DT Talk Writer’s Fantasy Draft 2017

On Tuesday 14th March, sixteen of our writers (and a few ring ins) jumped on their computers/laptops/tablets/phones to take part in our annual draft. We decided on the 3-4-1-3-(4) structure due to having 16 teams. This year we turned captains on. 240 players were selected in a pretty intense night of picks.

All of the picks as they happened.

PICK	PLAYER	CLUB	POSITION	DRAFTED BY
1	Patrick Dangerfield	GEE	MID	TheWizDT
2	Tom Rockliff	BL	MID	Statismathgicians
3	Adam Treloar	COLL	MID	Dunny's Destroyers
4	Zach Merrett	ESS	MID	Jet Fuel Can't Melt Steele Beams
5	Josh P Kennedy	SYD	MID	Leighroy's Legends
6	Max Gawn	MELB	RUC	The Ball Sweaters
7	Tom Mitchell	HAW	MID	The Running Man
8	Luke Parker	SYD	MID	VescioPick1
9	Brodie Grundy	COLL	RUC	THE ADDICTSS
10	Taylor Adams	COLL	DEF/MID	BTO Boyz Legendz
11	Nick Riewoldt	STK	FWD	Warne Dawgs
12	Todd Goldstein	NM	RUC	Wymo's Heroes
13	Stefan Martin	BL	RUC	Rockstars
14	Scott Pendlebury	COLL	MID	Double Entendres
15	Lachie Neale	FRE	MID	Tbetta Than You
16	Rory Laird	ADE	DEF	hines all stars
17	Dan Hannebery	SYD	MID	hines all stars
18	Heath Shaw	GWS	DEF	Tbetta Than You
19	Nat Fyfe	FRE	MID	Double Entendres
20	Sam Docherty	CARL	DEF	Rockstars
21	Jack Macrae	WB	MID/FWD	Wymo's Heroes
22	Jack Steven	STK	MID	Warne Dawgs
23	Luke Dahlhaus	WB	MID/FWD	BTO Boyz Legendz
24	Dustin Martin	RICH	MID	THE ADDICTSS
25	Kade Simpson	CARL	DEF	VescioPick1
26	Isaac Smith	HAW	MID/FWD	The Running Man
27	Matthew Boyd	WB	DEF	The Ball Sweaters
28	Sam Mitchell	WC	MID	Leighroy's Legends
29	Lance Franklin	SYD	FWD	Jet Fuel Can't Melt Steele Beams
30	Tom Lynch	ADE	FWD	Dunny's Destroyers
31	Sam Jacobs	ADE	RUC	Statismathgicians
32	Dayne Beams	BL	MID	TheWizDT
33	Toby Greene	GWS	FWD	TheWizDT
34	Gary Ablett	GC	MID	Statismathgicians
35	Leigh Montagna	STK	DEF	Dunny's Destroyers
36	Aaron Hall	GC	MID	Jet Fuel Can't Melt Steele Beams
37	Dayne Zorko	BL	MID	Leighroy's Legends
38	Jarryd Roughead	HAW	FWD	The Ball Sweaters
39	Jason Johannisen	WB	DEF	The Running Man
40	Touk Miller	GC	MID/FWD	VescioPick1
41	Jake Lloyd	SYD	DEF/MID	THE ADDICTSS
42	Jack Gunston	HAW	FWD	BTO Boyz Legendz
43	Jordan Lewis	MELB	MID	Warne Dawgs
44	Bernie Vince	MELB	DEF/MID	Wymo's Heroes
45	Jack Steele	STK	MID/FWD	Rockstars
46	Dyson Heppell	ESS	MID	Double Entendres
47	Josh Caddy	RICH	MID/FWD	Tbetta Than You
48	Joel Selwood	GEE	MID	hines all stars
49	Matt Priddis	WC	MID	hines all stars
50	Marcus Bontempelli	WB	MID	Tbetta Than You
51	Brett Deledio	GWS	FWD	Double Entendres
52	Andrew Gaff	WC	MID	Rockstars
53	Steele Sidebottom	COLL	MID	Wymo's Heroes
54	Luke Hodge	HAW	DEF	Warne Dawgs
