1. Footyhigh League
   This is our websites main league and this involves all of us from the site as well as some friends and this year is going to be very competitive with alot of decent scores posted so far.
2. Longy’s League
   All the Footyhigh boys are in this league, just another league with friends so far it has been mixed with scores but hopefully it ends up being a competitive league.
3. Knock Off Maxy5
   This is one of Nick Maxwell’s leagues where out of the 5 leagues the grand final winners will win prizes, the highest grand final points scorer will get grand final tickets for this year while the other grand final winners will get 4 tickets to any round one game in 2012. Follow the progress of my team Beno’s Ganstaz at Nick Maxwell’s Dream Team league No 5.
4. Beat Swatta’s Swags
   I’m in this league with fellow Footyhigh panellist Sarge.  This league includes Wayne Schwass from foxsports and overall the league is very impressive so far with some very high scores.

Recap of Round Two: Score 2044

This week I made a big decision to make Leigh Montagna my captain instead of sticking with my safe option of Dane Swan and I paid for it big time with the difference if I would have had Swan captain 150 points.  I went with Leigh Montagna purely for the fact that the saints were playing the tigers and his past stats against the tigers have been very good, from now I’ll be sticking with Swan as captain.

My GC players coming into the team I didn’t have that much of a selection issue but I put in Swallow and Matera to cover the two bye players I had while I left Harris on the bench and while I got to attend the Suns Vs Blues game at the GABBA we all know the Suns got belted but through some periods of the game there were some good plays by the suns and Harris played a major part in those plays so he will be a definite starter for me next week.

Results

YOUR RESULTS – ALL LEAGUES

Although I went with the risk of going with a different captain and not paying off I still managed an ok score and still managed four wins which I was pretty pumped about.  So far I’m 2/2 in all leagues with the highlight of last week knocking off both footyhigh panellists Sarge and Matty p not only did I win I belted them and this was my first Dreamteam victory against them both, I have a bit of advice for you both “watch how the master does it” I’m planning on WINNING every league this year.

Round 3 Preview

This is going to be the toughest round so far  as I’m facing the trend setters so far in leagues 2,3 and 4 but I’m pretty confident and will walk away with 4 wins again it’s going to be tough but I look forward to telling you all about my victories next week.

Backline

Goddard – He’s a DT lock in anyones team. If you don’t have him you have some sort of crystal ball. IE You’re a freak!

Gibbs – Yet another DT lock. Dual Position Player (DPP). Legend. If you’re a clever ducky you would have had him as your vice captain and used the dream team partial lock out loop hole.

Deledio – Deledio is in the top 25 paid players in the AFL for real. He’s priced in DT as a $371k DPP back/mid. He has a rubbish game on the weekend yet still managed 74 odd points. He’s primed for a big year, as are the Tiges.

Broughton – I’ll admit a lot of research didn’t go into him and maybe I’m paying the price for a lower than average score this week. He was a cheap defender that I know a lot of people were getting so I was a sheep with this pick.

Grimes – Cheap as chips defender for the value he will implement into Sarge’s Heroes this year. Started on the right foot at 100+ score this weekend.

Lower – You don’t get promoted off the rookie list and not play. He played and played a blinder. Near 100 one of the best defender rookies if not the best out there.

Duigan – mature age rookie gun. Didn’t blow the house down with 51 but you’d think he’ll play a few more games. A handy bench player.

Coad, Stanley, Toy – These guys I feel are the most promising GC defenders to have at basement prices. Some may feel it’s the wrong move having 3xGC on the bench but as long as everyone is playing on field, why does it matter? Save a lot of money and build up to a big team come finals time.

Midfield

Montagna – He’s full of run, flair and he seems young. Gets a lot of kicks and can kick goals. I chose him over people like Boyd, Selwood etc as I think he kicks it a lot more and kicks more goals than them.

Bartel – A tackling machine and doesn’t attract a hard tag. Can kick a goal and is a magnificent mark.

K.Cornes – The most consistent midfielder going around. A score of 96 this weekend he didn’t disappoint. If he gets this every week I’ll take it.

