G&GR Fantasy Rugby Competition 2012

for at least the last 2 years, Fox Fantasy has one major anomaly, Tom Carter. Bloody Tom Carter.

(And bloody green text, how did this happen?!)

You mentioned Chariots.

I'm in. I have no idea what I'm doing, but I'm in.

Did anyone else notice how sneaky those fox sports people are? Leaving all those players who no longer play in the list for the naive and unwitting to choose. Very sneaky indeed.

Just off the top of my head I saw Matt Dunning, Tim Fairbrother and Kabamba Floors.

Contemplating buying a few Stormers, too.

Had a look at NZ sides, and frankly, the Canes look awful (loosies and midfield aside) and are already injury riddled. Probably the worst NZ side on paper I've seen in ages, and geez, the Clan looked weak a few years back. Really, picking the kicker and a prolific try scorer in whatever team is playing the Canes this week could be a good play (similar to the Rebels last year, I guess).

Who would I take from the Stormers? NFI. Bekker maybe, but he's very pricey. There's Burger, but he's a penalty magnet. I'm scared of Habana as he was awful last year. Grant might be good for a few points if he starts, and Juan de Jongh may also be worth a punt - although the good parts of the Canes team might be their loosies (Leavave, Vito and Lam) and midfield (Bateman and Smith - but he's under an injury, again). If Smith is ruled out, then JdJ looks tempting indeed. Van den Heever might be another smokey.

I guess I forgot Jane on the wing for the Canes, who is quality. A lot of the rest of the team are still nose pickers, though.

Bateman for 75k is a steal. He was all class when he left for Japan. Might take him a couple of games to get back up to speed, but he'll be worth it.

Don't waste your money on him. He was in my side at the start last of the2 seasons and did SFA.

And chance Dagg takes a penalty kick here and there with Carter out until Round 5?

TJ Perenara from the Hurricanes could be a good buy at $125 k. There are big wraps on him.

Wouldn't Hobbs at 75k be a better buy?

Unlikely. Bleyendaal took them in the trial and kicked well. Good shout on Hobbs, not sure how I forgot about him.

OK fellas, I'm in. Les Scrubbers, as has been my custom for several years. Better get working on that squad.

Thoughts on having Hobbs, Bleyendaal, Cruden and Doppies as my inside backs?

Agree completely on Hobbs. I also thought Hobbs was woefully mispriced at 75k, as he is a real chance to be a starter in a star studded Blues backline. Hobbs is on the bench for me, but I am contemplating moving him into the starting line up and buying, say, Bateman for the bench, freeing up a lot of money.

I currently have SBW (c), Doppies and Harris, with Hobbs on the bench. Harris is the one I am most nervous about, assuming SBW is ready to fire in round 1.

If you want to buy a Cane or two, I'd say pick Lam or Vito, as those two will do a lot of work and may score bigger by carrying the team a bit. Karl Lowe, when he returns from injury, may also be a cheapish roughie (if he gets a starting spot instead of, say, Levave).

BTW, Messam is likely to play for the Chiefs, but I think he'll be underdone and won't go for the full 80, so maybe wait a week or two to pick him up.

Oh, and who will be the Blues kicker? Hobbs or Munro? If it's Hobbs, he's almost too good to ignore at 75k.

Is Piri not playing??

Will Piri come on to 9 or 10 from the bench though? With Munro out I would guess that Hobbs would kick, meaning he will probably be a start in my fanstay team then. Maybe at the expense of Harris, or maybe even Doppies. Who knows.

9. Mathewson
10. Hobbs
11. Wulf/Ranger
12. Stanley
13. Ranger/Wulf
14. Raikuna
15. Toeava

Piri, Anscombe, Stowers on the bench? With Nonu and Munro to return later. Even with Nonu returning, Hobbs may keep his spot, unless Piri has a shot at 10 again.

Ice racked up some nice scores in a few games last year, as did Ranger too.

Almost identical to mine. I've got SBW, Doppies, Bleyendaal and Hobbs. It looks okay on paper, but I'm worried about it for some reason.

is is an advantage to have any money in the bank after having a full roster?