55	Bachar Houli	RICH	DEF	BTO Boyz Legendz
56	Brent Stanton	ESS	MID	THE ADDICTSS
57	Rory Sloane	ADE	MID	VescioPick1
58	Jack Viney	MELB	MID	The Running Man
59	Bryce Gibbs	CARL	MID	The Ball Sweaters
60	Josh J Kennedy	WC	FWD	Leighroy's Legends
61	Zac Williams	GWS	DEF	Jet Fuel Can't Melt Steele Beams
62	Patrick Cripps	CARL	MID	Dunny's Destroyers
63	Tom Lynch	GC	FWD	Statismathgicians
64	Michael Barlow	GC	MID	TheWizDT
65	Ollie Wines	PA	MID	TheWizDT
66	Devon Smith	GWS	FWD	Statismathgicians
67	Dylan Shiel	GWS	MID	Dunny's Destroyers
68	Matthew Kreuzer	CARL	RUC	Jet Fuel Can't Melt Steele Beams
69	Toby Nankervis	RICH	RUC/FWD	Leighroy's Legends
70	Lachie Hunter	WB	MID	The Ball Sweaters
71	Patrick Ryder	PA	RUC/FWD	The Running Man
72	Tom Hickey	STK	RUC	VescioPick1
73	Matt Crouch	ADE	MID	THE ADDICTSS
74	Shane Mumford	GWS	RUC	BTO Boyz Legendz
75	Aaron Sandilands	FRE	RUC	Warne Dawgs
76	Jack Billings	STK	MID/FWD	Wymo's Heroes
77	Matthew Suckling	WB	DEF	Rockstars
78	Harley Bennell	FRE	MID/FWD	Double Entendres
79	Kurt Tippett	SYD	RUC	Tbetta Than You
80	Zach Tuohy	GEE	DEF	hines all stars
81	Robbie Gray	PA	MID	hines all stars
82	Jarrad McVeigh	SYD	DEF	Tbetta Than You
83	Hamish Hartlett	PA	DEF/MID	Double Entendres
84	Mark LeCras	WC	FWD	Rockstars
85	Callum Mills	SYD	DEF	Wymo's Heroes
86	Brendon Goddard	ESS	MID	Warne Dawgs
87	Luke Shuey	WC	MID	BTO Boyz Legendz
88	James Kelly	ESS	DEF/MID	THE ADDICTSS
89	Chad Wingard	PA	FWD	VescioPick1
90	Kade Kolodjashnij	GC	DEF	The Running Man
91	Tom Scully	GWS	MID	The Ball Sweaters
92	Tom Phillips	COLL	MID/FWD	Leighroy's Legends
93	Josh Smith	COLL	DEF	Jet Fuel Can't Melt Steele Beams
94	Shaun Burgoyne	HAW	DEF	Dunny's Destroyers
95	Sebastian Ross	STK	MID	Statismathgicians
96	Robert Murphy	WB	DEF	TheWizDT
97	Jack Martin	GC	DEF/FWD	TheWizDT
98	Michael Hibberd	MELB	DEF	Statismathgicians
99	Steven Motlop	GEE	FWD	Dunny's Destroyers
100	Jaeger O'Meara	HAW	MID	Jet Fuel Can't Melt Steele Beams
101	Callan Ward	GWS	MID	Leighroy's Legends
102	Grant Birchall	HAW	DEF	The Ball Sweaters
103	Justin Westhoff	PA	FWD	The Running Man
104	Ed Curnow	CARL	MID	VescioPick1
105	Isaac Heeney	SYD	FWD	THE ADDICTSS
106	Trent Cotchin	RICH	MID	BTO Boyz Legendz
107	Ricky Henderson	HAW	DEF/MID	Warne Dawgs
108	Josh Kelly	GWS	MID	Wymo's Heroes
109	Jobe Watson	ESS	MID	Rockstars
110	Levi Greenwood	COLL	MID/FWD	Double Entendres
111	Koby Stevens	STK	MID/FWD	Tbetta Than You
112	Christian Petracca	MELB	FWD	hines all stars
113	Michael Walters	FRE	FWD	hines all stars
114	Stephen Coniglio	GWS	MID	Tbetta Than You
115	Nic Naitanui	WC	RUC	Double Entendres
116	Sharrod Wellingham	WC	DEF	Rockstars
