But it’s a different story if you’re among the Toyota AFL Dream Team coaches who punted on Hawthorn’s untried youngsters to fill your squad.
Hawks midfielder Brendan Whitecross has risen two places to top this list of the most improved Dream Team players after round 4.
His 80-point performance against Port Adelaide swelled his rating to $190,000 – a gain of more than $103,000 over the season to date.
Fellow Hawk Garry Moss is another who’s repaid the faith of those who selected him.
Moss played his third game of the season against the Power, racking up 120 points to boost his rating by almost $65,000 – the biggest single-week gain so far.
North Melbourne midfielder Jack Ziebell generated plenty of buzz after a solid NAB Cup campaign and he’s carried that into the premiership season.
An 87-point effort against Essendon on the weekend propelled his value up by more than $40,000 to $193,700, to be the third-most improved player to date.
But it’s all too easy for Dream Team coaches to be seduced by talented young players and the prospect of cheap, easy gains.
There are nuggets of gold to be found among the experienced hands and this season it appears that size really does matter.
Ruckmen Darren Jolly and Josh Fraser are among the top 15 Dream Team performers to date and their values have rocketed accordingly.
Fraser, who produced a very handy 117 points in the Pies’ win against the Lions, has added more than $70,000 to the coffers of coaches who backed him to produce this year.
Swans tap merchant Jolly had a quieter game against Carlton his 68-point effort helped inflate his value by more than $63,000.
Here at Dream Team market watch, we like to think we have a positive influence on the players we single out for criticism – and so it proved last week.
Having rapped North Melbourne duo Brent Harvey and David Hale over the knuckles for leaving their best form back in 2008, the pair put in a star turn against the Bombers, combining for 243 points.
But unfortunately for Hale, it wasn’t enough to remove the big man from his place atop the list of the players with the biggest drop in value.
He’s in good company though. The next three names on the list are Cats onballers James Kelly, Tiger ruckman Troy Simmonds and Fremantle’s go-to guy, Matthew Pavlich.
Finally, we’ll leave Market Watch this week with a quick physics lesson: for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
Remember Hawks youngsters Whitecross and Moss racking up the cash? Well, the list of top 20 biggest losers reads like a future Hawthorn Hall of Fame.
Luke Hodge, Sam Mitchell, Lance Franklin and Clinton Young all feature after dropping up to $53,800 in value.
Sir Isaac Newton would have been so proud.
Toyota AFL Dream Team Round 3
Top 10 movers
1. Brendan Whitecross (Haw) $190,900 (+$103,300)
2. Daniel Rich (BL) $222,200 (+$95,600)
3. Jack Ziebell (NM) $193,700 (+$40,300)
4. Nathan Krakouer (PA) $262,500 (+$73,200)
5. Andy Otten (Adel) $199,000 (+$72,500)
6. Taylor Walker (Adel) $157,700 (+$71,100)
7. Shaun Higgins (WB) $282,500 (+$70,600)
8. Josh Fraser (Coll) $406,800 (+$70,400)
9. Mitch Robinson (Carl) $154,400 (+$67,800)
10. Aaron Joseph (Carl) $142,200 (+$66,900)
Top 10 losers
1. David Hale (NM) $252,900 (-$71,200)
2. James Kelly (Geel) $332,500 (-$62,600)
3. Troy Simmonds (Rich) $308,800 (-$62,100)
4. Matthew Pavlich (Freo) $381,800 (-$58,200)
5. Kepler Bradley (Freo) $243,900 (-$56,800)
6. Clinton Young (Haw) $321,500 (-$53,800)
7. Ryan O’Keefe (Syd) $327,700 (-$53,700)
8. Cameron Mooney (Geel) $299,000 (-$53,600)
9. David Hille (Ess) $328,700 (-$52,700)
10. Andrew Mackie (Geel) $350,800 (-$52,700)
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
