Captainancy Candidates – Round 19
Round 18 was another good week for the captaincy selections.
Our VC options all did their job. Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera led the way with a brilliant 154 – personally, I happily took that score and didn’t think twice about chasing something bigger. Nick Daicos produced 121, Lachie Ash 112 and Harry Sheezel 107.
The captain options were solid. Max Gawn and Jordan Dawson both scored 116, Marcus Bontempelli bounced back with 152, Bailey Dale continued his outstanding season with 110, Lachie Neale posted 153 and Will Ashcroft was enormous with 174.
The only monster score we really missed was Wilkie’s incredible 191. Plenty of coaches own him, but let’s be honest, very few would have had the courage to throw the VC or captaincy on him, if you did, let me know, i might have a job for you.
This week I actually think the VC options are stronger than the captain options.
Vice-Captain Rankings
1. Brodie Grundy (Friday Night vs Adelaide) – Adelaide is Grundy’s favourite opponent. His last two against the Crows are 161 and 154, and with Lachlan McAndrew in the ruck he should have every chance to dominate.
2. Rowan Marshall (Thursday Night vs Geelong) – Geelong continue to leak points to opposition rucks. Briggs scored 148 last week and Luke Jackson managed 176 a fortnight ago. Marshall now has the ruck all to himself and shapes as a brilliant POD VC.
3. Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera (Thursday Night vs Geelong) – The possible Mullin tag is the only concern, but Nas has already shown he can score at GMHBA Stadium with a 149 there previously. His role remains elite.
4. Luke Jackson (Saturday Afternoon vs Port Adelaide) – Fremantle are flying and Jackson is leading the charge. Even against Jordon Sweet, his recent form is impossible to ignore.
5. Harry Sheezel (Saturday Afternoon vs Melbourne) – His five-game average is nudging 150. Melbourne don’t give away many big midfield scores, but when someone is this hot it’s hard to leave them out.
Captain Rankings
1. Lachie Neale / Will Ashcroft (Saturday Night vs West Coast) – Brisbane are back to their best and West Coast still give up plenty of midfield points. The hardest part is deciding which Lion goes biggest.
2. Nick Daicos (Saturday Night vs Carlton) – Big game. Big crowd. Big occasion. Daicos generally saves his best for the biggest stages.
3. Marcus Bontempelli (Sunday vs Gold Coast) – Back with a 152 last week and Gold Coast rarely send a hard tag. If the Bulldogs win, Bont will almost certainly be leading the way.
4. Max Gawn (Saturday Afternoon vs North Melbourne) – Xerri makes this a tougher matchup than usual, but you never completely rule Max Gawn out.
5. Finn Callaghan / Clayton Oliver (Sunday vs Essendon) – Essendon have become a goldmine for opposition midfielders. Someone from GWS is going to cash in, i’m just not sure who and if you can leave it as a Captain fall-back on Sunday?.
Thursday Night – Geelong vs St Kilda
The round kicks off at GMHBA Stadium with Geelong hosting St Kilda.
Whenever the Cats play, Max Holmes and Bailey Smith immediately enter the captaincy conversation.
Both have been in good form lately without producing those monster VC scores we’ve become accustomed to.
The concern this week is St Kilda. The Saints have developed a couple of very good run-with players in Marcus Windhager and Hugo Garcia, so I wouldn’t be surprised if one of them spends plenty of time making life uncomfortable for whichever Cat is having the biggest influence.
Because of that, I don’t think either Holmes or Smith reaches the top of the VC rankings this week, i still belive they will score very well, but i can’t see the wow VC score.
One Cat who might fly under the radar is Tom Stewart. St Kilda continue to allow opposition defenders plenty of uncontested possessions and intercept marks, so if Geelong control territory, Stewart could quietly produce one of those classic 130-point performances, for anyone who still owns Tom, not a bad option.
Then there’s Rowan Marshall. With Tom De Koning still unavailable, Marshall has the ruck all to himself and this matchup looks very appealing.
Geelong’s rucks have struggled all season. Kieren Briggs scored 148 against them last week and Luke Jackson had a huge 176 only a fortnight ago.
New Marshall owners have been rewarded with some outstanding scores recently and this shapes as another excellent opportunity. If you’re looking for a point-of-difference VC, he’s right near the top of the list.