117	Marc Murphy	CARL	MID	Wymo's Heroes
118	Jesse Hogan	MELB	FWD	Warne Dawgs
119	Mitch Duncan	GEE	MID	BTO Boyz Legendz
120	Jeremy Howe	COLL	DEF	THE ADDICTSS
121	Brodie Smith	ADE	DEF	VescioPick1
122	Dion Prestia	RICH	MID	The Running Man
123	Tom Boyd	WB	RUC/FWD	The Ball Sweaters
124	Zak Jones	SYD	DEF	Leighroy's Legends
125	Josh Dunkley	WB	MID/FWD	Jet Fuel Can't Melt Steele Beams
126	Brandon Ellis	RICH	MID	Dunny's Destroyers
127	Jasper Pittard	PA	DEF	Statismathgicians
128	Cyril Rioli	HAW	FWD	TheWizDT
129	Caleb Daniel	WB	FWD	TheWizDT
130	Jack Ziebell	NM	MID	Statismathgicians
131	Tom Nicholls	GC	RUC	Dunny's Destroyers
132	Shaun Higgins	NM	FWD	Jet Fuel Can't Melt Steele Beams
133	Bradley Hill	FRE	MID/FWD	Leighroy's Legends
134	Jarrad Waite	NM	FWD	The Ball Sweaters
135	Elliot Yeo	WC	MID/FWD	The Running Man
136	Angus Brayshaw	MELB	MID/FWD	VescioPick1
137	Nathan Hrovat	NM	MID/FWD	THE ADDICTSS
138	David Mundy	FRE	MID	BTO Boyz Legendz
139	Matthew Wright	CARL	FWD	Warne Dawgs
140	Josh Gibson	HAW	DEF	Wymo's Heroes
141	Steve Johnson	GWS	FWD	Rockstars
142	David Armitage	STK	MID	Double Entendres
143	Andrew Mackie	GEE	DEF	Tbetta Than You
144	Scott Lycett	WC	RUC/FWD	hines all stars
145	Jarrod Witts	GC	RUC	hines all stars
146	Dom Tyson	MELB	MID	Tbetta Than You
147	Michael Hurley	ESS	DEF	Double Entendres
148	David Swallow	GC	MID	Rockstars
149	Nathan Jones	MELB	MID	Wymo's Heroes
150	Jamie MacMillan	NM	DEF	Warne Dawgs
151	Mitch Wallis	WB	MID/FWD	BTO Boyz Legendz
152	Jarryd Lyons	GC	MID	THE ADDICTSS
153	Tom Liberatore	WB	MID	VescioPick1
154	Shane Biggs	WB	DEF	The Running Man
155	David Zaharakis	ESS	MID	The Ball Sweaters
156	Matthew Broadbent	PA	DEF/MID	Leighroy's Legends
157	Christian Salem	MELB	DEF	Jet Fuel Can't Melt Steele Beams
158	Luke Breust	HAW	FWD	Dunny's Destroyers
159	Lin Jong	WB	MID/FWD	Statismathgicians
160	Tom McDonald	MELB	DEF	TheWizDT
161	Jackson Trengove	PA	RUC	TheWizDT
162	Dylan Roberton	STK	DEF	Statismathgicians
163	Mark Baguley	ESS	DEF	Dunny's Destroyers
164	Zac Smith	GEE	RUC	Jet Fuel Can't Melt Steele Beams
165	Lee Spurr	FRE	DEF	Leighroy's Legends
166	Shane Savage	STK	DEF	The Ball Sweaters
167	Brad Crouch	ADE	MID	The Running Man
168	Curtly Hampton	ADE	DEF	VescioPick1
169	Richard Doughlas	ADE	MID/FWD	THE ADDICTSS
170	Alex Rance	RICH	DEF	BTO Boyz Legendz
171	Liam Shiels	HAW	MID	Warne Dawgs
172	Jordan de Goey	COLL	MID/FWD	Wymo's Heroes
173	Stephen Hill	FRE	MID	Rockstars
174	Nick Haynes	GWS	DEF	Double Entendres
175	Kieren Jack	SYD	MID	Tbetta Than You
176	Nick Graham	CARL	MID/FWD	hines all stars
177	Hayden Crozier	FRE	DEF	hines all stars
178	Jamie Elliott	COLL	FWD	Tbetta Than You
