To win any AFL Fantasy competition is a mighty tough ask, especially when the platform is in its inaugural season, the scoring is new and different to other fantasy platforms and the system of obtaining players is unfamiliar to traditional fantasy. But every competition needs a winner and we found that in our 2022 Capped Footy league winner HotPies (who also finished 10th in the open league if you don't mind). We asked our winner a series of questions to pick the brain of our best coach, so have your notepads ready and your squad screens up in preparation for 2023!
Before we ask you any questions about your squad we want to know, have you dabbled in the world of dynasty fantasy sports before?
No, I haven’t. I have entered all sorts of fantasy sports competitions including Golf, Cricket and AFL but they have just been event or season comps.
All the eyes are on the #1 position on the ladder, but take us back to round 1 of the competition, how did you go about building your starting squad?
I decided early on that the capped league appealed more as I like the idea of having to make key decisions based on restrictions. I feel that it’s more strategic. I signed up early and got access to some discounted packs and was lucky enough to hit some solid gold and silver players in most positions.
Consistency is key in any fantasy sport, how did you manage to reach that number #1 spot so early and stay there?
No doubt you need some luck with the packs you open, and I was fortunate enough to have every player in my squad playing early on.
Which strategies did you employ to stay ahead of the pack?
I didn’t take risks on players with high-scoring volatility. Finding players that could score 90-110 every week was my main strategy. That meant looking at player matchups closely and dropping anyone regardless of reputation if they didn’t have a strong matchup.
If you could give out some hardware at the HotPies presentation night, who would win the coach's award/MVP of the HotPies squad?
Rory Laird was my only "set and forget". He just killed it week in and week out since I got him. Harry Himmelberg also is worth a mention moving from forward to defence and getting a stack of the ball.
How do you plan to stay on top heading into season 2023?
First, I plan to stay in a capped league. There’s no way I can compete with some of the heavy hitters in the open league. Other than that, it’s just a repeat of what I did last season.
Do you have any advice for all the coaches out there for season 2023?
The trade market will be very important. Depth is important across every position so don’t think twice about trading a gun player in a position where you already have depth in.
And finally, who did you pick first overall with your rewards card pick and why?
I picked Nick Daicos. I am a Collingwood fan, and I was always going to pick a young player that I thought would improve with experience. Nicky D is already killing it, so it was a no-brainer for me.
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