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It’s here! For DreamTeam assistant coach subscribers, you can now start picking your initial squad. So on day one of the picker opening, we asked MJ to select his team. As a Patreon, he’s given you exclusive first viewing. Enjoy!

Defenders

If you’ve been a Patreon or follower of the Coaches Panel for some years, then you’d be familiar with my thought process with premiums. First, get the player you believe is the best performer in the starting squad for the season. In the backline, I think that’s Jake Lloyd and Lachie Whitfield. At worst, they might drift to a low 90’s performer. But at best, they can excel weekly past 105 and have proven they are VC/C candidates. Caleb Daniel has some slight value to him, but in reality, he’s shown for the better part of three seasons that he’s a 90+ defender. Of all premiums on my side, he’s the one most likely to be changed early. But for a structure hold, it works fine. Wayne Milera is a stupid good value. The fact he’s cheaper than Jason Horne-Francis means there is zero risk even with a poor injury history. Josh Sinn, I believe, will see tons of footy for Port this season. He’s laser fast, makes good decisions with the ball, and adds a fresh dynamic to the Power. Gould/Worrell/Wilmont should all be pressing for games early, but they’re just placeholders at this stage in the preseason.

Midfielders

With your starting midfield premiums, you need a minimum of two captaincy options for any given matchup. With Jack Steele and Jackson Macrae, I’ve ticked that box. Both are dynamic scoring options and have been among the best games to hundreds conversation rate over the past few seasons. Zach Merrett keeps getting it done. Year on year, he’s shown he’s a 110 performing midfielder. Barring a preseason scoring explosion, he might slide a little under the radar. But in reality, Zach is one of the safest picks. I know Andrew Brayshaw ‘broke out’ to the premium territory last year, but I think he gets into the elite scoring category this year. I believe he’ll match it with the Merrett/Laird/Mills types and be a 110 averaging performer. Lachie Neale is valuable, I don’t think he rebounds back to his ‘BCV’ scores of 2020, but he’s a safe 100-105 guy based on his history. At worst, he’ll drift into becoming a reliable M8 by the close of the season. At the same time, Matt Rowell could be anything. Here are the three scenarios, and all can work. Best Case – It becomes a premo and a season-long hold. Middle Ground – I hold for a period of games can make a quick upgrade via him. Worst Case – His scoring fails, but I move him to the stepping stone that is firing. The reality is there’s not a bad scenario. I’ll start with five rookies in the midfield with this structure. It’ll come as no surprise that Nick Daicos and Josh Ward feature. Both are developing teams that’ll give opportunity, plus they have a scorinåg pedigree as a junior. All of Mead/Goater/Clark is just the placeholders but should push for games in 2022.

Rucks

This line is possibly the most on-field vanilla side, but in reality, the value of Braydon Preuss at R2 is immense. When available, he’s the top ruck option at GWS and will be one of the most relevant players for DT. Brodie Grundy is the premium ruckman I trust the most for scoring, health and role consistency, so he’ll lead my ruck division into battle. While Sam Hayes could see plenty of games with the departure of Peter Ladhams.

Forwards

Before Leon Cameron started playing around with player positions, Tim Taranto averaged 110 last season. Plain and simple, if he gets back to his heavy midfield role, he’d have been in the mix as a top tier midfielder. The fact he’s FWD eligible makes him near impossible to pass up. The same is true for Mitch Duncan. He’s one of the most reliable 95-105 scoring players every match. Yes, he’s got some increasing injury concerns, but those will be mitigated by having him in the starting squad and with what I expect to be a high ownership percentage. It feels like a luxury to have Josh Dunkley at F3. But, in reality, he could well be the top forward in the game. Pre-injury last season, he showed his scoring power. If you believe he’s got a safe role (which I do), then I can’t see a world where he won’t dominate the year. Stephen Coniglio would be on the radar as a MID only, but as a DPP MID/FWD, he’s skyrocketed up my relevance rankings. Historically he’s got the ability to be a 100+averaqging player, and with him being one of the most popular players to own, I can’t see any risk to starting with him. My final four is Luke Pedlar, who should see a significant uptick in games and midfield minutes for the developing Crows. Elijah Hollands should be the most owned player in the game. He’s a basement price and DPP cash cow that’ll play round one. Lock and load. Both Smith and Maginness are just placeholders until the cash cows become clean in Feb/March.