179	Eddie Betts	ADE	FWD	Double Entendres
180	Perace Hanley	GC	MID	Rockstars
181	Sam Menegola	GEE	MID	Wymo's Heroes
182	Ben Reid	COLL	DEF	Warne Dawgs
183	Taylor Duryea	HAW	DEF	BTO Boyz Legendz
184	Jack Riewoldt	RICH	FWD	THE ADDICTSS
185	Scott Thompson	ADE	MID	VescioPick1
186	Jack Newnes	STK	MID	The Running Man
187	Josh Jenkins	ADE	FWD	The Ball Sweaters
188	Liam Picken	WB	MID	Leighroy's Legends
189	Sam Gibson	NM	MID	Jet Fuel Can't Melt Steele Beams
190	Travis Boak	PA	MID	Dunny's Destroyers
191	Tom Bell	BL	FWD	Statismathgicians
192	Brad Ebert	PA	MID	TheWizDT
193	Allen Christensen	BL	FWD	TheWizDT
194	Ryan Griffen	GWS	MID	Statismathgicians
195	Taylor Walker	ADE	FWD	Dunny's Destroyers
196	Shaun Atley	NM	DEF	Jet Fuel Can't Melt Steele Beams
197	Clayton Oliver	MELB	MID	Leighroy's Legends
198	Shaun Grigg	RICH	MID	The Ball Sweaters
199	Jack Watts	MELB	FWD	The Running Man
200	Maverick Weller	STK	FWD	VescioPick1
201	Darcy Parish	ESS	MID	THE ADDICTSS
202	Jake Carlisle	STK	DEF/FWD	BTO Boyz Legendz
203	Jacob Hopper	GWS	MID/FWD	Warne Dawgs
204	Ben McEvoy	HAW	RUC	Wymo's Heroes
205	Scott Selwood	GEE	MID	Rockstars
206	Nathan Vardy	WC	RUC	Double Entendres
207	Dane Rampe	SYD	DEF	Tbetta Than You
208	Orazio Fantasia	ESS	FWD	hines all stars
209	Connor Blakely	FRE	MID	hines all stars
210	Chris Masten	WC	MID	Tbetta Than You
211	Shannon Hurn	WC	DEF	Double Entendres
212	Alex Neal-Bullen	MELB	MID/FWD	Rockstars
213	Tom Langdon	COLL	DEF	Wymo's Heroes
214	Blake Acres	STK	MID/FWD	Warne Dawgs
215	Sam Gray	PA	MID	BTO Boyz Legendz
216	Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti	ESS	DEF	THE ADDICTSS
217	Easton Wood	WB	DEF	VescioPick1
218	Tom Cutler	BL	DEF	The Running Man
219	Daniel Wells	COLL	MID	The Ball Sweaters
220	Tim Tranto	GWS	MID/FWD	Leighroy's Legends
221	Jake Stringer	WB	FWD	Jet Fuel Can't Melt Steele Beams
222	Archie Smith	BL	RUC	Dunny's Destroyers
223	Andrew Swallow	NM	MID	Statismathgicians
224	Sam Mayes	BL	DEF	TheWizDT
225	Rhys Stanley	GEE	RUC/FWD	TheWizDT
226	Mark Blicavs	GEE	MID	Statismathgicians
227	Jacob Weitering	CARL	DEF	Dunny's Destroyers
228	Will Langford	HAW	MID	Jet Fuel Can't Melt Steele Beams
229	Cale Hooker	ESS	DEF/FWD	Leighroy's Legends
230	Jeremy McGovern	WC	DEF	The Ball Sweaters
231	Rory Atkins	ADE	MID	The Running Man
232	Billy Longer	STK	RUC	VescioPick1
233	Lewis Taylor	BL	FWD	THE ADDICTSS
234	Tom Campbell	WB	RUC	BTO Boyz Legendz
235	Mitch Robinson	BL	MID	Warne Dawgs
236	Jack Crisp	COLL	MID	Wymo's Heroes
237	Caleb Marchbank	CARL	DEF	Rockstars
238	Ben Howlett	ESS	MID/FWD	Double Entendres
239	Clay Smith	WB	FWD	Tbetta Than You
240	Garrick Ibbotson	FRE	DEF	hines all stars

