Who should I start with?

Hi guys, Jordan here. This is my first dreamteam article, I hope you like it. Feedback is welcome. This article was born out of some analysis I was doing on a couple of the premium players of the competition. The goal is to basically identify the most consistent premos in order to start with them, as these are the guys who are most likely to hold their value as the season goes on and conversely avoid those who are less consistent in order to pick them up at a later stage for cheaper. The study looks at 8 players you might consider to be premiums at year end and would be looking to bring into your team at some point in the season.

All of the stats are based on the last three seasons data so keep this in mind. When you see Dangerfield: mean 105.58 this refers to his 3-year average. The ‘count’ statistic is the number of games played over the three years. std stands for standard deviation and is a measure of the distribution of scores around the mean or average score. The 25%, 50% and 75% are quartiles, which is a statistical concept that divides the data into quarters. The way you interpret this is say for Dangerfield, who has readings of 25% 88, 50% 105, and 75% 120 is that 25% of Dangerfield’s scores over the last 3 years were below 88pts, 50% were below 105pts, and 75% were below 120. Regarding the graphs, the outer, gray violin-type thing is wider when there are more scores around a given value and narrower when there are less. Within a given year, the horizontal difference between points doesn’t mean anything, its just random. Also a lot of the qualitative information is just my opinion so if you don’t agree with it thats ok, just don’t take it as gospel.

Anyway, without further ado…. enjoy!

Patrick Dangerfield

Patrick Dangerfield, reigning Brownlow medalist and highest averaging player for 2016. Dangerfield took his game to the next level last year and his dreamteam scores reflected this, raising his average from 106 to 118. He comes into 2017 as the most expensive player costing a whopping $712,000 and could easily end as one of the, if not THE highest averaging player of 2017. The question, however is not is he DT elite, but rather should I start with him?

The good: He’s as durable as they come, playing 65 of 66 home and away games over the last three seasons. Preseason reports have him fit and healthy and he recently got through his first preseason hit-out unscathed. He has the ability to go big consistently, evident by the recording of 8 scores above 125 last year (including a massive 187) and thus is captain worthy.

The bad: Price. He’s the best player in the comp and he’s priced as the best player in the comp. I don’t know about you but I don’t think he’s going to take it to a whole new level and average 10 points higher this year (happy to eat my words) so this means his price is only going one way. As seen above Danger also isn’t afraid of the odd 75pt game which at his average would kickstart a decent price decline. Also lets not forget that he is Geelong’s most important player (sorry Joel), so he will be put on ice in games Geelong are comfortably winning and could even be rested late in the season. His contested ball game also puts him at a higher chance of injury and niggles (low scores and price drops), although it is worth mentioning that getting crunched by the opposition last year basically guaranteed a 140pt+ game.

All said and done Danger is a great pick, but there is a good chance you will be able to pick him up cheaper during the season.

Tom Rockliff

Roy’s boy and insta-captain lock Tom Rockliff is the true successor to Dane Swan as king of the pigs. We all know how good he is at his best (an average of 135 in 2014 is insane!), but just like Elon Musk’s Space-X rockets he’s either going to Mars or not getting off the launch pad.

The good: Rocky holds the highest 3 season average of all players of 119pts beating out the nearest competition by over 10 points (if you don’t count Brayden Fiorini). On top of that 50% of his scores have been above 125pts and 25% above 145pts. The guy clearly doesn’t have a ceiling in his house and gives you a default captain pick every week. All reports are that he has had a strong preseason and should be good to go round 1.

The bad: He can’t stay on the park. Rocky has recorded by far the lowest game tally of our 8 players at 51 out of 66. The breakdown is 18, 16, 17 for 2014, 2015 and 2016 respectively so you can see its not exclusive to one year. In fact Rocky has only managed 1 full season in his career (2012). The standard deviation of his scores is also the highest of our 8 players at 41 pts, partly due to injury affected scores and partly to his monster ceiling. Priced at $704,000, he’s not cheap and this is a fair amount of cash to have sitting on the bench if hes out with soft tissue injuries. Theres also the new coach factor to think about. What is Chris Fagan’s game plan and what does he have in mind for Rocky? Will he be allowed to roam or be made more accountable?

All considered it’s a difficult decision. History says you’ll be able to pick him up cheaper during the season, but can you afford not to start with him?

