Seven rounds into this year's competition, Richmond midfielder Shane Tuck is one such curiosity.
The Tiger hard nut is averaging more than 102 points per game, at a not-unreasonable price of $432,000, to rank among the top 20 midfielders to date. To give some perspective, he's currently better value than St Kilda star Lenny Hayes.
Despite his obvious attraction, Tuck features in a paltry 938 Dream Teams at the moment. In contrast, Hayes is a member of almost 17,000 squads.
That's what happens when a player finds himself in the unusual situation where he's one of his side's best ball winners but he's worse value than Chris Judd, Brendon Goddard, Luke Hodge and Matthew Pavlich.
Oh, and he's not necessarily guaranteed a berth in his side's best 22 each week. No one ever said Dream Team was meant to be easy.
However, it takes but a couple of weeks for a player's fortunes to swing wildly - just ask half of Essendon's senior players.
The Dons have been far more competitive in the past fortnight and young guns Angus Monfries and Scott Gumbleton are among those cashing in.
Monfries ($327,500) is super value with an average of more than 86 points while Gumbleton has made more than 82,000 DT mentors very happy with his recent form rise.
The big Bomber looks to have finally overcome his back issues to average 76 points over the past three weeks, sending his value soaring by $135,000 from its pre-season base.
While we're looking at Windy Hill, consider Jason Winderlich ($344,400) if your midfield needs a boost.
Like many of his teammates, the speedy winger struggled early but there are few players who can produce successive 100-point games at the $350K mark and Winderlich has done just that in the past fortnight.
However, grab him soon as his form is on a definite upward trend after bottoming out last week at a $73,000 loss.
Similarly, if you're considering Collingwood's Chris Dawes ($263,100) as a mid-season addition to your forward line, you'd better get in soon.
The market watch analysts slapped a buy recommendation on the big Magpie last week and they're holding their nerve again this week, despite a near-$30,000 leap in his price after he played his third game against North Melbourne.
Finally, most Dream Team coaches have a soft spot for an unsung hero and mid-sized Carlton defender Simon White fits the bill nicely.
The 22-year-old rookie from WA has slotted in nicely to the Blues' backline after being upgraded last month, averaging a very handy 73.5 points after four games. His value has duly shot up by more than $100,000, leaving him on the cusp of the top 10 biggest improvers.
Fremantle's Michael Barlow remains at the top of that group, followed closely by cult-hero Cat James Podsiadly and comeback Eagle Beau Waters.
Meanwhile, Collingwood's Leon Davis continues to lead the biggest losers with Richard Tambling and Ryan Hargrave not far behind. Geelong midfielder Shannon Byrnes is the most notable newcomer, while Power forward Warren Tredrea creeps in after his potentially season-ending ankle injury.
Eagles ruckman Dean Cox, who was prominent early on the loser table, is slowly drifting out of the top 10, as is Bulldog Jason Akermanis after a good showing against Melbourne.
Top 10 improvers
1. Michael Barlow (Fre) $330,200 (+$224,400)
2. James Podsiadly (Geel) $256,700 (+$178,900)
3. Beau Waters (WCE) $296,800 (+$144,000)
4. Ryan Bastinac (NM) $233,300 (+$143,800)
5. Todd Banfield (BL) $238,300 (+$143,800)
6. Alex Silvagni (Fre) $218,100 (+$140,300)
7. Matt Maguire (BL) $239,300 (+$137,600)
8. Mitch Duncan (Geel) $226,200 (+$136,700)
9. Jack Trengove (Melb) $290,000 (+$136,500)
10. Scott Gumbleton (Ess) $229,900 (+$135,400)
Top 10 losers
1. Leon Davis (Coll) $299,200 (-$136,200)
2. Richard Tambling (Rich) $265,200 (-$125,000)
3. Ryan Hargrave (WB) $292,100 (-$117,400)
4. Michael Doughty (Adel) $282,400 (-$99,900)
5. Josh Fraser (Coll) $286,600 (-$99,200)
6. Jason Akermanis (WB) $331,200 (-$82,000)
7. Darren Jolly (Coll) $299,600 (-$81,900)
8. Dean Cox (WCE) $390,300 (-$81,200)
9. Warren Tredrea (PA) $255,200 (-$81,000)
10. Shannon Byrnes (Geel) $294,800 (-$80,300)
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
