Name:Ā Michael Barlow
Team:Ā Gold Coast
Position:Ā Midfield
AFL Fantasy: $583,000
Bye Round:Ā 9
2016 Average:Ā 96.5
2016 Games Played:Ā 13
Predicted Average: 108
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Why should I pick him?
Firstly, happy Australia Day. That may not be politically correct, but neither is an Irish pirate who drinks rum, teaches primary school kids and speaks in an American/irish/English/bogan accent.
Let talk about Mr. Barlow. Itās a classic rule that when someone moves to a new club it takes them time to settle and their average tends to either drop or plateau. This is usually the case, but itās not for gun players and Barlow is certainly that.
Example #1 is Patrick Dangerfield who rose his average at Geelong from 106 to 118 in his first year.
Example #2 is Adam Treloar who averaged 104 in his final year the Giants, but rocketed it up to 112 in the first year as a Pie.
We all know the issues Barlow had in 2016. In and out of the team, tagging and role changes hindered his season⦠but still, he averaged 97. Ross Lyon hates Fantasy. He hates everyone who likes it and hates anyone who racks up like Barlow.
Barlow is a proven Fantasy jet and averaged 104 in 2013 and then a massive 110 in 2014. He has a ceiling, and reached it when Ross allowed him to last year with scores of 159 and 138 from only 13 games.
Another reason I really like Barlow this year is the lack of depth in the Suns midfield. With Ablett destined for more time forward and OāMeara heading to the Hawks, he is a certainty to play smack bang in the guts.
Why recruit a 29 year old ball winning machine if youāre not going to use him where he plays his best footy.

Why shouldnāt I pick him?
Reason number one is⦠Gold Coast have a sh*t bye.
In round 9, only the Suns and the Power players have a bye⦠and for this round, the Fantasy game soldiers on without an extra trade and without the ābest 18ā rule. With all these players unavailable, itās like them all being injured at the same time and you have to have a plan in place to cover this.
Many coaches will look to get busy over this time, selecting the likes of Barlow in round 10 in preparation for the three weeks ahead.
Despite what Iāve mentioned above, will Barlow actually fit in?
Matt Rosa only just fitted in when he went to the Suns last year and during the pre-season he was the name on everyoneās lips. He went there averaging 74 and only improved that by 2pts.
Barlow is expensive. At $583,000 youāre buying him as a premium and a premium keeper. You might have the luxury of upgrading him at the end of the season, but lets be honest, if you purchase him⦠you will be most likely rocking with him till the very end.
Why buy Barlow when Nat Fyfe and the Bont are just $12,000 more?
Fyfe the Brownlow medallist and Bont, the future Brownlow medallists have already made so many pre-season teams and rightfully so (47% and 16% of teams). They should be more consistent and potentially have a bigger upside.
Deck of DT Rating.
KING ā On the dtlive.com.au drawing board, the fans have voted and predicted Barlow to average 104. They see small growth. I see a little more. On the drawing board, he is currently owned by just 5% of coaches, and I am currently one of the those. Barlow will be unique.
I see Barlow being a key to the success of the Gold Coast Suns this year after they struggled once again. He will be let off the chain and without a tag in sight or a tagging role in sight and Iām expecting big big things for a guy who has done it all before.

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PK
January 26, 2017 at 8:35 am
Barlow is an Ace. I wont be starting with him due to his bye, however he will be the first bloke I trade in after his bye if he is killing it
Roger
January 26, 2017 at 9:24 am
Upgrade target for me after the bye
Tigers
January 26, 2017 at 9:59 am
Way better options out there than this muppet… burnt us all way too many times, new club or not its a no for me
Michael
January 26, 2017 at 10:37 am
don’t hate on barlow, hate on ross the boss!! barlow will be a man on a mission at gold coast and will be let off the chain for sure. the man can score, he has proven it!
fyfe’s highest yearly average is 103ish and bont hasn’t yet taken that next step to uber premium (although he looks likely for sure) and has started getting attention from opposition teams..
Marcus
January 26, 2017 at 10:37 am
He isn’t a Muppet at all but he will not be in my side
lizard-of-oz
January 26, 2017 at 10:40 am
‘rose his average’ from a primary school teacher?!!
Kirk Mackintosh
January 26, 2017 at 11:37 am
I have him and heppell at the moment, waiting to see pre-season performances
fantasytragic.com
January 27, 2017 at 6:01 am
I’d lock him in without a second thought if it wasn’t for that bye round. Coaches with Swallow in the midfield can’t afford to have both. Will go 105+
Tom
January 27, 2017 at 5:13 pm
will probably time to offload swallow by his round 9 bye anyway. Certainly viable to have both in the same team.
Green Ninja
February 5, 2017 at 7:45 pm
Will be a late steal in Draft but as much as I like him hard to justify starting with him in AF