First Teams For AFL Round 1

The teams for the first game of the season have been announced:

RICHMOND
B: Newman, Moore, Edwards
HB: Farmer, McGuane, Thursfield
C: Martin, Deledio, Nason
HF: Hislop, Riewoldt, Tambling
F: Roberts, Morton, Nahas
FOLL: Simmonds, Jackson, Cotchin
I/C: Vickery, Cousins, Connors, Thompson
EM: Polo, Polak, White

Martin, Nason, Roberts and Connors have been named.

CARLTON
B: Thornton, Jamison, Joseph
HB: Russell, Waite, Bower
C: Houlihan, Murphy, Scotland
HF: Carrazzo, Henderson, Simpson
F: Betts, Kreuzer, O'hAilpin
FOLL: Warnock, Gibbs, McLean
I/C: Anderson, Robinson, Walker, Yarran
EM: Grigg, Jacobs, Lucas

Warnock named, Lucas is an emergency.

The Footy Show has announced extended teams for the other games. I don’t know where they are sourced from but it should give an indication of who (particularly rookies) will play in this most important of rounds. Full teams will be announced circa 5.00 PM AEDST all over the internet (Sportal for example). Fanfooty has predicted teams.

MELBOURNE
B: Warnock, Frawley, Bennell
HB: Macdonald, Rivers, McDonald
C: Dunn, Green, Grimes
HF: Bruce, Miller, Moloney
F: Bate, Martin, Petterd
FOLL: Jamar, Davey, Jones
I/C: Scully, McKenzie, Trengove, Spencer, Strauss, Bartram, Bail, Maric

Scully and Trengove named with Strauss on an extended bench.

HAWTHORN
B: Guerra, Gibson, Gilham
HB: Brown, Murphy, Birchall
C: Ellis, Lewis, Hodge
HF: Osbourne, Shoenmakers, Morton
F: Moss, Roughead, Hooper
FOLL: Renouf, Ladson, Mitchell
I/C: Duryea, Grimley, Lisle, Suckling, Stratton, Kayler-Thomson, Williams, Shiels, Whitecross, Peterson

Ten man bench has just about every player who isn't injured.

SYDNEY
B: Bevan, Richards, Roberts-Thomson
HB: Shaw, C.Bolton, Kennedy
C: Kennelly, Kirk, Mattner
HF: Rohan, Goodes, O’Keefe
F: Jetta, Bradshaw, J.Bolton
FOLL: Seaby, Jack, McVeigh
I/C: Mumford, Smith, Grundy, McGlynn, Moore, White, Hannebery, Malceski

Rohan and Jetta starting. Malceski on extended bench subject to fitness.

ST KILDA
B: Gilbert, Dawson, Baker
HB: Gram, Blake, Goddard
C: Peake, Hayes, Dal Santo
HF: Armitage, Riewoldt, Schneider
F: Milne, Koschitzke, Gardiner
FOLL: King, Montagna, Jones
I/C: McEvoy, Geary, Clarke, Heyne, Ray, Gwilt, Stanley, McQualter, Eddy, Pattison

McEvoy should get 2nd ruck spot. Peake starts.

PORT ADELAIDE
B: Surjan, Carlile, Salter
HB: Stewart, C.Cornes, Krakouer
C: Salopek, Boak, K.Cornes
HF: J.Westhoff, Schulz, Pearce
F: D.Motlop, Tredrea, Hitchcock
FOLL: Brogan, Cassisi, Gray
I/C: Banner, Davenport, Ebert, Harding, Lobbe, Moore, Nash, Stewart, Thomas

Hitchcock starts. Banner and Lobbe on an extended bench. No sign of Trengove.

NORTH MELBOURNE
B: Firrito, Thompson, Urquhart
HB: Hansen, Pratt, Wells
C: Wright, Swallow, Ziebell
HF: Campbell, Jones, Anthony
F: Thomas, Hale, Edwards
FOLL: McIntosh, Rawlings, Harvey
I/C: Adams, Ross, Grima, Smith, Tarrant, Goldstein, Bastinac, Warren

No sign of Cunnington. Bastinac on the extended bench with Warren.

BRISBANE
B: Drummond, Merrett, Patfull
HB: McGrath, Staker, Adcock
C: Johnstone, Power, Rich
HF: Sherman, Brown, Brennan
F: Buchanan, Fevola, Collier
FOLL: Clark, Black, Rischitelli
I/C: Proud, Austin, Banfield, Hawksley, Stiller, Leuenberger, Raines, Redden, Polkinghorne, Maguire

No sign of Rockliff. Surely he will make it, but TFS can't fit him on a 10 man bench. Maguire is on this bench with Raines.

WEST COAST
B: Mackenzie, Glass, Waters
HB: Nicoski, Brown, Hurn
C: Rosa, Kerr, A.Selwood
HF: Embley, Kennedy, Natanui
F: LeCras, Lynch, McKinley
FOLL: Cox, Priddis, Masten
I/C: S.Selwood, Ebert, Jones, Hansen, Spangher, Swift, Schofield, Dalziell, Butler

No Shuey. Swift, Dalziell and Ebert on the extended bench.

WESTERN BULLDOGS
B: Hargrave, Lake, Giansiracusa
HB: Morris, Williams, Gilbee
C: Higgins, Cross, Cooney
HF: Murphy, Hahn, Akermanis
F: Hill, Hall, Johnson
FOLL: Hudson, Boyd, Griffen
I/C: Grant, Ward, Addison, Roughead, Minson, Wood, Everitt, Harbrow, Picken, Moles

Moles on the 10 man bench.

COLLINGWOOD
B: Shaw, Prestigiacomo, Johnson
HB: Lockyer, Maxwell, O’Brien
C: Didak, Pendlebury, Davis
HF: Fraser, Cloke, Swan
F: D.Thomas, Anthony, Medhurst
FOLL: Jolly, O’Bree, Ball
I/C: McCarthy, Corrie, Brown, Beams, Cook, Macaffer, Sidebottom, Dawes, Wellingham, Toovey

10 man bench. No sign of Rusling.

