For the past few weeks you’ve been patiently waiting, looking forward to unwrapping your presents.

Finally, you rip the wrapping paper off, and there it is. Your shiny new toy. And it’s just as wonderful as you imagined.

Except for one detail. No batteries!

That’s how it felt last weekend. For weeks I’d been looking for an excuse to add Brendan Goddard to my AFL dream team. Finally, with a couple of injuries and some shuffling of trades, Goddard is a Gavernator.

Except, no batteries.

Well, actually, Goddard was a late withdrawal from the Saints on Saturday night with a virus, but it amounts to the same thing.

Being a late withdrawal, there was little time to charge up with a replacement of similar value. That 157,021 dream teamers had the same problem doesn’t help.

It puts into sharp perspective, though, how important it is to have at least one emergency that will play each week, in each zone of the ground.

To miss out on 113 points (Goddard’s average) stings a bit. Not to get any points at all as compensation because you are a defender short would have hurt even more.

Those on the edge of finals would be well advised to go for broke. Use up your last trades and spend up all your salary cap room, and then hope for the best. There is no point in being well prepared for a finals campaign if you finish ninth. Just ask a string of failed Richmond coaches.

The Gavernators, however, sit fourth in the ‘‘Hard Nuts’’ competition, a random league generated at the start of the season that includes, among others, the Vienna Badgers, Arabian Goggles, Rookie Rampage and the mighty Gippy Stompers.

A likely finals campaign means it is important to retain trades. A loss, however, would drop the Gavernators to fifth, and in danger of missing out on the double chance. Thousands of dream team coaches face a similar dilemma.

That’s when it is important to look at the fixture. A match against a team battling for the same place on the ladder might justify a trade or two to get a team over the line.

The Gavernators, however, play winless bottom side Dream Killers, and any win will be good enough.

So, it’s no change this week. Except for, I hope, new batteries.