YOU KNOW you’re in for a gloomy day when you start your morning relying on a snooze button. Sometimes I feel as if I’m nailed to the bed like the grandparents in Willy Wonka And the Chocolate Factory, a movie made way back in 1971 (simpler times when snooze wasn’t an option).
It seems time also flies when you’re not having fun. Using the snooze means you’re committing yourself to a game of beat the clock, made even harder last week when my two-year-old daughter flung toast around the room like it was confetti.
Being late for work is now a formality, but I still rush to my car hoping the traffic has also slept in. Stuck on the freeway but more than half way to work, I look down to realise I have forgotten to put shoes on. What’s worse is that my partner’s socks ended up in my draw, meaning I must walk into work proudly flaunting fluffy socks with purple and pink trimmings.
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Whether it’s age catching up to me or my daughter’s bread antics getting the better of my morning is largely irrelevant. I’d rather blame the snooze.
I’ve got to be more prepared. The shoe-less entry into work was embarrassing enough to make sure I won’t be unprepared during NAB AFL Fantasy Elite draft day.
Want to avoid a similar clumsiness? Below are a few tips within the different draft ranges and players to keep your eye on as the selections progress.
Picks 1-40
If you had pick one in the NAB AFL Fantasy Elite draft, who would you take? Although there’s an abundance of quality midfielders, I’d still take Collingwood’s Dane Swan. If he can replicate anywhere near his amazing average of 133 last season, you’ll have a slight edge in the middle. Gary Ablett and Scott Pendlebury should also be on your radar if Swan is taken before your first pick. In a 10-team competition you’ll get three more picks in the first 40 selections. Seeing there are almost 20 midfielders who averaged over 100 in 2012, I would look to lock down a quality defender like Brendan Goddard or forwards such as Lance Franklin or Dean Cox before going back to work on your centre line.
Picks 41-80
By now, most of the absolute cream will have been lapped up, but there will still be a huge amount of midfield talent on offer. I’d say guys like Andrew Swallow, Lenny Hayes and Kieran Jack may still be available. Once people are seemingly happy with their midfield, forwards will be the next area they will target. Tom Rockliff would a steal in this range, while Dustin Martin and Nick Riewoldt may be up for grabs with names like Steve Johnson, Paul Chapman and Matthew Pavlich presumably already gone. Defenders Beau Waters and Heath Shaw might be others to look at here.
Picks 81 and above
As you’d be aware, there are no salary cap restrictions in NAB AFL Fantasy Elite, so those ‘middle of the road’ type players we usually avoid in past Dream Team competitions to save a bit of cash do come into play here. It would be ideal if you can get guys who can average around the 60 or 70 mark at this stage. Don’t try and do anything fancy here … picking guys who’ll get regular game time and a decent average is all you are looking for. Drafting in some of the top youngsters is also a good move, but may be riskier if they are given time to develop in lower level footy. Mature-age players new to the AFL would be better acquisitions at this stage.