FREMANTLE
B: Hayden, McPharlin, Dodd
HB: Mayne, Tarrant, Crowley
C: Headland, Suban, Ibbotson
HF: Duffield, McPhee, Schammer
F: Hill, Pavlich, Murphy
FOLL: Sandilands, Hasleby, Broughton
I/C: Johnson, Bradley, Clarke, Pearce, Van Berlo, Walters, Hinkley

Whoa! No Barlow? That has to be a mistake. Also no Morabito or Silvagni.

ADELAIDE
B: Johncock, Rutten, Doughty
HB: McLeod, Bock, Douglas
C: Reilly, Thompson, Edwards
HF: Dangerfield, Walker, Goodwin
F: Hentschel, Tippett, Porplyzia
FOLL: Griffin, Vince, Van Berlo
I/C: Cook, Maric, Mackay, Sloane, Petrenko, Stevens, Armstrong, Young

No Davis or McKernan. Young is some chance for the Otten role, but Stevens will probably take it.

I missed the teams for Geelong vs Essendon. Take these with a grain of salt (No Barlow, WTF!), but have a backup plan ready in the case of players who aren’t named.

AFL Dream Team 2010: Lock and Load

With only 2 days until the start of the 2010 AFL season, you should have your Dream Team locked in by now. If you haven't started your research, then you will be saying goodbye to Mr. Finals this year. Even so, The Rushed Behind is here to help, by giving you some lockable options in each position which most serious players will have.

Backs:

Luke Hodge ($366,800): Absolute gun and underpriced.

One of Josh Hunt ($164,100), Beau Waters ($152,800) or Tadgh Kennelly ($204,700): Quality improvers who will fill the 7th backline position (Waters or Hunt could be used on the bench if you feel rich).

Matt Maguire ($101,700):Solid bench cover who should play 22 games.

Mids:

One of Gary Ablett ($522,000), Dane Swan ($523,500) or Jimmy Bartel ($480,200): Lock in captain.

Dustin Martin ($149,500): Will play 22 and score highly. The Rich of 2010.

Michael Barlow ($105,800): Elevated off rookie list and will score highly, playing most if not all games.

Rucs:

Robbie Warnock ($101,800): Should play quite a bit as your 3rd ruck

A $77,800 Ruckman: None of them will play, but you won't need them to. Consider Lobbe at $94,500 for dual positioning if you have Tippett in your Fwds.

Fwds:

Daniel Giansiracusa ($378,500): Gun who is killing it in preseason and was down last year on historical numbers

Lance Franklin ($354,900): Suspended for round 1, but will improve back towards his 2008 form with more supply this year.

Tom Rockliff ($101,100): By far the best performing bench forward in the NAB Cup

To help pick your bench players, Dream Team Talk has put together a guide to rooks for round 1. As for the rest of the team, best of luck and may the Virtualsports servers hold up long enough that you can get in to fix your team during the partial lockout. There are still a few spots left in the Rushed Behind league, so enter the code 192161 if you want a challenge. If you don't know what Dream Team is, check out N00bteam.

AFL Dream Team NAB Cup Rd 2-Who is Running Hot?

The first half of the NAB Cup has been run and won, giving a good indicator of Dream Team potentials. Who has stood up?

Burning up like a space shuttle on re-entry:

Tom Rockliff (Bris FWD, $101,100): Second year player who played 1 game last year has scored 87 and 89 playing in the Lions midfield. Lock in the Rock.

Michael Barlow (Freo MID, $105,800): Mature age rookie recruited from the VFL. Has scored 94 and 96 and is an effective certainty to be promoted to the senior list.

Nick Natanui (WCE RUC, $232,400): Went from a player only any serious DTer should avoid to a 2nd ruck option with an eye catching 115 in his 1st game. Expect an average closer to the 66 he scored in the 2nd game with Cox in the side.

Nick Malceski (Syd DEF, $242,800): Returned to his '07 form with scores of 83 and 100. Definitely consider, depending on your team structure.

Justin Westhoff (Por FWD, $283,600): The one trick pony has added another to his bow, with strong scores (72,106) as an around the ground ruckman ala Mitch Clark. Watch further before even thinking about putting him in your team.

Mitchell Banner (Por MID, $94,500): Has shown himself to be a hard in-and-under midfielder who can push forward. Scored 87 and 82 to make a play for your midfield bench.

Hayden Ballantyne (Freo FWD, $232,800): After struggling to make a significant mark as a mature age recruit last year, Ballantyne has scored 79 and 97 this year and shown great improvement.

Jarrod Kayler-Thomson (Haw MID, $77,800): The mature age rookie scored 98 in the 2nd game, showing his potential. A spot in the Hawks midfield is far from secure however, so there are probably better options.

Matt Campbell (Nth FWD, $223,400): An ex-North Adelaide Rooster who was previously known as a small forward has pushed up the ground in the Aaron Davey mould this year, scoring 88 and 71.

Dustin Martin (Ric MID, $149,500): Looks like he is ready to step in and lead the Tigers midfield. Has scored 88 and 78. Just get him.

Daniel Connors (Ric MID, $156,000): Is playing the Joel Bowden DT-whore role at Richmond. Has scored 98 and 64. Definately consider as a near-rookie onfield.

Warm like a cup of coffee:

Matt Maguire (Bris DEF, $101,700): Priced like a rookie, he should be solid but not spectacular scoring. Scored 70 in his single NAB game so far.

Amon Buchanan (Bris FWD, $268,400): Has played as an in and under midfielder and produced solid numbers . Watch with interest.

Matthew Leuenberger (Bris RUC, $201,100): Will play as Mitch Clark's understudy after Jamie Charman suffered a major ankle injury. Only scored 49 in his sole game so far, but is capable of more, with the increased game time expected.

Eddie Betts (Car FWD, $274,300): Scored 110 in his sole game so far, could be on the verge of a breakout year without Fev taking his supply.

Robert Warnock (Car RUC, $101,800): Has played both games so far without getting injured. Has only scored 23 and 51, but any game Warnock gets to the end of is a good game.

