Deck of Dream Team 2012: Hamish McIntosh

Name: Hamish McIntosh
Club: North Melbourne
Position: Ruck
Assistant Coach 2012 Price: $273,500
Bye Round: 11
2011 Average: 79
2011 Games Played: 1
Predicted Average: 87

Why should I pick him? Value, pure and simple. HMac will come into 2012 as a cheapish mid-pricer and we know he can pump out the points. In 2009 he averaged 90.2 over 22 games and in 2010 he averaged 80.5 over 20 games. With just one game played in 2011, he gets a decent discount and is listed at $273k for DT 2012.

If you are looking at investing your salary cap elsewhere, HMac could be a bang-for-your-buck pick and eventually a stepping stone to a premium ruck. If you do decide to structure your ruck line up to include a mid-pricer, he should be a shoe-in. The bonus is that if he is physically ready and also given the opportunity to recapture his 2009 form, he could possibly turn into a keeper depending on how he progresses.  HMac is a cheap pickup when you consider his Dream Team history and he could well be one of the bargains of 2012!

On a side note, for my 2012 strategy I’m seriously considering a gun/mid-pricer/rook/rook ruck setup with HMac slotting into the R2 spot and then stacking my forward line with young FWD/MID MPPs like Zaka, Beams, Fyfe and Dusty. But, it’s still too early to commit and the selection juggle continues…

Why shouldn’t I pick him? In two words – Todd Goldstein! Okay okay, everyone could see that coming, but it is a fact that Goldy has leapfrogged to the top of the ‘Roos ruck rankings ahead of McIntosh during the latter’s extended absence. The likelihood that they will be sharing ruck duties and splitting DT points between each other adds a fair element of risk to both of them as fantasy footy ruckmen. Having twin towers will no doubt be favourable for North Melbourne’s assault on the 2012 Premiership, but it does not bode well for Dream Team coaches.

Deck of DT Rating: Queen. HMac is very attractively priced after missing just about all of 2011 and there’s plenty of upside if he can get back to his pre-injury best. Even though there’s a query on the Goldy/HMac combination and the impact it will have on their DT scoring potential, McIntosh’s value cannot be ignored given his ability.

On the tweetvine: @TeeTeeDT