Foley – I think he’s crucial for the Tigers this year after coming off injury. He had the worst game this weekend but I think if I keep my patience he’ll come good. If he has a bad game next week I may be looking for a downgrade to someone like Curnow who got over 100+ his first game.

Krakouer – Every man and his dog will have him. Mistake that he’s in my midfield? Only time will tell. A lovely 96 to open his account with AND he was subbed late in the game.

Bewick – Another mature age rookie. Not the most convincing game (to hold his spot) but feel he played some smart footy. Scored ok and will be a worthy bench player if he keeps his spot in the team, and given lions injuries I’m sure he will.

Swallow – DT lock as pick no1 in the draft. People say he’s the new Selwood, if that’s the case he could be a DT keeper by the end.

Conca – A late pick given the team announcements on Wednesday night. He came in for Harris who has a supposed injury cloud.

Heppell – I struggled justifying keeping Heppell in. I didn’t have a good feeling. I’m glad he got an 80 today but Essendon just dominated today. I can’t see this happening every week so I’m still not 100% convinced but he stays for now.

Rucks

Ryder – 50k less than Sandilands and got a respectable score today. Was on track for higher but didn’t quite get there. Happy to have the money in the bank but given that Essendon have the bye Grand Final week it could bite me on the ass. Having said that, predicting that I’ll make Grand Final week of DT is probably big headed of me so I like having 50k to play with while still generating good scores from Ryder. I’m not 100% convinced he’ll maintain good scores though so I hope he keeps it up.

Cox – Best preseason of his life just about. Cheap as chips for the quality you get. Tonights game just proved that.

Tippet – Only have him as my DPP link with Petrie.

Keeffe – Keep hearing a lot of good things about him. Disappointed he didn’t play on the weekend and maybe could have picked a better bench ruck but for 92k who else would I pick?

Forwards

Franklin – He’s a DT lock pretty much. Had a great preseason. Didn’t go well against the crows – the only game I didn’t really get a look at this weekend. Hopefully bounces back next week I’m sure he will.

Sylvia – DPP was maybe the main reason I went for him in the end. I liked Stevie J but I’m glad I didn’t touch him. I’m still nervous about Sylvia so hopefully he can remain consistent.

Goodes – F$%K YOU! He was on about 70 at half time and managed 74 by games end. This is why Melbourne came back, they managed to shut out Goodes. This worries me greatly. The great debate over whether to have Goodes or Pavlich in your team, well the answer may be none of them. They both fail to deliver a monster score too often.

Riewodlt – He’s a DT lock. My only concern about him, well 2 now is A – his minor injury he got during the game and B – the way St Kilda play doesn’t allow him to get a plethora of goals. Everyone will have him for his price but he didn’t score well on the weekend. Let’s just hope that’s because Harry Taylor is a superstar.

Yarran – My DT hate right now. I didn’t want to pick mid priced players but I read too much into it, people were picking him and I’ve seen footage of him playing when he first started last year or year before dominating from half back getting a lot of possessions. He just didn’t do this on Thursday night. If he has another poor game he’s done and dusted in the Sarge’s Heroes team (or awaits a downgrade later in the year)

Tapscott – Most people should have him. A monster of a lad with a deadly kick. Was great today in the game against Sydney.

Richardson – Yet another mature age rookie. Had a reasonable game tonight. Will play mainly as a bench player.

Petrie – He’s a guy that will play 20+ games for the year. At 200k you can’t go past him. Yes he’ll mis rounds 1 and 3 but get over that hurdle you save yourself a trade and have your 7th placed forward and backup ruckman when one of your rucks has a bye. I think this is a smart move given the deep benches this year but time will tell.

Matera – One of the GC prime basement price picks. Probably the best forward prospect for the price.

Darling – Huge boy was in everything tonight. Think he’s got a lot of footy in him.

