Ex-Eagle Quinten Lynch fills an immediate need at the Magpies
Photo: Getty Images
AFL FANTASY DREAM TEAM: The Pies knew who they wanted in the off-season, but is the Q-Stick right for your team?
2013 position: Forward
2013 price: $350,600
Bye: Round 13
Last year's average: 68.05
Last year's high score: 116
Four reasons to have him in your team
1) He will play every game. For a big man, Lynch has shown remarkable durability over the course of the last nine seasons. The only season where he failed to play less than 20 games was in 2010, when John Worsfold kept him out of the side because he was failing to adapt to the game plan. Collingwood clearly picked him for a reason and they won't be dropping him in a hurry.
2) He will be more of a target. When he was at West Coast they weren't exactly short of tall forward options. With a forward line that boasted Josh Kennedy, Jack Darling and one of either Dean Cox or Nic Naitanui at any one time, it was easy to see why Lynch was quite often overlooked by midfielders. That won't be a problem at Collingwood. Sure, Travis Cloke will be the first option most times, but if he is being double-teamed, as is usually the case, Lynch will be the go-to man.
3) Collingwood chased Lynch because they wanted someone to play the role of relief ruckman as well as second key forward. Darren Jolly will not play every game this year, which means Lynch will see a lot more time in the centre of the field in some games, something that will help his scoring on those weeks. If Jolly goes down with a serious injury, Lynch may even spend some time as the No.1 ruck given the relative inexperience of the Pies' other options.
4) Lynch may not be a long-term prospect for your side, but bear in mind that he is a fast starter. Last season he was averaging 86 after the first three games, before he slumped to his season average of 68. So perhaps get him in your side early in the hope of a price rise and trade if things look like they will start heading downhill.
The downside?
At $350,600 you would want Lynch to consistently punch out scores in the high 80s or low 90s and he is no guarantee of doing that. He might be presented with more opportunities at Collingwood, but he still has to take them and he is no spring chicken anymore.
Lynch has always been an inconsistent Dream Team scorer. He will put together scores above 100 when everything is going right, but can score so little as to be almost pointless when things are going awry.
Risk rating: If you like your forwards to be hirsute and scary looking then by all means take a punt on Lynch. He won't cost you a lot of coin if you need to trade him, but there will be better options at that price. Four Alan Didaks.
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