A couple of questions come to mind in regards to the upcoming season at Nth Melbourne. Will new coach & former Lions niggler, Brad Scott, continue a trend of good back line players becoming great coaches?
And, secondly, can the Kangaroos keep their best 22 on the field with the likes of Daniel Wells, Jack Ziebell & Brent Harvey all looking for big seasons?
Andrew Swallow had a steller 2009 and I'm sure it will continue for 2010
The Kangaroos have the =4th easiest draw (0.478) in 2010 playing St Kilda & Western Bulldogs twice out of the top 8 finalists. That’s already a 2 loss saving on last season.
The Kangaroos list averages 958 points at a cost of around $292,000 per player.
Best Buys
Andrew Swallow (midfield) $394,700 – Swallow was a surprise in 2009 averaging 89.8 with career highs of 33 disposals & 21 kicks .vs. St Kilda in round 21, 14 tackles .vs. Brisbane in round 10 & 3 goals .vs. Richmond in round 5.
But not surprising is Swallow ranked 4th in tackles & tackles per game. With tackles being worth more than kicks, Swallow is a great asset as an estimated $4,500 bargain.
Leigh Harding (midfield) $355,400 – Harding averaged 80.8 in 2009with career highs of 28 disposals, 20 kicks & 12 marks .vs. Melbourne in round 1 & 14 handballs .vs. Geelong.
More noted as a forward, a midfield goalkicker may be of some advantage with the likes of Wells & Ziebell returning with an estimated $2,600 discount.
Brady Rawlings (midfield) $343,200 – I snuck Rawlings into the team so far before his NAB Cup performance .vs. Geelong & I’m sure many more will follow suit.
Rawlings averaged 78.1 in 2009 & racked up 30 or more disposals 3 times in 2009 with equal career highs of 35 disposals .vs. Hawthorn in round 3 & 8 tackles .vs. Essendon in round 4.
Rawlings wouldn’t be your worse move making him captain with an estimated $3,900 discount.
Gavin Urquhart (defence) $294,600 – Urquart is the Kangaroos best deal in defence averaging 67.1 in 2009.
With career highs of 28 disposals .vs. Collingwood in round 6, 19 kicks & 10 marks .vs. Richmond in round 5, 13 handballs .vs. St Kilda & 6 tackles .vs. Hawthorn, all in losing teams, Urquhart tries hard with an estimated $21,000 discount.
David Hale (forward) $235,900 – Hale averaged 53.7 in 2009 playing both up forward & in the ruck. Hale had a career high 11 marks .vs. Essendon in round 4 & can trouble defences who are stretched for talls.
Hale is an estimated $6,600 discount & could be a cheap & sneaky option if he’s on song.
Risky Best Buys
Corey Jones (forward) $300,100 – It was hard to say whether Jones was hampered by injury, poor form or both in 2009 averaging 68.3 from 10 games.
It wasn’t a good year statistically, but fit forwards, especially for the struggling Kangaroos, are better than injured ones & Drew Petrie is out for 2 weeks.
He could be worth a look with an estimated $6,100 discount.
Cruize Garlett (midfield) $245,200 – An obvious choice of name of the year, Garlett averaged 55.8 from 5 games with his best being 28 disposals14 handballs & 6 marks .vs. Port Adelaide in round 22.
Garlett ranks 5th in tackles per game amongst the rising stars, so why not grab a cheap star with an estimated $2,800 discount.
Matt Campbell (forward) $223,400 – Campbell averaged 50.8 from 12 games in 2009.
As a small crumbing forward, Campbell also has a good inside 50 rate & his 7-2 free kick count & 37 tackles can show he mixes it up well.
With an estimated $2,500 discount, watch the selection table in round 1.
Todd Goldstein (ruck) $221,100 – Former coach Dean Laidley had a knack of playing 2 or 3 talls in a game, but what will Brad Scott do?
Goldstein averaged 50.3 from 13 games with his best being 16 disposals, 9 handballs, 7 marks, 5 goals & 25 hitouts .vs. Melbourne in round 19.
Goldstein was ranked 2nd in hitouts & 3rd in hitouts per game amongst the rising stars & could be picked ahead of David Hale. There’s a massive estimated $30,000 discount carrot if you take the gamble.
Sam Wright (forward) $198,800 – There’s not much known about Wright, who averaged 45.2 in 4 games.
Wright appears to be a tall marking option who can take a grab, but his kicking for goal is a little inaccurate. But, his goal contribution is good with an estimated $27,000 discount.
Nth Melbourne Top 10 2009
- Hamish McIntosh (ruck) $396,300
- Andrew Swallow (midfield) $394,700
- Drew Petrie (forward) $381,700
- Scott McMahon (defence) $320,800
- Michael Firrito (defence) $314,400
- Brady Rawlings (midfield) $343,200
- Leigh Harding (midfield) $355,400
- Scott Thompson (defence) $278,600
- Brent Harvey (forward) $388,900
- Gavin Urquhart (defence) $294,600
Your Feedback
Will you be having any North Melbourne players in your Dreamteam this year? While Dean Laidley was known for ruining Dreamteamers, will Brad Scott be different with players like Wells allowed to play on the outside and Ziebell & Anthony looking like ball magnets.
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February 22nd, 2010 at 2:42 pm
What about Ben Warren? Only $234,800 and he kicked 4 goals on the weekend along with 6 kicks, 5 marks and two tackles for a score of 72.
Robbie Tarrent may be another cash cow, wont average many Dreamteam points but I think he will play 10+ games this year. I also think Todd Goldstein will get more of a game than David Hale.
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February 22nd, 2010 at 4:10 pm
Warren looks as though he’s been put in a category that the DT price experts have put players around him Dawes, Gamble & Young. They don’t think he’ll get much game time, weird as it sounds.
Snap him up, but beware that the “scouts” know 90% of what we don’t know.
Tarrant’s had 4 shoulder reconstructions. Could he be another Rusling??
craig eyles´s last blog ..The "Tip Off" For Race Picks
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February 23rd, 2010 at 8:51 am
Yeah I may stick with him for the time being, if he averages 60-70 every game, I think he will be worth it. Is there anyone else around the same price that would be better?
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February 25th, 2010 at 1:38 pm
What do you think of Lions James Polkinghorne or Swans Jarred Moore?? Both look like winners on the cheap.
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