2011 in Review - Newton's First Law

Many were high on Kade Simpson following 2010, acheiving an average of 100 per game, though in 2011, he has taken a small step backwards. He hasn't been a whole lot worse and was still consistent throughout the year, but he just wasn't scoring as highly. It may be due to the other Blues midfielders stepping up to the plate and perhaps taking focus off from him

There's not much doubt as to his capability, but one should look at other players who are cheaper and have the potential to match his 2011 average

Many expected Ablett to decrease quite a bit in 2011, due to him being surrounded by a dozen of debutants, but the fact that Ablett hardly took a hit to his yearly average shows just how much a great player he really is.

Ablett in 2012 will be a safe pick. With his young teammates getting more experience under their belts, his bound to get more support and assistance throughout the midfield and should increase average more throughout the year than the last

If you have Pendlebury in your team, you might consider selecting Ablett instead. It will save you $25,000 with minimal to no impact on your score.

Swan will be in the teams of many in 2012, but there will be some who will leave him behind for a cheaper pick. Gary Ablett or Scott Pendlebury will continue to be comparable to Swan in 2012, though they're priced reasonably cheaper.

The safe option will be to pick Swan, but the smarter option may be to go for Ablett, save $45,000 and use that to upgrade a borderline top tier player to a certified top tier player.

Brennan has been averaging mid 85s since 2008. There's no real reason to expect him to stop now

One player that you should not expect much of a Dream Team improvement from in 2012 is Sam Fisher. Fisher's role isn't the same it was a few years ago, where he averaged 94 in 2008. He is now playing a more key defensive role as opposed to an attacking defensive role and while it's winning him the Saints Best and Fairest, it won't be helping him with his fantasy score average

Like Gary Ablett, Rischitelli had an impressive year considering the level of experience he was surrounded by. If he begins to get more support from his teammates around him, he has a great chance of averaging over 100 throughout the upcoming season.

Even though he's approaching the end of his career Simon Black is still consistently averaging scores of 90 since 2008. It's unrealistic to expect him to all of a sudden average above 95, as other midfielders in the Lions side begin adopting key roles

Despite this man's freakish football ability, Chris Judd has never been that high of a Dream Team scorer. What he does he does so well, so it's unlikely that you'll all of a sudden begin to see him take more marks and give off less handballs

Judd is a safe pick though he's average will likely continue to average on the 100 mark. One may want to consider Nick Dal Santo for just $6,000 more.

Despite an inconsistent start to 2011, Nick Dal Santo fired on cylinders in the second half and managed to average over 111 in the second half of the season, higher than the likes of Marc Murphy and just behind Scott Selwood. He finally managed to handle a tag, which led him to playing some of the best football seen throughout the year. It was certainly his best year to date in an outfit which dropped off quite a bit following 2010.

If Dal Santo can manage to carry that form into 2012, he'll be a quality pick at his price range and should really be considered.

Pavlich has been persistently hovering around the 93 average mark since his average of 100 in 2008. While he's a reliable player he does disappoint on occassions with his inconsistency.

It's hard to know what role he'll play this year with a new coach in charge, so it might be better to skip on Pavlich in 2012 despite his attractive price.

2011 saw Lance Franklin achieve his highest yearly average to date. Many would expect him to continue his dominating form. He's already averaging eighteen disposals and nearly four goals per game, so you wouldn't expect much improvement over last year's average. Well, if he stopped averaging 2.5 frees against per match, it could boost his average by quite a bit, but we all know that's not going to happen...

Being an established forward, albeit a tad inconsistent, Buddy should be seriously considered for all teams. Hawthorn love to use Buddy at almost any oppurtunity and with Roughead still recovering from an achille tendon tear, he'll be the sole target for at least a month into the season.

Cyril is a player waiting to explode. He can play some amazing football at times, but is held back by his inconsistencies and injuries. His coach has mentioned that he may spend more midfield time and all reports indicate Cyril has had his best preseason yet. Expect his yearly average to increase a fair bit.

Priced reasonably as $430,000, Cyril is one to keep an eye out for in 2012.

Luke Ball has gone under the radar due to the calibre of talent he's surrounded by. He's had his best Dream Team average to date and looks to have gotten rid of all the persisting niggling injuries he had from a couple of years back.

Ball's capable of big scores, so he can certainly add value to any team he's in. He's a bit on the pricey side, but considering that he's often overlooked, he may prove be a good pick if one is looking for unique players.

Higgins is kind of an unknown. Many people know that he has potential to be a great footballer and a great fanatasy player, but he's fallen short of expectations in both 2010 and 2011. Injuries have been an issue and so has consistency.

This year we might see his return to the form he showed in 2009, but it's a risk. Cyril Rioli who's similiarly priced and has had a similiar history regarding form and injures, may be the option between the two.