Dan Hannebery

On first appearance Sydney manchild Dan Hannebery doesn’t excel in any of the above statistics in comparison to his competition, recording second least amount of games played and a middle ground standard deviation. Looking a little closer though we see that its all due to his 2014 season which was responsible for all 6 of Dan’s missed games and his 4 worst scores over the last three years.

The good: Disregarding 2014 the guy barely drops below 80 and is consistent as they come playing 44/44 games. He also has a great ceiling regularly scoring above 120 making him a solid captain choice. Theres not much to worry about on the team front as you would imagine Sydney’s game plan and midfield personnel wouldn’t change much from last year and if anything, the departure of Tom Mitchell may increase the amount of ball available for the likes of Hanners, Parker and Kennedy. All reports out of Sydney say that he’s burning up the preseason track after giving up the froffies over the break. At \$655,000 he’s also one of the cheaper options on this list coming in around $50k cheaper than Danger and Rocky.

The bad: Not much really. While he doesn’t have the ceiling of Rocky or 2016’s Danger, his is still high and he can be depended upon to bring home 100pts each week.

If he keeps up his form from the last 2 years it will be hard to get him for much of a discount. One I am definitely considering starting with.

Scott Pendlebury

DT Rolls Royce Scott Pendlebury is as classy and consistent as they come. Priced at $641,000 he’s also as cheap as they come (relatively speaking), coming in as the second cheapest on this list after averaging 106 in 2016. Can the man rebound from what was a disappointing year by his lofty standards or has time (and Buck’s role changes) finally caught up with him?

The good: As consistent as they make’em playing 65 from 66, dropping below 80 twice in the last 3 years, and recording the lowest standard deviation at 18.7pts. I was genuinely surprised to see Pendle take out this category as his 2016 campaign felt inconsistent but i guess it goes to show what a jet he’s been over time. His ceiling is high, recording one or two games around the 150 mark each year making him a viable captain choice.

The bad: At 29 he’s the oldest our list and while Pendlebury will still be more than capable of pumping out triple figures, he’s not getting younger and this could put him at a higher risk of injury. His 2016 campaign was less consistent than 2014 and 2015 where the standard deviation of his scores increased to 21.2 from 15.7 and 19.2 in 14 and 15 respectively. Obviously part of this was due to Bucks throwing him into defence early in the season and you could argue that some was due to the continued emergence of Treloar, Adams, Sidebottom and co. The questions are will this continue and how much of an affect will it have on Pendles scoring. With the Collingwood midfield logjam only increasing over the offseason I can’t see Pendles getting increased midfield time unless someone significant goes down with injury, but I also don’t see his scoring falling off a cliff either.

Personally I would take others on this list ahead of Pendlebury this year however he looks likely to continue to be the picture of consistency into 2017 making it hard for coaches to pick him up for a bargain. Definitely one to consider starting with.

Adam Treloar

If Pendles is the Rolls Royce, then my man Treloar is like a sporty electric car. New, well rounded, flashy, but your still not sure it wont spontaneously combust when you take it for a drive. Rest assured Treloar has been a DT gun for years and looks well on his way to continue that into 2017. (I am bias however after picking him up early last year)

The good: Consistency king. 2016 would have been a terrible year for Treloar if he were a roller-coaster, but luckily for us he’s not. He’s a DT player that prints 100s. With the second lowest 3-year standard deviation of our group Treloar recorded a coma-like standard deviation of 16.7pts in 2016. He’s played 63 of the last 66 home and away games and all 22 in his first season at Collingwood. At 23 years of age his best is still ahead of him and he’s seemingly loved by Bucks.

The bad: He doesn’t have a ceiling. He has had 1 score above 140 in the past 3 years. Treloar’s the guy you can count on bringing in 100 to 110 each week. He’s not the guy thats going to clock 180 and win you your head to head.

Priced at $673,000 he’s one of the more expensive players going around but he’s also going to be “that guy that you want in your team but can’t afford because he never has a bad game” if you don’t start with him. One I will almost certainly start with.

Josh P. Kennedy

1st half 2014:  111.27  2nd half 2014:  97.56  Difference:  13.72
1st half 2015:  96.82  2nd half 2015:  118.18  Difference:  -21.36
1st half 2016:  101.3  2nd half 2016:  114.45  Difference:  -13.15

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