Here are some words from our writers and their 2017 teams.

1. TheWizDT – Keegan Knott

This was my first ever draft and I was lucky enough to snag the #1 pick. With captains turned on I needed to pick someone who could pump out consistent 110+ scores… so I turned to the Brownlow medallist- Danger. My strategy before the draft was to pick a genuine gun on all lines to even out my team- but this went completely out the window when probably my best pick in Beams was still there at pick 32. My strategy then changed to having a beast midfield, so Micky B & Wines then rounded out my next two picks. Whilst my midfield carries my team, I still have some handy players such as Toby Greene & Bob Murphy (who can both average 90+). The only thing that makes me feel a little ill is seeing Trengove as my #1 ruck, I am hoping that Ryder does his knee and Trengove has to ruck all year by himself (am I allowed to say that?).

To round out the draft I am pumped about handcuffing Christensen for my bench & finding Ebert still there @ pick 193!

Overall I am happy with my debut draft night & stoked to be apart of it.

2. Statismathgicians – Tristan Bell

My strategy going into the draft was to get players who had had good previous years but a quiet 2016, thus getting good value overall (assuming most of them bounce back). It largely went to plan.

Getting Rockliff at pick 2 was great as he was my first choice, but then my next pick wasn’t until 31 and I got a little jittery and took Sam Jacobs. This was probably a mistake as no-one else took a ruck after that until pick 68.

Getting Ablett at 34 was great and started a run of solid picks for me. It wasn’t until I got to pick 159 that my pre-draft list got a bit shaky and I grabbed Lin Jong who hadn’t been planned for. Which meant for my bench I took Tom Bell at 191 who I should have just taken instead of Jong originally. My remaining bench picks were previous high scoring MIDs, finishing with Blicavs at 226 (which was fun because last year he was my first pick at 15).

3. Dunny’s Destroyers – Paul Dunn

Finding out I had pick three meant I had to check one thing.  Are Captains on?  Upon seeing that they weren’t on I decided to take Adam Treloar rather than Max Gawn.  I know that Maxy can go big, but felt a little safer with Treloar.  Once I got him locked away, I then looked to my forward and backs.  The big name forwards were gone so Tom Lynch from the Crows was next and Leigh Montagna after him in defence.  Pick 4 was to be for a ruck, but there was a big run on them and all the good ones were gone, so I put that theory behind me and went for two Mids instead getting Cripps  and Shiel.  I was pretty happy to get Cripps at pick 62 overall.  I think he will have another great season.  One of the reasons I took Shaun Burgoyne in my defense is simply that he doesn’t miss games.  In a draft league where an injury can basically derail your season, you need guys that are more likely than not to play all year because you can’t cover them with someone of equal scoring ability easily like you can in classic.

After that I filled out my defenders and forwards before heading back in to get some mids.  I finally took a ruck in round 9 at pick 131 with Tom Nicholls, he was the best of what was left at the time, and I felt I needed to grab him there as the remaining rucks just weren’t very reliable, although I did pick up Archie Smith with my second last pick as some bench cover just in case Stef goes down he will become valuable.

I was fairly happy to pick up Boak and Walker as bench cover for their respective positions and I also took Weitering with my last pick as some backup, but I also thought he may be inline for forward status at some point during the year given his role in JLT3.  I always like having some DPP action on the bench in a draft with these sorts of parameters.  With only 4 to cover injuries it helps if you can swing your bench cover in a couple of different spots.

4. Jet Fuel Can’t Melt Steele Beams – Josh Sparks

With Pick 4 and Captains on I was really hoping that the three blokes above me weren’t on the same wave length and drafted Maxy Gawn at either 1, 2, or 3, letting Danger, Rocky or Treloar slip. That did not eventuate however, forcing me to take Zach Merrett with my first pick and then wait 24 more picks to find what treasures would be left in the trash.

I was drafting with a fairly high-risk strategy, trying to get blokes that people would forget about without jumping on them too early, whilst also not picking any rookies because I figured a team with 15 players should be able to avoid having any under $250k. Aaron Hall slipped to my Round 3 pick, giving me a beautiful back-up captain option if Rocket is nice to me. Kreuzer at pick 68 and pairing him with Zac Smith almost 100 picks later was a steal, especially if Kreuz can stay healthy.

My favourite pick of the draft was getting Jaeger O’Meara at Pick 100. It may have been slightly early but the boy is a jet and I’m confident he was about to get snapped up. I followed this up by picking JLT hopefuls Josh Smith (Pick 93), Josh Dunkley (125), Shaun Higgins (132) and Christian Salem (157).

All in all, not a bad effort, let’s see how the season goes.

5. Leighroy’s Legends – Leighroy Sutton

Strategy? Nope absolutely none of that for the legends this year. I panicked at every pick :’) and towards the end, my phone crapped itself and wouldn’t show me the available players or the drafted players so I had to guess at who may be left to grab… regardless, I’m still happy with my mids of JPK, Zorko, Smitch and Ward which I finished first. I then went on to a to nab JJK and Phillips (JLT Hype represent) and for some reason chose Brad Hill….. wtf.

