Matthew Leuenberger – Deck of Dream Team 2013

Name: Matthew Leuenberger
Club: Brisbane Lions
Position: Ruckman
Assistant Coach 2013 Price: $233,600
Bye Round: 11 (shared with Fremantle, Hawthorn, Port Adelaide, Richmond and Bulldogs)
2012 Average: 56.7
2012 Games Played: 3
Predicted Average:  95 – 100

Why should I pick him?

The short answer is why not?

This one is actually really hard because I don’t need to convince anyone that he needs picking! Scanning through a page of the latest ‘My team’ page only 1 coach didn’t have Leuey in their team (and guess what the first comment suggested? Haha!)

The best thing about Leuenberger (and why everyone has him in their teams) is that he is a known commodity while being cheap as chips. He is priced like a Great Wall car, but will give you  Toyota like output and reliability. Before Leuey went down in early 2012 (more about that in the next  section) he came home like a steam train in 2011. After round 13 in 2011 , Leuey scored under 90 just once and averaged 100 ppg in that time, showing a very respectable ceiling of 140.

Fast forward to 2013 and Leuey is a walk up start to the Lion’s best 21 and will likely play a high % of the game in the ruck, with new buddy Stef Martin giving him some relief but not taking too many points off the big man (highly speculative). I don’t think you will find too many other potential ‘keepers’ in the same price bracket – and in any other line.

From a fixture perspective, Leuenberger has a round 11 bye and only shares this with other popular ruckmen in Sandilands and Maric – although this is less relevant now. At least he doesn’t have a round 13 bye!

The other great thing about picking Leuenberger is that if he does succumb to another injury early in the season, it won’t  really matter that much, as every man and his dog will be in the same boat.

Why shouldn’t I pick him?

It was the beginning of 2012 and ‘The Berger’ was about to challenge for the mantle of best ruckman in the competition after finishing 2011 with a bang.  Unfortunately, the only thing that went ‘bang’ was his Achilles tendon in round 3, which earned him a spot on Brisbane’s LTI list and sparked a horror injury run to the ruckmen in the AFL for season 2012. Will Leuey come back as the man we saw in 2011? Will he take half a season to get going again? Fortunately, all the information I have read so far says that he will be ready to rock and roll in round 1 and history has shown us several successful returns from Achilles injuries the following year – see Jarryd Roughead last season.

Honestly, at his price there are very few reasons to not pick him – maybe because his name is hard to spell?

Deck of DT Rating.

KING. I can see Leuey getting back to his 2011 form and becoming a keeper in 2013. He is going to be one of the most popular picks in 2013  (if not the most popular) and comes with minimal risk, with too much upside for his price. A worst-case scenario is he averages 80 for the season and is a stepping stone to a Top 2 ruckman after the byes.

Lock him in your team now. Oh that’s right, you already have!

While I’m at it hope everyone in the DT Talk community has a Merry Christmas with family and friends!  May the presents be useful (like a pre ordered Prospectus) and the beers flow!

 

 

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