The biggest lock for the Magpies is... Dayne Beams [MID, $498,800]. Beamer ticks all boxes as far as I am concerned and he will be one of my first selected players. In 2012 he became one of the elite AFL Fantasy players of the competition, racking up possessions at will and averaging 116 Fantasy points for the season.
Injury restricted Beams to just seven games in 2014 and his average dropped to 101. Due to his lack of appearances, he has received a discount which effectively has him priced at a 91-point average, making him an absolute steal.
Some bargains on the radar include... Although it sounds ridiculous, Dane Swan [MID, $636,600] is actually under-priced despite his huge asking price. After pumping out than 120 points in 11 games last year and averaging an elite 117 Fantasy points, it is hard to imagine how he dropped 16 points per game from the massive 134 he averaged in 2012.more
Last year Swanny was carrying a wrist injury which he has had successful surgery to repair in the off-season. He is looking really fit due to a strenuous running program that has made up the majority of his pre-season due to the restrictions with his wrist rehabilitation.
In his first NAB Challenge hit-out for the year, Swanny took it easy with 25 touches and 80 points from 73 per cent game time.
Clinton Young [MID, $218,300] provides great value for a player of his experience. Three times in his career Young has averaged more than 80 points per game and after injury ruined his 2013 season, he will be looking to repay the faith shown by the Magpies’ recruiting staff at the end of 2012. He has made solid contributions in the first two NAB Challenge games with 35 Fantasy points from 32 per cent game time and 60 Fantasy points from 73 per cent game time.
Alex Fasolo [FWD, $208,400] Is certainly well priced based in his 2012 average of 73 Fantasy points, but after watching him in his first NAB Challenge game where he scored 41 points from 72 per cent game time, he may have some work to do in the VFL before working his way back into the best 22. He may provide us with a handy downgrade during the season.
A player of difference is... new captain Scott Pendlebury [MID, $611,200] is a Fantasy machine whose consistency and durability place him in the truly elite category. Over the past three years Pendles has missed only four games and averaged 117, 110 and 112, and despite these numbers he has been overshadowed by the value seen in Beams and Swan.
His NAB Challenge form has been good with 98 Fantasy points and a team-best 104.
The pre-season has taught us... that Steele Sidebottom [MID, $523,000] often floats under the radar and has the potential to be one of the games elite scorers. In his first NAB Challenge hit-out for 2014, Steele put on a show with 25 touches, a goal and an impressive eight tackles to lead the way for the Pies with 117 AFL Fantasy points.
We have learned that youngster Jamie Elliott [FWD, $366,300] is ready to take his game to the next level. In the first NAB Challenge game he laid a whopping nine tackles and collected 17 touches for 100 points and backed that up in the second game with 18 touches and 85 points to be the third best scorer for the Pies in that game.
Twitter talk
Twitter question from @lukeharback: “@RoyDT: Should we consider Taylor Adams?”... If you are after a unique selection, I really like Adams. In his past two games of 2013 he was on fire with 111 and 101 Fantasy points to finish the season with an average of 82. If his opening NAB Challenge game is anything to go by, he will improve significantly on that average after scoring 116 from just 65 per cent game time, collecting a massive 31 touches in that time.
Coach Roy currently has his eye on.... Beams is locked in and going nowhere. I always like to start the season with one of the true Fantasy superstars and at this stage Dane Swan holds that spot for me as my walk-up captain. I like the experienced Clinton Young sitting on my MID bench, but the fitness of Alex Fasolo has me questioning how long he will last in my forward squad. Also, after hearing Maxy and Swanny speak so highly of Jamie Elliot and watching him play the first two NAB Challenge games, he has certainly been added to my watch list.
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