How many trades left is enough?

[September Action]

This is the first year I have tried DT properly. Don't really understand the "saving trades" strategy so don't know if I've saved too many or too few.

Coming out of the byes, my team is essentially finalised (barring injury of course). I have 5 trades left. Should I be holding them or upgrading where I can - eg Giles/Ryder/Orrenson/Jenkins is my ruck...could be better...mids all premiums but no Swan/Boyd...could improve defence a touch with Scotland, Carrazzo, Suckling or Enright over, say a Hanley or Broughton or Shaw.

My defence upgrades are not definitely necessary but I wouldn't mind a better ruck option. Is it worth it or sit tight and watch for injuries. I won't do any damage in the major comp but want to win my league. Pretty sure I have top 4 sewn up as is so should I be preserving my 5 trades for finals??

 

[Schulzenfest]

I have 5 trades left and I still have Hargrave, Malceski and Giles in my starting 22. Injuries, a couple of poor starting selections and some rookies/upgrade targets having shit/awesome games at the worst possible time have screwed me.

Gonna be trading one of Malceski or Hargrave out for Carrazzo, that's the only non-LTI trade I plan on making for the rest of the year. Wish I could transfer Zorko/Martin/Cloke into defence somehow, one of those three will be on my forward bench every week but all 3 are better than my 6th and 7th defenders or my 2nd ruck.

 

[Lashie]

I also have 5 left. And I'm going Hargrave to Carrazzo next week so I guess 4.

Then I still have Giles/Zorko/Pearce who aren't the greatest in my 22. Giles could stay, Zorko I'm holding until he bottoms out price-wise, and Pearce I might trade to Beams if I can find some cash.

 

[James]

The players below were in my starting 22 this year at the time of trading them out. All of them have missed games through injury, suspension, resting etc this year while on my list. The ones with an * next to their name were traded out due to injury. The rookies obviously for upgrades/downgrades, but even most of them were traded prematurely to avoid doughnuts.

McDonald*
Greene*
Kennedy*
Mumford*
Ablett* (then traded back in)
Waite*
Murphy*
Goodes*
Fyfe*
Bugg
Malceski
Hargrave
Horsley
Kruezer

And that's all in just the first 10 rounds and not counting bench rookies (some current, some former) Townsend, Shiel, Steph, Redden missing games when I needed them for cover injuries & byes.

The way this season is going, anything less than 6-7 trades at Rd 14 won't be nearly enough.

You'd want to have very solid bench cover, as in 2 bench rookies on each line playing every week if you have 4 trades or less left after the byes or you may well be eating more doughnuts during league finals than you did during the MBR's.

 

[Macca81]

Well I'll be upgrading my last 2 non-premiums in Golby and Zorko, thereby leaving me with 1 trade for the final 9 rounds lol. I don't care though. I'd rather have 22 guns on the field each week and risk an injury or two crippling my side, then fall 100 points further back from the leaders every week.

Gotta throw caution to the wind.

 

[daniel's mate]

i reckon you should have 7 or 8

 

[Matching Mole]

Well I'll be upgrading my last 2 non-premiums in Golby and Zorko, thereby leaving me with 1 trade for the final 9 rounds lol. I don't care though. I'd rather have 22 guns on the field each week and risk an injury or two crippling my side, then fall 100 points further back from the leaders every week.

Gotta throw caution to the wind.

Golby has been very decent all things considered - he's scored 90+ a couple of times, and this is a year where Premium defenders have struggled. Is he your weakest link in defense? I doubt it. And trading Zorko right now is lunacy - if it scores like a gun, it's a gun until it scores otherwise. You're only paying for a name beyond that, Swan or whatnot. With so few trades left, you're throwing more than caution to the wind.

P.S. Yes, I still have Golby.

 

[entourage]

Golby has been very decent all things considered - he's scored 90+ a couple of times, and this is a year where Premium defenders have struggled. Is he your weakest link in defense? I doubt it. And trading Zorko right now is lunacy - if it scores like a gun, it's a gun until it scores otherwise. You're only paying for a name beyond that, Swan or whatnot. With so few trades left, you're throwing more than caution to the wind.

P.S. Yes, I still have Golby.

Agree on Zorko, no point trading him now especially with his break-even. You may as well at least wait and see how he goes, at worst you will make at least an extra 50k with his 140 sitting around in his rolling avg. At best you will save a trade.

