Footy Prophet will be NMFC.com.au's AFL Fantasy gurus for 2014. You can follow the team on Twitter and Facebook.

North fans are brimming with excitement after it was announced captain and three time best-and-fairest winner Andrew Swallow will return to the senior side on Saturday against the Lions.

Seeing Swallow’s name on the team sheet has to be one of the most exciting moments of the year and fantasy coaches are grinning also.

Swallow is arguably North’s best fantasy player, having averaged 94 points per game or better every year for the last four years, with 102 points per game in 2012 being his career best.

As one of the league’s most courageous, Swallow is known for his tackling. With each tackle being worth four fantasy points, this makes him a player capable of putting up huge scores.

Currently priced at $512,000 in AFL Fantasy Classic, it’s probably not wise to trade him in just yet. Swallow himself has admitted it will likely take him a few weeks to get back to his peak fitness and his price is likely to drop a little over the next few weeks. We’ll give you a nudge when it becomes the perfect time to pick him up.

One Kangaroo worth looking at to trade in this week is Jack Ziebell ($436,777). Ziebell has had a rough start to the year with just four games in the first seven rounds, having missed three due to a shoulder injury he suffered against the Bulldogs in Round 2.

However he was at his fantasy best in Round 7 against the Gold Coast Suns despite North falling short of a win. Ziebell put together a bumper score of 135 points, his fourth-highest fantasy score in his 84-game career. We can expect more to come, and at a discount of nearly $80,000 from his starting price this year, Ziebell is very cheap.

Also keep an eye on Todd Goldstein ($402,994) who is very cheap at the moment after having a slow start to the year. He had a big score of 108 against the Gold Coast though, and being roughly $85,000 cheaper than he started the season at, he will prove a bargain if he can return to and maintain his best form. The Lions have an undermanned ruck division at the moment – expect Goldstein to have another big one.

Around the Grounds

A couple of players will make debuts this week. Ben Lennon ($233,100) of Richmond, Jed Bews ($115,000) of Geelong, and Aiden Riley ($135,500) are all set to play debut games on the weekend. Riley, who joined the Demons in the off-season after being delisted by Adelaide, would make a great fantasy investment – he’s cheap and should get a decent cash-making run of games for Melbourne.

Taylor Walker made a return from his ACL injury last night and scored a reasonable 79 points against Collingwood. Currently very cheap - $282,900 before price change – he’ll be one to look at bringing in to your team sometime soon.

A lot of eyes will be on Gary Ablett his weekend as he plays St Kilda, a team that has given away plenty of fantasy points over the last month. He might not be the best choice for your fantasy captain though – he’ll come up against a hard tag from Tom Curren, who had taken a few big scalps recently. Steve Johnson, Leigh Montagna or Tom Rockliff would all make great alternative captain choices.