Amazingly, the Adelaide fan team beat us by just 19 points in Round 3, so we now have our payback. We sit second on the ladder still, with Brisbane ahead after their big win over Geelong’s J-Walkers.
Despite the four points, it was a testing week for our team. We only had 15 available players, one of whom managed a fantasy ton (Jarrad McVeigh). Still, a win is a win, and we welcome back Gary Ablett, Scott Pendlebury, Dane Swan and Dane Beams to our midfield this week.
Next week’s matchup
We face Geelong this weekend, which gets back a host of its own after the bye. The Cats are yet to register a win, and sit in last place on the ladder.
On the block
With many of our stars back, we can start to look at trading some of our lesser lights in for some upgrades. Jeremy Laidler has done his job for us, seeing us through the first of the bye rounds, and at $246,000 he’s just about topped out in terms of value.
Shaun Higgins has hit a bit of a wall, while Gary Rohan is still on our list (and not getting a game for Sydney). Finally, we could consider trading Jared Polec, who has been outstanding but was always a cash cow for us. He’s increased $270,000 over his starting price and moving him on will allow us to bring in a star forward or defender.
Trades
Cameron Shenton for St Kilda looked okay on Monday night, and is Mid/Fwd eligible. Jono O’Rourke is a former top 2 draft selection and is similarly bargain priced.
When teams are named this week, we’ll pick a suitable player in this range as a downgrade target for Polec.
Our gun forward or defender should be someone that’s already had their bye, so we ensure we get them for the next two weeks. Unfortunately, there aren’t many, which means our other option is to do two downgrades, effectively freeing up cash for future upgrades. The choice is yours.
