Want a key forward - or a few? The Doc tells how. Want the best captain tip of the season so far? Read on... Email all questions to drdreamteam@afl.com.au, and please include trade and bank information.

G'day Doc. The split round this week is threatening my squad, because nearly half my starting 22 are playing next week. What can I do to minimise the damage? - Rick (10 trades left, $55k in bank)

Rick, everybody is going to take some pain on this one. With every split round will come a late withdrawal or two, or a mid-week injury that leaves you screaming with frustration. If it doesn't get you this year, it'll happen another time. What goes around comes around in the Dream Team universe.

But you can take care to lessen the blow:

- Consider making your captain a gun player who's fronting up this weekend. Less chance for a disastrous zero. However I know that some brilliant DT coaches (including one current top-15 coach) are Cats captain only, meaning Ablett, Bartel or Chapman get the gig. If that's your style then run with it, but make sure your vice captain plays this week.

- When considering fringe players from Collingwood, Geelong, Adelaide or Sydney, err on the side of caution. If they don't play, what happens? Do you have a fill-in? If not, be prepared to cop a zero - that's what happens when you have fringe players, and it's another reason to upgrade them to guns at this end of the year.

- It's also worth factoring a week off when considering injuries. Josh Fraser, Matthew Stokes, Leon Davis and Matthew Scarlett are all good chances to return. And Adam Goodes is suspended and will not play, while Andrew MacLeod will miss with a knee injury.

Hi Doctor, my forward line needs a big gun to come in. Or two. Any suggestions?  – Jon (9 trades left, $85k in bank)

Jonny, you're in luck. Several of the gun forwards have had dud games lately and will consequently plummet in price very soon. If you want to improve your forward line in two or three swoops, you've picked a good time to do it.

The obvious first choice is Buddy Franklin. His stunning run of form has ended with a paltry 49 on the weekend against the Kangaroos. However he still had seven shots on goal - he's averaging eight per game - and is definitely worth getting. Buddy is the most popular Dream Team player in the league but he's still in only one in every two teams. If he goes berserk and you don't have him, you're going to struggle to win that week. Be warned.

Wait a week since his current price ($385k) will fall dramatically very soon as that poor score takes effect. (Prices are calculated using a three-week cycle of scores.)

The others you should look at are Alan Didak and Jason Akermanis. Didak ($372k) will be cheap for another week after a paltry 44 in round 12, while Aker suffered against the Pies and scored just 56. His price ($409k) is sky-high and will shatter over the next two weeks unless he comes up with record-beating scores.

And just quickly - this tactic is not just good for forwards. Keep note of which gun players have a bad week - and they all have one or two across a season. (Even Ablett scored 76 in round six). Keep an eye out and watch for prices to fall. You'll pick up a gun and save a spare $50k or $100k for other similar upgrades that allow you to build a squad of 22 guns.

Who is a good captain bet this week?

Here we go:

- The Cats - Crows match promises to be a shoot-out between two of the greatest DT scorers going around at the moment. From Adelaide Scott Thompson doesn't look too solid, he scored just 59 last week and there's no easy ball when you're playing Geelong.

- Ablett has to be considered for captain duties, but he averages a very-low 60 against the Crows over his career. He did average 87 against them in two games last year - but that's not great by this year's standards. Jimmy Bartel is a more tempting alternative - he scored a monster 160 against the Crows last year and if you don't have him, he's relatively cheap right now.

- Jonathan Brown is very good against the Demons. He scored 128 against them last year in full flight - he also scored a paltry 59 earlier this year but that was on one leg. He's fully fit and firing, so is a good choice.

- Rather than Brown a funkier Lion captain could be Jared Brennan - hang on, hang on, let me finish. He scored 138 last week roaming through the midfield - words that should make any serious DT coach lick their lips, and against Melbourne at the wide-open MCG there could be more easy kicks on the way. No-one will take the punt but don't say I didn't warn you.

- Franklin will come up against Darren Glass tonight and as such is probably worth the risk. Buddy has a new-found competitive edge this year that will force him to bounce back after scoring 49 last week.

- After a monster 152 last week you'd think Nick Riewoldt would be a good pick since he's playing the Roos, who struggle for tall defenders. But it's not a certain bet - Riewoldt has topped 90 just once in eight career matches against North Melbourne. The match is on the Gold Coast so if you reckon he'll pull out a whopper to wow the family, then get on him. But I'm not recommending it.

- The Eagles midfield is not winning many possies this season and Sam Mitchell burst back into form with 141 last week. Good pick.

- Here's a reward for those who've kept reading. Make Pavlich your captain. He's scored 100+ in eight of his last 10 matches against Essendon. Last year I won a DT match I shouldn't have because he scored a whopping 168 as my captain. Please, please, make him your skipper this week.

Doc, Joel Bowden scored a massive 180 last week, but I know he was dropped for bad form earlier this year. I need to swap Chad Cornes - is Bowden a viable option? - Ted (7 trades left, $48k in bank)

Wouldn't be my first choice, Ted. I'm pretty sure his 180 was the highest so far this season, but look a bit closer and his recent form isn't stunning. He scored a pathetic 43 the week before - against Melbourne - and has only one other score above 90 for the season.

Instead I'd go with Nathan Bock, Heath Shaw, Chris Newman or Joel MacDonald. They're all decent scorers - ignore MacDonald's 56 last week - and they're all cheap. And they're far more reliable than Bowden.