coast, but struggling clubs will again want to see what their youth can do and play for the future, and that often means veterans are out of the team later in the season.

If they can't kick, put them in your Dream Team.
It does depend on the price, but usually if you are comparing two players and one would be considered to be better with his feet, pick them for SuperCoach.

Pick a player others think may be a bad choice.
The experts get it wrong, often, so who many consider to be a bad choice for a fantasy team could actually be a great player to have, producing stats and winning league games as the other fantasy team doesn't have them.

Know when a young player is ready to step up.
A young player can contribute for their AFL team as a small forward/defender or onballer of the bench in their first year. In the role of a regular in the midfield rotation in their second season. It can sometimes take until their third season for a key position player to really get going, while a ruckman may take four years. Of course there are exceptions to this.

Get a few players who were injured last season.
A cheaper price, after missing all or most of the previous season, makes these players great additions to a fantasy team as long as they have proven they are back to top fitness.

Look at who left an AFL club to figure out what role there has available minutes.
Stevens left, so McLean steps into those minutes. Hall and O'Loughlin are out, so plenty of time and space for Bradshaw. Essendon's veteran forwards retired, so they will promote from within as Gumbleton and Hurley can play more. Wirrpanda retired, so that is why Sheppard could be a good fantasy player, there is a role available. An example of a player who doesn't have an open spot is Talia, a high draft pick but arrives at a club that is full in the key position spots.

Avoid the bad boys of the AFL.
Suspensions for what they do on the field hurt fantasy teams, and what they do off the field that results in suspensions by the club or the AFL, or the courts, really hurt fantasy teams. It isn't hard to figure out who are the problem players, they have their picture on the front page of the newspaper instead of the sports section.

Don't trade until just before round 3.
It happens every year, a player has a big round 1 and too many fantasy coaches rush and sign them, you can wait another round to make sure they will continue playing at that high level before trading for them.

Never press the fill my team button.
If you do that you could have players like Solomon, Casboult, Laycock, Bailey, Orreal and Tutt on your team and that would not be good.

New coaches will do things you don't expect.
All the coaches have their own ideas and their favourite players, and those they assign to the doghouse, but the new coaches haven't established those picks yet. So fantasy coaches have to watch closely, to see what changes at the Kangaroos and Tigers. This could also apply to Sydney, as they transition from one coach to another.

Don't go for a timeshare player.
This is often in the ruck, but does happen in other spots too, as two players split the minutes for the one position. There is a time when a player doing that becomes very valuable in fantasy games, when the other player they are sharing minutes with is out for an extended time. Pushing up their playing time from 50% to 80% obviously increases their stats.

Get all the fantasy AFL news, tips, advice and ideas that you can.
Television, the internet, newspapers, radio, attending training, there is a lot of information around. It can sometimes be the final paragraph in a story that is most useful to fantasy coaches, as they briefly mention the stats of someone in the VFL or give a hint for how long an injured player will remain out of the side.

A cheap rookie player or two on the bench will cut costs.
The lowest-priced fantasy players can help a fantasy team just by saving money, this is then spent on better starting players. The 4th ruck spot is the obvious place to save money. When you pick the right cheap players to start the season it really helps, as Broughton last year was not only cheap but became one of the better fantasy defenders for stats.

Many players traded to a new team increase in stats and value.
It happens every year, players who go to a new club are fantasy steals. They often go from somewhere they are not wanted to a club that has a role available for them to step into.

You can't just pick who you think is the right player, you have to make sure their AFL coach agrees.
There was a time when Petrie and Franklin were in the VFL, and even though they had the ability to be fantasy stars even back then their fantasy coaches had to wait until their AFL coaches unleashed them.

Go over all the rules for the game.
Most of it is the same every year, but still go over every page of the rules for the fantasy games so you know all there is, and how to use it to your advantage.

Consider how the teams play.
Some teams share the ball around the back line, some teams attack more, others prefer to handball, how the team can play affect which types of players are best for stats.

Players can start a season the same way they finished the previous one.
Some players would have increased their statistical output in the final rounds of 2009, and would be expected to continue playing at that high level when the new season starts.

Buy the newspaper to get the free fantasy AFL guide.
The free SuperCoach book provided a lot of information for fantasy coaches last year, and it will be available again soon. If you don't play SuperCoach there will still be parts of the book that will help you build fantasy teams in other games.

An expected steal from 2009 could just be a year late.
Have a look at many of the lists from last year that predicted a player would have a breakout season, some of those players who didn't accomplish that still have the ability and could get the playing time this season to do it.

Don't follow Sheedy's fantasy ideas too much.
He gets most things right with his SuperCoach team, but does seem to trade too much and always wants to sign Kepler Bradley, so see what he is up to every round but don't grab all the players he suggests.

Choose different players for SuperCoach and Dream Team.
This isn't about the rules differing in the two games, this is making sure that if a few players go down with injury that it doesn't end all of your fantasy teams at once.

Maybe don't trade for someone who could be Linged that round.
There are several taggers in the AFL that can slow players down, and shut others entirely out of the game, so be careful when trading for someone when they are expected to be up against someone like Ling or K Cornes that round. That player could provide lower than usual stats, and also have a drop in value.

Consider where the game is played.
The Saints play under a roof, so kicking efficiency and marking have to be improved. The Eagles and Dockers have the sunshine and a lot of space, so stats can accumulate there. If you are choosing between a couple of players, one to start and one to have on the bench, maybe the venue and expected weather for that round could help decide it.

Have a look at the fantasy leagues with AFL players as coaches.
Sometimes the players will know who is about to play a lot more at their AFL club, and they have added them to their fantasy team. Also, if someone trades themselves out of their fantasy side, that can indicate an injury that will end their season.

Figure out your goal.
If you want to win your fantasy league, save your trades as you just need to make the league finals with a healthy and capable team. Trying to win the whole fantasy game and finish number 1 overall, that requires the team to be at its best every round. In Dream Team, you can target The Eliminator and that means you can often save trades in the early games for that by looking at how strong, or weak, your opponent is.

Round 22 is important when selecting your team.
You might be able to get an advantage to help you win a fantasy league Grand Final by looking at the round 22 schedule when you select your fantasy team to start the season. In the past, a round 22 trip for the Dockers to Kardinia Park wasn't something that was going to be helpful to their stats.

Have a plan when building your team.
You are signing some players to be on your team all season, as long as they stay healthy and playing. Other players you are getting to sit on your bench, to make money as emergencies so you can sell them for a cheap player later in the season. Another group of players will produce solid numbers, but are at an affordable price to begin the year, you will start these players and when they hit their peak in value you upgrade them by using your extra money and trading them out for a superstar. Have a good balance of all these types on your team, also spread them around the positions so you have more trade options during the year.


Make sure you look into these tips it will help you in the long run for your team!