General Covid Virus fun 1980s to present Kiwis Draft to pass time

[Weno]

Ken - whatever not the greatest pick but getting towards the end.
Coach is Bellamy

1 D Watene Z
2 Nightingale
3 K Iro
4 James L
5 Maumalo Ken
6 Shaun Johnson (gk)
7 Freeman (c)
8 Bromwich
9 Mann
10 NAS
11 Sorensen
12 Graham
13 Tapine

Thanks all

If any of the neutrals want to weigh in on their fav picks or teams after Wizards makes his final post that would be cool. All the contestants are welcome to analyse and discuss as well.
Thanks all for giving this a go and being open minded to jumping in.
Glad you liked it.

Cheers

Wrighty, you should randomly throw in the next six and see what they come up with

But then you will have to store ours kill the post and make the part two post .

What do you think.

 

[wrighty]

Wrighty
Started of with a hiss and a roar and was probably the early front runner- like wizard u put together two dominant halves- maybe paid for that a bit down the home stretch struggling to put together your outside backs.

Awesome - thanks for this.

Drafts take a lot of strategising. They are harder to partake in than what it looks like from the outside.
I made a mistake taking Freeman as it has been 35 years since I laid eyes upon him and thought I was getting a hooker. My original plan was Shaun Johnson and then a middle round pick for Olsen F

I could have better used the freeman pick on another star forward.

I find what wins and loses the whole draft isn't your first two picks, as you can't go wrong with who you get initially. It is rounds 3-5 that are more crucial.

I am sure you lads took away some lessons you will remember for your next draft. It is a real skill to learn.

 

[Defence]

Awesome - thanks for this.

Drafts take a lot of strategising. They are harder to partake in than what it looks like from the outside.
I made a mistake taking Freeman as it has been 35 years since I laid eyes upon him and thought I was getting a hooker. My original plan was Shaun Johnson and then a middle round pick for Olsen F

I could have better used the freeman pick on another star forward.

I find what wins and loses the whole draft isn't your first two picks, as you can't go wrong with who you get initially. It is rounds 3-5 that are more crucial.

I am sure you lads took away some lessons you will remember for your next draft. It is a real skill to learn.

My only regrets are not picking a halfback in the first round and not taking vanikolo.

 

[wrighty]

Wrighty, you should randomly throw in the next six and see what they come up with

But then you will have to store ours kill the post and make the part two post .

What do you think.

I see what you are saying. Do another 1980s kiwi draft but with six fresh contestants? My view is there seems to be more clamour atm for a warriors draft. Was thinking of waiting for the discussion in this thread to die off and then start that.

We have many months ahead of us until the season begins again, if it does, so can come back to a redux of this draft a bit later. That said now I have introduced drafts to this message board others should feel free to start one. I would like to recommend or state a firm rule though based on my experience with these elsewhere is that there only be one draft at a time or people find it annoying and it gets confusing for all concerned.

My other consideration Weno is that in the next few weeks I want to trial a "NRL general manager game" where you have to wheel and deal during a psuedo off season to get the best team you can get. The other general managers you will be dealing with to make the deals and arrangements, will be other contestants / posters who sign up to play the game,
Have played this before and it is very fun as well. So hopefully there will be interest in that too.

Cheers

edit there is also a possibility of a world xiii draft, but would need ten plus contestants to make that work. Imagine drafting Martin Offiah as your wing!! Or Bradley Clyde as your 13 etc.

 

[warriors55]

Here is my summary of the other 5 teams. Will exclude my own as others can judge it.

Wizards Rage - Biggest strengths are halves and back row. Pretty good back 3, good centre's. Only slight weakness is the front row/hooker and possibly lacking an elite full back. Overall a great team with good balance and a great first pick in Jones. Set the tone nicely for your future picks.

