Well, I don’t think it’s going to be a question of whether you need to put any Collingwood players in your team or not, but rather how many you should be putting in. They have been the dominant team in the competition over the past two years, playing an amazing combination of defensive and attacking football. Whilst playing a great team-orientated game plan, they still have many stars in their lineup to choose from, including the most dominant Dreamteam player (Dane Swan) and SuperCoach player (Scott Pendlebury) of 2011.

Much of the same should be expected from the Pies in 2012, still with one of the younger lists in the competition. Whilst some of their stars such as Pendlebury, Cloke, Thomas, Dawes, Reid, O’Brien and Sidebottom are all established members of their side, they are all still under 25 years old, so all yet to really hit their peak yet, which is a scary thought!

The only real unknown on the Pies list at the moment is their coach for 2012 – Nathan Buckley. Bucks has been working under Malthouse for the past few years, so at least knows the players and is unlikely to make many wholesale changes to the place – nor should he have to! I’m expecting us to see a pretty similar game plan to what has worked for them over the past two years, so they should stay pretty consistent as far as Dream Team and SuperCoach scoring goes.

The Pies have their bye in round 12, which isn’t a bad thing. Whilst there are a few other popular teams amongst that lot (Essendon, Fremantle, Geelong, Melbourne and Sydney), it’s not quite as bad as the round 13 bye. One thing apparent from the other round 12 bye teams is the lack of any real premium midfield options (except maybe Barlow and Jobe Watson), meaning that it really allows you to load up on Pies midfielders if you desire – something you really couldn’t do last year.

Anyway, on to the players…

 

KEY PLAYERS:

Scott Pendlebury:

Pendles was the Number one player in SuperCoach in 2011 and the number 2 in Dream Team, so it’s fair to say it was a pretty decent year from the still-young midfielder. He proved to not only be a consistent performer, but also one with a super high ceiling, with 11 scores over 120 points in DT and 15 in SuperCoach. This is coupled with only four games under 100 points in DT (with none below 85) and a 94-point game being his only sub-100 score in SC for the whole season!

There hasn’t been an awful amount of news coming out of the Pies this pre-season, but as is often the case, no news is good news. Pendles is training with the main group though and has had no setbacks, meaning there are no reasons he can’t have a repeat of his super 2011 season – in fact, at his age he could be getting even better!

 

Dane Swan:

Swan is one player that should really need no introduction in Dream Team land, being one of the most dominant scorers for the past few seasons. In my opinion you need to start your team with one of the monster scorers (Swan leads this category), so you can have a set and forget captain from day one. Not having one of these players from the start (even if you plan on bringing them in later) can cost you a lot of points in a very short space of time.

Swan’s 2011 was again fantastic, averaging 123 in both DT and SC – however, he had a few games in the middle of the year where injury took hold of him and his scores reflected it pretty clearly. Taking out these few games from his average we see an average of 129 DT and 130 SC – ridiculous number across an entire season. Does this even mean that he is underpriced!?

So far there is little to suggest he will score any differently in 2012 – there have been no setbacks to his training and he should be deployed in the same role as 2011. He does come at an exorbitant price, but on 2012 form he is worth every penny and will be a lock for captain every week of the year… except round 12 that is…

 

Travis Cloke:

Cloke is a player who has been threatening to become a DT/SC premium for a few years now, but finally delivered in 2011 with an average of 97.1 in DT and 100.57 in SuperCoach. That is not to say his year didn’t have it’s inconsistencies, but he still managed to deliver some very good games, especially in the second half of the year.

As the key forward for the best team in the home and away season, it was about time that we saw Cloke string some big games together. He is now physically at a size which will trouble opponents and has worked hard to increase his tank, allowing him to spend more time up the field. The emergence of Chris Dawes has surely helped him too – Dawes plays much closer to goal, as well as requiring a good defender, meaning that Cloke can spend more time getting marks and kicks up the ground and is also less likely to get double-teamed when he moves into the forward line.

Collingwood will again go into 2012 as the flag favourites and it is little wonder why – whilst they lost the flag to Geelong in 2011, the expectation is that Geelong may slide a little this year due to the age factor. That said, everyone said the same in 2011. But the point is that Cloke will continue to be the focal point of a team likely to be kicking plenty of goals in 2012, meaning that he should at least be able to sustain his numbers from 2011.

His second half to 2012 showed a real rise in form and consistency; he averaged 83 DT and 84 SC from the first ten rounds, then averaged 107 DT and 110 SuperCoach for the rest of the year, showing a significant increase in scoring ability. These are the numbers I would expect him to take into 2012, assuming he has a good pre-season. So far his pre-season has been uninterrupted, and whilst there has been little news on him, as far as I am concerned, no news is good news. He is now at an age where consistency should be a strong part of his game, so hopefully we can see this throughout 2012.

 

OTHERS TO CONSIDER:

 

Marty Clarke:

Marty returns to the AFL after two years off from the game, where he returned back to Ireland to play his original game – Gaelic football. The Pies got him back on their list by trading their first round pick to GWS, so clearly they still rate him and see a spot for him in their team. When he played a few years ago he was used in a rebounding role from defence – a similar role to what he will likely play under Buckley. He should be able to slot straight into the spot vacant by Leon Davis, too.

In his three years of AFL football, Clarke averaged 65, 72 and 72 in DT and 70, 80 and 71 in SC, so his scoring is certainly good enough to be given a chance. He is unlikely to be a keeper, but at that price should prove a decent cash-cow for your backline.

Dale Thomas:

Dale has now had two consistent seasons in a row, playing a permanent role through the midfield. He has gone slightly unnoticed due to the likes of Swan and Pendlebury, but it doesn’t mean he is any less valuable on the field. He is also a little more unique than the other two names, despite his high potential and new-found consistency. There are plenty worse unique options out there than Daisy.

Steele Sidebottom:

Steele is an intriguing option for 2012 – he is the price of a premium, however, his average of 85 in DT and 84 in SC probably doesn’t warrant that price, so we would be banking on a 10-15 point increase in both forms of the game to make his selection worthwhile.

He did have pretty decent consistency in 2011, with five scores over 100 and only four below 70 – so most weeks was scoring reasonably well. He is spending most of his time across the half-forward line, drifting into the midfield in spurts. My prediction is that in 2012 he will play a much bigger role through the guts as he becomes bigger, fitter and stronger. He certainly has the ball-winning ability, so keep an eye on his pre-season form – if he is playing through the midfield, the chances of this being his breakout year will dramatically rise.

Dayne Beams:

Beams is a player who I would be too scared to put in my DT or SC – he actually had a great 2011, averaging 100 points in both competitions and is therefore priced accordingly. He finished the year with a huge bang, hence his price. After playing just 8 of the first 18 rounds, Beams came back into the side with great form, averaging 123.8 DT and 127.8 SC points from the last five games. He spent the majority of this time playing through the middle, as opposed to the HFF where he spent the first half of his season.

Firstly, I think he has had too few games through the midfield to base his selection upon, especially at his price (making him the 4th most expensive forward). Secondly, the form he displayed in the Preliminary final against the Hawks was woeful, finishing the game with just 2 disposals until ¾ time, at which point he was subbed off.  That game is stuck at the back of my mind, so my worry is that it could be the same for Bucks. If you are keen, tread with care and take note of his pre-season form and role.

Heath Shaw:

Shaw caused many coaches pain in 2011 when he was suspended only hours before lockout after having put some bets on an AFL match. It wasn’t the first time Shaw has burned coaches either, with inconsistent scoring, as well as his ‘car-crash’ incident of a few years ago. Now into a new season, Shaw is still going to be considered by many – he can score well in a position where premiums are far and few between, as well as being reasonably priced.

He is a player to pick at your own risk – whilst the positives are certainly there, if feels like we can’t go a year without having something to complain about with Heath. For me, he is a ‘must-watch’ through the NAB cup.

Alan Didak:

My belief is that Didak’s days are done as a fantasy player. We saw a shocker of a year from Dids in 2011 as he battled injuries that never seemed to get better. By the end of the year he was even getting games as sub, having very little impact on any games he did play. The majority of his time seemed to be spent up forward, and in my opinion, this is likely to be where he calls home in 2012 too. With the likes of Beams, Sidebottom and even Fasolo improving around him, they seem the much more likely candidates to spend more time through the midfield, unfortunately resigning Didak to the forward-50.

Injury Room:

The Pies are looking pretty good in the injury stakes. Ben Reid injured his shoulder on his off-season trip, but should be back training soon. Nathan Brown is back from his knee reconstruction and should be OK for round one.

 

TOBY’S BEST 22

FB: Harry O’Brien, Chris Tarrant, Ben Johnson

HB: Nick Maxwell, Ben Reid, Heath Shaw

C: Steele Sidebottom, Dale Thomas, Dane Swan

HF: Alex Fasolo, Travis Cloke, Dayne Beams

FF: Alan Didak, Chris Dawes, Andrew Krakouer

R: Darren Jolly, Luke Ball, Scott Pendlebury

INT: Sharrod Wellingham, Marty Clarke, Alan Toovey, Jarryd Blair

EMER: Nathan Brown, Tyson Goldsack, Brent Macaffer