Dear Footy Tragics,

Gary Ablett or Dane Swan?

Can I really afford to spend over $520,000 on one player?

Would I be better off saving some cash and making Bryce Gibbs or Joel Selwood my captain?

So many questions yet so few answers. If you have not already done so, it’s time to start thinking about your dreamteam captain for 2010.

Are you the type who sticks with one captain all season, or do you change captain on a weekly basis to ensure your captain is playing against Richmond every week? Or are you the type who says: “This year I’m picking one captain and sticking with him for 22 weeks”, but then you end up swapping captains week to week and getting it wrong time after time?

While Dane Swan and Gary Ablett were the two dreamteam standouts in 2009, that doesn’t mean they will be the stars in 2010. As a wise man once said “past performance is no guarantee of future performance”.

Had you chosen the number one dreamteam player of 2008 (Jimmy Bartel) for season 2009 as your captain, you would have cost yourself 10 points per game as Dane Swan averaged 119 points per game to Bartel’s 109 points per game in 2009. Now with double points going to our captain, we’re now down 20 points per game or 440 points for the year.

Adelaide Crows Training Session Our challenge is to find the 2010 version of Dane Swan. While it may be Swan himself, it will most likely be someone else. For example, Bernie Vince could lift his game to another level in 2010 and will enter this season full of confidence after winning Adelaide’s best and fairest last year. With 55 AFL games under his belt and entering his fifth season at the age of 24, Vince looks set to explode. With another big pre season under his belt, expect Vince to rack up 30 plus possessions most weeks as opposition clubs struggle to contain him.

The appeal with trying to pick this year’s winner rather than last years is that you won’t have to part with over $500,000. You can pick up Vince now for $441,400 and save $82,100 if you choose him over Swan. Other viable options include Scott Pendlebury ($454,700), Joel Selwood ($453,400) or Brent Stanton ($443,600).

Getting your captain choice correct is crucial to your team’s success. Personally, I prefer to nominate my captain prior to Round 1 and back him in to get the job done for the next 22 weeks.

My advice is to look forward rather than back and be prepared to take a risk. While popular captain choice Gary Ablett has been the dominant player in the AFL for the past three years, nothing lasts forever.

Good luck!