To trade or not to trade…

They don’t come much bigger than Aaron Sandilands and they don’t come much better in the ruck but big Sandi has hurt us Dream Teamers.
Most coaches held on to Sandi over the 4 weeks while he was injured as we all new, and hoped, he would come back stronger. Not this time.
Sandilands has done more damage to his toe which could have him out for up to month of footy!

The question is now, what do we do?
1. We could hold out for another month, if we have the coverage, so Sandilands comes back for the Dream Team finals.
2. We could cash him in to get a large wad of cash and hope Zac Smith continues his great form.
3. We could trade him to another star ruck. But who? Goldstien is on fire but North Melbourne have a bye in the finals. Same is said for Petrie. Than there is McEvoy from the Saints. The way the Saints are playing, I would baulk at taking anyone from the Saints. The only other Ruckman getting games with a high 90 average is Cox and if you didnt have him in your team already, why are you playing Dream Team?

So that is the dilemma that most Dream Team coaches would have this week. It is a good one.
What am I going to do? Hmmm I do have Zac Smith and Max Bailey looks like a good trade down to give me a crap load of cash…..Decisions!

One Troll Short – episode 2

Episode 2 of One Troll Short has been released. Because of some editing issues, it is late and unfortunately after the completion of round 2 in the AFL.
But listen, enjoy and take note in what I had to say about Fremantle!

One Troll Short episode 2

Oh and it does look like these podcasts will be all about AFL and Dream Team….we just can’t fit anything else in.

Kneejerkers: Dream Team rd 2

Round 2 has finished. It is the round that a lot of coaches go trade mad. The prices of each player will change after round 3 so many coaches start dropping their poor choices while the prices are stable.
For me, I fell into this trap every year I have played DT and I am determined not to do it again…..but!
Tippet the spud scores 40pts against Fremantle and when you add his 60 from Rd 1….he is a spud and it is hurting my rucks.
The answer to Barry Hall or not to Barry Hall at this stage is not to Barry Hall. The difference is, it is only round 2 and Barry Hall, and the delivery to him, will improve where Tippet and the Crows look like they are in for a long year.

Anyway, I finished with a comfortable 2108 this week, again with 3 players on the bench out scoring their on field counterparts and 5 players scoring less than 60 points.
As for any changes for round 3….no trades but maybe some switches from the bench.

Kneejerkers is complete. AFL Dream Team is set.

The 2010 AFL season has begun and so has the Dream Team comp. And boy, does my team different to the original one I posted?!
Original:
BACKS: JGram, CEnright, CCornes, LHodge, SHurn, TKennelly, RSchoenmakers, PDavies, JTrengrove (moved)
CENTRES: LHayes, JCorey, LBall, RPalmer, RLadson (moved), DMartin, JMelksham, LShuey
RUCKS: ASandilands, DJolly, MLobbe, JRoughead
FORWARDS: NReiwoldt, JBrown, MLeCras, BHall, BWarren, PDangerfield, BBurton, SGumbleton, LTapscott

That’s 19 changes and 2 were moved to different positions.
Why the changes? NAB cup form, injuries and the team lists for round 1 were the main factors. Of course after listening to my own podcast (One Troll Short) with Bifrost, I change my mind on a few players as well ie EBetts is in.
So who did finally make the cut? What 19 players impressed me enough to pick them up?
You will have to keep coming back after each 1st round match of AFL to find out as I can’t give away all my secrets yet….

BACKS: ACarrazzo, BNason, CEnright, JHunt, LHodge, TKennelly, NMalceski, HShaw, ASilvagni.
CENTRES: DMartin, JBartel, SMitchell, LJetta, SPendlebury, LBall, RBastinac, MBarlow.
RUCKS: RWarnock, JTrengrove, ASandilands, KTippert.
FORWARDS: EBetts, MDuncan, NRiewoldt, JBrown, PMedhurst, DGiansiracusa, BHall, CHitchcock, HBallantyne.

There you have it, the final line up for 2010 Dream Team.

One Troll Short

What is One Troll Short?
Myself (as Grizzlee on broadcast) and a good mate of mine, Bifrost, have come to the conclusion that when we ramble about football (AFL), Dream Team, comics, movies and , well anything and everything, that we should not be selfish.
We should not deny the world of our brilliance and expert opinions so we present you with….

One Troll Short

Two blokes with beer talking about the long awaited 2010 AFL season, the new season of the addictive Dream Team and of course the exciting world of being a fanbpy of comics and movies….
The first episode is the intro and goes for a bit longer than the regular broadcast will. Sit back and listen if you dare and feel free to post comments.