I arrived late to the defender party so had very little to choose from. Went Zak Jones as a breakout and then the phone cooked itself and I ended up with Spurr and Broadbent? When I got around to the rucks, Nankervis was the only legit option so I went with more JLT Hype and got him.

Early prediction for the Legends this year is the wooden spoon with a slight chance of second to last. Happy drafting.

6. The Ball Sweaters – Steven Hearne

After sinking 13 beers prior to the draft my strategy was to stay awake. As an eagles supporter and an AFL Fantasy noob I really wanted to pick Michael Gardiner with my first pick at number 6. But after 55 seconds of looking I decided to settle on Maximus Gawn. My second pick coincided with my 14th beer & in return Matt Boyd came into my backline. My midfield, now I look back at it – is unique & dangerous & I can’t see a weakness across my team.

Even though I lost my draft virginity tonight, I still know that picking up Daniel wells as my last pick was an absolute steal!

Bring on 2017!

7. The Running Man – James Holder

First time for me drafting in a 16 team comp that includes captains.  I get pick 7. Don’t hate middle picks, you’re never too far away from a pick so don’t have to pay overs for a player like a pick 1 or 16. It was an easy choice to pick a MID with good ceiling as my next pick won’t be until about pick  25. Welcome Tom Mitchell. Had Grundy available but was too keen on the MID. Next two picks was about getting a DEF and FWD where I got JJ and Isaac Smith. Petty happy with these two. Got Jack Viney with pick 4 as my second MID. The rucks were thinning out a bit too quick so I needed to get one with my next pick, and picked up the newly popular Paddy Ryder. Good job I got him then as there was sweet FA left by my next pick. Rucks really are a prized pick in a 16 man comp. After my fourth pick it was just about filling each starting line, with defenders and forwards the priority. Was quite happy to get KK at pick 90, but his ADP was actually 120. Whoops. Biggs and Cutler rounded out my defenders while Yeo, Westhoff and Watts completed the forwards. Prestia at pick 122 I thought was a bargain and I’ll take the punt on Brad Crouch (167) but happy to have him handcuffed/pocketed with Rory Atkins, my last pick at 231.  Picked up Newnes as a solid backup  but hoping he may get DPP down back.

Overall happy with my drafting, but with the pool only 240 deep, there is still some gold left on those waivers.

8. VescioPick1 – Nic Negrepontis

For someone historically terrible at drafts, I’m not disappointed by the team I’ve put together. I’m happy with my midfield of Luke Parker, Rory Sloane, Ed Curnow, Tom Liberatore and Scott Thompson on the bench because they’re all players that should be consistent scorers this year. Taking Tom Hickey and Billy Longer gives me good ruck insurance and my overall strategy was picking a team for consistent performance across the season. I probably could’ve waited another round before taking Touk Miller, but my hand was forced since a lot of the best forwards were already taken. My backline is pretty flimsy with Brodie Smith and Curtly Hampton on field, but I figured getting the best possible midfield realistically would be the way to go here, especially in a captain’s league.

9. The Addictss – Matt Craig

It’s hard to take a clear strategy into a 16 man draft. When you have to wait anywhere between 15-30 picks before your next selection, the shape of the draft can change completely. Getting pick 9 was handy as I was perfectly in the middle. Getting Brodie Grundy at pick 9 was even more handy, considering one team had to pick the 16^th best ruckman. There’s a severe lack of depth in defence, so that was my next target. Enter my DPP fetish. I’ve got my fingers crossed for Dusty but even if he doesn’t get it, he’s a gun and an easy captain pick. Brent Stanton in Round 4 was a risk, but he’s basically a lock for a position change come Round 6. I’ve always believed in you Brent… I think Crouch and Lyons are set for breakout seasons, however I probably took Heeney a little early. I was still in panic mode after Steven Motlop got selected 2 picks before me. Let’s hope he recovers quickly. Bring on Round 6!