Luke Ball (Col MID, $366,500): Showed what he could do this year with a score of 105 in the first game before being rested for the 2nd. Injuries are the worry here.

Heath Shaw (Col DEF, $365,400): Expect a more consistent year from Heath, with sides opting to tag Swan and Didak instead. Scored 109 and 64.

Brent Stanton (Ess MID, $443,600): Scored 130 in his sole game and may be able to improve again this year.

Courtenay Dempsey (Ess DEF, $266,000): Scored 105 in his sole game in the NAB, should be able to improve again on his average of 61 last year, but don't expect him to punch out 105s with regularity.

Mark McVeigh (Ess MID, $268,400): Showed that he still has good footy left in him and paid off the DT-hype with scores of 82 and 85. Strongly consider despite Rd 1 suspension.

David Hille (Ess RUC, $237,300): A definite option for your 2nd ruck proved his fitness by playing the 2nd NAB game. Scored 65, which is serviceable but this should improve with a bit of footy under his belt.

Clancee Pearce (Fre BAC, $246,600): Looks to be a DT-whore in the vein of Duffield or Broughton, scoring 97 and 88. Is on the rookie list without a rookie price and will have to fight for promotion.

Chris Mayne (Fre FWD, $220,800): Has been injury prone in the past, but showed his potential with a 94 following a 54 in the first game. Doesn't seem a natural DTer, as he needed 5 goals for his 94.

Corey Enright (Gee DEF, $394,300): Scored 121 and 106, making him the clear standout gun defender. However, this was helped by 2 Geelong losses giving him more ball to rebound. Can he keep it up in the real season?

James Podsiadly (Gee FWD, $77,800): Should make a nice cashcow, being penciled in as Geelong's 3rd tall forward. Scored 35 and 73.

James Hunt (Gee DEF, $164,100): Showed what he will deliver the tens of thousands of probable owners for this year, with a good score of 72 and a spud score of 35. Still, at least hes not injured.

Sam Mitchell (Haw MID, $449,200): Is raring to go this season, blasting out scores of 139 and 97.

Jack Grimes (Mel DEF, $392,300): A risky selection, with an already high price and an injury prone history. But Grimes showed why he is still being considered by the brave and the foolish with a score of 136 in the midfield following a limited first game of 48.

Tom Scully (Mel MID, $157,500): Written off before the season as a project player by many DTers, Scully scored 49 and 67 to outpoint Trengove and put his hand up for a spot in the side.

Ben Warren (Nor FWD, $234,800): Warren showed he has the potential to up his average, with scores of 72 and 67. This may not be enough to justify his inclusion.

Jay Schulz (Por FWD, $199,500): Another player who was destined for the Richmond scrapheap looks like reinventing himself at Port. Jay has scored 82 and 51 and looks like being given a solid run in the side.

Cameron Hitchcock (Por FWD, $97,800): A livewire small forward, Hitchcock scored 48 and 65. He is on the rookie list, but looks like being promoted and could be a solid bench player.

Ben McEvoy (StK RUC, $194,100): Scored 90 in the 2nd game after 44 in the first. Could squeeze his way into the Saints retirement home ruck setup.

Matthew O'Dwyer (Syd MID, $212,000): Has struggled to cement a spot in the senior side for the past 2 years. A score of 90 in the 2nd NAB game will help his chances following a 53 in the first.

Mark Seaby (Syd RUC, $226,700): Scored 46 and 79 leading the Swans rucks. Could be a solid 2nd ruck option, but TOG isn't certain yet.

Lewis Jetta (Syd MID, $105,500): A near certainty to play round 1, the quick half forward won't be a big DT scorer but could be a solid bench contributor. Scores of 56 and 60 underline this.

Chris Masten (WCE MID, $293,900): A ball winning midfielder entering his third year, Masten scored 93 and 74. However, he had enough stats to have made a lot more points. Nervous starter or poor DTer?

Luke Shuey (WCE MID, 94,500): Scores of 49 and 74 don't tell the full story for Shuey. He started as a substitute in the first game and had limited TOG in the second. This shows his DT potential, but also that he isn't certain of a game.

Daniel Giansiracusa (WBD FWD, $378,500): Gia is a player who seems to be able to pull DT points from nowhere. Even when you hardly see him for the game, he gets 80. So when he is in good form, scoring 85 and 118, you know you want him.

Brodie Moles (WBD MID, $83,800): A mature age rookie, Moles scored 42 and 75, showing he may be a handy option. His problem will be breaking off the rookie list and then into the powerful Bulldogs midfield.

Jordan Roughead (WBD RUC, $94,500): Roughead looks certain of the number 3 ruck at the doggies, scoring 54 and 45 to be a good option for your ruck bench

N00bTeam - AFL Dream Team 101

So you've never played Dream Team before, but your mates at school/work/family are always banging on about donuts and cash cows so you've decided to take up their challenge. What is this Dream Team stuff anyway?

The Very Basics

Dream Team is a game where you (the DT player) select a virtual team of 30 players. Each week you select 22 players from that 30 to score points based on their real life performances. These 30 players must be selected in positions (backs, midfielders, rucks and forwards) with each player having a defined position (or occasionally multiple positions, but we'll get to multipositioning later). The playing 22 will be 7 backs, 6 mids, 2 rucks and 7 forwards and there are 2 reserves in each position. Each player has a price which is based on their average point score from the previous year. The total price of all your 30 players must be below the salary cap of $7,962,500. Sounds simple, right?

Simple Strategy

You also get to select a captain who scores double points and a vice captain who fills the captain's role if your designated captain doesn't play. The easiest thing to do for captaincy is to just pick the player with the highest average. If you want to get more involved, read Calvin's Captains on DTTalk. There is no point spending much money on your reserve players. However, you will want a reserve in each of the main positions (back, mid, fwd) selected as an emergency who will cover any starting players who do not play. Unless one of your on-field players is injured, they will not be in your 22, scoring points. A general rule is to not pick anyone on the bench who is more than $150K. This allows you to spend more money on your point scoring players.

