Dream Team market watch
BRENDAN Fevola has always been something of a challenge for his real-life coaches at Carlton and the Brisbane Lions and now he's doing the same for his mentors
BRENDAN Fevola has always been something of a challenge for his real-life coaches at Carlton and the Brisbane Lions and now he's doing the same for his mentors in Toyota AFL Dream Team.
After a reasonably productive start to 2010 at his new club, the Lions forward has slumped badly in the past month.
With fellow goalkicker Jonathan Brown struggling with injury, Fev has failed to fill the void, dropping almost $100,000 in value in the past three rounds. Unsurprisingly, he's leapt to second in the list of top 10 DT losers this season, trailing only Magpies goalsneak Leon Davis.
Now valued at less than $250,000, there might be some coaches keen to take a punt on Fev but they're braver men (or women) than the DT market analysts.
Hawk Brad Sewell is another former DT star who's fallen on hard times. Rated at almost $450,000 before round one, a combination of form and fitness has sent the tough midfielder's value plummeting by more than $100,000.
Sewell's current value of $341,800 still doesn't tally with his average of 75 points, suggesting he's still got further to fall.
While we're on DT disappointments, it's been a tough month for Jason Akermanis in more ways than one. His off-field controversy aside, the Bulldog has struggled in the DT area of late and managed just 42 points against Essendon on Friday night.
The triple premiership player and Brownlow Medallist has fallen almost $110,000 in value since round one and needs to lift his game considerably.
It was a tough round for many Dream Team coaches, with thousands of midfields around the country hobbled by the absence of gun first-year players Michael Barlow, Tom Scully and Jack Trengove.
It's a rare Dream Team that doesn't feature at least one of that trio and many mentors paid the price, ending up a player short in their final tallies.
The absence of the Demon duo made room for fellow first-year midfielder Jordan Gysberts to make his debut against Geelong and he repaid Dean Bailey's faith with a 103-point game.
Keep an eye on the No.11 selection from the 2009 NAB AFL Draft in coming weeks - there's easy money to be made there.
Coaches who traded for Adelaide's Tony Armstrong in the past fortnight banked a rise of almost $50,000 and there should be more to come if the speedy Crow holds his place.
Teammate Chris Schmidt ($268,900) has been even more impressive, rising into the top five of the most improved players after yet another assured effort against St Kilda.
Another to creep into the top 10 rising prospects is Bulldog Jarrad Grant, who is beginning to deliver on the promise that led to him being drafted inside the top five in 2007.
While teammate Barry Hall has been slotting the goals, Grant's hard work around the forward line and his tackling pressure has delivered good scores in recent weeks, resulting in a price rise of $156,300.
Finally, a tip for those coaches struggling to settle their ruck divisions. Sydney Swan Shane Mumford has thrived since Mark Seaby's serious ankle injury, racking up scores of 94 and 113 in his two games as his side's No.1 ruckman.
At just $287,100, he's much cheaper than Aaron Sandilands, Dean Cox and David Hille but he could prove just as productive in the second half of the season.
Top 10 improvers
1. Michael Barlow (Fre) $389,300 (+$283,500)
2. James Podsiadly (Geel) $327,000 (+$249,200)
3. Matt Maguire (BL) $281,100 (+$180,100)
4. Chris Schmidt (Adel) $268,900 (+$174,400)
5. Ryan Bastinac (NM) $255,500 (+$166,000)
6. Beau Waters (WCE) $317,400 (+$164,600)
7. Todd Banfield (BL) $256,600 (+$162,100)
8. Mitch Duncan (Geel) $251,300 (+$161,800)
9. Jarrad Grant (WB) $253,000 (+$156,300)
10. Ben Howlett (Ess) $233,500 (+$155,700)
Top 10 losers
1. Leon Davis (Coll) $275,200 (-$160,200)
2. Brendan Fevola (BL) $247,700 (-$145,600)
3. Richard Tambling (Rich) $266,800 (-$123,400)
4. Jonathan Brown (BL) $307,100 (-$108,700)
5. Jason Akermanis (WB) $305,100 (-$108,100)
6. Leigh Harding (NM) $249,100 (-$106,300)
7. Brad Sewell (Haw) $341,800 (-$104,300)
8. Colin Sylvia (Melb) $315,000 (-$103,700)
9. Ryan Hargrave (WB) $306,200 (-$103,300)
10. Josh Fraser (Coll) $286,600 (-$99,200)
It's never too late to register! $10,000 cash to be won for the highest single-round score in 2010.
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
