David Natoli (DaVe86) has released his 2015 Super Coach guide, packed with 13 seasons of experience.
This year, I’ve written an AFL fantasy handbook catered for all major forms of the game, where I go through all my top secrets and hints with picking your initial squad, and then how to trade correctly throughout the year. I also go through club by club to identify the players you need to have on your radar. It is a 31 page book full of all my best tips to play fantasy footy, including 12 golden rules I have devised.
Here is my number 1 tip to improve your fantasy footy scores.
When building your initial squad and also when making all your trades, always keep your ultimate best 22 in mind. The coach that can develop the best possible 22 the fastest is the sort of coach that can finish top 10 in the rankings. The best coaches have already developed their perfect 22 by round 15. It’s simple in theory, but it takes a lot of discipline to master. Therefore, you need to already have a clear idea now of what your ideal 22 is and make all your decision based on achieving this result.
The way I build my team is to initially write down the top 8-10 players per position. I will only pick a premium priced player if he is on my list. For example, Taylor Adams is a good price this year, but does not feature in my top 8 players in my forward line. Therefore, he doesn’t get selected in my side. His price is tempting, but I still think he will need to be upgraded in the long run. You simply cannot afford to spend more than $300,000.00 on a player who you will eventually trade out. There is always a player much cheaper who will score reasonably. The money saved can be put towards getting another premium player elsewhere in your side, which should make up the scoring differential.
The same goes with trading. Always keep your best team in mind. This may mean if one of your premiums is injured for 1 or 2 weeks, then you have to put him on your bench and live with it. You don’t want to sideways trade for a player that is not as good or doesn’t feature in your ideal best 22. Tough decisions and discipline are required because it is very tempting to trade a player out of your side if he is injured. But a saved trade means you can utilise it in the future to upgrade a cash cow. Obviously you need to try and avoid the dreaded doughnut if you have no cover for the injured player. In these situations a trade may be forced. However, if such a trade is going to throw out your entire strategy and set you back weeks, then maybe copping the doughnut is worth the risk. If you develop a perfect 22 quickly, you will make up the points on your opponents drastically.
This strategy means that your side is going to be littered with premiums and cash cows, with very little room for mid-priced players. This has been a successful strategy in recent years and is the strategy I will again be taking into 2015.
I might manipulate this strategy with my defence this year as there are very few premium players worth selecting. Therefore, I’ll pick a few mid-priced players to start the year off so I can get as many premiums into my side in other positions. There are very few defensive options I can see averaging 100, so I don’t think I’m sacrificing too much by starting with a weaker defence.
The key for me is to start your side with as many ‘keepers’ in it as possible. To get a premium player, it usually costs you 2 trades (one to make money, and one to upgrade to the premium). If you can start 13 or 14 keepers in your initial squad, then you only require around 16-18 trades on upgrading, and the rest can be utilised on injury cover or making amends for mistakes or trades gone wrong.
It’s Statistics
Remember, fantasy football does not need to simulate real life. It is a statistics game. Therefore, play the statistics and not real life. You don’t need depth on your bench or in your starting 22. You need a formula to maximise scoring. Therefore, take punts on rookies and load up on premiums early. If you have 13 premiums, that should be a locked in 1400-1500 points every round. If you can get 500 points from your remaining 9 players, then you’re well on your way to cracking the 2000 point mark straight away which is typically a competitive score early in the season. If you’ve picked good rookies, then you have the opportunity to score massive from the get go. Typically rookies start quite well whilst they are fresh then fade by round 8.
This is my number one tip for all fantasy games this year. If you are interested to read about other strategies I utilise, please head over to www.cheatafl.com to purchase the Handbook. Sales have already been strong and the feedback received so far has been very positive, so I hope it assists you as well.
I am selling the book for $3.99 and it can be downloaded from www.cheatafl.com now. There will be a second release of the book the week prior to the commencement of the season which will give an update on all the players who have caught our eye over the pre-season from each club.
For $3.99, you get a 31 page analysis of everything you need to know, and a few secrets you may never have considered. I think the product is quite unique, and should make you think about Fantasy footy differently. I have been using these techniques for many years now and have finished as high as 6th. I am a constant member of the BigFooty Division 1 Collingwood league which was one of the top ranked leagues last year. I also write weekly articles for the Collingwood Football club, so there is no doubt I am passionate about my footy!
Head over to www.cheatafl.com to purchase the product. We use a secure payment method and the book is easily downloaded from the site. We will also notify all buyers of the second release.
I’d also love your feedback as this is a new project of mine and I want to ensure future releases address everyone’s needs.
