Fantasy coaches are backing Nathan van Berlo to be one of the bargains of Season 2015.

The hard-running midfielder did not play a game last year after being struck down with a ruptured right Achilles in mid-January.

Van Berlo was meticulous in his rehabilitation and came close to a late-season comeback, winning the Club’s Dr Brian Sando OAM award such was his attitude towards his recovery.

But his on-field absence last year has seen his AFL Fantasy price slashed to just $272,000 ahead of the upcoming season.

He is currently the seventh most popular player in the AFL, selected in over 36 per cent of all Fantasy sides less than a month after the competition opened.

The former captain looks a sound choice.

Fantasy coaches only need to look to VB’s standout 2011 season to realise his scoring potential. He averaged 93 points and notched six triple-figure totals to end the year on his way to second spot in Adelaide’s Club Champion award. Van Berlo also averaged 83 points in Season 2012.

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All Australian defender Brodie Smith is the next most popular Crow. He has been picked in over 16 per cent of sides and is the eighth most selected defender.

The line-breaking backman enjoyed a stellar 2014 with a career-high average of 82 Fantasy points per game and seven 100+ scores.

Brad Crouch, Sam Jacobs and Patrick Dangerfield round out the top-five most popular Crows.

Rory Sloane is surprisingly low on the ownership scale.

Adelaide's top-scoring Fantasy player last season, Sloane has only been picked in 4 per cent of Fantasy sides at this early stage. The 2013 Crows Club Champion could prove to be a great selection as a reliable point of difference in the midfield.

Gold Coast captain Gary Ablett, Carlton ruckman Matthew Kreuzer and Brisbane midfielder Daniel Rich are currently the top-three most selected AFL Fantasy players overall.

Dual-position Magpie Dane Swan sits in fourth, while the returning Mitch Clark is fifth in the ownership rankings.

Most popular Crows in AFL Fantasy