Decision Time: Answering the big questions


<p>Five weeks to go!</p>



<p>That’s bloody sad but we still have finals footy and State
of Origin to follow so happy days.</p>



<p>By now you should be hopefully at a stage where you are
pretty close to your best lineup, whilst possibly holding onto a few guys as a
result of injuries and the like who we may have otherwise sold. </p>



<p>That’s fine, it’s that sort of year. Trades are also likely
running low so be conscious of only using them if it’s of genuine value to your
squad. </p>



<p>That would be either a genuine gun or a bottom dollar nuff to free up money. If for some reason you have 8+ trades left then get into them as there is no point in having trades left over, but for most of us the count will be lower. </p>



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<p>I am at six trades prior to this weekend and I have the
decision of holding Luciano for one more week and hoping my target Angus Crichton
returns next week or simply moving to a Johnny Bateman or Mitch Barnett now. </p>



<p>At this stage I’m likely to hold and reassess in a week’s
time, but I may just pull the trigger and let Angus go as I’ll be down to two
trades once I get Smith back in next weekend and will be unlikely to be able to
get him.. Big call!</p>



<p>Below I’ll have some general chat about key issues of the week to help assist in making key decisions as we move into the real business end of the competition.</p>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Ponga likely to lose kicking duties </strong></h2>



<p>Don’t let this worry you too much as the Knights have a
golden run home and Kalyn still averages 72.55PPG this year if goal-kicking is
removed from his scoring. </p>



<p>With the run home he is every chance of averaging 75-80+
still and could regain the duties if Lino doesn’t hold his place or Tex Hoy
comes in. </p>



<p>For the record, I actually think he is a good goal-kicker but he has tinkered a little with his technique and it’s led to some inconsistency for now.</p>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Planning for late outs / rests </strong></h2>



<p>This is why it is so vital to hold trades as long as
possible. You don’t want to be stuck with scores of 0 in the final month! It
all depends on team depth and what cover you have on the bench. </p>



<p>In my team for example I have Luai as cover at 5/8 but I can’t
currently flip him to halfback if Cleary was to be rested, so I’m thinking of
nuffing out Averillo to a dual position half/5-8 (Tyson Gamble) which means Luai
would cover both halfback and 5/8 for me. </p>



<p>This trade will also give me the cash over the next two
weeks to get back in Smith and an elite back-rower. </p>



<p>Or I bank on Averillo returning next week to the Dogs side
as he has been scoring okay when starting. </p>



<p>Each trade is significant now so I need to be careful but
the idea of making cash and gaining one position worth of extra coverage is
enticing.</p>



<p>The other thing to keep in mind is that if a player in your
side doesn’t play then you will be given the score of the lowest scoring non-selected
player on your extended bench. </p>



<p>For me personally I would have Jolliffe and To’a as my 18<sup>th</sup>-19<sup>th</sup>
man so I would be hopeful of at least getting 30-50 points if this was to
occur. Not the worst result. </p>



<p>Some teams will have even better coverage while others may
have a guy playing six minutes off the bench which means you would be stuck
with an auto-emergency score of around 3. </p>



<p>This takes away the option of using an auto-emergency as
your cover, so either try and move that player on or be ready to trade for any
late outs.</p>



<p><strong>To summarise </strong></p>



<p>Where possible have trades ready over the last 2-3 rounds to cover late outs, ensure you have as much cover on your bench as you can and/or set up your team so that if you get stuck with a 0 starting player your auto-emergency could still be semi decent.</p>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Head-to-head finals</strong></h2>



<p>They start next week so if you are safely locked into the finals
then you don’t need to panic. </p>



<p>While for those in the fight still you may need to be bold
and weigh up your options depending on who your opponent has in their team. </p>



<p>If possible, save trades into the weekend so you can react
to how the matchup is going and make a late Saturday or Sunday move to try and
steal the win. Skipper options will also be important. </p>



<p>You can risk it if you are playing catch up or lock in
someone safe if you are in a dominant position. Good luck!!</p>



<p><strong>Brett Morris</strong></p>



<p>Brett looks very enticing this week but does have a tougher
game next week so there is some risk at his price, especially as the Roosters
are yet to fully click back to top gear. </p>



<p>I love him as a POD play, but don’t feel as though you have
to get him in. For myself I have five centres already and I want to bolster my
back-row so long term it makes sense to give B.Moz a miss and hope Teddy takes
all his points! </p>



<p>If I had more trades I would bring him in for one week only
before moving to an elite back-rower, but I’m a little low so that’s a huge
risk and may leave me without trade cover late in the year and I don’t want six
playing centres on my books. </p>



<p>As you can see each team is different so weigh it up for
yourself to see if you are able to get him in for the Brisbane clash as he
could go bananas. </p>



<p>And if money allows and you can bring him in for the rest of the season without compromising on other positions I love that play!</p>



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<p><strong>Maika Sivo</strong></p>



<p>Sivo would make a fantastic 5<sup>th</sup> centre option if
you are in need as he is uber cheap and playing okay again. </p>



<p>I like him as a play most weeks except the Penrith match, so
pick him up if he can do a job for you.</p>



<p>I’d love to keep going but I do need to get back to work. </p>



<p>Hit me up on Twitter @scspy1, Facebook below the article or
in the questions section of the website if you want to chat about anything
further and I’ll do my absolute best to get back to you! Game on…</p>


Decision Time: Answering the big questions, RD 16

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