Recent content by MJD

I don't mind a die-cut if it's a little bit off the top or corners, but I still like it to resemble a trading card - this looks too much like a sticker or something out of a chippy packet. And, as someone pointed out on FB, a shame they're using same photo from Traders. I'm sure these cards...

GCTC breaks do go up on their website. You can purchase through it, watch on YouTube, so I reckon you could do it all without FB. But there Is advantage with FB of being alerted to new breaks going live.

I did wonder whether the clubs were meant/expected to take them to Vegas and distribute them over there. Would have made sense. Weird Sharks only ones to put them up.

Traders 2024 was the first time I've seen it available at EB Games here in NZ. $9 a pack (about $8 Aussie) so bit of a rip - and no way its going to lure young fans to collect what should be the entry level set.

Would it be crazy to think Topps might have had a decent nudge at both NRL and AFL? Fanatics track record seems pretty aggressive, and I could imagine NRL being attracted by big US player, given the Vegas expedition. I’m bewildered by how Topps do inserts, with all the 1/1s, relics etc, and...

Certainly lots of battlers among the sigs, which is often the case with Traders. Feels like it's a decent insert set shy. Whereas in the past there'd be The Creator or 4&2, there's nothing in that space.

Not being in Aus, and therefore not seeing cards on any store counters, I struggle to understand what the strategy of Rivalry/Revolution/Best&Less is. On top of Traders, it presents a lot of entry level options, and I wonder if they'd be better to push one definitive set to collect. I don't...

This would def be a big part of it, and I totally hadn't considered it. Case breaks such a big part of hobby - and as a team collector who hasn't busted a box in a decade I've contributed to it. I think there's a chicken and egg aspect to it. I became a team collector partly because I was...

Fair chance Josh Mansour nets a retirement card too. Pretty sure he’s done with the Jets. Hopefully in Penrith colours.

I think a real limiting issue with TLA when it comes to card concept ideas is the obsessive inclusivity of its inserts. We don't get 5-card or 9-nine set showcasing gun players, we get 17 or 34 card sets repping every club for almost everything but the Dally M set and patches. I'd love to chase...

Yes to "conversion attempts" and "he missed the conversion" etc, but what I meant was no-one ever refers to goalkickers as "converters". It would be like doing an NFL quarterback set and calling it "Completists". If they used footy relevant terms: 'Between the sticks', 'Black dot', 'Straight...

First impression is same ole Traders really. A lot of dead space on the base designs, and shame there's not a blade of grass to be seen on any of them. Would much rather the images depict them playing footy on a footy field. Bugs me that they use "The Converters" when it's a term not used in...

From what I've seen this set looks way nicer than Traders design wise, and it's the same size, with quite a few rookies from 2024. It's just a shame it's low-end inserts only, which will mean it fails to register with most folks. There's some nice player selection in terms of not just the usual...

Being in NZ and not an AFL fan, I'm not familiar with what Select does now, but well aware of how they handled NRL in the past. In short, I thought the 2000-2005 sets were pretty decent, and then it went sideways fast. If I was to overhaul TLA, I would take my inspiration from US sport cards...

No worries. The hunt continues.