However, you do want your bench players to be playing in order to provide cover for injuries or to improve your trading prospects. Look at young players, especially high draft picks. A player who isn't playing cannot score you any points. Thus, make sure that the players you pick are (1) At least on the fringe of their team's best 22, (2) Not injured (3) Not suspended. You can substitute in a reserve if one of your players has a short term injury or suspension (or is just dropped, because they are shit), but if they are out for more than a few weeks you will need to trade them out.

Trading

Trading well is what separates great from good dream teamers. Sometimes you need to use a trade to replace an injured or non-selected player. But other times, trading can significantly improve your team. First rule of trading: Don't trade before the teams are announced. Teams for the coming weekend of matches are announced at around 5pm on every Thursday. It really screws your team if you trade a player in to cover an injury, and he is immediately dropped.

Player prices vary through the season based on their form.

A young player who started off as a cheap reserve who gets regular game time will increase in price. You can use this to your advantage by trading him out for a different cheap reserve who is yet to go up in price, netting you a cash profit. You can then spend this cash profit to upgrade a mid-range starter into a premium player who has had a few weeks out of form. Player prices change based on their last 3 (non-zero) scores. So when a rookie debuts, you have 2 weeks where he will remain at base price in which to determine whether he is good enough to trade in.

Initial Team Selection

Don't just pick a player because he is your favourite player or plays for a team you like. Every player you select should have the potential to be either (1) a "keeper" who you do not need to trade out at any stage and will knock out consistently high scores or (2) a "cash cow" who will increase significantly in price and be traded out during the season.

A simple way to determine whether a player is worth picking, is to use the "Raines Rule". With the RR you balance the possible risks inherent in picking the player (is he injury prone, old or on the fringe of his team's best side?) with the rewards (what type of average can he achieve if everything goes right, is he going to make a stack of money for you or be a keeper?). If a player is injury prone and on the fringes of his team's 22, with an average short of being a keeper then even if he is severely underpriced, he may not be worth it.

Even with your keepers, look for players who are going to improve their average. This means you will be buying them for less than they are worth, and consequently can have a better team.

This year, if players are selectable in multiple positions you can swap them between those positions if you have another dual position player who is in the other position. This can help you cover donuts or potentially improve your trading prospects. However, a spud who is dual positioned is still a spud. Only use dual positioning as the reason to pick a player when deciding between two otherwise equal options.

Terminology

DT=Dream Team

donut= a score of zero points

cash cow= a player who will go up significantly in price

spud= a dud player who will never score decent points

FF=fanfooty

SC=supercoach (the inferior version of DT)

gun= one of the top players in his position, a superstar of DT

keeper= one of the better players in his position, a player you would be happy to have from Rd1-Rd22

lock= a player who you are certain to have in your team (referring to preseason discussions)

on the bubble= a young player who has played 2 games and whose price will go up after he plays another game. If you want to get him in, do it now

junk time= the last few minutes of a game after the result is decided (a player who scores good DT points in this period is referred to as junking it up)

abc= Ablett, Bartel, Corey. Not in widespread use since Corey dropped his output, but these 3 were 3 of the biggest guns of the past few years

Leagues

If this is your first year, you probably won't beat the 200,000 or so likely players overall. But you can still win something by beating your mates in your league. You can have 3 leagues, which run in a head to head format, where each week (from Rd 4 to 18) you play against a different player. At the end of this, there will be a finals series in the same format as the actual AFL series for both the top 8 and bottom 8 (as separate competitions).

You can use the 'coaches box' chat to exchange jibes with your mates to psyche them out, or for general whining. There is nothing more dull than a quiet coaches box in a league. The Rushed Behind is running a league which is free to join for readers of this blog (or those invited by readers) with the code 192161. Enter this as the code when you join your second league. If you make your own league for your mates, then make sure they all get the code to enter.

Most Important Advice

Have fun!

AFL Dream Team 2010 is Now Open!

And only 52 days, 17 hours until the first lockout! Click here for the Dream Team site, where you can enter.

The Rushed Behind has a league so enter the code 192161 to compete with the best DT minds in the business. There have been some significant changes to the game this year. In no particular order they are:

-Multiposition players can be swapped between their positions (swap the B/M in your backs for the B/M in your mids)

-Partial lockout for round 1 and split round, where you can make changes after the first Thursday game to your selections who aren't involved in said game

-If you register your team before the NAB Cup, you will be able to see how your team performs in these trial games

-Trading via the watchlist (quicker trading)

-See who is online in your league (code 192161)

Unfortunately, the discounts (given to some players from the standard formula of Magic number*last year's average=price) seem entirely arbitrary.

Having a quick glance gives you examples which just don't add up.

For example, Brent Staker played 6 games at an average of 53.5. He doesn't get a discount.

Adam Cockie played 7 games at an average of 58.7. He gets a 10% discount.

Clinton Young played 5 games at an average of 65.8. He gets a 20% discount.

Danny Meyer played 3 games at an average of 49. He gets no discount.

Ryan Cook played 2 games at an average of 62. He gets a 30% discount.

Brodie Martin played 2 games at an average of 71.5. He gets a 40% discount.

Jaxson Barham played 6 games at 71.3. No discount here.

Shaun Burgoyne played 9 games at 79.6. 10% discount.

Finally, Graham Polak played 2 games after recovering from serious head injuries after being hit by a tram at 34. No discount.

I can only presume that Virtualsports have made an arbitrary decision about which players were out because of injury and who was out simply because they didn't get picked. Or maybe they've made decisions based on making the game 'even'. The only general rule I can determine is that if a player played more than 10 games, they definitely don't get a discount, but below this it is undeterminable.

And finally, Goddard is still eligible as a Back, but is now dual positioned as a Mid also. Thats handy.

