Strategy 2025 Flex Spot Discussion & Strategy

[WaynesWorld19]

 

[buttox]

I honestly think that it is ridiculous starting a premo in the flex position like a 3rd premo ruck.
After playing around with different teams I feel like a fallen premo or midpricer with a great role under $300k is the best option. Players who have a previous good scoring history and will score much higher than a F6 while also generating cash.
The first 4 rounds are bye rounds so it will be best 18 anyway so depending on individual starting teams it is absolutely the best option to be chasing cash generation while scoring higher than usually F6.

As long as it's a decent reliable scorer it does not matter. The big benefit is dropping the 22nd best scorer. It's better than any loop.
Bont would be fine he is reliable.
There is no disadvantage playing a great player there.
But if you play a rookie and they score 20 you probably won't replace your 22nd scorer and you wasted the flex.
Flex needs to be someone your sure will make your 22.

 

[A Bit Dusty]

As long as it's a decent reliable scorer it does not matter. The big benefit is dropping the 22nd best scorer. It's better than any loop.
Bont would be fine he is reliable.
There is no disadvantage playing a great player there.
But if you play a rookie and they score 20 you probably won't replace your 22nd scorer and you wasted the flex.
Flex needs to be someone your sure will make your 22.

I agree that you can't play a rookie as the flex and I never said that either it would need to be someone with some sort of decent scoring history who you might not normally pick. I have a few that are on the watchlist at the moment all under $300k.

Isaac Cumming $287k Mid only in 2021&2022 averaged 93 & 95 still only 26 possible HB/Mid Role at new club

Cam Guthrie $278k Mid Only last 2 years only 10 games through injury previous 3 years averaged 103,113,99

Matt Flynn $267k Ruck only possible No1 ruck role? Never really had a great run but can score 100s

Rory Atkins $234k Def could get the vacant Houston role and be better than Daniel Rioli

 

[kyri]

I agree that you can't play a rookie as the flex and I never said that either it would need to be someone with some sort of decent scoring history who you might not normally pick. I have a few that are on the watchlist at the moment all under $300k.

Isaac Cumming $287k Mid only in 2021&2022 averaged 93 & 95 still only 26 possible HB/Mid Role at new club

Cam Guthrie $278k Mid Only last 2 years only 10 games through injury previous 3 years averaged 103,113,99

Matt Flynn $267k Ruck only possible No1 ruck role? Never really had a great run but can score 100s

Rory Atkins $234k Def could get the vacant Houston role and be better than Daniel Rioli

whats wrong with playing those players in their actual positions and getting one more rookie off the field?

the only point of difference it provides is the ability to play an extra ruck. starting teams would all have rookies on every other line.

 

[Significant]

whats wrong with playing those players in their actual positions and getting one more rookie off the field?

the only point of difference it provides is the ability to play an extra ruck. starting teams would all have rookies on every other line.

I think because there is noone backing up the flex player. The last thing you want is to put a Sunday playing rookie in that flex position only for him to be a late out / sub. Better off playing an early game premo out of Flex and giving yourself ultimate flexibility with rookie roulette over the weekend on other lines.

 

[0utsider]

Feels like a lot of overthinking going on in this thread.

Only real tactical consideration I can see as far as a starting team is whether or not you use it to provide potential cover for your ruckline.

Can't see any logic in using it to gamble on a mid-pricer you wouldn't otherwise pick or in the argument that you have to pick a premo instead of a rookie when the difference seems to me to be purely aesthetic.

At the end of the day you'll have the same number of premos, mid pricers and rookies on field regardless of where you choose them.

The real tactical decisions will come into play once we get closer to full premo, with the two main options I see being a third premo ruck to cover injuries or a key forward looking to cash in on big scores and hope your other 22 outscore the low scores.

 

[dabombers]

Very mixed bag of opinions/strategy on Flex usage which is awesome.

Some are playing chess, some checkers, others are playing snap.

Looking at bye rounds a thought came to me on extra thoughts into planning how to use Flex.




If you wanted to start with an onfield Rookie, MP or Premo from any of these teams.
Early season play could be to use another Premo/MP replacement to cover them.

My example is I want to start Naicos and not try to have to chase upgrades to get him in by round 5-7.
I want to upgrade other players who might fall in price due to harder early fixtures.
So I start him and get a good Flex to switch with him in round 3 via a MPP or Top scoring Rookie in the mids. Then after bye I could automatically have another Premo midfielder saving 2-3 trades and a rookie off field.

I am trying to limit my side with many players from rounds 2/3/4 except a few speculative rookies or MPP’s

Then there is the midseason byes
Where the idea of an extra Premo Ruck comes into my strategy.


Round 12 is a bugger.
Means starting or getting in latter, 2 or 3 of Xerri, TDK and English, with one in Flex is feeling like not a great play. (Unless you could get to full premo by Round 12 for best 18)
Or tanking rucks for one round is something that could be done if you pick 2 Rnd 12 Rucks and have a Ruck Flex with a benched R/F swap.
Perfect world for just these rounds is to have 3 Rucks, One in Flex spot with no double ups in a bye round.

If I don’t start with a Ruck in the Flex this could cost 3-4 Trades to upgrade to a possible 600-700k ruck, this reduces upgrades all over the field,

Thoughts are that starting teams in RMT are having a few extra starting Mid-Pricers as well as more onfield Rookies. Than previous seasons.
Straight up GnR’s seems dead so far this season and moved to a Mid-Pricer hybrid team with the value found there this season, along with the risk/reward.