10. BTO Boyz Legendz – Brody Tombides

Firstly a big shout out to Telstra for melting when I had my last 5 selections. Having pick 10 gave me an insight into how the draft would play out, as a result I decided to go with a strong backline/forward line combo (I’d go as far as proclaiming I have the best combo in this draft) taking Taylor Adams with my first pick and Luke Dahlhaus with my second. I expect both of these players to push over 100 this year and are complemented by Houli and Gunston who should both avg 90+. I was surprised to see Mumford slip to around pick 60 and snapped him up quickly – having someone who can mumify other ruckman is always a plus..With most genuine gun midfield options already gone I went for the guys who i think could push 100+, unfortunately warnedawgs pinched Goddard just as I was about to snap him up, as a result my first mid was Shuey who with the inclusion of Sam Mitchell should see less attention from the opposition. Trent Cotchin and Davidy Mundy can both go back to avg over 100 with Prestia and Fyfe both adding to the midfields respectively and Mitch Duncan is a good player who always gives a solid fantasy score. My bench is a disaster, however I will go with my draft strategy of trading in free agents based on who and where they are playing. Overall I think my team should be competitive unless of course the DT injury curse hits me!

11. Warne Dawgs – Warnie

Being at pick 11, if there was a big dog from a position other than the MIDs on the table, then they’d be mine. Nick Riewoldt should be solid enough for a captain on favourable fixtures (especially under the roof), but I’ll be quite happy with Jack Steven for the majority of weeks. Especially if he can score at the same rate that we saw in the JLT and if he does what he did in 2015. I think Hodgey sliding to pick 54 was a bit of a steal – but obviously he won’t be playing round one due to suspension.

You’d have to say that Liam Shiels as my last onfield selection was the pick of the Draft. He is a Fantasy stud and I’m sure he is sliding a lot in drafts. Shiels can push that 100 point average this year in my opinion.

The bench of Mitch Robinson – my final selection – will help me fix my rabble of a forward line (Hogan and Wright at F2 and F3) if he gains DPP, but Acres and Hopper have the opportunity to overtake the first blokes I drafted… they were shockers in hindsight.

12. Wymo’s Heroes – Tom Wyman

Given their was 16 teams in the league and I had a less than ideal array of picks, my first selection was ruckman Todd Goldstein. I chose to prioritise the forwards and defence because of the lack of depth in those two lines. I was wrapped to pick up Jack Macrae at number 21. He should be a top six forward come the seasons end. It was certainly frustrating watching the talent being snapped up whilst I waited for my third selection. Eventually, with pick number 44, I took the best available defender, Demon Bernie Vince. By this point, I was feeling pretty good about things, having taken arguably the third best ruckman and second best forward. I would have preferred a stronger first defender than Bernie though.

By now, it was definitely time to start looking at some of the midfielders available, with many other teams already boasting at-least one high-ranked mid. Steele Sidebottom was still around at 53 and he was a fairly obvious choice. Another agonising break unfolded before my fifth selection came around. Was pleased and a little surprised to see Jack Billings survive until the fifth round. At this stage I had identified my defence as a weak point and took Callum Mills at 85. As the midfield stocks began to decrease, I wasted no time in snapping up potential-breakout Josh Kelly and Carlton skipper Marc Murphy to fill the M2 and M3 slots. Josh Gibson rounded off the backline.

Two more on-field spots were left at this point. Nathan Jones isn’t the worst option for the final midfield spot, so I went for him. Annoyingly, I had been eyeing off Jones’ on-ball counterpart Dom Tyson for a few minutes, my spirits rising with every pick he lasted. But three picks before mine, Tbetta jumped in and stole the show. I’m hoping Jordan de Goey starts to realise his true Fantasy potential in 2017. He was my final on-field selection. With limited options presenting themselves, Sam Menegola, Ben McEvoy, Tom Langdon and Jack Crisp were selected to occupy the pine. Overall, I’m pretty happy with how the draft played out from my perspective.

13. Rockstars – Anthony Smith

So my initial thought this draft was to secure a good ruck.  My thinking for this was that in a 16 team draft, the difference in quality rucks drops severely after the top 3 or 4. Martin was the best ruckman available to me at pick 13 but I do think he can rediscover some of his best form again this year.

My next target was a solid defender for the same reason as the ruck, I just don’t think quality goes as deep, so I was able to snag Docherty back there for that. My top forward came next and at 45 Steele was one of the best available so I had to take him. Really hoping that JLT form holds up! This is embarrassingly where I realised that we had Captains turned on. I fully admit that my first pick would not have been Martin if I’d seen this before the draft!! But Gaff will wear my Captains badge for the year and I’m ok with that for the following reason.

