The day we have all been waiting for is finally here, and AFL Fantasy is back! What better way to start your season than nailing your captain in Round 1? Let’s delve into who could get your season off to a flier!
Best Vice-Captain Picks
This week will be the hardest week all season to find a suitable VC option. There isn’t really anyone in the Richmond/Carlton match up on Thursday night to get excited about, but there are plenty on Friday night in the Swans/Pies clash. The question is, how many of them do you have in your side with them sharing the Round 5 bye?
Brodie Grundy is in over 50% of sides, and he will be my VC this week. We got a look at him in opening round against Gawn, and he showed more than enough. Scoring 118 against one of the best ruckman in the game and tougher match ups for AFL fantasy has boosted my confidence in Grundy getting back to his best and a triple figure average this year with some monster scores along the way. The line for Grundy this week is 115 for me, and I think he will get there.
If you are someone starting Nick Daicos (53% OWNED) or Errol Gulden (15% owned) unlike myself, then you have more to think about. If I was starting Errol, he would be my number 1 VC option this week. Although he had an ordinary start in OR last week, last year against the Pies he had his season high score of 161, and last week we saw Josh Kelly (117) and Tom Green (116) both score freely against the Collingwood midfield. Errol is the man that could get you off to the perfect start to the season.
Nick Daicos would be my third option as VC this week. We know Sydney isn’t afraid to use a tagger, and he has done so with Daicos in the past. Ryan Clarke is no longer around, but Horse has publicly said during the week that he is considering doing so again, so the risk is still there. However, I’m not sure it will be as effective as it has been in the past, and after opening his season with a 111 last week, Nick should still be a good option as your VC this week.
Zach Merrett plays early Saturday against the Hawks which seems like a nice match up, but with Parish already ruled out, Merrett is the clear front runner to cop the Finn tag. This is enough for me to not be considering Merrett as a VC option this week, but keep your eye on the teams, because if Finn isn’t named, Merrett jumps up to number 2 on my VC options list!
If you don’t get what you were hoping for from one of the guys above, I have listed my top options to wear the armband for you in the first week of the season below.
Best Captain Picks
- Rowan Marshall
If you have decided to go set and forget in your ruck line this year instead of chasing the value, I expect you will get some early validation from Marshall in round 1. He scored 141 in round 23 against the Cats last year, and no reason he should slow down from what he did in the season just gone. only 4 scores below 100 last year for RoMar, with 2 of those being a 99 and a 96. As safe a captain option as you can get, with a big ceiling in there to get you off to a hot start as well! He is my number 1 captain option for Round 1!
- Tom Green
There has been plenty of discussion about whether Green is an option in AFL Fantasy throughout the pre-season because of his early bye, with many believing he will take his game to the next level again this year and his price will become unreachable if you don’t start him. Well, he didn’t do anything to dampen that perspective last week, scoring 116 in his first game of the season against the reigning premiers.
Lining up against North Melbourne this week who were one of the easiest match ups in the season just gone, who are also going to be a very inexperienced midfield. Simpkin is likely to miss due to concussion, meaning LDU will be the senior head in the middle with Powell and Wardlaw likely to be the next 2 most prominent mids for North. Green should have a huge day, and I think he is a genuine captaincy option this week. If you are someone who is running with Gawn as one of their ruckman, and someone not playing like Barnett at R3, you also have the ability to use Green as your VC.
- Marcus Bontempelli
Bont was the best mid in the game last year, and after a 127 against the Hawks in the pre-season, almost looking like he was running around in second gear, it feels as though he will keep it up this season. He started the year slowly last year, but once he got going he had 8 scores of 125 or more, and scored 100 plus in 18 out of his last 20 games. Last week against the Dees, Heeney made his way to a score of 121 as an inside mid, so you can expect the Bont to be somewhere around that mark too.
- Connor Rozee
Rozee will play his first game as the Port Adelaide skipper this week, and his match up is West Coast, who he scored 133 on last season. With Butters potentially being managed throughout the game this week after suffering an ankle injury in the pre-season game, Rozee should have a field day running around in the midfield for the entire game in what is the easiest match up in fantasy footy.
- Tim English
It wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t have the best fantasy player of the game last season in my top 5 for round 1. English had a huge year, averaging 118 for the season, which included 11 scores over 120. He also scored 115 in this match up in round 1 last year, and although Gawn can be a tough match up, Grundy scored well against him last week, and there’s no reason English shouldn’t be good in round 1 this year. For those of you who are paying up, English is a safe captaincy option to start the year.
