I think the time has come to look past the hype and drop Morne Steyn from your fantasy team. Madness? I don't think so, and here's why.
Steyn's performance in the first rounds of the competition was nothing short of astounding. His initial consecutive scores of 675, 700 and 575 are, as far as I know, unparalleled in the history of Test Rugby. But then what the Hell happened? The Bulls are still winning alright, but Steyn's point scoring has slumped alarmingly. If you follow this blog, you'll know that I post weekly stats of the top players in each position based on their average scores, which I find much more useful than the total score ranking provided by Test Rugby. Normally this system allows a player to have an out-of-the-ordinary good or bad week and still show a fair reflection of their form. The problem with Steyn is that his initial form is now unfairly weighting his score to such a degree that his overall average score, and continued presence as the best average half, though undeniably true, are somewhat misleading.
Steyn's last three rounds read like this: 300, 150, 290 - an average score of 247. Not too shabby, you might think. Just for fun, I applied the same formula to some of the other halves, and look at the results:
Dan Carter 427
Daniel Halangahu 362
Will Genia 308
Matt Giteau 292
Ruan Pienaar 290
Stephen Brett 280
Brendon Leonard 265
Quade Cooper 255
Peter Grant 253
Morne Steyn 246
Over the last three rounds, Steyn is only the 10th best performing half (below even Peter Grant, for Heaven's sake!), yet I'd bet that there's barely a Test Rugby player without him in their team.
Personally, I've sold him already and I recommend all of you to do likewise. If money's an issue for you, then replace him with Daniel Halangahu and you'll have over $500,000 to spend elsewhere! I'm not saying I won't buy him back at some stage, I will, but it probably won't be until the Bulls are finished with their Australasian tour and host the Lions at Loftus in round 11. Until then...
See the light, drop Steyn!
Well, that would solve my money problem, but what about the basic issue of loyalty? I feel a sense of obligation in supporting Steyn...as should all other South Africans. Anyway, that point is moot since Steyn is going to catch fire again. Mark my words, you will rue the day you abandon old Morne!
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ReplyDeleteI think some of the Bulls needs to get some rest. Olivier and Steyn need to find their spark again. They have had very mediocre last few games which is disappointing to see. I think their performances away will be average, although they might win all of them.
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