Captainancy Candidates – Round 16

Captainancy Candidates – Round 16

Round 15 was a reminder of why we spend so much money on premiums.

Luke Jackson exploded for 176, Nick Daicos pumped out 159, Harry Sheezel continued his outstanding season with 153, Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera scored 144, Marcus Bontempelli 142, Max Gawn 140, Noah Anderson 136, Max Holmes 128 and Zac Butters 124.

If you owned a few of those names and landed on the right captain, chances are you spent Sunday afternoon checking your ranking every 15 minutes and pretending you weren’t.

Personally, I took the VC on Jackson and happily sat back for the rest of the weekend. When someone hands you a 176 on Thursday night, there is no need to get fancy. 

Not everyone delivered.

Jordan Dawson’s 86 was a surprise, Matt Rowell could only manage 90, Tristan Xerri scored 106, Finn Callaghan 103 and Lachie Whitfield disappointed with 88. Hopefully they weren’t your fallback captain.

The good news is Round 16 looks strong again.

The standout matchup is clearly Collingwood against Richmond, with Nick Daicos getting the easiest matchup in football. The Showdown gives us Dawson and Butters, while Sunday provides several strong captain options including Sheezel, Jackson and Merrett.

As always, the VC rankings favour the earlier games and players capable of producing a ceiling score, while the captain rankings focus more on the safer fallback options later in the round.

Vice-Captain Rankings

1. Nick Daicos (Saturday Afternoon vs Richmond) – The easiest matchup in football and a player who loves playing Richmond. Career average of 128 against the Tigers, including scores of 147 and 177 in his last two meetings. The standout VC option this week.

2. Brodie Grundy (Thursday Night vs Brisbane) – The history against Brisbane isn’t great, but averaging 128 for the season is hard to ignore. If you’re a Grundy owner, chances are the VC is going straight on him.

3. Isaac Heeney (Thursday Night vs Brisbane) – Brisbane are a much tougher proposition than some of the teams Heeney has feasted on recently, but elite players can score against anyone. Always carries a huge ceiling.

4. Lachie Neale (Thursday Night vs Sydney) – The James Jordon tag is the obvious concern, but one thing working in Neale’s favour is the venue. He averages 16 points more at the Gabba than away from home this season. If Brisbane win, chances are Neale is heavily involved.

5. Patrick Cripps (Saturday vs West Coast) – Midfielders continue to score well against the Eagles and Cripps has posted 153 and 142 in his last two against them. A nice POD VC for coaches looking to be different.

Captain Rankings

1. Harry Sheezel (Sunday vs Essendon) – With Xerri sidelined, the responsibility falls even more heavily on Sheezel. Scored 145 against Essendon earlier this season and shapes as the safest captain option of the round.

2. Jordan Dawson (Saturday Night vs Port Adelaide) – Last week’s 86 should only sharpen the focus. Averaging around 130 over the past month and Showdowns tend to bring out his best football.

3. Zac Butters (Saturday Night vs Adelaide) – Loves a Showdown and has the record to prove it. Scores of 117, 124, 124, 156 and 134 in his last five against the Crows.

4. Luke Jackson (Sunday vs Gold Coast) – Coming off a monster 176 and back home in Perth. The dual ruck combination of Witts and Moyle is a concern, but quality players tend to find a way.

5. Zach Merrett (Sunday vs North Melbourne) – One of the safest premiums in the game. Not always the highest ceiling, but rarely a disaster and has a 172 against North in the corresponding fixture last year.

Thursday Night – Brisbane vs Sydney

The round kicks off with what should be one of the games of the season.

Unfortunately for SuperCoach coaches, it also features two teams who enjoy making life difficult for opposition stars.

Whenever Sydney play we ask the same question: Who gets the James Jordon tag? The answer is probably Lachie Neale.

Neale remains public enemy number one for most opposition coaches and Jordon has become the AFL’s version of a mosquito at 2am. You know he’s there, you can’t get rid of him and eventually he ruins your night.

The Lions aren’t innocent either. Josh Dunkley has spent plenty of time this season running with opposition midfield stars, which makes recommending midfielders from either side a little uncomfortable.

Neale averages 118 in Brisbane wins but only 101 in losses. He also averages 16 points more at the Gabba than away from home. If you think Brisbane win, Neale becomes a very appealing option.

Heeney is another interesting one. His biggest scores often come against weaker opposition. Brisbane are the reigning premiers, so unless your definition of weak is slightly different to mine, this is a tougher matchup.

