As you will know, if you bother to browse the Fantasy Rugby section of our site, I am quite keen on this game. I have been a longtime Fantasy Basketball fan and when Fantasy Rugby started up in 2000 the chance to get to play a stats game based on our own Super12 was too good to pass up.
If you are new to the game and want some general hints and tips then it's probably worth skimming through the all the older articles as apart from specific player recommendations all the general comments still stands, in particular look at the earlier ones about Increasing your team value and Favourite Fantasy Positions.
I was a bit slack (and busy) last season and didn't manage to write anything much about Fantasy Rugby (although I did still play it) so I decided this year that a better approach might be to follow the trials and tribulations of my own Fantasy Rugby team, Cones Crusaders.
Now I'm not doing this because I think I have it sussed and everyone should copy me (although I'm pretty damn certain that I have beaten the official Fantasy Rugby Guru more often than not!) but it should be interesting for those who are playing along as well, and I may well learn something myself about how I play the game!
My plan is to track my player transactions and try to explain why I have made the moves that I have.
It's always tough to pick your squad for the first week, the basic approach I have taken is that I want to pick guys that are likely to play full games for a start and then I have gone for guys that I think are under-valued, in the hope that their value will go up after the deadline closes at noon on Friday and I can then sell them off and buy some of the big names (who will hopefully decline in value as they are too expensive for starters!).
Anyway enough explaining, here is my squad for week 1.
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Cones
Crusaders (Rugbyheads Conference) Roster - Week #1 Super 12 2002
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Tight
Forward
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Team
|
Round
Points
|
Total
Points
|
Player
Value
|
Change from Last week
|
Why?
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| Harrison, Justin | BRM | 0 | 0 | $1,700,000 |
-
|
He
was the best lock in the comp last year and with Giffen out with an injury
he will be the No. 1 lineup option on a team that dominates possession.
|
| Ormsby, Kristian | CHF | 0 | 0 | $1,050,000 |
-
|
He
has always been productive in the NPC, gets the start this week against
the Waratahs and is cheap for a lock. And locks seem to produce better
stats than hookers on average.
|
| Sharpe, Nathan | RED | 0 | 0 | $1,300,000 |
-
|
No.
1 lineout option on the Reds and supposedly the man who will make Qlanders
forget about Eales' retirement. In any case I reckon his value might go
up a bit and I can hock him off next week!
|
| Loose Forward | Team | Round Points | Total Points | Player Value | ||
| McCaw, Richard | CRU | 0 | 0 | $1,600,000 |
-
|
The
golden boy of last years NPC and a tireless young player. Aside from that
he is bound to be very popular (esp. with Kiwi FR players) and should
appreciate in value substantially.
|
| Muir, Deon | CHF | 0 | 0 | $1,650,000 |
-
|
Picking
Captains is always a good move (as they rarely get subbed) and this guy
is one of the best. I expect him to be one of the top Loosies again this
season so he may well be a keeper, although if his value climbs as much
as I expect it should I could be tempted to flick him off!
|
| Inside Back | Team | Round Points | Total Points | Player Value | ||
| Burke, Matt | WAR | 0 | 0 | $2,450,000 |
-
|
When
healthy he is a very steady fantasy producer, particularly with the boot,
but also gets into the try scoring action too. I expect him to be even
better this season with the move into the centers which should see him
having to do a lot more tackling.
|
| du Toit, Gaffie | SHK | 0 | 0 | $1,150,000 |
-
|
Speculation
mainly as for a starting First Five (and likely goal-kicker for the Sharks)
he is dirt cheap. I know that the FR boys set these initial values based
on the predicted popularity of the player but this one could have slipped
through the cracks.
|
| Jackson, Glen | CHF | 0 | 0 | $1,150,000 |
-
|
Again
a speculator, the current starting lineups have Jackson listed to start
at First-five for the Chiefs (ahead of David Hill) so he may be a sleeper,
especially if he goes well, and Jackson has had some huge Fantasy games
in the past.
|
| Outside Back | Team | Round Points | Total Points | Player Value | ||
| Caucaunibuca, Rupeni | BLU | 0 | 0 | $1,400,000 |
-
|
Call
me the bargin hunter! If Rupeni maintains his 2001 NPC and pre-Super 12
form then this guy is going to be the most popular outside back in the
comp, in which case $1.4m for him is going to seem like a steal.
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| Tuilevu, Aisea | HGH | 0 | 0 | $1,350,000 |
-
|
Likewise
with Tuilevu, I think he was injured in the NPC last year so most people
may have forgotten about him, and Highlanders fans tend to go for Wilson,
but he was one of the top fantasy outside backs last Super12 and I'm counting
on him to reproduce that.
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