That’s my Dream Team selections as my starting team. Noticeable absentees would be Swan and Harris. I plan to get them at a later stage, definitely Swan anyway. Some guys I tossed and turned about but didn’t end up getting were Higgins (over Foley) Dale Thomas (over K. Cornes) Pendlebury (over Bartel) Knights (over Yarran) Palmer (over Higgins/Foley) Pavlich (over Goodes/Sylvia) Sandilands (over Ryder) and probably a few more but I can’t find my other notepad where I wrote notes.

Overall I’m ok with what I have. I have $185k left i the bank so I’ve got a lot to work with. This year I think we’re going to see higher scores than ever given the amount of rookie priced players that will potentially play a lot of games.

How is your Dream Team shaping up for 2011?

1. Get yourself involved in a tipping comp. Better yet – join our tipping AFL tipping comp! If we get a certain amount of people signed up we’ll have a cash prize and it’s FREE to join!
2. Sign up to AFL Dream Team and follow the boys Dream Team Tips and desperate attempts to try and better each other. We’re still looking for a few more leagues to join so if you have a league that needs filling – let us know in the comments below!
3. Get involved in the $100 AFL Betting Challenge. Pop $100 into sportingbet read our $100 AFL Betting Challenge guidelines and see if you can take the crown and be the 2011 AFL Betting Challenge Champion!
4. Create a prediction post! Matty P posted an excellent example of a prediction post a few days ago. These sorts of posts are a must BEFORE the season begins so you can look back and gloat or deny you ever wrote it.
5. Have season-long wagers with your mates. Example – Matty P and Beno have a bet going for 2 cartons for person that finishes higher in our DT league. Matty P and Sarge have a bet where if Cats finish top 4 Sarge owes Matty P $20 and if Daisy Thomas makes top 10 in brownlow Matty P owes Sarge $20. We’ll have more of these up somewhere on the site as the season progresses.
6. Follow the Footy High boys on twitter and facebook and even YouTube!
7. Find a few stars to follow in the social media world. We’ve got a AFL in social media page in progress but we’ve set up lists on twitter where you can follow all the AFL players you barrack for on twitter.
8. Pick out what AFL TV Shows you want to watch in 2011. We’re hoping to also showcase some of the AFL shows and podcasts that are over the internet so stay tuned to our AFL on TV page for more of that!
9. Check regularly on footyhigh.com. It’s going to be a very exciting year!
10. Put on your team colours and CHEER!!

What do you do to prepare for the footy season?!

Enjoy the 2011 season. May your team have great success!

Most of the pointers from my post last year still apply, but the game as a whole has changed quite a bit with the introduction of GC, byes, more trades and more bench players, so I’ll tell you how I think these modifications will change the way the game is played. Obviously I’ve never seen the new rules in action, so it’s a bit of speculation on my part, but I have a track record of success – you can count on me.

Like last year, I’m not going to give advice on specific players, do your own research!

Nick Riewoldt

"Why didn't Beno pick me in his Dream Team again?"

OK, I’ll give advice on one player. The Saints skipper is a must have. He’s proven over the long term to be one of only two forwards who can average over 100 and he’s one of the most durable guys in the comp. Last year was a freak injury and he proved he’s still up to it by getting some big scores when he came back. Also, this season we’ve all seen his junk. Not sure if that’s a pro or a con for his Dream Team scores, but it is something.

Trading wins the game

Last year I stressed the importance of  being conservative when you’re trading and things are no different this year. The number of trades has increased from 20 to 24, but you’ve got to remember the season is also two weeks longer now. It’s 1 trade per week this year versus 0.91 previously – not a big difference, so don’t go crazy like you’re Vossy at the end of 2009.

A good way to control your trading is to have a plan for the guys you pick in your starting lineup. So decide now if that player will score enough points to be in your team for 24 weeks (I would say you’d want them to average at least 80 per week), and if they’re not, are they going increase in value enough so that you will be able to trade them to a player worthy of keeping in your team for the finals? If you can pick 12 keepers in your team at the start of the season, that only leaves you with 10 guys in the starting lineup you need to upgrade. If that’s the case you should have change from your 24 trades come round 20.