Wrighty - Biggest strengths are halves, centres, props, back row. Only slight weakness is the back 3 is a bit unproven (apart from Nightingale) and hooker is not elite. Overall another great team and I like the thought that you put into each selection. Your halves are probably equal top with Wizards Rage.

Weno - Biggest strengths are centres, back row, hooker and wingers. Only slight weakness could be front row and full back. Another great team and the most interesting to see unfold as you chose some unexpected players which I had forgotten about so it helped me to remember some of them!

Ryno - Biggest strengths are back row, back 3 and props. Only slight weakness is the halves and an elite hooker. A hell of a strong pack though. Tough. Vatuvei was a great choice and I was eyeing him up too. Appreciate you staying up late to make your picks as well!

Defence - Biggest strength back row, front row full back and centres. Only slight weakness is Paul playing hooker and possibly the halves. Wingers can be hot and cold but on their day can carve up. Overall a great team. Your pack is amazing! Wouldn't want to f*ck with them.

I haven't named my favorite team yet and I tried to name strengths and weaknesses for each team. This was a lot of fun and we had a great group of guys doing the draft. Shout out to all of you.

 

[Weno]

Assessment of other teams:

Wizards rage
Probably my favorite team by a whisker.
Your halves set u apart- stand out centers and back row as well.

Wrighty
Started of with a hiss and a roar and was probably the early front runner- like wizard u put together two dominant halves- maybe paid for that a bit down the home stretch struggling to put together your outside backs.

Weno
My favorite team to watch unfold- never knew who u were gonna get.
What I loved about your team is there wasn’t any consideration given to reputations or statistics- it was “Ive been watching league for 40 years and this is the best players I’ve seen with my own 2 eyes”.
Particularly loved the Brent Stuart pick- being a fellow halswell hornet .

Warriors55
Best spine, best backline and a good mix of solid and spectacular in the forwards.
Probably the best balanced team and very hard to separate u and wizards.

Ryno
That forward pack. When I imagine playing against them it’s a cold dingy day on a bog of a field in the howling wind, pouring down with rain- it would be a fight for life and your pack would be right in their element.

Well done to all.

Thank you Defence.

My team was picked exactly how you thought.

Was a big Brent Stuart fan.
Luke Bailey in my eyes was a carbon copy of him as a player.

 

[wrighty]

Here is my summary of the other 5 teams. Will exclude my own as others can judge it.

Ryno - Biggest strengths are back row, back 3 and props. Only slight weakness is the halves and an elite hooker. A hell of a strong pack though. Tough. Vatuvei was a great choice and I was eyeing him up too. Appreciate you staying up late to make your picks as well!

Just want to endorse the thank you to Ryno who stayed up late and logged in early to make his picks timely. Very generous of you. Thank you Ryno.

 

[Weno]

I see what you are saying. Do another 1980s kiwi draft but with six fresh contestants? My view is there seems to be more clamour atm for a warriors draft. Was thinking of waiting for the discussion in this thread to die off and then start that.

We have many months ahead of us until the season begins again, if it does, so can come back to a redux of this draft a bit later. That said now I have introduced drafts to this message board others should feel free to start one. I would like to recommend or state a firm rule though based on my experience with these elsewhere is that there only be one draft at a time or people find it annoying and it gets confusing for all concerned.

My other consideration Weno is that in the next few weeks I want to trial a "NRL general manager game" where you have to wheel and deal during a psuedo off season to get the best team you can get. The other general managers you will be dealing with to make the deals and arrangements, will be other contestants / posters who sign up to play the game,
Have played this before and it is very fun as well. So hopefully there will be interest in that too.

Cheers

edit there is also a possibility of a world xiii draft, but would need ten plus contestants to make that work. Imagine drafting Martin Offiah as your wing!! Or Bradley Clyde as your 13 etc.

Warriors Draft.

What a scrap that would be.

Who will end up with Shane Endacott????

 

[warriors55]

Awesome - thanks for this.

