I’m already feeling more prepared in the lead-up to 2013, although only time will tell if I’ve learned from the mistakes I made last year.
I must admit, I got a bit carried away with selecting Lions players initially, so ended up having to cut a few to better balance my side.
That said, I still have eight Lions players in my line-up – but they’re all justified selections.
I simply couldn’t look past Pearce Hanley in my backline, particularly as it looks like he’ll be playing most of this season on the wing. His 104-point performance against Carlton in the NAB Cup Grand Final was proof enough that he’ll keep improving this season.
I’ve also added Sam Docherty in my defence, based on the fact that he’s had a huge pre-season and played in every NAB Cup match. I’m expecting him to make his senior AFL debut early on in 2013.
In the midfield, I’ve slotted in both Jack Redden and Brent Moloney. 'Reddo’ has been our top scorer for the past two years, while ‘Beamer’ is simply too cheap to pass-up at just a touch over $300K. No doubt he’ll be in most peoples’ teams.
Matthew Leuenberger is another whose price was nice and low, and even though he’s only played a couple of pre-season practice matches, he’ll soon be back dominating at senior level.
The forward line is where I almost went a bit crazy. Originally, five of my eight forwards were Lions players, which probably wasn’t very wise.
In the end I settled on three – Tom Rockliff, Patrick Karnezis, and Sam Mayes.
‘Rocky’ would be a lock in most teams given he’ll play mostly midfield and rack up plenty of touches, whereas Patty’s pre-season was outstanding to the point where he averaged the most disposals of any Lions player.
Mayes, meanwhile, is all class and, like Docherty, should get his chance at a senior game sometime very soon.
Apologies to Dayne Zorko and Stefan Martin who I also wanted in my team, but in the end were unlucky to be forced out.
My full team is:
DEFENDERS: Bryce Gibbs (CARL), Grant Birchall (HAW), Pearce Hanley (BL), Greg Broughton (GC), Jasper Pittard (PA), Brett Goodes (WB), Sam Docherty (BL), Dean Terlich (MEL)
MIDFIELDERS: Dane Swan (COLL), Gary Ablett (GC), Jack Redden (BL), Patrick Dangerfield (ADEL), Brent Moloney (BL), Lachie Whitfield (GWS), Oliver Wines (PA), Jaeger O’Meara (GC), Nick Vlastuin (RICH), Nick Kommer (ESS)
RUCKS: Dean Cox (WCE), Matthew Leuenberger (BL), Daniel Gorringe (GC), Daniel Currie (NM)
FORWARDS: Tom Rockliff (BL), Jordan Lewis (HAW), Dustin Martin (RICH), Shaun Higgins (WB), Patrick Karnezis (BL), Travis Varcoe (GEEL), Sam Mayes (BL), Tom Lee (STK)
