This might be the first year you have decided to create an AFL Dream Team for 2008 and you don’t have much idea about what you are doing.

Never fear, the DT Talk boys are here and want to cater for the ‘rookie’ coaches trying to find their way around this crazy little DT world. Click more for some helpful advice, tips, strategy and rules for this years Dream Team.

Your Squad
You need to select 30 players over 4 different positions; 9 backs, 8 centres, 4 rucks and 9 forwards. Each weekend you must select 22 players to play in your Dream Team (7 backs, 6 centres, 2 rucks and 7 forwards). With the players on your bench, you can select 3 emergencies. Make sure you do this, especially if there are late withdrawals from the original line-up.

Scoring
Each player scores Dream Team points from ‘things’ they do on the ground as recorded by Champion Data. Try to get players that score a heap of the high scoring stats. The point scoring system is below:

• kicks 3 pts
• handball: 2 pts
• mark: 3 pts
• tackle: 4pts
• free kick for: 1 pt
• free kick against: -3 pts
• hitout: 1 pt
• goal: 6pts
• behind: 1pt

Selecting Your Team
You are given a salary cap of $7,431,000 to select your squad from. Players prices range from $496,800 (Jimmy Bartel averaged 114.4 pts in 2007) down to $72,600 (rookie listed players). It is your task to try and pick the best list with this cash. Most people try to have a range of players - a few expensive, a few mid-priced and a few cheap players. Aim on getting guys that (a) play, and (b) will hold or go up in value. Try to have all 30 players playing round one. Are there some rookies/cheap players that played well in pre-season matches? Get them in! Do your research, there are some great ‘cash cows’ out there who are almost certain to go up in value. Your bench shouldn’t be worth too much. ie. Don’t have a $150,000+ player riding the pine!

Researching
Follow pre-season form. Look at websites like DT Talk and FanFooty offering stats and advice. Know if your players are playing each week and if there are any injuries or suspensions hanging over their heads. So read the AFL website, club websites, the Herald Sun, The Age, Injury Updates, podcasts and any other ‘reliable’ news site or blog. Take what you hear on forums with a grain of salt, however, these can be great places to sound out ideas you have! Especially the DT Talk Forums!! The links on the sidebar of the DT Talk blog are the sites we frequently visit.

Captains
A big decision to make each week is who your captain will be for your side. Your aim here is to pick your highest scorer of the week to get you double points. This year, there are vice-captains in the event that your selected captain doesn’t play for some reason. The best bet here is to go for the player who averages the most points per game. Some players could do well against certain teams. Check www.dreamteamtalk.com each week for Calvin’s Captains where he will help you select the best captain for that week!

Trading
You are allowed 20 trades over the year, but you can only use 2 trades each week… but do the maths, 2 trades every week from round one will only get you half way through the season. Use them wisely. One of your guns might go down with a season ending injury, so it would be wise to trade them out ASAP. A smart way to trade is by ‘upgrading’ a player. For example, a rookie has gone up $100,000 in value but he’s sitting on your bench not scoring you points because he’s not in your best 22. What you should do is a ‘double trade’ in which you buy a new rookie who might be debuting that week and upgrade a $300,000 player to a $400,000 player and get those extra points each week (and a possible new captain option). This elps in not having too much money sitting on your bench.

Player Price Movements
This is complicated, but basically a players price will change based on their last three games. You want to get on a player before they go up in value and get off one before they go down too much. Check out this post to learn about these formulas and head on over to the resources page for calculators to help work out new prices.

Your League
You will end up in a league with 15 other people. It could be a league you created for mates, one you were invited to or a public league you were shoved in! In 2008, you can join up to 3 leagues with you one team! From round 4, you will play a round robin format head to head against you league mates. A win will get you 4 points and the ladder looks like a typical AFL one. After playing everyone once, the finals series begins and follows the same formula as the official AFL final 8. If you make it to the Grand Final in round 22 and win, then you will have bragging rights for the whole summer - like Warnie does… you beauty!!

DT Talk’s Dream Team Rules
These are just some tips we have come up with that you should have in the back of your mind throughout the season.

1. Save your trades. Go into the league finals (round 19-22) with at least 5 trades.
2. Don’t buy Simon Prestigiacomo. Basically, don’t buy full-backs. These guys might be good for their teams, but awful for Dream Teams.
3. Don’t trade before Thursday night. Many DT coaches have come undone from this - wait until the teams are announced before confirming your trade. Better still, wait until just before lockout (right before the first bounce of the opening game of the round) just incase there is an injury/withdrawal announced Friday arvo.
4. Start some rookies on your ground. You just need to! You’ve gotta save money to be able to afford some big point scorers. Centres are probably the best to go with, as there are some jets out there that are likely to play round one.
5. Don’t select too many mid-priced players. The mid priced players aren’t going to score you a ton each week (unless you can nail a good cash cow), as point 4 said, get those rookies in so that you can get the guns in!
6. Don’t pick too many from the one club (especially the one you support). While it isn’t a totally bad thing, it can be if you select, lets say, the entire Carlton midfield. Have a wide range of players… makes every game exciting to watch too!
7. Go with your head, not your heart. Chook says: “don’t get michael newton, colin sylvia and daniel bell in just because you want the demons to have a good year.”
8. Always select a captain/vice captain and emergencies. While this sounds obvious, your captain is like having another star in you team so pick one! Also, have your emergencies selected to cover for any player who might be a late withdrawal.
9. Be wary of your players playing certain teams. The 2007 rule was to not have a captain playing Sydney. They had the least DT points scored against them last year. Might not be the case in ‘08, but be aware of these kind of stats!
10. Let Dream Team take over your life. Live, breathe and eat DT. Think about possible trades, use all of your time researching - even when you should be working, or studying! Don’t tell your mate you’re playing this week who you traded or made captain. Take losses personally. Be grumpy on Monday morning. Just ‘take it one week at a time’. Bet a six pack of beers on your team’s performance. Call football clubs about internal suspensions. Write letters to your underperforming players. Take it very bloody seriously!

This is your Dream Team… make it a good one! Have fun! Happy DTing!