Deck of Dream Team 2012: Matthew Leuenberger

Name: Matthew Leuenberger
Club: Brisbane
Position: Ruck
Assistant Coach Price: $459,100
Bye Round: 11
2011 Average: 93
2011 Games Played: 22
Predicted Average: 99

Why should I pick him?

Last year the was a breakout for the RedRock Berger combo with Redden and Rockliff making significant improvements to their average and Leuenberger was no different, taking his average from 77 to 93. Last year it took the Berger a few rounds to get going, not managing to score 100 until round 7 but from that point he never looked back. Over the next 17 weeks he managed 9 x 100+ scores and 13 games were over 90 throughout the period. So, due to his slow start the big fella is priced at 93 when he played the last 17 games at an average of 98 which can be seen as a nice little discount. A bonus with the Berger is that he has a massive ceiling (he would probably need one) boom tish. In round 21 vs the Gold Coast last year he collected 19 touches, had a whopping 42 hit outs and kicked 2 goals on his way to 140. One of the reasons that make Leuenberger such an attractive selection is he is able to maintain consistency through his dominance in the hit out department. Over the season he amassed 710 hit outs which are basically free DT points and it was that round 7 game which kick started his season where he dominated for 52. Over the last 17 games he managed 30 or more hit outs a total of 15 times. The Lions will make significant improvements of last years performance so that should assist the big man in making a natural progression toward a 100 point average. After early concerns about durability in his career, he has put together back to back seasons of 22 games which is impressive for the big guy who has been labeled the next Dean Cox.

Why shouldn’t I pick him?

Last season the Berger was doing the bulk of the ruck work alone, allowing him to pick up hit outs at will. In the off season the Lions pulled a surprise move drafting fellow ruck Ben Hudson. Assuming Hudson plays, and I think they selected him for more than a safety, you would have to assume Leuenbergers total hit out and game time will drop, negatively affecting his DT output. Another reason not to pick him is that his bye falls with a lot of other popular rucks including Jacobs, Cox, Giles, Goldstein and McIntosh.

Deck of DT Rating:

King- Although there is a slight concern about Hudson taking some time from the Berger in the middle, he is such a good player that he will likely remain on the ground and rest as a secondary forward filling the role that Mitch Clark sucked at (he is much better than Clark so will dominate) last year. I think this bloke is a champion and he will not let you down.

 

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