The other Saint everyone is talking about is Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera. He’s simply doing whatever he likes at the moment. The only concern is Connor Mullin.
If Geelong decide Nas is the player they need to stop, Mullin will almost certainly get the job. The encouraging sign is that Wanganeen-Milera has already shown he can score at GMHBA Stadium, posting 149 there previously. Even if the tag comes, I’d still expect him to find enough football to be relevant.
Friday Night – Sydney vs Adelaide
This could well be the game of the round.
Let’s start with Brodie Grundy.
Adelaide is his favourite opponent in the AFL, averaging more SuperCoach points against the Crows than any other club. His last two scores against them are 161 and 154.
Yes, those scores came against Reilly O’Brien rather than Lachlan McAndrew, but that probably doesn’t hurt Grundy’s chances.
Grundy scored 203, but that was 7 rounds ago. Since then his scores have been 95, 90, 119, 90, 105 and 100, not what Grundy owners want.
The frustrating thing with Grundy’s recent scores have been his second half fade-out. Last week he was on 83 at half time, before finishing with 100. The week before that he was on 62 at half time before finishing on 105. Is it a fitness thing or just the way the games have gone?
My theory has been the match-ups and the fact that the swans have only played 2 or their last 4 at the SCG, it was the SCG where he had his massive 203. The last two games at the SCG he was first double teamed by Marshall and TDK and the last game there against the bulldogs, the game was over at half time and he stopped trying in the second half dispite having 60 Hit Outs and 130 Fantasy points.
This week i think we will see a big bounce back from him, against an easy opponent, back at the SCG.
If Grundy gets on top in the ruck, history tells us Isaac Heeney usually benefits.
Heeney has had another outstanding season, but one trend has emerged. His biggest scores have generally come against weaker sides, while the better teams have kept him a little quieter. Adelaide certainly fall into the “good team” category. I’d still expect a solid score, but perhaps not another 140-plus.
From Adelaide’s perspective, the obvious names are Jordan Dawson and Isaac Rankine. Both are in excellent form.
The big question is James Jordon. Who does he tag?
My feeling is Dawson gets the attention, simply because he’s Adelaide’s captain and most influential midfielder.
If that’s the case, it could be another huge night for Rankine, who comes into this game fresh off a superb 149 last week.
Sometimes the best SuperCoach decision isn’t backing the star. It’s backing the star standing next to the player getting tagged. It’s still a big ask, travelling to the SCG.
Saturday Afternoon – Port Adelaide vs Fremantle
This shapes as one of the more one-sided games of the weekend.
Fremantle have gone from being a finals contender to genuine premiership favourites over the past month, while Port Adelaide’s season is hanging by a thread.
To make matters worse for Port, Zac Butters looks set to miss the remainder of the season with injury and Jason Horne-Francis may also be unavailable after receiving a one-match suspension. If both are missing, Port suddenly lose the two players capable of matching Fremantle through the midfield.
The obvious question is: Which Docker goes big?
Andrew Brayshaw and Caleb Serong have both had terrific seasons, but neither has consistently produced those 150-point VC scores. Hayden Young continues to struggle with injury every week, Murphy Reid has shown he can go large, while Shai Bolton is capable of producing something special whenever the game opens up.
The problem is there are simply too many mouths to feed. Every week it seems someone different gets the big score.
Luke Jackson, however, is the exception. He’s averaging 141 over his past three games and looks like the most influential player in Fremantle’s side.
Jordon Sweet has actually been one of the more restrictive ruckmen in the competition this year, but if Fremantle dominate the game as expected, Jackson should still find plenty of opportunities around the ground.
Saturday Afternoon – North Melbourne vs Melbourne
The headline act here is obvious.
Max Gawn versus Tristan Xerri.
The good news for Xerri owners is that he looked much more like himself last week. After concerns about his role the previous fortnight, he attended around 78% of North Melbourne’s centre bounces, which is exactly what owners wanted to see.
Max Gawn, meanwhile, is coming off another 116 and just continues to churn out premium scores.
The interesting stat is that Gawn actually doesn’t have a dominant record against Xerri, averaging only around 110 against him.
Harry Sheezel is the player who continues to amaze me.
He’s so highly owned now that we almost forget just how ridiculous his form has been.
His last five scores are: 142, 153, 175, 180 and 107.
Most coaches own him, so those scores almost become background noise. Until you put the VC or captaincy on him.
