Every year the Herald Sun releases the little black book giving advice on who to buy and who to avoid. I will point out some of the ones they overlooked and errors they made while also offering my own suggestions. Of course I will praise the decisions that I agree with and why I agree with them.
Western Bulldogs
Last season Western Bulldogs were earmarked to push to the grand final and potentially secure their second premiership. It ended in utter disappointment when the Bulldogs failed to make the eight and gave their coach Rodney Eade the flick putting in relative unknown Brendan McCartney in charge for 2012. This season should be one of rebuilding for the Bulldogs who hope to put more games into their youngsters. From a SuperCoach perspective this is a positive since we can fill our benches with young players but it means they will not be as high scoring as previous years.
The Superstar
Matthew Boyd - Became an elite player last season averaging 120 ppg. Expect more of the same from Boyd and with the good bye draw (minimal clashing) is one you should definitely consider starting with. To top that off due to other popular picks such as Swan and Ablett he will be relatively unique which could make an excellent point of difference come season's end.
Bank 'Em
Daniel Cross - Suffered a drop off from the previous season but that is more than likely an aberration with the way Eade coached at the end of this tenure. Should be good to see if he bounces back but there is a good chance that he can. If he does bounce back then he presents massive value. Strongly consider for a M3 through to M5 spot if you think he can go back to 2010 scoring patterns.
Ryan Griffen - A very good chance of jumping up another level to that 120+ average. Has flown under the radar compared to players such as Judd, Swan and Ablett which like Boyd means that he will be a very unique pick. Unfortunately he won't play round 1 but if you had McDonald or Kennedy on your bench as an emergency you can use the loophole to your advantage. Will be unique and should become a 120+ ppg player.
Buy 'Em
Matthew Panos - With Barry Hall retiring at the end of the season it left a gaping hole in the Bulldogs. Fortunately that hole can be filled by Matthew Panos, a rookie priced player who looks set to get games. Being touted an an accurate goal kicker means that if he gets the ball he will kick a goal and as such translates to points. Very big potential to be a cash cow. Jump on.
Brian Lake - Looks like he is back and should be strongly considered for your starting squad. Showed a lot of glimpses of what he is capable of this season. Consider that before last season he has averaged over or close to 100 over the previous four seasons. And to get an idea of his ceiling he scored 196 in 2010 against North Melbourne with 40 touches. So he does know how to find the ball.
Bury 'Em
Shaun Higgens - Adding to the list of blokes that have burned everyone it is Higgins. There is no doubt he can play and play quite well. If he plays out the season expect him to be a dominant midfielder but like others who are injury prone it is hard to pick him with anything that can be resembled as confidence. If you are gutsy go for it but there are safer and stress free options out there.
Tom Williams - Very hard to put an injured player on the bury list although obviously you should not pick him.
Suggested Player
Adam Cooney - Former brownlow medalist is now battling injury to play the season. Sadly with his bad knees he will never reach the highs he did in his brownlow year of '08. Expect him to play a similar role to Shaun Burgoyne which as we have seen has made Burgoyne not as fantasy relevant as he use to be. This will happen to Cooney.
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