This may be my West Coast bias coming through but come season end this piece will either prove me right or be a case study in why you shouldn’t pick with your heart.

I honestly believe that with the change in game style and inclusion of Sam Mitchell, West Coast will become one of the top scoring fantasy teams this year. The 3 players I targeted over the next few picks were all players who I believe will have an upswing on their averages and I’m hoping that pays off. With Gaff getting more ball on the outside of Mitchell, LeCras playing closer to goal again this season with great supply and Wellingham getting involved in the higher possession game style across the halfback line.

Jobe Watson is the other player I picked up who I think will have captain potential if anything goes wrong. With Johnson at my 9th pick I’d locked in all my defender, forwards and rucks. It was then time for me to focus on finishing my mids which my next four in Swallow, S.Hill, Hanley and S.Selwood all rounded out.  A few more speculative picks towards the end with Marchbank and Neal-Bullen who’ll ride the bench but provide cover fwd or back if anything goes wrong on field.

Overall I’m actually pretty happy with this team. My only concern is that I don’t have a Ruck back up if anything happens to Martin so I’m still now considering either picking up a Giles or Berger from the waiver wire for cover or just risking it and hoping one is available if Martin gets in trouble!

14. Double Entendres – Marcus Dornauf

When you take a quick glance at my side you will initially think 3 things. Gee his midfield looks nice for a 16 team league, backline has left a lot to be desired and Nic Nat in the ruck, is he drafting for 2018? All these thoughts would be correct.

I went into the draft with pick 14. Knowing I would not get any of the top players at their positions I decided to go heavy on midfielders as this league has captains. My first 3 picks were mids, Pendlebury, Fyfe then Heppell.

I then decided to take a chance on an aged Brett Deledio and injury prone Harley Bennell in my forward line, leaving my backline unarmed and drafting my first player in the 7^th round.

Due to an auto draft and poor use of the draft queue my ruckman was an injured Nic Naitanui. However I feel I amended this pick with the second last pick of the draft taking Nathan Vardy to fill my Nic Nat void.

Overall, I am quite happy with my team. I will find it hard to see any team outscoring my midfield week to week and then it will come down to my backline hanging on for dear life. I may have been more conservative in a smaller league but in a 16 team league, risks need to be taken if you want the glory. Like Ricky Bobby’s father said, “if you aint first, you’re last.”

15. Tbetta Than You – Alexander Trombetta

Drafting late in a large league is both a blessing and a curse. While being able to nab a slider like Lachie Neale at 15 was ludicrous (given we’re in a Captain’s league), it also meant I didn’t have access to any of the top-tier ruckmen and I was very much at the mercy of the other coaches when it came to picking my big man. Landing Kurt Tippett was as good as I could hope for given that I often didn’t have a selection for 30 picks at a time, causing me to miss out on two separate ruck runs.

When you’re in a large league like this, you can take what you can get, when you can get it. I zeroed in on a few players that were sliding due to injury concerns, taking a season-long approach to my drafting. Coniglio was a steal at pick 114, McVeigh is a consistent type who’ll chug along nicely for me once he returns and Elliott has big upside if he can get fit. More importantly, I backed these guys up with Kieren Jack, Dane Rampe and Clay Smith – all very startable players that’ll pick up the slack until the injured guys return.
My midfield is packed full of future (if not current) guns and boast my two favourite picks – The Bont at 50 and Dom Tyson at 146. Overall, I’m very happy with this squad in a deep league and I think I adapted well to the large coaching pool and the challenges associated with a quasi-turn pick.

16. hines all stars – John Hines

My strategy was getting as strong as midfield as possible I achieved that goal by getting Hannebery, Joel Selwood, Matt Priddis and Robbie Gray. My weakest line it’s a photo finish between my ruck Lycett and my forward line Petracca, Walters and Nick Graham. The player I wish I didn’t pick Nick Graham he will struggle to get a game at Carlton I did pick Fantasia as cover though.

My pod pick is Hayden Crozier he will improve on his 72 average plus with Ballaz out for up to 10 weeks Crozier may play second small forward role. My best pick Touhy got him at a steal at pick 49 my very close second is Robbie Gray. I got a nice bench cover with Witts, Blakeley, Fantasia and Ibboston.

Overall I had a good draft the only regret I have is not picking a ruckmen early. Hopefully I’ll figure in the finals.