It will twenty years next season since Carlton last won a premiership. No other club has struggled – by its own admission – to move to the new equalised AFL reality than the mob who have “We’re Carlton, f@#k the rest” as an unofficial motto.

Onfield Carlton are too good to be a bottom four side but are no chance of troubling the top four either. One gets an odd feeling watching Carlton play of 18 individuals in the same jumper, rather than a team. And yes oddly, this doesn’t translate into big fantasy scores. Both onfield and in fantasy, Carlton run the risk of becoming the worst thing possible in the world – irrelevant.

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Matthew Kreuzer (RUCK $244,000)

Yeah, everybody else will be doing it too but the potential upside is just too great to ignore. I suspect Kreuzer’s best value will come from gaining big early price raises that then allow him to be upgraded to a premium if and sadly when he gets injured again, or he reaches the stage of the season where he needs to be rested. The club is positive on his fitness but his history and size would disagree.

Dale Thomas (MID/FWD $429,000)

A lot of people will have burned by Daisy last year but grit your teeth and get back in there. He’d started to recapture some his better form last year and is training well. At that price, and slotting in as a FWD, Daisy is a good bet.

NOT WITH A BARGEPOLE

Bryce Gibbs (MID $574,000)

Nearly six hundred large for Bryce Gibbs? And only as a midfielder? You’ve got to be joking? Yes, he did have a good year in 2014 but at that money you want a reliable midfield gun. Buying Gibbs from the get go is going to be like buying a brand new car – he will halve in value by the time you get him out of the yard. Maybe, maybe if he had a DEF/MID dual status. But he doesn’t, So no.

Kade Simpson (DEF $521,000)

After years of quality fantasy service, Simpson started to fade last year and attracted tags that kept his scores on occasion desperately low. Time’s winged chariot hurryeth after us all and my feeling is that it has finally caught up with Kade. There’ll be better options at the price.

WORTH A PUNT

Patrick Cripps (MID $163,00)

Injury ruined his 2014 but by all accounts this big bodied midfielder is up and training well. If he’s playing well in the NAB Whateveritis, certainly keep him in mind, most likely as a cash cow but could even be a very good value starting midfield pick.

Blaine Boekhurst (MID $243,000)

Despite sounding more like a South African fast bowler, that Carlton would use a first round draft pick on a mature aged midfielder suggests they plan on playing him from the get go. Weigh up against other high priced rookies like Brayshaw and co but well worth considering.