Don’t Let The Byes Get To You

This rule probably won’t apply if you’re trying to get the highest possible overall score, but for someone who’s just trying to win their league I think the best thing to do about the byes is just not worry about them (at least when you’re picking your initial squad). The  byes were always going to be a tricky issue for dream team, but I think the few changes they’ve made will make it easy to manage, we’ve got extra trades, an extended interchange bench and more dual position players so there should be plenty of cover.

Something Stupid

The big issue is the multi-bye rounds. In rounds 4, 5, 6, 16 and 19, three teams have the week off, which could decimate Dream Teams. Thankfully the wise heads in charge of the comp have declared no league games are to take place. Now thinking about this a strategy people might consider is loading up on players who feature in these multi-bye rounds twice (ie Lions, Swans, Dees, Dockers), but I think this could be problematic. Your priority when picking players has got to be picking the highest scorers and the best value – worrying about who’s playing when could cloud your judgement and you’ll end up doing something stupid (pictured, left).

Just follow the golden rules from last year – don’t load up on players from one team, and make sure your bench rookies are going to get games. This should let you see off the byes with no issues.

Don’t sacrifice quality for dual position

Last year I didn’t really consider a player’s DP status when picking them – there wasn’t too many of them going around and I backed the guys I was picking to stay injury free. This year we know everyone is going to miss at least two games, and there’s a few more DP guys floating around, so I think it’s a viable option to look at getting some links between positions.

I do think it could be a bit of a trap though. It’d be easy to try and force DP players into your squad at the cost of better options. If you’ve got a rookie and you’re not sure if he’s going to get games, then don’t pick him because of the extra position. He’s not going to cover anything with a zero next to his name.

Ignore my advice

Well don’t completely ignore my advice. But I should point out that there are exceptions to every rule (except the ‘get Nick Riewoldt’ one). There will always be certain players every team has or a certain trade everyone will be looking to make at the same time. What wins this game is the points of difference between teams. To really get ahead of the pack you have to take risks and make a couple of picks that differ from popular opinion. This is generally where I fall down. I always try and grab a couple of players from leftfield and it generally works out being a spectacular mistake (pictured, below).

To the other guys in my league, I hope you read this.. soak it in. I hope you can challenge me this year, I really do. If anyone else takes my advice and wins the car, you owe me a share. If you take my advice and fail miserably, then you obviously misread it. Happy Dream Teaming.

Mistake

Now to answer Sarge’s prediction that Sydney won’t make the 8, Sarge you need to learn a few more things about footy because you are way off the mark with those little boy comments, but i accept your challenge and i propose that when the Swans make the 8 at the end of the footy season that you pay the bill for my Sydney Swans membership for 2012 and that’s not all you must forego your cats membership for 2012 and be a Swans member that year and the same will go if they don’t make the 8 i will pay for your cats membership and i will also become a member, but I’m so confident that we will make the 8.

Outside of my team’s performance it was a cracker of a season. We saw the rise of Collingwood, the fall of Essendon, the continued middle-of-the-road blandness of the Kangaroos. Some young guns came through, and some old dogs went out. So many great moments, but I’ve boiled it down to a top five best moments, be warned there’s a bit a Brisbane slant:

5. Browny blowing Carlton away - To see the contrast between Carlton fans huffing and puffing about Fev before the game then crying about Browny tearing them a new one (again) in round 2 was beautiful. 21 touches, 12 marks and 7 goals. The man is a legend.

4. Melbourne Collingwood draw - I will always remember this game. One of the greats. Collingwood play an entertaining, free-running style of footy and they were so close to being beaten by a young Melbourne side at their own game. There’s no neutral supporter’s when Collingwood’s involved and this one was heart-breaking for 90%  of fans.

3. Goddard in the drawn grand final - Tough, gutsy and brutal, but also pure class in probably the most intense game I have ever seen. How he did not win Normie I have no idea. Not that I’m complaining – I made a pretty penny on Lenny.

