Round 24 Captaincy Candidates – One Last Dance

Round 24 Captaincy Candidates – One Last Dance

The final round is finally here.

For some, there’s a SuperCoach League Grand Final on the line. For others, it’s one last chance to improve your overall rank, chase a personal best or simply finish this very long season on a high.

And naturally, SuperCoach has saved some of its best carnage for last.

Durham, Petracca, Sheezel and Horne-Francis are confirmed out, while Sydney will be without Heeney, Warner, Blakey and James Jordon. We’re also waiting on Bont, who may be managed again. Add those names to the already long list of popular players missing such as NAS, Callaghan and Holmes, and this could be a very interesting final round.

At this stage, finding 23 players might be harder than finding a good VC/C option.

Before we finish the year, a big thank you to everyone who has read the Captaincy Candidates each week and provided feedback along the way. Hopefully we’ve helped nail a few big scores, and we won’t talk too much about the ones we missed!

For Round 24, I’m keeping the strategy simple. We’ve noticed recently that many of the monster scores have come from players on winning teams. This week I’m taking that a step further and looking closely at the games that actually matter.

There are still 3,300 SuperCoach points available in every game, but in the dead rubbers, who knows what we’ll see? Players could be rested, managed or thrown into different roles.

So for one last time, let’s find our captains.

Vice-Captain Options (Ranked)

1. Will Ashcroft / Lachie Neale (Friday vs Collingwood) – Brisbane must win and this is their MCG finals dress rehearsal. Ashcroft for the ceiling, Neale for reliability.

2. Bailey Smith (Saturday vs Richmond) – Geelong need to win, they’re at GMHBA and Richmond is a fantastic matchup. Huge ceiling.

3. Luke Jackson (Saturday vs Carlton) – Assuming he’s named and playing his normal role, the Carlton ruck matchup is very attractive. Check the teams first.

4. Nick Daicos (Friday vs Brisbane) – Collingwood can’t improve their ladder position, but Daicos is still chasing a Brownlow and should be giving it everything.

5. Matt Rowell (Thursday vs St Kilda) – It’s a dead rubber, but his recent form has been outstanding. If you want one last early VC punt, he’s certainly capable.

Captain Options (Ranked)

1. Max Gawn (Saturday vs Bulldogs) – Melbourne must win, English is out and it’s at the MCG. This has all the ingredients for one final monster Max score.

2. Isaac Rankine / Jordan Dawson (Saturday vs GWS) – Adelaide have everything to play for at home. Rankine has the hotter form and higher ceiling, while Dawson is the reliable alternative.

3. Jai Newcombe / James Sicily (Sunday vs West Coast) – Hawthorn may need percentage as well as the win. Their co-captains should be heavily involved if the Hawks put West Coast away.

4. Zach Merrett (Sunday vs Port Adelaide) – Essendon have avoiding the wooden spoon to play for and Merrett could have a big final game of the season. A very interesting Grand Final POD.

5. Luke Davies-Uniacke (Sunday vs Sydney) – No Sheezel means more responsibility and, importantly, there’s no James Jordon tag to worry about. LDU could finish the season with a monster.

St Kilda vs Gold Coast – Thursday Night

Neither team can make finals, so I’m mostly avoiding this game.

If Gold Coast were at home I’d be more interested in Noah Anderson and Matt Rowell, although Rowell’s recent form means he’s still worth considering.

For the Saints, Max Hall and Brad Hill have been racking them up in the absence of Sinclair and NAS. If you own either and want one last Thursday-night VC punt, why not?

Otherwise, enjoy the night off.

Collingwood vs Brisbane – Friday Night

Collingwood can’t improve their eighth position, while Brisbane sit third and must win. They’re the form team and playing at the MCG is basically their finals dress rehearsal.

That puts Will Ashcroft right near the top of my VC list. Lachie Neale is just as appealing if you want the safer option.

Nick Daicos is different. Collingwood might not have as much riding on the result, but Nick is still chasing a Brownlow. Personally, I think he’s probably already done enough to win it, but I can’t imagine him cruising through the final round.

Carlton vs Fremantle – Saturday

Check the teams.

Fremantle might rest a few rather than send everyone across the country, while Carlton already have their Wildcard spot locked away.

If Luke Jackson is named and playing his normal role, though, he’s a terrific VC option. Carlton’s rucks have been a good matchup all season.

Josh Treacy could also kick a bag if this turns into a shootout.

Melbourne vs Bulldogs – Saturday Afternoon

Melbourne must win, while the Bulldogs already have their Wildcard position and may have very different priorities. Bont is no certainty to return, while Tim English has already been ruled out.

Enter Max Gawn. MCG. Big crowd. Must-win game. No English.

Their captain will be leading from the front.

This could be huge.

Geelong vs Richmond – Saturday Night

Geelong have plenty to play for and they get Richmond at GMHBA.

That’s enough for me to have Bailey Smith right in the conversation.

He’s shown us his monster ceiling this season and, with Geelong needing the win, this looks like another opportunity for him to cash in.

Adelaide vs GWS – Saturday Night

GWS’ season is done and now they have to travel to Adelaide, while the Crows have everything to play for.

Dawson or Rankine? You can make a case for either.

Dawson is the captain and reliable option, but Rankine is absolutely flying and his midfield/half-back role has been SuperCoach gold.

On current form, Rankine gets my nod.

Essendon vs Port Adelaide – Sunday

There’s not much to play for here other than Essendon trying to avoid the wooden spoon.

But Zach Merrett interests me. His last game for Essendon?

With Durham out and Merrett available to play, he should have plenty of responsibility through the midfield.

I’m not calling him safe, but if you’re in a Grand Final and need something different, he’s an interesting POD.

Sydney vs North Melbourne – Sunday

Normally we’d be looking heavily at Sydney here, but this game has been turned upside down by their outs. Heeney, Warner, Blakey and Jordon are all unavailable.

Instead, my eyes go to LDU.

No Sheezel means more responsibility through the North midfield, and there’s also no James Jordon waiting to tag him.

Neither team has much to play for, but if LDU gets off the leash, he could finish the season with a monster.

Hawthorn vs West Coast – Sunday

The final game could still have plenty riding on it.

Hawthorn may need not just the win, but percentage depending on what happens earlier in the weekend.

There aren’t many highly-owned SuperCoach players here, but if you own Jai Newcombe or James Sicily, they’re both very interesting.

They’re Hawthorn’s co-captains and, if the Hawks need to put West Coast to the sword, you’d expect these two to be right in the middle of it.

That’s enough for me to move Newcombe/Sicily up to No.3 in my Captain rankings.

Final thoughts, One Last Time…

Round 24 isn’t the week to blindly follow averages.

Check the teams. Check who’s being rested. Check which clubs actually need to win.

Then find the player you think is going to lead that team to victory.

For me, the standout combination at this stage is Ashcroft/Neale VC into Max Gawn C.

But this is Round 24. By the time teams are announced, we might just be captaining whoever is still standing.

Good luck to everyone playing in a SuperCoach Grand Final, and good luck to those chasing one final rankings jump.

Most importantly, thanks to everyone who has followed Captaincy Candidates throughout the season.

It’s been a long year.

One more round. Let’s finish it with a big one.