 

[CaptScott]

As for trade numbers I think it depends on your motivations. If your going for league victory then you probably want around 6+ to spare (and a complete team). If your shooting for DT overall ranking than less (and cross your fingers)

As for me I'll have 5-6 left and a complete team after this round (5-6 because I'm toying with upgrading Hargrave, or hanging on to him for the season)

 

[James]

As for trade numbers I think it depends on your motivations. If your going for league victory then you probably want around 6+ to spare (and a complete team). If your shooting for DT overall ranking than less (and cross your fingers)

As for me I'll have 5-6 left and a complete team after this round (5-6 because I'm toying with upgrading Hargrave, or hanging on to him for the season)

Totally disagree with this logic. This is my 3rd year of DT and lack of trades during "league finals" cost me high overall finishes in both years. Nothing to do with League finals though.

2010: Was ranked top 1000 with 4 rounds to go = finished 8k (out of trades by Rd19)
2011: Was ranked top 500 with 4 rounds to go = finished 1800 (out of trades by Rd 16)

Both years I felt confident as I didn't have any real injury concerns and solid bench cover, but come Rd 20-21 and your guns from teams who have secured a top 4 finish start "resting" their match winners on the eve of the finals is when you are well and truly ****ed!

The one thing I have learnt from 3 years of DT is you need at least 4 trades just for the last 2-3 rounds to do premo sideways trades or your Rd 20 high ranking will be all for nothing.

 

[NinjaBear]

i've got 11 trades left

 

[entourage]

I guess you have to find the right mix. Having 11 sounds great but unless there are heaps of injuries it gives you no chance in the overall rankings-understandable if it isn't what you are going for but I'm just using it as an example. To put it simply you are going to use the trades to upgrade anyway, just later on which means you forfeit the points that others have been raking in for longer. The trade-off is of course security should injuries occur, which they will, but the tipping point I guess is impossible to figure out. I daresay though, if you have 10 or more trades, a top overall finish is not likely as you would have had to forgo too many points already, and no matter who you bring in (once again, pending heaps of injuries to premo's) you will not make up the ground.

 

[cfx_1]

I have 4 left but my team is complete in theory.. Just depends on whether or not Zorko can keep up his scoring to hold an F7 spot or move to the bench..

 

[entourage]

I will be in the same boat as CFX except with 3 trades (currently 6 but 3 upgrades to go next week and the following). Barring Zorko, all will be premiums.

 

[Slipps]

5 trades left with hargrave giles and zorko hopefully can keep them all

 

[NinjaBear]

I guess you have to find the right mix. Having 11 sounds great but unless there are heaps of injuries it gives you no chance in the overall rankings-understandable if it isn't what you are going for but I'm just using it as an example. To put it simply you are going to use the trades to upgrade anyway, just later on which means you forfeit the points that others have been raking in for longer. The trade-off is of course security should injuries occur, which they will, but the tipping point I guess is impossible to figure out. I daresay though, if you have 10 or more trades, a top overall finish is not likely as you would have had to forgo too many points already, and no matter who you bring in (once again, pending heaps of injuries to premo's) you will not make up the ground.

i actually forgot to make any trades two weeks in a row due to uni exams haha, but yeah its probably not the best thing having this many trades as i havent been able to upgrade a few players

 

[Macca81]

Golby has been very decent all things considered - he's scored 90+ a couple of times, and this is a year where Premium defenders have struggled. Is he your weakest link in defense? I doubt it. And trading Zorko right now is lunacy - if it scores like a gun, it's a gun until it scores otherwise. You're only paying for a name beyond that, Swan or whatnot. With so few trades left, you're throwing more than caution to the wind.

P.S. Yes, I still have Golby.

Well his average is the worst out of Deledio, Goddard, Waters, Johnson, Suckling and Heppell.

Im obviously aware of Zorko and his BE, but once he peaks ill be looking to bring in Swan to make my midfield complete. I wouldnt expect Zorko to score 110+ for the 2nd half of the season, so ill probably hold him until round 16 and then upgrade. Anyway im going for overall and like a 100m sprint, you reach your peak 3/4 of the way through the race and slowly trail off from there. Thats my theory anyway.

 

[Butler]

5 atm but will be using 2 next week and 1 the week after so 2 for the remainder of the year. I'm fine with that as i know the risks involved and wanted to play this aggressively.

 

[FlowersByIrene]

How are people considering upgrading Zorko... In his last five games would be averaging the in the top 5 in the forward line.. Has had one sub game and apart from that has only had one game below 100... Hes going to go over 400 k this week and will be considered a true premium.. Would not be surprised if he finsihed up the year around 470k

 

[QS]

Given the injuries to decent players who most of us would have had I can't see how many people would have a swag of trades left.
I have 6, no plan to use any at any impending stage.
Agree with Zorko staying if performing like a premium, he's a premium.

 

[crazyman27]

I've got 6 at the moment but would much prefer to have at least 8.

Anybody who has played this game before knows that the last 4-5 rounds are carnage for DT. If you've got 4 or less at the moment then prepare to wear some zeroes over the last few rounds.