THE MIGHTY Adelaide Crows are blessed with many relevant AFL Fantasy gems.

Rory Laird (DEF, $782,000) was the highest-averaging defender in the competition last season and is the hot favourite to retain his title once again.

In his first year at the club, Bryce Gibbs' (MID, $753,000) average dropped slightly from his time with Carlton. Despite this, he still managed to be one of the top three players at the club.

Young guns Darcy Fogarty (FWD, $305,000) and Lachlan Murphy (FWD, $358,000) were viable cash cows, making their owners some much-needed cash throughout the season. However, it was Tom Doedee (DEF, $526,000) who dominated across his 20 games as one of the best rookies of the year, rising $305,000 in value.

Who are the rookies to target, and which premiums and under-priced guns should you also have on your radar heading into the new year?

Matt Crouch's (MID, $761,000) Fantasy game shone once again after he averaged an impressive 104.9. This, however, includes an injury-affected score of 33, and without that he would have averaged 109.

This would have placed him in the top five averaging midfielders in the competition.

Matt's game gets better every year and in 2019 he has the ability to average 115+.

PAY UP Top-priced players revealed

After sitting out the entire season, Brad Crouch (MID, $524,000) is back training and has his sights set on playing in the JLT Community Series. "I've been doing a lot of work, including three running sessions and footy sessions a week," Crouch told AFC Media. "I'm doing about 80 per cent of the program at the moment and after Christmas I should be doing 100 per cent of the pre-season with the boys and building up to games."

Brad receives a 30 per cent discount and is now priced at an average of 72. Considering he has averaged 103 before and even went at 121 in the AFL Finals Series in 2017, Brad is shaping up as one of the biggest pre-season locks going around.

Also keep an eye on Brodie Smith (DEF, $439,000) as well. He returned from an ACL injury in rounds 20 and 21 last year for scores of 54 and 101. After also receiving a hefty discount, Smith is priced at an average of just 60 and is another name to monitor over the pre-season.

With only five dual-position players on their list, new recruit Ned Henry (MID/FWD, $240,000) might be a name worth noting.

He is a 174cm small forward who averaged the most tackles in the NAB AFL Under-18 Championships. Although we may not see him in round one, all those tackles will one day add up to plenty of +4s.

DOUBLE DELIGHT Check out the full DPP list

With two senior games next to his name from his time with Richmond, Tyson Stengle (FWD, $211,000) finds himself at a new home in South Australia.

He has played the majority of his football in the VFL where he averaged 64 and 69 over the past two seasons.

Stengle is a small forward and although he's most likely outside of Adelaide's best 22, he may get some opportunities to learn off the GOAT himself, Eddie Betts (FWD, $452,000).

Chayce Jones (MID, $254,000) possesses speed, skills and tackling pressure. He should see games early for the Crows and despite his inflated price, Jones is certainly an option after averaging 97 in the NAB AFL Under-18 Championships.

BIGGEST BARGAINS Check out Warnie's early picks

Before 2018, Rory Sloane (MID, $653,000) averaged 107 and 106 in back-to-back seasons. However, due to an injury-interrupted season, Sloane missed 13 games between rounds five and 13.

Sloane is great value because of this and is priced 17 points under what he is capable of.

After a lengthy stint on the sidelines, Sloane finally returned to football and scored 68. However, from that point on, he reminded the Fantasy community of what he was capable of averaging 99 in his past seven games.

Leading into round 10, Paul Seedsman (MID, $577,000) was on fire and a highly sought-after trade target in all Fantasy teams. Then something happened. Something terrible happened.

Did he have lunch with Zac Dawson or did he get a one-way ticket to Roy's Moron Mountain?

We are unsure. All we know is Seedsman lost his way and averaged 64 across the remaining 10 games.

To make matters worse, this former Fantasy defender is strictly a MID only. Sorry Paul but it's a 'pass' from me.

Player

Position

2018 Average

2018 Games

2019 Price

Laird, Rory

DEF

107.75

20

$782,000

Crouch, Matt

MID

104.89

18

$761,000

Gibbs, Bryce

MID

103.82

22

$753,000

Sloane, Rory

MID

89.92

12

$653,000

Greenwood, Hugh

MID

82.23

22

$597,000

Ellis-Yolmen, Cameron

MID

81.53

15

$592,000

Jacobs, Sam

RUC

81.45

22

$591,000

Lynch, Tom

FWD

79.82

17

$579,000

Atkins, Rory

MID

79.6

20

$578,000

Seedsman, Paul

MID

79.53

19

$577,000

Jenkins, Josh

FWD

77.36

22

$561,000

Milera, Wayne

DEF

75.26

19

$546,000

Douglas, Richard

MID/FWD

73.88

17

$536,000

Doedee, Tom

DEF

72.5

20

$526,000

Crouch, Brad

MID

0

0

$524,000

Mackay, David

DEF

64.12

17

$465,000

Kelly, Jake

DEF

64

19

$464,000

Knight, Riley

MID/FWD

67.63

8

$461,000

Otten, Andy

DEF

66.5

8

$454,000

Betts, Eddie

FWD

62.22

18

$452,000

Brown, Luke

DEF

61.9

20

$449,000

Walker, Taylor

FWD

61.86

14

$449,000

Smith, Brodie

DEF

77.5

2

$439,000

Talia, Daniel

DEF

57.61

18

$418,000

Gallucci, Jordan

FWD

55.13

16

$400,000

Hartigan, Kyle

DEF

49.69

13

$361,000

Keath, Alex

DEF

56.17

6

$359,000

Murphy, Lachlan

FWD

49.36

11

$358,000

Himmelberg, Elliott

FWD

65

1

$354,000

Poholke, Myles

FWD

48

9

$338,000

Fogarty, Darcy

FWD

42

10

$305,000

Wilson, Patrick

MID

51

1

$278,000

Jones, Chayce

MID

0

0

$254,000

McHenry, Ned

MID/FWD

0

0

$240,000

O'Brien, Reilly

RUC

0

0

$232,000

Hamill, William

DEF

0

0

$212,000

Stengle, Tyson

FWD

0

0

$211,000

McPherson, Andrew

DEF

0

0

$170,000

Sholl, Lachlan

DEF

0

0

$170,000

Butts, Jordon

DEF/FWD

0

0

$170,000

Davis, Ben

FWD

0

0

$170,000

McAdam, Shane

FWD

0

0

$170,000

Hunter, Paul

RUC

0

0

$170,000

Strachan, Kieran

RUC/FWD

0

0

$170,000

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