Let’s begin our club-by-club discussions with the Crows. No matter how you think their 2019 season will play out, there are bound to be some relevant players who you can lock away, roll the dice on breaking out, generate some cash, or pick as a left field unique option when everyone else is going vanilla. And of course, we all love a smokey pick that you can steal mid/late draft.

We gathered up a few members of the Panel and pitched each of these categories to see who we’re all keeping an eye on this preseason:

The Lock:

Jimmy: Rory Laird. He’s priced awfully high but you know what you’re getting. Lock him in.

MJ: It’s hard for me to go past Matt Crouch. He’s a picture of scoring who barely scores below 100. I’m confident he’ll average 110+ in all formats.

Rids: Brodie Smith. Needs to get through preseason with no scares but is priced perfectly to take the punt.

Tim: Matt Crouch. He’s been a ball magnet his whole career and I feel he’s slightly underpriced, plus has been very durable to date.

The Breakout

Jimmy: Jordan Galluci. The first round draft pick now has a couple of preseasons under his belt. He’s a bold pick to start but could easily jump a solid 20pts/game.

MJ: Hard to go past Wayne Milera. A move off half back last season displayed to the footy world what Crows fans have known since his draft days. That is that Wayne posses all the class, dash & poise that reminds fans of Andrew McLeod. Does Brodie Smith’s return impact his scoring? Possibly, and only 2 games last year where they played together is to small a sample size to tell.

Rids: Wayne Milera is probably the one here although it will be interesting to see the role.

Tim: Jordan Gallucci. I found it pretty hard to nail a ‘breakout’ for the Crows, but reckon Galluci might just climb into another bracket this season.

The Cash Cow

Jimmy: Brodie Smith. Comes with a nice discount and if he can stay on the park, should increase in price nicely in the first month to get within striking distance of a premium.

MJ: He’s no lock in the side, but I’m going for Shane McAdam. Crows valued him super highly and to grab him along with pick 13 for McGovern was a massive win for the club. Speaking of McGovern, his departure has created a vacancy inside forward 50 and for mine he looks like the most likely and versatile options to take the spot.

Rids: Chayce Jones will get games this year. Kid is silky smooth and can find the pill.

Tim: Chayce Jones. Crows need mids, this kid seems a good one and not a stranger to finding a bit of the ball.

The Unique

Jimmy: Rory Sloane. Priced under 90 in RDT and Fantasy but has gone at 105+ the two years prior. Can he bounce back?

MJ: It was a more than handy season for Bryce Gibbs in his debut season as a Crow, but with multiple midfield injuries Gibbs was forced to play a more inside midfield role. The return of Sloane & Crouch should free him up to get the inside & outside balance of his game back on track and as such keep his average safely into the hundreds.

Rids: Tom Lynch. Should get that link role back with the intro of the 666.

Tim: Rory Sloane feels a bit underpriced – will always have the ceiling he showed in 2017 so with Gibbs and Crouches on board he has high upside and won’t be highly owned.

The Draft Smokey

Jimmy: Brad Crouch. Didn’t play last year so won’t appear in the standard UF rankings. He’ll slide further than he should.

MJ: He isn’t a sexy pick and generally goes 2-3 rounds later than he should, but Bryce Gibbs always averages over 100 and has only missed 16 possible games during his entire career. Durable and consistent scoring, a perfect combination in drafts.

Rids: Rory Sloane. Will slide in all drafts this year. Pick him up as a m4/m5 if you can

Tim: Tom Lynch is always good for an 85-95 avg and is always a forward. Never a sexy pick but always worth his draft value.

So! Who makes the cut for you in each category? Have your say on Facebook,  Twitter or Instagram