2019 Footy Stars Review

ElijahCraigHyde

OzCardTrader
Messages
1,780
Location
Canberra
Real Name
Jarrah
Album
Now in all honesty does anybody really buy the albums of the release or really care what they look like? Don’t mind them when they are a nice colour. Unlike series 2, I can command select for having an album inclusive of pockets which make albums over those for series 2 win!
Starter packs attached to the albums have no relevance to me nowadays but I like the Best and Fairest cards enclosed and believe that is an excellent way to continue the concept as opposed to an upper end insert in packets.

Common cards
Again in all honesty no one seems to care what they look like nowadays however to be fair these ones with Guernsey number prominently in the design makes them appear top stuff and these actually seem like some of the best looking commons in a long time. This design will looks tops with an IP signature IMO.
So to speak, I still vividly remember 25 years ago when the first $3 card pack from Select came out and those Commons were top stuff indeed – full colour glossiness and they also SMELT so good lol of the glossiness. Yes although you had to wait 12 packs for an insert being 20 parallel replication from the 200 common card set, not to mention the next highest insert being the half-case search Ablett Snr legend card out of 5000, (and finally the top end signatures which simply resembled an IP common signed card you can get nowadays for eight bucks), the simplicity of this release only reminds me how grateful it is to be a card collector, quarter of a century later! – especially still going strong at the same price!

Silver holofoils
While evidently a reprint of the same concept from last year, most certainly an improvement with the silver background appearing fancier with the mirror effect and again like the way these players are all different to the commons. An excellent design for a far back end card IMO

Ruby holofoils

Love the way a parallel version has been based on the insert above and believe Select have nailed it in terms of making the parallel system like this one! Again bang for your buck in terms of the $3 price.

Instant Impact
This insert reminds me of a back end adapted from an NRL release in 2017. Glad to see it portrayed in an AFL release and an excellent pickup to add to my IP_PC

Strike Force
At first glance on the Select social media post, these cards seemed to look very bland indeed however upon viewing it on hand in a live motion video clip, it certainly made me think twice of the design.

Milestone Game cards
This concept is one element that really makes series 1 IMO and especially love collecting these if parts of your PC focus on a particular player and your first card of such player was a Draft Pick signature of an old Future Force one. Again like the commons, really don’t care what they look like however appreciate the colour code milestones being bronze for 100; silver for 150; gold for 200; platinum for 250 and diamond for 300 (which are strictly speaking a case card in spanning releases).

Star Burst
I was initially hoping the Yellow bursts this year would be replaced by Navy ones, the Orange starter pack ones to be replaced by Brown/Maroon or Sky blue and the Black numbered ones to be replaced by White numbered ones and a fourth one to be a pink diamond one as a case hit variant.
Nonetheless I am presuming most collectors ARE happy with the colour coding being custom to team colours this year and the tie die design really surprised me. At first glance I thought WTF by the way the TD numbered ones looked however I am pretty damn sure in second thoughts they will look fantastic on hand.
Paul Harvey is a very imaginative artist as it seems and captures players very well even if some of his depictions have appeared repelling in the eyes of a handful of collectors and this concept seems to be going strong still since it commenced in 2013.

Brownlow Predictors
I must say this design is the very best of the BP cards since this concepts commenced in 2016 and is arguably if not definitely what gives the low end collector some bang for their buck. I really like the way the design this year makes the card resemble an un-circulated concept in itself – in other words even if the incorrect predictor, a card still worth collecting and reminding me a lot like the high end Prime Draft foil cards in 2013 series two. Also have a wildcard per team is also what makes this predictor concept extra unique this year.

Brownlow Predictors Parallel
Upon the revealing of the Gold Brownlow predictors, I was hoping for a parallel with metallic white foil components instead of gold and my hope came true. Again love the way you can put a wildcard into an IP component of your PC and this card is what really makes 2019 footy stars one of the best if not the best to date for a low end collecting edition.

Overall verdict: 7.5/10; have I been too generous but when you think about it 25 years on from the first $3 per pack release you really can’t complain an the two main things I deducted marks were the following:
  • Would have liked to see Premiership Predictors in this release – nobody wants to pay as much as $50 for one of these come series II when/if it’s been set in stone your team has not a chance (much less $10 lol)
  • Would have liked to see something new; IE a case hit numbered cards for all clubs out of 100; or maybe a third BP parallel being Titanium, Diamond or Rhodium etc out of 25-15!!!
 
Not the best release unfortunately

Really like brownlow predictors...though 8 per team is too many. Especially when you have a Gold & Platinum version. The redeemed card is an absolute cracker, I often stare and admire my Dusty one from 2017.

Should go a little retro when it comes to inserts and go back to releases like 07 & 08 champions. Would love updated versions of the Foil Signature, Sketch and Mascot Gem cards. I'm over the Starburst

Looking forward to Series 2
 
This is one of the better series 1 releases of recent times. The commons look really good and the player selections are generally solid. The die cuts are a significant improvement from previous years, and the red parallels look good.

Milestones are always my favourite insert. Starburst designs are better with team colours, although the concept should have been laid to rest several years ago. I'm not a big fan of random inserts such as strike force and instant impact, but both look okay.

There are still way too many brownlow predictors and the design is pretty bland really for a top end card that is basically worthless unless you have one of the top 5-6 brownlow chances. 2-3 players and a wildcard per team is plenty.
 
One year on, I am grateful for select appearing to address what I was asking for in a series 1 release:

Premiership predictors relocated to here

A case hit card numbered limited to low numbers for all 18 clubs

Fewer players for the Brownlow predictors
 
Back
Top Bottom