Deck of Dream Team 2012: Andrew Gaff

Name: Andrew Gaff
Club: West Coast Eagles
Position: Midfielder
Assistant Coach 2012 Price: $322,900
Bye Round: 11
2011 Average: 65.3
2011 Games Played: 14
Predicted Average: 84

Why should I pick him?

Because he’s Kermit! Or at least, that’s what his teammates call him, due to being green-vested so regularly over his debut year. Gaff showed us last year that he will be a fantastic fantasy player for years to come, but, due to the sub rule, his first year numbers don’t really reflect that at a glance.

On the surface, his season average of 65.3 doesn’t appear so promising. Looking deeper, you’ll see that of the 14 home-and-away games he played last season, he was subbed in 6 of them. In those game, he averaged a measly 37.3 points per game, mainly due to being unleashed only toward the end of the 3^rd quarter. This leaves him with 8 unaffected games, in which he averaged a sizzling 86.25, with his best game coming against the Bulldogs in Round 19 with 119 DT points, backed up two weeks later by a 103 against the Dees which also earned him 3 Brownlow votes.

When not the sub, Gaff averages 13 kicks, just over 10 handballs and nearly 6 marks a game. His hard-running, free-flowing, outside brand of football gives way to plenty of +6 combos and keeps his kick-to-handball ratio healthy. Given the opportunity to complete a full pre-season, Gaff’s natural development should see him increase his endurance and strength, which will result in a small increase in possession numbers, and I’m predicting a significant jump in his low tackling rate of 1.07 a game.

Why shouldn’t I pick him?

Gaff is firmly entrenched in the Eagles’ succession plans, so whether he sees action over the 2012 season is not an issue. But that doesn’t mean he’ll necessarily avoid the sub vests, with fringe midfield spots being hotly contested between himself, Masten, Swift, Stevens and McGinnity.

Besides that, there isn’t much downside to selecting Gaff, unless of course he doesn’t fit your structure. He’ll definitely improve from his misleading 65.3 point average, but will it be enough to justify the mid-price selection?

Deck of DT Rating.

QUEEN – Gaff is at an awkward starting price and you’ll need a hefty set of balls to go with him, but the upside is definitely tempting… Whether he stays vest-free will be the deciding factor, so (I’m getting sick of saying this) watch his form over the nab cup for a better idea of his position in the pecking order at West Coast. I’m looking for a midfield mid-pricer this year, could Kermit be the one?