2. Sydney getting their pants pulled down by Melbourne - I’m just happy I could be a part of this one. Could not have asked for a better game to sit by my good friend Beno. Watching Sydney suffer their biggest defeat under Paul Roos and Benson’s reaction was priceless.

1. Fev’s 4 second half goals to sink the Pies - Home and away games do not get better than this one. A packed house at the Gabba, our star recruit kicks a bunch of assy goals to steal victory from the bad guys, snapping a five game losing streak in the process. All I could think after this game was ‘this is why I love footy’.

The Dizzying Highs

On a personal level, 2010 has been a huge success for Matty P. Dream Team was a huge focus for us Footy High boys this year, although I’m not sure why. It was and always has been a foregone conclusion that I would be the premier. I paced myself in the lower half of the eight all season, just biding my time – building the ultimate team of Septemer (or August) specialists. The mighty Mashers pulled an Adelaide ’98 effort winning the flag from 5th, bundling Sarge’s zeros and Beno’s Wangstaz out of the finals in the process. How sweet it is.

But that’s not my only huge success. The final tally in the $100 betting challenge looks a little something like this:

Matty P – $195.41

Sarge – <$1

Beno – DNF

I am truly a legendary punter and I’m going to pull a Joe Namath and guarantee victory in this same contest next year.

The Crushing Lows

It wasn’t all roses though. If we look back in time my start of season predictions were not so super.

Premiers: WRONG

Brownlow: WRONG

Coleman: WRONG

Rising Star: WRONG

Norm Smith: WRONG

AA Captain: WRONG

Well if there’s one thing a Lions supporter has learned from 2010 is that you can’t win them all.

I’ll admit I have an asschin the footyhigh experiment, while a bunch of fun has been a bit inconsistent. I’ll make a few posts in the off-season, just to keep my fitness up, but next year it’ll be back and I promise better than ever. More impassioned opinions, biased rants, putting shit on Beno and most of all, more footy!

One of those winnable games is Saturday night against North. The Roos have at times looked pretty good this year, but other times they’ve been dismal, particularly against the Saints and last week at Freo. A huge factor in this game is the Roos coming off a six day break flying back from Perth – if Brisbane are around the mark at three quarter time, expect them to run away with it. Brownvola still looks a long way off fit, but 8 goals between them last week will boost their confidence, and I don’t think North have the defence to contain them. Look for them to dominate – I’m tipping 10 between them.

So with that in mind I’m placing the first of a few bets for the week on this game:

$10 on the Lions over North by 24+ @$2.65. Was tempted to go over 40, but that might be getting a bit carried away considering the month or so of footy we played preceeding the Collingwood game. If my team is to go anywhere this year then this is a must win game, and it should be a percentage booster.

$10 on Carlton over Dees by 1-39 @ $2.20. I like these odds. Carlton are looking good, and should get up over the Dees, but I don’t think they have the forward line to really kick away from Melbourne, whose defence has proven to be quality this season.

$5 on Collingwood over the Dogs by 1-24 @ $3.40. Collingwood tend to lift for big games, and I think they’ll be stung into action after a humiliating loss to the eventual premiers last week. Dogs were woeful last week, and seem to have some issues getting it together this season. The way they’re playing at the moment, I think they’ll struggle to crack top 4. Having said that, they are a decent side, and they shouldn’t let the Pies get away too much.

I also need to mention a bet made between me and Beno last week. These things need to be put in the public domain. On Saturday night, my dreamteam sat on about 1300 with 9 players left to play, Beno about 1100 with 11 to come. I made the call and the bet was on – the lower scoring coach would buy a couple of beers for the victor. I’m pleased to say it was not even close. My boys smacked Beno’s Gangstaz by 100+ points. I’m looking forward to a couple of domestic brews on Beno’s wallet this weekend.

The official match between Beno’s Gangstaz and Matty P’s Mashville Mashers takes place in round 12, and the smack talk has begun already. I’m quite confident the Gangstaz are going the way of the Swans and I will get over them easy.