AFL Dream Team 2010 From Left Field - Matthew Wright

Matthew (Matt) Wright is midfielder drafted from North Adelaide to the Crows. He should be listed as a dual position mid/fwd, though he is solely a midfielder. He is on Adelaide's rookie list, but this should not prove a barrier to selection, with both Otten and Martin likely to miss most of the year on the long term injury list, opening up places for rookie listed players. Wright is mature aged at 21 and a proven ballwinner at SANFL level. Chris Schmidt (2 games for Brisbane) is the obvious first choice from the rookie list, but has had an interrupted pre-season and is unlikely to play in the NAB so Wrighty should be the first cab off the ranks.

Wright was 3rd in the NAFC best and fairest last year, represented SA in the state competition and won North's best young player award. He unfortunately did his PCL late in the season for North, but this shouldn't have affected his preseason too much. He has a history of getting injured at the wrong time, most famously getting his skull cracked in by some party gatecrashers when he was first in line to be drafted a couple of years ago. Nothing special DTwise in there, so why would you pick him?

Last year in the SANFL, he averaged 93 DT points (96 if you ignore his 38 when he was playing injured in Rd 21). He is an inside midfielder who clocks up almost 3 tackles per game, has a positive k:h ratio (around 1.3) and gets near 2 frees for per game because he gets his head over the ball. He averaged 23 touches per game in the next best comp to the AFL last year and added a half dozen marks, despite his small stature. He only scored less than 70 twice in 17 games with 8 scores 100+. Matt also averaged .7 goals per game and will probably spend more time forward at AFL level.

Wrighty should be able to step in straight away and average 70-75. The only problem for Matt is that he needs to break into a Crows side that is historically reluctant to play youth. Take a punt if he gets gametime in the NAB or is named later in the year and you will have a unique pick that could make the difference.

AFL DT 2010 From Left Field - Phil Davis

As regular readers will know, I have been doing a series of posts profiling potential 2010 Dream Team recruits. Since Dream Team Talk launched their 52 players in 52 days preseason guide which will cover all the obvious picks, I will be moving to the left field selections, especially those I (as both an Adelaide fan and a North Adelaide Roosters fan) have inside knowledge about.

Phil Davis is a key defender. He can also be selected as a forward. He is not quite what you would call a left field selection for those who have done their research already. Before you run to the hills in fear of a 30 average, he is a creative type player, in the vein of S. Fisher or Bock. He can also play forward. Last year, he was knocking so hard on the door of the Crows defence that almost any other team in the league would have been playing him. But at Adelaide, he had three major roadblocks taking the key defence roles in Bock, Rutten and Otten (2nd in the rising star). However, for 2010 Otten is out with an ACL knee injury leaving a spot free for Davis.

There are two worries for Davis on getting his spot. Scott Stevens could be thrust back into the defence to plug the hole. This is unlikely in light of Davis' form over last year and Adelaide's need to find some key defenders to take over after Bock and Rutten. The other faint possibility is that Daniel Talia finds some excellent form over the NAB Cup and leapfrogs him. Again, considering what Davis showed last year this is unlikely.

Phil was a first round draft pick before last season, showing his potential. Playing in an Adelaide defence which likes to share the ball around, he should be capable of putting up similar numbers to Otten last year, probably averaging around 60. By the end of 2009, his SANFL coach Daniel Healy claimed he was 'the best tall defender in the competition' and was a regular emergency for the Adelaide side. He will be priced at regular draftee price in 2010, making him a lock for your defensive bench.

Edit: Looking at Phil's 2009 SANFL stats, he averaged 58 DT points, with 3 scores from 18 games over 70. He looks like a Scarlett type scorer who has occasional massive scores when he is let free, but cannot maintain these. He averaged 16 touches and 5 marks with a greater number of handballs than kicks. Or he could just be showing glimpses of his potential at this stage. He should get the ball shared to him more at AFL level due to the higher possession gamestyle of Adelaide. In any case, anyone who can consistently play as a DT back at base price is a solid pick.

AFL Dream Team 2010 Player Profile: Franklin, Lance "Buddy"

Vital Statistics:

Name: Lance "Buddy" Franklin

Team: Hawthorn

Age:23

Position: Fwd

2010 Price: $354,900

2009 Avg: 80.8 from 21 games

Historical Avgs: 96 from 22 in '08, 79 from 20 in '07, 57 from 14 in '06, 51 from 20 in '05

Pros:

-Was below par last year, with poor supply and weight issues detracting from his point scoring

-Has been rarely injured historically (playing more than 20 games in all but '06)

-Had a strong finish to the year with scores over 90 in 5 of his last 6 games

-Should improve back to somewhere near his '08 average of 96

-Is still young and scarily could still improve

Cons:

-Suspension carried over from last year means he will miss round 1

-Has had a few troubles with the tribunal in the past (3 visits in the past 2 years)

-Has Tom Boonen like off-field problems which may lead to a suspension (if the AFL has decent testing procedures)

-Gives away a lot of frees against (-3 points each)

Best Case Scenario: 21 games at 98

Worst Case Scenario: 18 games at 86

At a Glance: Dipped last year, should be back up again in 2010. Make sure you have playing cover for round 1

AFL Dream Team 2010 Player Profile: Dalziell, Bradd

Vital Statistics:

Name: Bradd Dalziell

Team: West Coast (traded from Brisbane)

Age:23

Position: Mid

2010 Price: $332,200

2009 Avg: 84.0 from 8 games

Historical Avgs: 95 from 7 in '08

Pros:

-Is an absolute ball magnet

-Good DTer, gets plenty of cheap uncontested marks

-Has been traded to West Coast and so can enjoy the wide open spaces of Subiaco Oval which suit his uncontested game

-Is still inexperienced and so has plenty of improvement in him

-Has one of the most inside players in the AFL (Kerr) taking the tags and feeding the ball out to him

-Has a 10% discount

Cons:

-Is possibly the most outside midfielder since Nathan Lonie

-Struggled to break back into the Brisbane side this year after a knee injury

-Has only played 15 games, yet is still priced at almost $400K

Best Case Scenario: 22 games at 102

Worst Case Scenario: 8 games at 90, West Coast realise that he is nothing but a stats whore

At a Glance: Superstar DTer, average player. Make sure his position in the side is secure during the NAB Cup.