Then there’s Brodie Grundy. The season average says 128.

However, his last six scores against Brisbane are 53, 74, 72, 99, 87 and 89. Those numbers are about as inspiring as a petrol station sandwich.

But if there’s one thing we’ve learned about Grundy this year, it’s that historical data tends to become irrelevant the moment the ball is bounced.

Friday Night – Hawthorn vs GWS

Friday night is a tricky one. The Giants have plenty of premium options, but none jump off the page as obvious VC selections.

Whitfield and Ash are always capable, but Hawthorn’s form has been excellent and they generally don’t allow opposition defenders to rack up uncontested marks all evening.

Callaghan and Oliver are in a similar boat. Good players. Tough matchup. Potentially low ceiling. If GWS win, they’ll score well. If Hawthorn get the game on their terms, they could spend the night chasing tail.

From the Hawks, perhaps Will Day deserves a mention.

Scores of 103 and 137 in his first two games back are impressive considering he’s still building fitness. The role looks fantastic. The scoring looks fantastic. The temptation is there.

But after two games back from injury, I’d rather watch than risk a VC.

Saturday – Carlton vs West Coast

Normally we see West Coast and immediately look for the opposition ruckman.

The problem is Carlton’s ruckman is Marc Pittonet.

And unless I’ve missed something, there aren’t many people reading this article who own Marc Pittonet.

So we move to the midfield.

Patrick Cripps has scored 153 and 142 in his last two against the Eagles and looks the obvious pick.

Sam Walsh and George Hewett should also enjoy themselves.

West Coast continue to allow opposition midfielders plenty of opportunities and all three could score well.

The issue is ceiling. I can see 120’s, I can’t see 130+.


Saturday Afternoon – Collingwood vs Richmond

This is the matchup. The one Daicos owners have been circling on the calendar.

Richmond remain the easiest team in the competition to score against and Daicos has taken full advantage whenever given the opportunity.

His career average against Richmond is 128.

His last two scores are 147 and 177.

After last week’s 159, it’s very difficult to see a world where he isn’t the most popular VC choice.

Jordan De Goey is worth a mention for the brave. But putting the VC on De Goey instead of Daicos this week feels a bit like ordering a salad at a steakhouse. Technically you can do it. But why would you?

Saturday Night – Adelaide vs Port Adelaide

The Showdown.

These games are always huge and usually produce big individual performances.

The obvious names are Jordan Dawson and Zac Butters.

Butters has an outstanding Showdown record with scores of 117, 124, 124, 156 and 134 in his last five.

Dawson’s 86 last week interrupted a brilliant run of form, but he’s still averaging around 130 over the past month.

If either captain drags his side across the line, chances are they’ll also drag plenty of SuperCoach coaches with them. If i had to pick one, it would be dawson as i can see the Crows more than likley winning this one.

Sunday – North Melbourne vs Essendon

The loss of Tristan Xerri changes everything. He would have been right near the top of the captaincy rankings.

Instead, attention shifts firmly to Harry Sheezel.

Sheezel scored 145 against Essendon earlier this season and with Xerri unavailable, North will need even more from their young star.

He looks the safest captain option of the round.

LDU is worth considering after a disappointing week. The talent is obvious. The recent form is less obvious.

Merrett is the best Essendon option.

He’s reliable, durable and rarely produces a disaster. With Roberts injured there is every chance we see him spend additional time across half-back. Not exciting. Just dependable.

Which is exactly what you want from a fallback captain.

Sunday – Fremantle vs Gold Coast

The final game of the round gives us another fascinating contest.

The Suns don’t travel particularly well and they rarely tag.

That opens the door for Fremantle premiums.

Luke Jackson comes into the round off a massive 176 and once again shapes as one of the better captain options.

The concern is Gold Coast’s likely combination of Witts and Moyle. Two rucks can often make life difficult for opposition rucks. Then again, Jackson isn’t really a normal ruck. He’s more like a midfielder trapped inside a ruckman’s body.

The Fremantle midfield remains difficult to predict. Serong. Brayshaw. Young. Bolton. Reid.

Trying to pick which one goes biggest each week is a bit like trying to pick which seagull is going to steal your chips at the beach. You know one of them will. Good luck figuring out which one.

For Gold Coast, Anderson, Petracca and Rowell are all capable of scoring well.

Would I trust them with a captaincy in Perth? Probably not.

Final Thoughts

Personally i’m looking at VC Daicos with Sheezel as my fall-back C.

thanks fellas