One Troll Short episode 1 part 1
One Troll Short episode 1 part 2
One Troll Short episode 1 part 3

Golf Day – February

February is almost over so its lucky Sunday is this months Golf Day.
It will be held at the Queanbeyan Golf Club with tee off at 11am. 2 groups are booked so you need to be quick to get in.

TV advert oddities #1

This is a starting point of the adverts on TV that make me go..”hang on, that’s not quite right” First up, the Freeview ad campaign.
Australia has finally decided to add a few more free to air tv channels. This brought about a campaign to get everyone excited. Below is an example of one of the ads used.

Notice how all the people excited about the new TV channels are NOT watching TV. Everyone is out and about, swimming, dining, going to school or at a restaurant.
New channels? and free! More for me! but you know what, I’m to busy having a life.

Tiger Woods says sorry…whats it to you?

Tiger Woods, after stepping away from golf for a few months, has come out and made a public apology…

My thoughts and feedback?
Why the fuck is he making a public apology? What the fuck does it matter to anyone that isn’t his family?
The only person he has to answer to, is his wife. It is no one else’s business, it doesn’t concern them, it doesn’t affect them.
And the fact that the media has been hyping up the apology announcement?! WTF?
This is a man who plays some golf. Plays it bloody well. He got a little horny and couldn’t keep his wood out of the rough. How does this effect his golf? Maybe he will be more tense on the course from now on.
Whats this got to do with you? Absolutely fucking nothing. He is not married to you, he owes you nothing and you have no say in how he lives his life. So why the fuck does he have to come out with a public apology?
For crying out loud people, get over yourself. Let Woods face the consequence with his family without having to tell eveyone about it. Let him pee without having a public announcement in case it offends you that it may be while showering.

FFS this got me riled up…he owes you nothing. He still plays great golf. He only owes his family and himself.

Yet another Marvel movie reboot.

First they announce the Spider-man franchise is being rebooted. Then their is the Fantastic Four being talked about for a reboot, and the X-men don’t escape clean either. The latest to get the reboot tick?
Daredevil
The reason? Fox doesn’t want to lose the movie rights. Yep, that is the only reason. The deal with the licence is that they must continue to make movies of the Marvel characters otherwise they go back to Marvel.
I am one of the few that enjoyed the Daredevil movie with Ben Affleck. It wasn’t great and it wasn’t a blockbuster like Spider-man or X-men but it was never meant to be. Daredevil was never a over the top comic but more a dark gritty comic…anyway.
Super-hero reboots, for me, are not a good thing unless there is a really good distance in time between them. (The only exception is The Incredible Hulk that saves the Hulk’s reputation). If you make a remake too soon, you will confuse the average viewer. Yes you may appease the fanboys but movies are made not just for them but to also bring in non-comic freaks (you cant make enough money just on the standing order holders).
I don’t think Daredevil left the movie in a bad spot. We got his background on how he became the Daredevil (and not a dragged out origin story). We were introduced to characters that make up the Daredevil universe and no villain was outright killed (Bullseye does survive the fall, listen to the cops say he is still breathing). Kingpin is set up for revenge angle, Urich is set up as a confident…its a rich ending that does not need to be clouded by making a reboot.
And what’s worse? They have signed on David Scarpa to write it! This is the guy that brought you the tripe, The Day The Earth Stood Still which is a remake of a classic film. You bring on a guy who destroyed The Day the Earth Stood Still and expect him to breath life into and reboot the Daredevil Franchise? Hmmm.

AFL Dream Team preview line-up

It is that time again! AFL footy season is almost upon us once more! hoo-bloody-ray!
Last Monday the AFL Dreamteam opened up and I have been at it ever since trying to get a team together.
I know, very keen. The NAB Cup hasn’t even begun so how would I know what rookie to get? Don’t care. I have a team now and it will probably change after the NAB cup but I am keen to get it started.
They have made some changes this year. The salary cap is lower but players are more expansive (including rookies!) and for the 1st time, you will be able to swap players in your team to different positions (ie Move a Ruckman into you Forward line) without costing a trade.
Here is my current list:
BACKS:JGram, CEnright, CCornes, LHodge, SHurn, TKennelly, RSchoenmakers, PDavies, JTrengrove
CENTRES:LHayes, JCorey, LBall, RPalmer, RLadson, DMartin, JMelksham, LShuey
RUCKS: ASandilands, DJolly, MLobbe, JRoughead
FORWARDS: NReiwoldt, JBrown, MLeCras, BHall, BWarren, PDangerfield, BBurton, SGumbleton, LTapscott

Now I must wait for the NAB cup to finalise the line up. Make sure the few coming back from injury actually comeback. May trade Sandi and Ladson out and put in H_mac and spend a bit more in backline…hmmm.
If you want to join our league, you are welcome to. The league code is 724942.