Aside: I was going to do a rundown of the players involved in trade week and what it means for their DT scoring, but Dream Team Talk already has a full writeup so I'll just point you to them.

AFL Dream Team 2010 Player Profile: Andrew Mackie

Vital Statistics:

Name: Mackie, Andrew

Team: Geelong

Age:25

Position: Back

2010 Price: $365,100

2009 Avg: 83.1 from 21 games

Historical Avgs: 91 from 18 in '08, 83 from 21 in '07, 70 from 14 in '06, 59 from 7 in '05, 36 from 13 in '04

Pros:

-Was below par at the start of the year, sucking his season average down

-Averaged a gun (as a defender) 91 in '08

-Plays 3rd tall defender/general mid-sized defender and so can play freely

-Is only 25, so he should keep improving for a couple of years

-Gets more kicks than handballs and plenty of marks around the back

Cons:

-Has never played 22 games in a season, although has only been a regular for the past 3 years

-Historic backman averages suggest he doesn't have any more than 10 ppg of possible improvement

-If Harry Taylor gets dropped, then he might have to play 2nd key tall

Good Luck Result: 21 games at 94 ppg

Bad Luck Result: 16 games at 84 ppg

At a Glance: Good player who should improve on 2009 figures

AFL Dream Team 2010 Player Profile: Luke Hodge

Vital Statistics:

Name: Hodge, Luke

Team: Hawthorn

Age:25

Position: Back/Centre

2010 Price: $366,800

2009 Avg: 83.5 from 19 games

Historical Avgs: 97 in '08, 95 in '07, 90 in '06, 101 in '05, 74 in '04

Pros:

-Has averaged 90 or above for the past 4 seasons before '09

-Dropped his average in '09 due to an interrupted pre-season, in '10 he should be back to previous form

-Played all 22 games in '06 and '07 showing durability

-Has never played less than 15 games in a season

Cons:

-Has been tagged more in '09 so he may never get back up to his peak of over 100 ppg

Good Luck Result: 22 games at 98 ppg

Bad Luck Result: 18 games at 87 ppg, cops a heavy tag

At a Glance: A gun who historically should average at least 10 ppg more than his price

AFL Dream Team 2010 Player Profile: Tom Swift

Vital Statistics:

Name: Swift, Tom

Team: West Coast

Age:19

Position: Centre

2010 Price: $301,400

2009 Avg: 68.6 from 10 games

Historical Avgs: N/A

Pros:

-Averaged 95.6 over the last 5 games of '09

-Only 1 score below 85 in those 5 games

-Sucked his price down with 4 games under 45 in mid-season

-Has proven his ability to dominate a game in underage ranks

Cons:

-Has historically been injury prone, missed most of '07 and '08 with injury

-Could be dropped if he has a bad patch like in mid-season '09

Good Luck Result: 20 games at 95 ppg

Bad Luck Result: 4 games at 60 ppg, out with a season long injury

At a Glance: Potential gun worth the risk

AFL Dream Team 2010 Starts Now!

The regular season of Dream Team is finished for 2009. So what should you do with your miserable lives for the next seven months? You can play Finals Dream Team for the first of those, but a four week competition where your team will change completely every week cannot compete with a proper Dream Team. You could play a Dream Team for another sport such as A-League soccer (except that you have missed the first 5 rounds) or NBL basketball. But I have a better solution that your Dream Team will thank you for. Give your team a big pre-season.

Even if you are not a Dream Team fanatic, you should note down the players you think have finished well this year and should improve next year. Right now, they will be fresh in your mind and this can make the difference betwen picking a Higgins and a Skipworth next year.

A genuine Dream Teamer can take this to the next level by combining gut feel with proper statistics and the opinions of those who should know better. You cannot yet plan your whole team for next year, because the salary cap, magic number and rookie prices (as well as what rookies will be where) are still unknown. But this shouldn't stop you from putting together a shortlist of players to consider. Fanfooty has tried to put together a 2010 planner, which should give you an idea of whether your team will fit under the salary cap. You need to sign up for a free fanfooty asccount to do this. Look for gun players who have been below par this year in comparison to previous years or young players who will improve next year.

To help you do this, FFGenie will give you all the Dream Team stats you could possibly need from this year. It can be a bit overwhelming at first, but it is easy enough to use. Just remember, if you are a first time user you need to click on Update all Rounds and then save the file. You can filter the stats almost any way you want to try to find that improving gun.

For data before this year, there are two methods. You can look up the player in the 2009 AFL prospectus book which gives you the advantage of all the players stats, so you can tell if they are a good Dream Teamer (lots of marks and tackles as well as touches) or just a good player. If you don't have the prospectus then you can use fanfooty's player search option to get past stats. The Prospectus is recommended if you have it.

You should also keep an eye out for players other people are recommending, to atleast do a check on them and see if they might be worthy selections. Information is power in Dream Team, so keep your ear to the ground. Dream Team Talk will give regular pre-season updates and should be one of your main sources in-season for Chook's Rooks and Calvin's Captains. Fanfooty is another priority source, giving live scores during games, depth charts (once we get closer to the season) and their player stats records. The fanfooty blog can be useful, but its not as good as DTTalk. The Coaches Box is a regular in-season and irregular off-season Dream Team podcast. I will also be doing player profiles on smokies here through the off-season.

Now we come to the less reliable sources of information - forums. There are a few of note, where the unwashed masses meet to discuss their picks. Make sure you check up these players with your own research though, some people have been known to put false picks in an attempt to throw off the unwary. The biggest AFL forum in the world, BigFooty has a Dream Team section that is well patronised. There are also a few Dream Team specific forums that are worth checking out. Fanfooty has a forum, used by the type of obsessive Dream Teamers who watch their scores live. There is also a forum attached to Dream Team Talk although the comments pages for DTTalk posts generally act like a forum anywayand a specific Dreamteamforum.

This should be enough info for you to start planning your assault on the Dream Team Premiership in 2010, so get to it and stay tuned for player profiles here on the Rushed Behind.

