COLLINGWOOD'S Dale Thomas has picked up the first of what he hopes will be two premierships this season, defeating Tom Harley to become the 2010 AFL Dream Team celebrity league champion on the weekend.

Despite losing Luke Hodge, Corey Enright, Alan Didak and James Podsiadly from his starting team, and only getting 59 points out of himself, Thomas’ ‘Dee Tees’ had too much firepower for Harley, scoring 2074 to win by 101 points.

Thomas’ star-studded midfield of Dane Swan, Gary Ablett, Leigh Montagna, Daniel Cross, Jimmy Bartel and Nick Dal Santo all cracked the ton.

Harley was cruelled by his former club, the late withdrawals of Enright, Joel Selwood and Shannon Byrnes all hitting him hard.

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THE MAYOR
Round 22 score: 1883
CFL league result: Lost Grand Final to ‘Showtime’ by 198

Lucky much?
This is what happened to me last week - I woke up, got out of the wrong side of bed, walked under a ladder, opened an umbrella indoors, crossed the path of eight cats (all of them black), saw thirteen crows, stepped on every crack, spilt a truckload of salt, smashed into a full-length mirror carried by James Podsiadly and Alan Didak, and then sat down to a Chinese meal and opened a fortune cookie which read: 'This is God speaking. SCREW YOU!”

Of course, I don’t remember any of this, but it must have happened, given the results over the weekend.

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AND SO ends another Toyota AFL Dream Team season, as victorious coaches bask in the sweet glow of triumph and the vanquished plot their revenge in 2011.

It was a year in which key players - think Dane Swan, Gary Ablett and Luke Hodge - proved more indispensable than ever and the mature-aged rookies opened a new frontier of Dream Team strategy.

The incredible form of Fremantle's Michael Barlow and Geelong's James Podsiadly was the talk of the league in the first half of the year and both finished among the season's top 10 improvers.

Barlow topped the table with an incredible rise of almost $350,000 and Podsiadly ended up sixth, having appreciated $193,700.

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IT'S TOYOTA AFL Dream Team Grand Final week around the country, and no contest will have more at stake than the Schools Championship final, with the winner set to score two Toyota AFL Grand Final tickets and a swag of other outstanding prizes.

In a result not surprising to the thousands of pundits who have eagerly followed this competition, Victoria’s David Sifris and Western Australia’s Patrick Mirosevich have won through to the big one.

We asked Dr Dream Team to prod both teams with his stethoscope and tell us which schoolboy he thinks will become our inaugural national champion:

Dr Dream Team's Grand Final preview

Patrick Mirosevich (WA)- South Fremantle

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Hi Doctor. I made it from eighth place to the grand final but my midfield has taken a serious blow this week. I have lost Hodge, Watson and Cooney - my best three midfielders all year. Who should I trade out to pull off a miracle win? - Laci (2 trades, $13,800)

Congratulations on a fairytale finals series, Laci. Luckily you’ve kept those trades in your back pocket for the GF and I reckon you can still enter the final weekend in good shape as a result.

Who to trade out is pretty simple - the two most expensive injured players, being Watson ($375,200) and Hodge ($348,400) - but who to bring in isn’t so cut and dry.

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THE PENULTIMATE round of the Toyota AFL Dream Team season marked preliminary final weekend and it was a suitably drama-packed weekend for coaches around the country.

Fremantle rested seven of its finest for the trip to Aurora Stadium while other clubs opted to give several stars a well-earned break.

Dream Team favourites Matthew Pavlich, Ryan O'Keefe, Matt Maguire and Lenny Hayes all sat out the weekend's matches, leaving thousands of coaches caught short all over the field.

Aaron Sandilands' continued absence with injury and Paddy Ryder's late withdrawal against the Lions compounded matters even further.

So, who were the winners from the weekend's action? Anyone who stacked their side with Hawthorn players, that's who.

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THE MAYOR
Round 21 score: 2118
CFL league result: Defeated ‘The Pundas’ by 38

Red heads to the rescue
Let’s face it, it’s been a big week for red heads. One is grimly hanging onto office with 50.7 per cent of the two-party preferred vote, and the other rescued the Mayors in both their preliminary finals!

When you have a big win in Dream Team, it’s the big players you usually thank - the Swans, the Boyds, the Abletts, the Daniel Giansiracusas (who was back to his infuriating best over the weekend, with a miserable 35). In finals, however, it’s often the small players that prove the difference - the benchmen and the lesser lights.

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IT'S PRELIMINARY finals time in the Toyota AFL Dream Team Schools Championships, and we have two genuine heavyweight battles on our hands.

Three of the remaining players are ranked in the top 150 of all Dream Team players this season, but the lowest ranked of the four is in red-hot form and looks a real chance to topple them all.

Dr Dream Team has done a rigorous full-body examination on both match-ups and delivered his prognosis:

1st Preliminary Final
Patrick Mirosevich (WA) - 'South Fremantle'

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THE WESTERN Bulldogs will head to Sydney three days ahead of their Saturday night clash with the Swans and could make as many as five changes to their side as they attempt to recover from last week’s 101-point loss to Geelong.

The Dogs will regain Adam Cooney, Ben Hudson, Jarrad Grant and Jarrod Harbrow but will lose Shaun Higgins (calf) and Easton Wood (hamstring).

They are also in danger of playing without full back Brian Lake, who didn’t train on Wednesday at Whitten Oval as he battles a hip injury from Saturday night. 

“He’s probably only 50-50 at this stage,” coach Rodney Eade said.

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THE MAYOR
Round 20 score: 2254
CFL league result: rest week

Traditional rivals
One of the great things about playing in a Dream Team league is that, after a while, you develop a bit of history. Grudges rack up, rivalries are spawned, and teams take on their own unique personas. The Mayors, for example, are a bit like Collingwood. We’re on top of the ladder, we rarely win flags, and pretty much everyone hates us. There’s barely a side in the CFL that doesn’t rate the Mayors as a “traditional rival”. We’re everybody’s enemy and everybody wants to smash us. Among our more notable foes are:

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