I AM EXCITED as anyone about the return of AFL Fantasy and look forward to taking you on in the competition this year.

I will be making changes to my side every week and wanted to share my side with you all.

Like any good AFL Fantasy team, your top scoring players are the backbone of your side.

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Gold Coast skipper Gary Ablett and Bulldogs counterpart Matthew Boyd are simply too consistent to ignore in the midfield.

While, new Bomber Brendon Goddard and Carlton's Bryce Gibbs are both dual position players who can importantly be swapped between midfield and defence.

My vice-captain Brett Deledio is a gun in the game, while our teammate Ivan Maric proved himself to be one of the best ruckmen in the League last year…even if he rivals Taylor Walker as having the worst haircut in the competition!

Buddy Franklin is a gun up forward and being able to flick Dean Cox between the ruck and the forward line in 2013 should make him an absolute mainstay of any serious AFL Fantasy Dream Team squad this year.

Dustin Martin's had a ripper pre-season and I can't believe he's priced under $450,000 this year. As seen in the NAB Cup, Chris Newman can expect to play a bit further afield this year which should see his scores jump up.

Keep an eye on Ricky Petterd too - who looks a big chance to be an important player in our side rebounding off half-back (Petterd has been elevated from the rookie list). Tyrone Vickery also looks ready to really step up in 2013.

Players coming back from injury are always a risk, but I think Travis Varcoe, Andy Krakouer, and Jasper Pittard are great buys this year. As are Fremantle’s Danyle Pearce and Melbourne’s Shannon Byrnes, who both have fresh starts at new clubs.

Any good AFL Fantasy coach knows that you need a good balance to your side, and that includes selecting rookie players that you can expect to score big points and then upgrade them at some point in the season.

My Tigers teammate Nick Vlastuin looks the goods, while fellow-first year players Brad Crouch, Jaeger O'Meara and Jack Viney all look like they may get plenty of game time in 2013. And who’s not excited about seeing more of Majak Daw?

Mature age pick-ups like Brett Goodes at the Doggies, Port Adelaide’s Kane Mitchell, and dual position player Sam Rowe at Carlton all look like they’ll be serious contributors for their sides in 2013.

I’ve kept some cash in reserve so that I can really ramp up my side as the year progresses - but here's my starting squad for the NAB AFL Fantasy Dream Team competition: