CARLTON will be looking for a big year, and it has some stars worth considering.

For the Blues to take the next step, they will once again rely on their inspirational skipper Patrick Cripps (MID, $903,000), who led from the front in 2022. After starting the year on fire, he dropped away to some extent, eventually ending the season with an average of 102. He turned it up a notch in pursuit of a finals berth however, finishing the season averaging 113 in his last five which suggests some value heading into 2023.

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Lock them in

Sam Docherty (DEF, $977,000): The inspirational Blue completed one of the all-time great comeback stories and as a result, had a ridiculously good Fantasy season. Back in 2017, Doc was rewriting the record books for a defender, racking up possessions at will on his way to a career-high average of 117. Last year, he smacked any lowered expectations out of the park , playing all 22 games and finishing with the second best average of his career at 110. What caught my eye, however, was his domination in the last five weeks where he averaged 118! He may actually be under-priced… What a gun!

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Track their pre-season

Sam Walsh (MID, $903,000): The superstar Blue has undergone surgery on his back to relieve pressure on a nerve and the club has announced it will keep him out for the start of the season, with no indication of when we can expect to see him hit the field.

It will be worth keeping an eye on his progress in the new year because he will likely slide to bargain territory in Draft. He is coming off averages of 109 and 103 the last two years and would be a handy mid-year addition to your midfield off the bench.

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Dual-position tempter

Adam Cerra (MID, $780,000): There are no dual-position players worth taking at the Blues, so the closest I could get was a dual-club player (yeah, a stretch I know). The former Docker is set for a massive year, especially with the news Walsh will be missing from the midfield mix which at the very least will see a spike in his CBAs. Last year, Cerra started in a blaze of glory with 110 in round one before illness and injury stopped him getting a good run at it. The good news here is he is much better than his 88 average suggests, as we saw from round 17 onwards where his form resembled why he is so highly rated. He went on to average 108 in his last four games and is certainly a unique option to watch.

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Bargain basement

Lachie Cowan (DEF, $242,000): The young Tasmanian was the 30th selection in the NAB AFL Draft and is certainly one to watch for our D6 or bench down back. He is yet another defender for the Blues who possesses great ability to provide drive out of defence and has no trouble finding it as we saw with his 33-disposal effort against the NT in the NAB League where he scored 122. He averaged 27 touches, five marks and three tackles for an impressive 100 from his 12 games.

Draft sleeper

Matt Kennedy (MID, $831,000): The rejuvenated Blue thrived under Michael Voss and it was only injury that could slow him in his career-best year where he averaged 94 from 17 games. Playing predominately through the midfield and attending 58 per cent of CBAs through the season, he started in a blaze of glory, averaging 113 across his first three games. Unfortunately, injury kept him from playing the last three games for the year but prior to that he was averaging 103 in his last five. He is another who will have an increased role in Walsh's absence.

Buyer beware

Zac Williams (DEF, $614,000): Every year I flag Z-Will as a Draft sleeper or bargain option but unfortunately this season I have succumb to the buyer beware section. He managed only nine games due to injury in 2022 but his best was on display between rounds two and four where he went on a three-week tear, averaging 113 to reinforce why I am a fan. In reality, he is a risk due to injury, but I will launch if he slides to me in the latter rounds of Draft because his upside is far greater than his average.

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