While not strictly a rookie, Tom Rockliff only played one game for Brisbane last year and is only priced at $100,100, so really he fits the criteria for these articles – a cheapie who can make you some cash. 

I’ll kick off by saying that you’ll need to track Rockliff’s pre-season very closely. He was very good on the weekend against the Bulldogs in torrid conditions, but that was playing through a Lions midfield missing Power and Black. Job security has to be a concern in the back of your mind when you’re looking at Rockliff, but I’ve been a big fan of his for a few years now. I thought he’d get drafted in 2007 for sure, but he missed out and I couldn’t believe he made it all the way to the pre-season draft in 2008. 

TAC Cup Grand Final - Murray Bushrangers v Dandenong Stingrays He’s forward eligible in DT this year, but he’ll be a candidate to play a lot through the middle. The big knock on him as a junior was his lack of endurance, but it’s something he appears to have worked very hard on. He’s also a very capable and opportunistic forward – back when he was playing TAC Cup he kicked five goals or more on eight occasions, not to mention four goals three weeks in a row in the 2008 finals. His 2008 TAC Cup Grand Final was only overshadowed by Steele Sidebottom’s 10 goal performance (Rocky had 30 touches and kicked four goals). 

I like his versatility because it gives Michael Voss a couple of places to play him and when it comes down to selection that might be what gets him the nod ahead of another fringe player. 

The specific reason I’ve written about Rockliff today is that I expect Brisbane to be a winning team this year and there’s definitely a correlation between winning and DT points. Obviously most of the rookies (or cheapies like Rockliff) get lots of games if they’re with poor teams, but I find it a big bonus if you can nail a couple of rookies who can contribute playing amongst quality players. It just makes their transition into AFL a bit easier and being surrounded by a higher quality of teammate generally means their team will keep a bit more of the ball, which can only be a good thing for your rookie. 

Even though the conditions on the weekend were no way to judge a DT performance, I was pretty pleased to see Rockliff step up and be one of Brisbane’s best players. If he can keep that form up, it makes him too hard to ignore. I am quite confident about his ability to score well if he can stay in the team, so track his NAB Challenge performances closely if you can. There doesn’t seem to be a whole heap of forward bench options sticking out this year, so Rockliff could also be a slightly more unique rookie compared to a Trent Dennis-Lane, James Podsiadly or Phil Davis, who I’m tipping to feature prominently on DT benches come Round 1