2008 AFL Dream Team and Super Coach discounted players

The FanFooty Fanplanner has now been updated for what should be the last time with hopefully 100% accurate prices and positions, taken from the AFL Record which went on sale this week. One of the big questions before every AFL Dream Team and Herald-Sun Super Coach season is which players, of the 100 who are in the qualification zone of having played between one and eight games the previous year, that VirtualSports will arbitrarily decide to discount in price. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to the choices: old or young, injured or fit, experienced or green… no pattern has emerged. This year the discounts are in four bands from 10 to 40 per cent based on their average from 2007 multiplied by this year’s magic number of 4343. Here are the players:

10% discount

• Bachar Houli, ES C: $196800/$181900

Houli is in that awkward price band where he’s not really in the radar of serious fantasy coaches because they’re looking towards rookies. Not enough savings for mine.

20% discount

• Nick Gill, AD F: $242100/$315900
• Thomas Murphy, HW B: $233700/$306900

Both of these players interest me. Gill showed a fair bit late last year – I bought him for my own teams and wasn’t disappointed – and if (BIG IF) Neil Craig continues to implement the Mark Thompson attacking game plan we saw last Saturday then he will reap rewards. Murphy has looked pretty good in the Clinton Young mold in his limited opportunities, but it’s not clear yet how many games he will get this year, especially since Clinton Young himself may keep him out. Both worth keeping an eye on.

30% discount

• Adam Hartlett, CA B/F: $101100/$164000
• Chad Jones, WC F: $139100/$229800
• Ben Reid, CO F: $138800/$134600
• Sean Rusling, CO F: $266000/$374900
• Courtenay Dempsey, ES C: $133800/$256000
• Heath Hocking, ES C: $133800/$151400
• Ryan Cook, CO F: $129700/$170600
• Jarrad Oakley-Nicholls, RI C: $127700/$90200
• Jamie McNamara, WC C: $124700/$111800
• Josh Hill, WB F: $103400/$90200
• Matthew Ferguson, SK B: $91200/$176600
• Tom Hislop, ES C: $163100/$158600
• Ryan Lonie, CO C: $212000/$287500
• Wayde Skipper, WB R: $212300/$251100
• Brent Prismall, GE C: $218300/$252400
• Andrew Foster, FR C: $209700/$264400
• Ed Barlow, SY C/B: $198600/$213900
• Lewis Roberts-Thomson, SY B: $231100/$295600
• Anthony Corrie, BL F: $214300/$272200
• Sam Iles, CO C: $170200/$239100
• Andrew Browne, FR C: $114700/$169400
• Nick Stevens, CA C: $237200/$313600

Plenty of value in this band. Stevens is pretty much a lock in every team, he’s this year’s Adcock. Dempsey is getting a lot of interest as well due to his pace, though injury is a concern with him. At least one of the two Freo centres, Foster and Browne, will make it onto top 100 teams this year, I am tipping. McNamara is very tasty at that price and plenty will take a chance on him getting a share of the midfield rotation in the depleted Eagles engine room. The two Collingwood forwards will also take the eye of many coaches, although Rusling is still a mite too expensive and it’s probably a year too early for Reid. Skipper might fool a few coaches but he’s still overpriced after the discount! Finally, Corrie is getting some press in the pre-season but we’d need to see him put it on the park first.

40% discount

• Danny Stanley, CO B: $103000/$170000
• Matthew Laidlaw, SY C: $99000/$148300
• Eric MacKenzie, WC B: $104200/$90200
• Brock O’Brien, FR B: $164200/$188500
• Garry Moss, HW C: $125100/$90200
• Beau Dowler, HW F: $125100/$90200
• Daniel Connors, RI C: $125800/$139000
• Travis Tuck, HW C: $138100/$108200
• Garrick Ibbotson, FR B/C: $96400/$132900

Connors managed 84 in DT and 88 in SC from 25 possessions in one of his four games last season, and at $125,800/$139,000 that’s going to interest a fair amount of coaches. The two Hawk centres would need to be named for round 1 to attract much interest. The two Freo backs both have to prove themselves, but MacKenzie from the Eagles impressed on a wing in the WAFL last year despite his size, and he will feature in a number of fantasy backlines if he shows anything in the NAB Cup. Mr Fantasy in the AFL Record doesn’t think much of Dowler, saying he’s not the “type”, but I’m more bullish on his prospects for improvement at that price.

This is a list that you’re going to have to keep in front of your mind when structuring your 2008 AFL Dream Team and Super Coach squads. All of the above players are listed with colour-coded discount figures in the Add Player pages of the Fanplanner. Get cracking!