Drafts take a lot of strategising. They are harder to partake in than what it looks like from the outside.
I made a mistake taking Freeman as it has been 35 years since I laid eyes upon him and thought I was getting a hooker. My original plan was Shaun Johnson and then a middle round pick for Olsen F

I could have better used the freeman pick on another star forward.

I find what wins and loses the whole draft isn't your first two picks, as you can't go wrong with who you get initially. It is rounds 3-5 that are more crucial.

I am sure you lads took away some lessons you will remember for your next draft. It is a real skill to learn.

Freeman was a good choice Wrighty. If I didn't get Marshall I was going to choose the Whiz.

Your halves were your biggest strengths.

 

[Defence]

Warriors Draft.

What a scrap that would be.

Who will end up with Shane Endacott????

Whichever team has frank coaching them

 

[warriors55]

I see what you are saying. Do another 1980s kiwi draft but with six fresh contestants? My view is there seems to be more clamour atm for a warriors draft. Was thinking of waiting for the discussion in this thread to die off and then start that.

We have many months ahead of us until the season begins again, if it does, so can come back to a redux of this draft a bit later. That said now I have introduced drafts to this message board others should feel free to start one. I would like to recommend or state a firm rule though based on my experience with these elsewhere is that there only be one draft at a time or people find it annoying and it gets confusing for all concerned.

My other consideration Weno is that in the next few weeks I want to trial a "NRL general manager game" where you have to wheel and deal during a psuedo off season to get the best team you can get. The other general managers you will be dealing with to make the deals and arrangements, will be other contestants / posters who sign up to play the game,
Have played this before and it is very fun as well. So hopefully there will be interest in that too.

Cheers

edit there is also a possibility of a world xiii draft, but would need ten plus contestants to make that work. Imagine drafting Martin Offiah as your wing!! Or Bradley Clyde as your 13 etc.

I'm definitely keen for a Warriors Draft or World 13 once the discussion and reviews for this thread dies down.

General Manager game sounds fun as well.

 

[wrighty]

Ok well next steps

1) Warriors Draft - start quite soon maximum ten contestants?? (Warriors55 how is the player pool you told me there were 280 Kiwis since 1980 and that proved to be more than enough, how many warriors have there been since 1995 for the first grade side?)


Have a Break of a week

2) General Manager game - this allows up to 16 players - need a minumim of 6-7 to make it work

Have a Break of a week

3) World 13 Draft ideally we need at least ten particpants max 12 or it gets boring waiting for your turn

Have a break of a couple of weeks

4) Other people might think of a theme for a draft

Have a break for a month

5)If bored and group is willing to try anything test and trial some other non league related games that are popular on message boards such as mafia etc.

That is the plan - any feedback or suggested changes to the sequence?

 

[warriors55]

Ok well next steps

1) Warriors Draft - start quite soon maximum ten contestants?? (Warriors55 how is the player pool you told me there were 280 Kiwis since 1980 and that proved to be more than enough, how many warriors have there been since 1995 for the first grade side?)

There's about 240 Warriors players Wrighty so similar to the 1980's to present Kiwis. A little less.

 

[warriors55]

Ok well next steps

1) Warriors Draft - start quite soon maximum ten contestants?? (Warriors55 how is the player pool you told me there were 280 Kiwis since 1980 and that proved to be more than enough, how many warriors have there been since 1995 for the first grade side?)


Have a Break of a week

2) General Manager game - this allows up to 16 players - need a minumim of 6-7 to make it work

Have a Break of a week

3) World 13 Draft ideally we need at least ten particpants max 12 or it gets boring waiting for your turn

Have a break of a couple of weeks

4) Other people might think of a theme for a draft

Have a break for a month

5)If bored and group is willing to try anything test and trial some other non league related games that are popular on message boards such as mafia etc.

That is the plan - any feedback or suggested changes to the sequence?

I like the schedule you suggest Wrighty.