Melbourne have actually been one of the harder midfields to score against this season. No opposition midfielder has gone beyond 119 since round 12. That’s probably enough to keep Sheezel just outside my very top VC options.
Saturday Night – Carlton vs Collingwood
These games always seem to produce something special.
Big crowd. Big occasion. MCG.
Hello, Nick Daicos.
Daicos loves these rivalry games and his record against Carlton is outstanding.
The Blues have generally tried to make life difficult for him over the years, but champions tend to stand up in the biggest games. I can easily see another 140-plus performance.
Jordan De Goey also tends to enjoy these contests, but if you’re choosing one Collingwood player, it’s Daicos every day of the week.
Saturday Night – West Coast vs Brisbane
Brisbane looked back to their frightening best last week.
Yes, it came against Essendon.
But West Coast probably aren’t providing a much tougher examination.
The Eagles have become more competitive at Optus Stadium this season, but they’re still giving opposition midfielders plenty of opportunities.
That brings us to Lachie Neale and Will Ashcroft. Both were outstanding last week, posting 153 and 174 respectively.
The question isn’t whether Brisbane midfielders score well. It’s which one scores the most.
Ashcroft has become one of the most exciting young midfielders in the competition and his confidence is through the roof.
Neale, meanwhile, continues to do what Lachie Neale has done for the best part of a decade, turn up every week and collect another 30 possessions.
If you own either player, I’d be very comfortable putting the captaincy on them.
Sunday – Richmond vs Hawthorn
Sunday starts with Richmond hosting Hawthorn.
From a SuperCoach perspective, there isn’t a heap to get excited about, but there are still a couple of names worth mentioning.
As a Hawthorn supporter, I’ll be watching Will Day with plenty of interest. Since returning from injury he has looked better every week, and while he isn’t quite producing the monster scores required for VC or captaincy consideration, he’s building nicely towards being one of the best midfielders in the competition again.
Jai Newcombe is another who could quietly have a good afternoon. Richmond continue to allow opposition midfielders plenty of opportunities, and if Hawthorn control the game as expected, Newcombe should be heavily involved.
I don’t think either is quite a captain option this week, but owners should be quietly confident of another solid score.
Sunday – Gold Coast vs Western Bulldogs
Both of these clubs simply have to win.
The Suns are a completely different side at home and, despite a few inconsistent performances recently, I still think they are the better team on the Gold Coast.
For the Suns, Noah Anderson is the standout.
He’s worked his way back into form after a quieter period and this feels like the perfect matchup for another big score. Matt Rowell still looks to be carrying an injury and, while Christian Petracca is capable of anything, his form has dropped off a cliff.
On the Bulldogs side, Marcus Bontempelli reminded us last week why he’s still one of the very best players in the competition.
His 152 against West Coast was vintage Bont.
Gold Coast very rarely send a hard tag, which immediately makes Bontempelli more attractive.
If the Bulldogs win, I’d be amazed if he isn’t one of the main reasons why.
Sunday – GWS vs Essendon
This is where I think the biggest score of the round could come from.
Essendon have become a dream matchup for opposition midfielders.
Just look at the scores they’ve conceded over the past month:
Lachie Neale – 153
Will Ashcroft – 174
Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera – 160
Harry Sheezel – 175
Luke Davies-Uniacke – 146
Clayton Oliver – 143
It’s almost becoming a weekly tradition.
Someone plays Essendon. Someone scores 150-plus.
The only question is who wears the crown this week. For me, it comes down to Finn Callaghan or Clayton Oliver.
Callaghan has quietly put together another excellent season and continues to be one of the Giants’ most important midfielders. His ability to spread from stoppage and use the ball well makes him perfectly suited to this matchup. His scoring hasn’t reflected his ability, yet. A game against Essendon might be exactly what he needs.
Oliver has also rediscovered his best football this season. When he’s winning contested ball and driving the Giants forward, his SuperCoach scoring follows.
Lachie Ash is another player capable of producing a huge score if the Giants dominate possession, particularly if Essendon continue allowing opposition defenders plenty of uncontested ball.
Someone from GWS is going big.
Final Thoughts
This feels like another fascinating captaincy round.
For me, i’m looking at Nas as a VC option, if he gets tagged, then I still have Daicos as a great C option.
thanks fellas