Ross Lyon - Saint or AFL Dream Team Devil?

Dream Team (DT) gets serious this week, with the first week of finals kicking off. So Ross Lyon decides to "withdraw with injury" 5 of his players, 4 of which are critcial DT players for many coaches. Riewoldt, Goddard, Montagna and Hayes (as well as Baker, who is of no interest to DTers) have been left out of the side to face Hawthorn. They are all listed as "unsure of exact diagnosis or prognosis" on the prime DT injury source. The only silver lining is that my man Geary and 'possible cover if you had him at the start of the year and got too many injuries to cash cow him' Dawson come back. On the downside, Gilbert has been kept back becuase of this resting policy too. I'm betting the Ross Lyon is playing someone who has a ton of St Kilda players in his DT finals series. For disgraceful coaching like this, Ross Lyon goes onto the RB Shit List.

Then chuck in Chappy's hamstring, Ellis, Grimes left out so Melbourne don't win too many games with a "hip", Skipworth omitted, Dazzle, Sidebottom, Barham, Harding, Ballantyne suspended and doubts on Stevie J and Jolly and you've got the DT week from hell. I'm carrying 2 donuts, but I know of people who have 6 or 7.

Nathan Lovett-Murray (of little DT importance) is still playing, despite being charged by police for possessing ecstasy. Looks like the AFL have taken the Tom Boonen route on this one. But then its no surprise, with the soft drugs policy they have. The AFL are content to go Dodo, sticking their head in the sand about anything they don't want to know about. Like tanking. Several clubs are obviously tanking this year, with coaches selecting vastly weakened sides (and constantly leaving out Jack Grimes). The players would never play at less than 100%, but the coaches certainly would.

Australia held out for a draw in the 3rd Ashes test, with Brett Lee and Brad Haddin possible inclusions for the 4th game, starting tonight. Flitoff has fitness concerns, but he has before every game this series. He'll play. Haddin should be fit enough to takes the gloves from Manou (who just shaded Hilfenhaus with the bat in the last test, scoring 21 runs in 2 innings (1 not out) to Hilfy's 20. The Haus did only get one inning though) but Lee will probably be left out. Australia's bowling attack in general seems uncertain still, so your only cricket DT certainties for Aus are Hilfo and Johnno (Hilfenhaus and Johnson to any Poms reading). Stuart Broad's spot in the Pommy side is uncertain too, with Sidebottom brought into the squad. But really, cricket DT is simple compared to trying to dodge tanks in AFL DT.

Edit: Add Bock and Fisher to the list of outs and 2 more donuts makes 4 for the Rushed Behind.

Ashes Fantasy Cricket - How To Win

The key to victory in any Ashes fantasy cricket league is to have players from the team that wins. Particularly batsmen need to be from the winning team. Because the poms are cheats, you need some of their players, especially those who claim catches that aren't legit. Because catches are worth 12 points in cricket.com.au and 2 or 1 point for keepers in sbs.com.au. Can't beat that score! If you are in a comp that has a captain, put your kepper (Haddin, because Prior is shit) as your captain from the catch points. Also, don't pick Phil Hughes. He's been dropped! And Shane Whatswrongwithhimthistime has been brought in to replace him. He won't get through the first session. Thats what Australia gets for not bringing a backup batsman (even though Hughes doesn't deserve to be dropped).

Schumy is coming back! The Schuminator is replacing Massa after his injuries. Can he win the championship from here? I reckon Ferrari will suddenly become competive now that he's back.

Port suck! They lost the showdown by 70 points with all their downhill skiers going missing. They gave up more easily than Tom Boonen who left Le Tour early to get high. Speaking of getting high, Aussie pole vaulter Steve Hooker won the London GP recently.

The Specialist Fielder - Jared Petrenkalenko And Legend Matthew Hayden

The picture is worth 1000 words (or in this case, 46 if you count numbers as words).  I guess I brought this on myself with my close wins last week. My undefeated streak is over, with losses in 2 leagues and the eliminator. On the plus side, now atleast I won't waste trades to keep a strong eliminator team. Two Points! Two Points? I blame Happy Chappy for this loss, if he had atleast played and went off injured in the 1st 1/4 (after getting atleast a kick) I would have won. 

That brings me on to the second specialist fielder in history (not counting Cam White, who is a given)  - Jared "Petrenkalenko" Petrenko

How did he keep getting a game? (He has just been dropped in the latest teams to be announced) Jared has had less than 10 disposals for his past five games. Sure, his first 3 games were fairly good, with 15, 18 and 14 touches, but surely someone better could have taken his spot. 

Less than 10 touches for 5 games in a row - thats Specialist Fielder material and also earns him a spot in the Shit List. 

Now lets talk about someone who quite clearly isn't shit at all. If fact, Matthew Hayden is the second addition to the list of Rushed Behind Legends. 

Haydos has 546 runs at an average of 55 in 11 IPL games this year striking at above 140. He was the highest run scorer in the last T20 World Cup. Yet his hasn't been asked back for this year's comp. Instead Australia have opted for the dubious talents of Dave Warner, and the 'totally not an opener' options of Hopes, Watson, Clarke and Haddin (Phil Hughes was obviously deemed in too good form to be picked). The form Haydos is in, you'd consider him for the Ashes, even if he plays it like a T20 game. The only problem is that he has 'retired'. But, the retirement was forced by selcetors who would no longer pick him (unlike the Huss, who has stayed in the side despite a far worse run than Haydos ever had). Surely he could come back as a T20 specialist and pulverise attacks for another couple of years?

Geary You Legend!