Another thought!
If I use more of my boost trades to chase low Breakeven players (the weeks where there are 3 rookies
@ (-60) BE) and upgrade with normal 2 trades per round for getting premo’s with one up one down or bank cash and go straight 2 up in the right rounds.
It could be possible to have a fully upgraded side by Round 12/13 using
20-23 trades from Rounds 4-5 to 12.
Though this would need a lot of luck with picking up the right fallen Premo’s, Rookies and Mid-Pricers in starting side. As well as being ruthless on Premo’s who might underperform.

This ramble on other strategies in SuperCoach, underpins ideas on how the Flex spot may be used for more than just one set and forget player for half the season (Ruck example for midseason byes coverage) and could be used as several other options before and after Midseason byes.

I imagine somehow/someway I may end up running 5 or more different players from different lines in the Flex spot during the year, for different purposes or fixtures.

Now I am not sure if I have got this wrong or not on how the Flex works, but the way I understand it is the Flex is not a position it is a utility.
And it replaces the lowest score onfield from every line, not just the one it’s position is.
I am also guessing this is after emergencies are put onfield.

Another question to the brains trust is does this negate the Captain Loophole.

 

[Eagling]

Your flex should be a premium playing in the latest game of the round because you can trade them to any line you want.

Your flex shouldn't be a premium playing in the latest game of the round because you can't cover them with an emergency.

 

[gutsroy]

So the idea with starting a ruck in the Flex position, have any of the content folks looked into it?

Strategy:
Basic theory seems: F6 is eliminated, RF / MF / DF replaces it in a finished side. Of those, the one that is relevant is RF.
it locks you in to a configuration (barring injury) - you have no flexibility to eye off a cheapy /get a sighter on top rucks
Rucks score well, no real problems there, and you get the benefit over the whole year if you start the right extra one.

Cash / Starting Side:
Starting an extra ruck in the flex isn't any different than starting an extra MID / DEF in terms of the starting budget
But it does mean you are reducing your soend elsewhere, it's a zero sum game. The hard bit (for me) is how much.
Makes sense to assume that the money comes out of the starting FWD line (or potenrtially the MID line), I guess.

Points:
Can't think of a simple way to do this.
But let's say one alternative is to start Xerri at RF, the other is to start Conway / Flynn
(Reckon using Flex for a ruck makes sense; relative scarcity, and amongst the best scorers / cash cows)
You lock in an extra 25-30 points per week in scoring from the jump.
But you have 250k - 300k less to spend elsewhere.
Like starting a higher prioced rookie vs starting a Clayton Oliver type in the MIDs, or a rookie vs J Macrae in the FWDs.
That would be something like 95 pts vs 65 pts, so it basically cancels out the RF gain early on (doesn't it?)

Cash Gen:
Hard to say: in the examples above, you wouldn't really be getting on Oliver / Macrae as cows, you'd hope they are keepers. The rookie might give you 100-150k benefit there.

Trades:
Again, hard to say, but you have the RF locked in in one case, but need an extra trade to bring in the F5/ M8 type, seems like that basically cancels each other out.

Flexibility:
You have more flexibility to pounce on an underpriced premo (e.g. off an injury / KO) for the Flex spot if you don´t lock in the RF, but that is tied to a lot of assumptions about the right player bobbing up at the right time and they would not match the output of the RF in the completed side week in, week out.

Result:
Personally not really sure, would be interested to see what the folks who know their arses from their elbows reckon, tbh

 

[Cookiemon]

Me after reading this thread...

*No offence to those who have posted

 

[South of the Yarra]

Are we over complicating the flex. Am I right in saying it does not matter who it is, providing they score higher than your lowest score. Am I maybe simplifying it too much now?

 

[Veer Right]

Flex to me is an injury free 2024 who will get a full pre season and plays ruck.

There is only one choice.

 

[Maybe Tomorrow]

Flex to me is an injury free 2024 who will get a full pre season and plays ruck.

There is only one choice.

It's BJW isn't it?

 

[Sherman41]

Are we over complicating the flex. Am I right in saying it does not matter who it is, providing they score higher than your lowest score. Am I maybe simplifying it too much now?

It’s literally there to save you from a howler, that’s the way I look at it. Eg, an early injury.

Rookie roulette will still be in play and people will still stuff up their flex chasing extra points etc.

 

[Lindsay_Gilbee]

I think the move is just having a rookie there. Not like you’re missing out on a premo, we still all have the same amount of money and position.

Start a rookie, generate the extra cash over the first lot of byes, hopefully make enough bank that you can load up on premiums after their later bye. If that makes sense.

 

[Sherman41]

I think the move is just having a rookie there. Not like you’re missing out on a premo, we still all have the same amount of money and position.

Start a rookie, generate the extra cash over the first lot of byes, hopefully make enough bank that you can load up on premiums after their later bye. If that makes sense.

Agreed, seems to be that some people are willing to take shortcuts on their team to get a good 23rd player, as previously stated by gutsroy.

If I can make $150-200k off of my flex player by the end of the first byes I’ll be wrapped.

 

[VainGlorious]

It’s literally there to save you from a howler, that’s the way I look at it. Eg, an early injury.

Rookie roulette will still be in play and people will still stuff up their flex chasing extra points etc.

Yep.

Like the Tom Green 5 I (and many others) copped last season

 

[Obese Arachnid]

It's simple, for me anyway, put a premo as flex. Bont for example then let the other 22 fight it out for the 21 highest scores. It might be premo that drops out, it might be a midpricer or rookie. It might be a rookie that jags a good score.

It actually gives you more chance of jagging a good score as you are less likely to have to play rookie roulette.

Imagine if Bont (assuming high ownership) gets injured early, you're ahead of the pack bigtime.

Then when it comes to mid season byes/when your team is complete you bung in a premo ruck.