Greg Broughton – Deck of Dream Team 2013

Welcome to the annual Deck of Dream Team! We are into our fourth year running this series where we look at a player a day for 52 days leading up to the official launch of the AFL Dream Team season on February 1. So buckle up and make sure you check out these articles everyday from our crew of DT Talk writers. We’ll be keen to hear your thoughts on each of these players as our pre-season gets into full swing! Enjoy!

Name: Greg Broughton
Club: Gold Coast
Position: Defender/Forward
Assistant Coach 2013 Price: $408,000
Bye Round: 13
2012 Average: 79.2
2012 Games Played: 15
Predicted Average: 90

Why should I pick him?

Like many other coaches, I have a lot of man love for Gregory Broughton… affectionately known as Broughts around at the Warne Dawgs.

Broughts oozes DT potential. He burst onto the AFL Dream Team scene four years ago as a mature aged defender averaging 87.6 in his first season from 15 games scoring 6 DT tons including some massive scores of 120, 122, 128 and 129. This had many of us excited about him and we were all thinking that he will be one of the best DT scorers over the next few year. Broughts backed up in 2010 with an average of 89.3 (15 games) and 84.1 (21 games) in 2011. In each of these years he posted multiple 110+ scores continuing to show his massive DT ability. 2012 was a year to forget – see more in the next section – but he wasn’t too bad between rounds 3 and 11 averging 92 Dream Team points.

Ok, so we all get that he has the making of a decent DT player?! Well, he has moved to Gold Coast thanks to a falling out at Fremantle and he is ready for us to forgive and forget and lock into our teams. The Suns should improve in 2013 with their kids maturing and Broughts has shown enough in his 4 years in the system that he can mix it in the midfield, or run off half back and create play. Now I’m not in the inner sanctum at the Suns and have no idea what their real plans are, but I’m tipping he won’t be the role player that he was at the Dockers, especially as he was under Ross Lyon. He moved clubs for an opportunity; I am sure it will await him at the Suns.

As a sweeping defender at Gold Coast, Broughts has the potential to average in the 90s. I have been safe in saying 90, but don’t be surprised if he can push it around 95 or so.

Why shouldn’t I pick him?

Broughton has been placed on a lot of coaches never again list… and rightly so.

Broughts hasn’t played a full season over his career and has broken down at crucial times costing people trades. Some say he is injury prone with some soft tissue injuries across his career. He missed 7 matches in the middle of his second year but returned and smashed it, only to dish up a hideous 64 in the DT Grand Final. In 2011 he only missed the one game, but his last 5 games he scored 57, 71, 51, 62 and 89. Not a bad GF score, but he cost a lot of coaches in their finals with those terrible numbers. The worst thing here is that he was picked up by a lot of coaches at the start of this bad run because he was coming off scores of 139, 149, 114, 96 and 102 the 5 rounds before that making him the most inform defender. Ouch!

Last season he was on the outer with new coach Ross Lyon. He was thrown all around the ground and his scoring suffered massively due to this. The worst was when he was sitting forward. This was highlighted massively in his last 4 rounds with scores of 57, 75, 59 and a subbed 36. Round 16 was the last we saw of him in the Dockers jumper after going in for surgery on his finger.

Basically, he can have some stinker scores if things aren’t going right for him and as a result, he appears a mega inconsistant player. It’s all part of the Broughton rollercoaster.

Deck of DT Rating.

QUEEN – I started with Broughts for the Deck of Dream Team because he will be my first player selected in 2013. A new club gives him a new opportunity and the chance to not just have DT potential, have a season where he can have his best AFL Dream Team season of his career. He is probably controversial for some as he has burnt us many times before and some are still scarred from the memory of the former Fremantle Number 6. I can only see positives in his move to the Suns, so I’m on! Are you?

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