 

[Panther]

From my perspective all the teams are pretty awesome. Obviously some have far better halves or fullbacks as we have never had the depth of the aussies in those key spots. This draft has shown that we have always been fairly stacked in the wing, prop and backrow departments. Some notable ommisions i noticed. Adam Blair, Sam Perret, Paul Rauhihi, David Solomona, Roy Asotasi, Dene Halatau, Bronson Harrison, Sam Moa, Jeremy Smith, Richard Swain, Logan Swann, Gene Ngamu, Tony Kemp. Just goes to show the quality we have had over the years.

Definitely, was really suprised by Roy Asotasi and Paul Rauhihi not getting more love, both Dally M props of the Year and Roy nominated on multiple occasions. I thought someone might pull out Emosi Kaloto, such a game breaker. It was interesting the positions some of the guys with versatility ended up in too.

Wizards and Warriors teams stand out for me, and I think the key was the value they were getting in the late rounds. Blackmore, Vainkolo are game winners at test level to get them so late fills out the team amazingly well. Syd Eru was another nice late pick up.

 

[warriors55]

Definitely, was really suprised by Roy Asotasi and Paul Rauhihi not getting more love, both Dally M props of the Year and Roy nominated on multiple occasions. I thought someone might pull out Emosi Kaloto, such a game breaker. It was interesting the positions some of the guys with versatility ended up in too.

Wizards and Warriors teams stand out for me, and I think the key was the value they were getting in the late rounds. Blackmore, Vainkolo are game winners at test level to get them so late fills out the team amazingly well. Syd Eru was another nice late pick up.

Considered Asotasi for my last choice. Was out of J Vagana, Matulino and Asotasi. Went with big Joe.

 

[wizards rage]

I had a strategy of getting aggressive players and dominant players and chose some players over more talented options because they fitted my team strategy better.

Really wanted Freeman as captain; Ridge at fullback and Kevin Iro in the centre’s. Would have leapt at NAS but was one of the ones that got away...

Mark graham was an option at one point but took Taumalolo at the time. Joe Vagana would have worked well in my pack as I was after size.

 

[Weno]

Players I would of liked who were snapped up and what my team would of looked like.

1- Dave Watson - Richie Barnett
2- Richie Barnett - Sean Hoppe
3- Jarrod McCracken
4- Clinton Toopi
5- Krisnan Inu - Manu Vatuvei
6- Frano Botica - Benji Marshall
7- Clayton Friend - Stacey Jones
8- Brent Stuart
9- Brandon Smith
10 - Terry Hermanson - Nelson Asofa Solomona
11 - Tony Puletua - Frank Pritchard
12 - Greg Eastwood - James Fisher Harris
13 - James Fisher Harris - Henry Paul

Missed out on these men in red print but still pulled off a team to be proud of.

With Graham low coaching a team of under dogs.
We know what happened in 83 and when he took Queensland.

 

[warriors55]

I had a strategy of getting aggressive players and dominant players and chose some players over more talented options because they fitted my team strategy better.

Really wanted Freeman as captain; Ridge at fullback and Kevin Iro in the centre’s. Would have leapt at NAS but was one of the ones that got away...

Mark graham was an option at one point but took Taumalolo at the time. Joe Vagana would have worked well in my pack as I was after size.

It's a good strategy. My initial strategy was to get elite players in positions with not a lot of depth. Full Back and Hooker especially. Needed to nab one elite half as well.

 

[Weno]

Had a strategy of picking one elite player in each area for each pick.

Once I chose Toopi,then Benji and Stacey went straight after,I knew things wouldn't go to plan.

So had faith in prop and backrow to choose elsewhere.

Choosing a goal kicker was the biggest change up.

Only had part timers,more or less none.

Was happy I had Botica and Timu in mind for a wing spot.

Boticas versatility and goal kicking prowess gave him the nod and saved my bacon
Eastwood would of been my back up who was one of my last picks.