Firstly the Lions got up over the Dogs. Our start to the season so far had been pretty good, 3 and zip before I left was impressive, and although we had not played anyone considered a real contender, we can only beat who we come up against. The Dogs game was our first real test, and getting up over them was surely going to shut the critics up. Surely we’re now considered top 4 chances. No! Because then we go and get pantsed by Melbourne! Bloody Melbourne! Another loss to the Swans last week and we’ve gone from being top 4 guns to middle of the road.

Sydney have apparently impressed – I do rate the Swans, although I do hate to admit it because it’s so much fun to rag on Beno and his team. After the expected loss to the Saints in the first week and a couple of ok wins, by round 3 I don’t think the majority of punters had changed their opinion that the Swans were probably not a top 8 side. Not so anymore. Although they’ll never be real contenders with the caveman Lewis Roberts-Thomson in their side.

When I left Hawthorn were looking good – 1-2 but with the narrow losses to the Cats and the Dogs I think everyone agreed they were back. Now I’m not fully caught up but I can only guess Buddy killed a hooker, injuries have forced Cyril to play in the ruck and Fat Hodge is back out to 150kg because it looks as though the wheels have completely fallen off.

I guess today’s lesson is don’t get complacent, and don’t go jumping off a bridge, because when it comes to footy, in three weeks it can all turn around.

The next order of business is to respond to Beno’s rubbish post he made while I was away.

I like this Beno – the only time you’re willing to lay down a challenge is when I’m on the other side of the world without a computer. Way to show your true colours.

For those unaware it’s true that Beno is on top of our dream team league, but it is only because of the grace of a good draw. He had the lowest against score of anyone in the league, and only sits atop me because in the first three weeks I have played 2 of the top 3 teams in our league (the third team is me).

So my ass-chinned friend, I will consider your bet, but only when it comes closer to the date. It would be ludicrous to commit so early. However, if you do have such faith in your team, why not agree to my ongoing offer to double our season long bet? The higher team end of season gets two cartons rather than one. Surely the top of the table Gangstarz are not threatened by the lowly Mashers?

Round 1 is done and dusted and footy proved to be well worth the wait, with the exception of Blues vs. Tiges (Seriously AFL, no one wants to see this shit, hide it away on Sunday afternoon sometime in the middle of the season, and kick things off with a grand final rematch!).

Other than that piece of poo, it was great to have footy back, particularly watching my boys roll the Weagles in the last quarter on Saturday. If there was any doubt Brownvola couldn’t work together pre-season, that surely that was extinguished. Not only did Browny kick 5, but Fev got 3.7… ten shots at goal is a super effort, and once he figures out where the Gabba sticks are, he will dominate.  Another highlight for the Lions was Brennan’s game. Two years ago this guy made the leap from inconsistent, flashy freak to class midfielder. He still does the crazy one handed pick ups, early leaps and occasional miracle goal, but now he does the meat and potatoes stuff too – tackles like a machine and extracts the ball from the middle as good as anyone. This year people are going to wake up and realise how good he is. More on this later.

The Dogs Pies game on Sunday was an absolute epic. Pies  have thrown down the gauntlet to the big three this year, convincingly beating a Dogs side that most footy fanatics reckon will go close to the flag this year. And the fact that the Saints and Cats were not so convincing against less than elite sides suggests that the top four will be hotly contested this year. Throw an improving Hawks and Lions into to race and you know it’s gonna be intense.

Living the Dream

Forget about this petty real football business, Dream Team also kicked off this week, and while there are no head to head match ups, it’s good to get a look at where all our starting squads are at. Surprisingly,  Sarge and his heroes lead the league, ahead of me by just 40 points. Obviously been taking my team selection advice. Beno’s dwindling a little. Not looking so hot for him, hanging back in 8th spot in our league of mates, parents and various AFL legends like Browny and Harley (Barry Hall is also in the league). While I did convince him to get Riewoldt into his team, despite his objections, he obviously hasn’t listened hard enough to the rest of my tips and his starting squad is not so hot. You’ll have to trade hard before round 4 to get the Gangstaz up to scratch, Beno.