Rushed Behind is adding a new sidebar, like the Shit List, but to recognise players who aren't shit. Like Jarryn Geary (well okay, his name is a bit shit) who single handedly saved my Dream Team from its first and second losses for the season (across 3 leagues and the eliminator). He and Travis Cloke (now added to the shit list for his long string of third rate performances across this season) needed to beat Pendlebury or Dal Santo and about 15ish points in 2 of my leagues in the last game of last round. Travis Cloke took the responsibility and got injured. Jarryn fired up for a 94 which gave me wins by 7 and 8 points to keep my record intact. He has also gone up $112,900 (even further than Luke Hodge (also added to the Shit List for consistant underperformance in DT) has gone down) and averaged more than 80 over the season so far. "The Vital Cog" is proving to be one of my most inspired selections (along with Otten and Krak-Whore). After Higgins ripped a hole in my side last week (assisted by Cloke and Hodge) I'm down to 1400th (exactly) but with those two Shit Listers out, I'm on the way up. If anyone has had 2 closer leagues (in 1 round) than 7 and 8, I'd like to hear about it!

Another Bargain Down With Injury

Bargain No. 2 for this year's Dream Team has gone down with injury, following Andrew Raines (who is back in the VFL this week). Hayden Skipworth, selected by 89,991 Dream Teamers (basically everyone except this guy) has done a hammy and will be out until atleast round 8. He has only gone up 54K so far, and your rookies haven't gone up enough to turn him into a premium yet. So hang on, and play Walker (if you have him) or Brown on the field. 

Now, about everybody's favourite Captain (except Calvin of DTTalk.com who recommended not to put him as C and got flamed down by irate commentors), Gablett! He knocked up 46 touches last week and 3 goals, but only netted himself 155 DT points. Thats some Daniel "No Marks" Kerr style "underpointing" (I know its not a word, but I reckon it should be). He was laughably "tagged" by a combination of Robert Shirley and Michael Doughty who both go onto The Rushed Behind Shit List for their efforts. 

Facts About Players Selected In Dream Team:

Shane Valenti of Melbourne is the least selected player in all of DT, with only 352 people selecting him. 

Surprisingly, Brent Moloney of Melbourne has only been selected by 672 people, despite him being actually playing and fairly good. 

Nick Fosdike, who retired before the season started has been selected by 2663 morons. 

However, thats nothing compared with the 4576 people who have Pat Garner (Bris) who was on the Rookie list to start with and did his 3rd ACL in the preseason. A special mention to the people who traded him in last week (his change in selections was +22 last week)

Of course, the gold in stupidity must go to the 7843 people who have Matt Egan, despite him probably never playing again and definately being out for the whole season. 

So it clearly takes a special kind of skill to finish in the bottom 1000 of Dream Team. Why not try it next year?

All Hodge's Base Are Belong To Malware!

I recently upgraded to the 21st century (not dialup) and somewhere during the process of getting a decent firewall, antivirus and anti-spyware combination, picked up some nasty malware. How does this affect my Dream Team? I hear you say. Well, if your computer is screwed, you can't get on the net to update your team or make trades. So shutup and let me continue my story... This particular program failed to show up in antiviral scans using both McAfee and AVG, and anti spyware scans with 3 different programs. So I had to get my hands dirty inside regedit and find the source (with a bit of help from your good friend the internet). Why am I telling you this? Becuase if you can't read my blog, theres no point in me writing it. So, for my sake, make sure you have the latest version of (Not internet explorer) your browser, and good quality firewalls (not windows firewall) , antiviral software and antispyware programs. Sermon ends.

Last week was a bumper week for Dream Team scoring, with my decision to keep the Blockmeister and Raines vindicated by a post-2100 score thanks to Chapman and Gablett (now that Nathan's retired, the G isn't really necessary) However, Hodge has still failed to click into gear (maybe he is infected too) , providing a microcosm of Hawthorn's overall performance. They do have some players out, but I think their performance is more that they simply weren't that good to begin with. The Cats were the best side for all of last year, except the one week that mattered (and when they lost to Collingwood).

That picture is copyright Me, 2009 :-) Hawthorn's cheer squad certainly know how to make a banner that breaks well.

Raines Limited to Malaysian Formula 1 Grand Prix

Its decision time on sideways dream team trades. Especially for those of you with either Rushed Behind bargain pick Andrew Raines, premium Nathan Bock or rookie Liam Anthony(grr...). Or heaps of other players such as removing Stephen Hill (averaged 69.3 points in 3 pre-season games and 25.5 in 2 games in the real stuff, you are going onto the shit list!) or getting Dan Rich or Mitch Robinson into your midfield. For my team, I'm taking a risk and using my trades in a more cash-productive way, keeping Raines and Bock as reserves and playing Suban and Petrenko on the field. Robinson and Zaharakis come onto the reserves for the not-playing Anthony (grrr.....) and Cook. Injury Update lists Raines as Rd 5 and Bock as Rd 4 although anything could happen with Bock. Despite this, Raines still managed to disrupt the Formula 1 race in Malaysia over the weekend, forcing an early halt to the race after he apparantly "bucketed down on the track". Dream Teamers should thank their lucky stars that he didn't get hit while he was on the track, because getting hit by a Formula 1 car is a long term injury. Still, while he was around, the racing was better. Hopefully, until he is ready to get back into the Richmond side, Raines can affect more Formula 1 races. I almost forgot what overtaking was until last week.

Many of you won't have the luxury of 2 playing backs though, (and I might not either, both Petrenko and Suban are on extended Benches this week, but both played last week) so here are some options for Raines (if you have Bock and really want to sideways trade a premium this early, you can pick your own):

Shannon Hurn (197,400):
Provided a stack of DT points last week, in a performance which should remind coaches what he can do. Has averaged 70 over the 2 games. Plays a 1/4 back role in the defence, pushing into the midfield and is a preferred ball user (meaning more kicks and cheap sideways handball recieves) for the Coasters.

Jarryn Geary (192,100):
Has averaged 65, playing mainly in the midfield or defence. I still like the look of him, if only his teammates did too. Main downside is limited TOG and he is a midget, so there shouldn't be too many marks.

If you don't like the look of either of those, you could take your pick of rookies Rance (86,600), Cheney (86,600) or Petrenko (86,600) . Broughton will play his first game for Freo (named in a back pocket) and is 75,300 for those of you who need a bit more money for another trade.

Edit: Nick Gill is named at CHF for the Crows. Gilly! Gilly! Gilly! The best player who can't kick (except maybe Richo) is back in the side!