Down to business though and this week is all about the Michael Barlow injury. It was terrible luck for him because he’s had an amazing season thus far and was pretty high in the Brownlow reckoning. The good news for the 150,000+ of us who do have him is that he’s jumped almost $350,000 in value, so a straight trade to another gun is quite easy.
The tough question is, which gun?
I still haven’t made my mind up, but I’ll run through the options, in order, as I see them.
Paul Chapman, $459,600, ave. 118 - the value pick for mine, although I can’t pull the trigger on this trade as I’ve already got Chappy! His hamstrings have been an issue in the past, but he’s only missed one game this year and has been super consistent, with a lowest score of 99. He’s a kick first player who likes to get forward for a couple of goals - ideal for Dream Team scoring.
Gary Ablett, $456,900, ave. 122 - for a lazy $2,300 you can upgrade to arguably the best player in the game - that is of course, if you don’t already have him! He’s not quite producing the 150s he was early in the year but he’s close to a lock for a hundred each week. The safe option.
Dane Swan, $512,100, ave. 121 - if you can afford him and you don’t already have him in your side, he’s a no brainer. Coming off the back of a 161 last week and a 150 in Round 12, it’s not hard to see why 30% of Dream Teams nationally have selected him.
Leigh Montagna, $459,500, ave. 115 - the Saints have been in red-hot form and it’s no surprise Montagna’s form line has followed suit with four scores above 125 in the past five weeks.
Matthew Boyd, $450,300, ave. 112 - Boyd is the unique pick of the bunch. By that I mean he’s only selected by 7% of teams nationally, where the other options are selected by a lot more teams. He’s hit the hundred mark each week for the past four and is a very reliable option in the midfield.
Jimmy Bartel, $437,300, ave. 109 - Jimmy has been a Dream Team lock for the past few years. You know what you’re going to get week in, week out and if it’s a wet round, Bartel excels so is often a good Captain choice.
Brent Stanton, $359,700, ave. 101 - this is for the risk takers among you. His form has been a bit average of late, but he’s proven he can rack them up when he’s on song. The beauty of going for Stanton is that you save yourself nearly $100,000, which can then be used elsewhere to upgrade another player. If you’ve got cover in the midfield, you could even wait a week and wait for his price to fall again. Three 70s in a row isn’t inspiring, but it may be a risk worth taking.
Beyond those listed above, there are a myriad of players averaging around the hundred mark that may be worth a punt - Kade Simpson, Lenny Hayes, Chris Judd, Nick Dal Santo, Scott Pendlebury, Joel Corey, Daniel Cross, Bryce Gibbs and of course my teammate, Kane Cornes. All good options in their own right, but the ones I’ve given a more in depth look at, I think are the better options.
Congratulations to Troy Harris whose team Shattered Dreams topped the charts in the Official Pizza Hut Power Dream Team Group this week with a big score of 2,436. Troy will get to enjoy a week’s worth of free pizza thanks to Pizza Hut!
Top 10 in the Official Pizza Hut Power Dream Team Group after Round 14:
1. REDRAT FC - jamie ainsworth: 30,400
2. Strong Scotch - steven brown: 30,176
3. 30 Zingers - Craig Bates: 30,111
4. Rated R Superstars - Pat P P.A.T: 30,046
5. Shattered Dreams - Troy Harris: 29,866
6. The Lovecats - Daniel Weston: 29,855
7. cam200000 - cameron Nagel: 29,829
8. Chrispy's Unit - Chris Pitt: 29,797
9. Port Adelaide - Barnesy: 29,751
10. Hoo Roosters - Greg Evangelou: 29,726