$100 Betting Challenge

After what I’ve seen in round 1 I’ve decided to make two bets for the challenge. The first is a simple two game multi.

$6 on the Swans to beat the Crows/The Cats to beat the Hawks @ 3.65.

Sydney are underdogs against the Crows which suprises me. I didn’t see their game on Saturday night, but they ran the Saints right to the wire, which is no mean feat. As much as it pains me to say it Sydney aren’t too bad, and while I don’t think they will challenge for the eight, they will surprise teams throughout the year. I do think Adelaide are a better side, but they have been murdered by injuries at this early stage of the year, and they may have a few ins this week, it’s not enough to convince me they’ll turn around from a 9 goal loss to the Dockers.

The Cats started things a bit shaky, but in the last quarter on Friday, looked back at their dominant best. The Hawks are impossible to gauge at this point, because they just had a practice match on Saturday. I think they will improve on last year, but they aren’t as good as the cats.

The other bet’s a little more out of leftfield, and something of a slow burner:

$2 each way on Jared Brennan for the Brownlow @ $51.

I know this is a longshot, but as you can guess from my earlier ramblings, I rate the dude. I used to be a huge critic, but since 08, Brennan has been huge for us. He has the fitness to run all day in the middle, and because we’ve been bummed by injuries, he’s had to play in the ruck and he’s done a decent job for a guy who looks about as suited to rucking as Beno is suited to modelling. This year he’s freed up to play on the floor, and he’ll dominate the clearances. Come round 8 all the media folk will be talking about what a hell of a season he’s having. But you’ll all say you heard it hear first from Matty P.

High five for footy, babies!

The difference this year to the previous years? I’ve still got 50 days before I have to cement a team and I already feel I’ve got a good team together to dominate at least the likes of Matty P and Beno and hopefully win a car this year (or whatever they’re giving away, I don’t care I just want to cream the pants of those boys after all the smack talking)

Being the nice kinda guy I am I thought I’d list 3 ‘value’ picks I’m at least considering picking up this year. That’s right I’m pretty much giving away my most valuable picks this year to the world to see. These are not just any 3 value picks though. These are guys you may have overlooked because you’re too busy reading the stats and seeing a big fat 0 score next to their name from last year. These are guys that were injured or didn’t play last year that will more than likely be apart of the 2010 season.  By ‘value’ I mean cheap guys that are likely to score well, play some games and bump up their current price. These are good guys to put on your bench. So here it goes:

Josh Hunt (Geelong, Defender)

Josh is coming off a year holiday after suffering an ACL. His current price is only $161,100. He’s currently training and I’d expect him to play for sure considering the mighty cats have lost their greatest captain ever in Tom Harley. While not an overly great scorer in the past (I’m guessing he averaged about 60) he will surely add more buck if you bang him into your Dream Team this year.

Rick Ladson (Hawthorn, Defender)

Had a great 2008 season before busting his leg after the worst Grand Final in the history of our great game. Didn’t come back till later in 2009 and only played a handful of games. I’m not sure what sort of preseason he’s having but if he’s in any kind of form like he was in 2008 he’s a steal at $185,100.

Austin Wonaeamirri (Melbourne, Forward)

Another busted gun in 2009 but showed good signs in his debut year in 2008. Apparently hurt his hammie before Christmas last year but hopefully should be fit for round 1 and see some form in the NAB cup. A risk and definite for your bench but at $138,700 you’re in for some great value there if he strings together some games in succession.

Just to conclude, I’m NOT a pro Dream Team expert. I leave expert status to Matty P. You can take my advice as you will but I have done a little research over the last couple of weeks and feel these are genuinely good picks. There are other good picks I could have mentioned but I can’t give away all my secrets. I’m pumped for Dream Team this year. Even more pumped to see how I go against regional expert Matty P and just smash the pants off Beno. I’m putting effort into it this year. So watch the bloody hell out boys!!

What are some of your top value picks this year? Are you willing to share? Leave a comment!

(P.S. My tip – Beno will copy my ideas from this thread. There’s a good reason I didn’t put Henry Playfair in this post )