Three years straight, Ben Brown has booted 60+ goals from a full slate of 22 senior matches, displaying a very familiar pattern for full forwards of swinging wildly in scoring from week to week depending mostly on his goal tally. He spends a lot of time running from the goalsquare to big packs on the wing to contest long dump kicks from half back and then back again, without marking many of them as he tends to draw a big crowd. The problem for North is not how good Brown is, it's how to take the pressure off him so he can get free when he cranks up his big motor on those long leads to be more statistically productive like Nick Riewoldt and less of a pack-buster like Jonathan Brown. The development of key forward targets around him is the key, though it may still be too early to see the finished structure. Worth a late pick only due to high deviation.
Papa's got the same old bag
Three years straight, Ben Brown has booted 60+ goals from a full slate of 22 senior matches, displaying a very familiar pattern for full forwards of swinging wildly in scoring from week to week depending mostly on his goal tally. He spends a lot of time running from the goalsquare to big packs on the wing to contest long dump kicks from half back and then back again, without marking many of them as he tends to draw a big crowd. The problem for North is not how good Brown is, it's how to take the pressure off him so he can get free when he cranks up his big motor on those long leads to be more statistically productive like Nick Riewoldt and less of a pack-buster like Jonathan Brown. The development of key forward targets around him is the key, though it may still be too early to see the finished structure. Worth a late pick only due to high deviation.
Tip Brown down chute
Coming off two consecutive years of kicking over 60 goals as the North Melbourne focal point while never hitting a disposal average of 12, it’s difficult to see significant upside for Ben Brown.
If he were to spend more time up the ground or in the ruck, he would be a more attractive fantasy prospect but in his current role, history suggests he’s barely relevant. At best, Brown should be a late pick in deep leagues.
Ben Brown is a prime example of the fantasy phenomenon of the Supercoach specialist. His basic Dream Team scores are barely at replacement level for a forward, but his exotic scoring average is over twenty points better and is now approaching low-end keeper status in the Supercoach competition. The reason for this is that he is not an accumulator, providing contests for his team and only occasionally getting set shots which he usually converts with his trademark marathon-length run ups.
I feel better with Ben Brown
Adding a goal per game tends to do wonderful things for your Coleman Medal prospects, and Ben Brown finished a very creditable third last season with 63.30 to end up six behind Lance Franklin. That he did that from exactly the same set of basic statistics as in 2016 is more impressive, as he took a lot of difficult set shots and made them look simple with his superior (if time-consuming) goalkicking routine. Brown only had half a season of support each from Jarrad Waite and Mason Wood, making this achievement even more remarkable. He is just too big and strong, even when double teamed as he often was. As a fantasy player, he suffers from the typical high standard deviation of full forwards making him a match up play based on opponent and conditions. It's fun when he's on and in your team, though!
