Dream Team builder: Anthony Morabito

2012 position: midfielder
2012 price: $168,000
Bye: round 12

Four reasons to have him in your team

1) Fancy a former no.4 draft pick with 21 AFL games under his belt and a Rising Star nomination? How does $168,000 sound? Morabito, 20, comes more than $10k cheaper than the reigning no.1 draft pick, Greater Western Sydney Giant Jonathon Patton ($179,700). Of course, there is the tiny matter of the knee reconstruction which sidelined him for all of last season, but we'll get to that later.

2) In just his third AFL outing, against Geelong in 2010, he scored a career-high 98 Toyota Dream Team points. A powerful runner, Morabito kicks more than he handballs, and his scores will be further boosted this season by a Fremantle midfield boasting a fit-again David Mundy and Michael Barlow. A DT century was to elude him in his maiden season, but he turned in several promising scores, including an 88 against the Tigers and a 96 in Fremantle's elimination final win over the Hawks.

3) Was Morabito's wrecked knee one of the reasons Ross Lyon ditched the Saints and Mark Harvey found himself bumped onto the coaching scrapheap? Former Dockers coach Gerard Neesham thinks so, citing Morabito's season-ending ACL injury as one of the reasons why Freo fell short of the finals in 2011. Of course, the Dockers had plenty of other problems, including an injury list so long that by mid-year Harvey was struggling to field a team, but the point remains that 191cm Morabito is critical to Lyon's plans. The Peel Thunder recruit missed only one match in his debut season, when he was rested late in the year. Eighteen touches and a goal against Carlton earned him a Rising Star nomination in round 22, and he stepped up again in the finals, starring as Freo touched up Hawthorn at Subi. When fit, he's a starter in Fremantle's midfield.

4) His interrupted pre-season ticks most of the boxes. Having been restricted to a running program, Morabito is moving well and is expected to step up his involvement in skills sessions as the Dockers approach round one. He planned a getaway to Bali during the off-season, but after consulting with Lyon cancelled the trip, wisely opting to knuckle down and keep on his new coach's good side. Freo's pre-season outings should offer the opportunity to see him in action, with Lyon desperate to get game time into him before the season proper.

The downside?

Morabito's debut season was peppered with some dire Dream Team contributions. Patrolling Subiaco's wide expanses, he scored 60 or below 13 times. He dipped as low as 31 towards the end of the year, but an upturn after he was rested in round 21 suggests this was a result of first-year fatigue. Question marks over how free-scoring he will be in 2012 are unlikely to be answered with any conviction during the NAB Cup. Limited game time, especially in the early part of the season, is also a real possibility.

Risk rating: Morabito is cheap enough for coaches who like to stack their midfield with stars and rookies. The two big questions are: how high will his price rise? And perhaps more critically: will he play enough early in the season for his price to soar quickly? Three Alan Didaks.

Sign up for Toyota AFL Dream Team Assistant Coach and get the full player list, including positions, prices and the 2012 Team Picker. Register your interest here: dreamteam.afl.com.au.

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