The season is underway, and whether you’re currently on a high trying to keep the momentum rolling, or delving in despair looking for a way to make up some ranks, nailing your Captain is a great way to start!
VC Options
With GWS and Gold Coast on the bye this week, it provides plenty of coaches easy access to a VC score if they get the selection right. So who is the most likely option to score well enough early in the week that you can sit back and relax with your Captain locked in?
Hawks and Carlton get the weekend underway on Thursday night, with Tom De Koning fresh off a monster 132 in Rd1. Nankervis has always allowed his opponents to score well against him, and TDK might find the going a bit tougher this week against Meek. With that said, if you want to use your VC early, I would have TDK ahead of Will Day, who certainly could pump out a ceiling score as we saw in Opening Round, where he was on 96 at half time. However, we know George Hewett is capable of playing a shutdown role in the midfield, and Day has shown he is susceptible to the tag early this year, which makes me lean more towards TDK. Adam Cerra got off to a flyer last week, with 35 points in the first quarter, before slowing down and moving to a role across half back in the last quarter where he only scored 13 points. There are reports he was training with the defensive group this week too, so that role change late in the game and rumours that it may flow on into this week is enough for me to put a line through him as a VC option until we see more from him.
Friday night doesn’t present us with many genuine options either, unless you are a Nick Daicos owner. Daicos had 110 against the Dogs last year and will be less likely to cop attention in this game, which has slowed him down in his 2 games so far this year. The dogs allowed Simpkin, Powell and Sheezel to all score 114 or higher last week, so Daicos should make the most of the match up.
The best option for the VC this week is to wait until Saturday afternoon, where Jordan Dawson plays the Bombers. Last year against Essendon, Dawson had a monster 155 in round 6, followed by 81 in round 19. Although likely to cop some attention from Durham/Redman like Day did last week, Dawson also copped attention in round 1 from Windhager and still managed to get to 126. The role is there for him to produce some monster scores, so he is the best VC option this week.
Zach Merrett or Jye Caldwell could also be considered by owners, particularly Caldwell after showing his ceiling last week with a huge 146, but with an early bye, both have low ownership numbers and sit down the list from Dawson or even TDK this week.
With it being what I believe to be a tough week for Captaincy selections, my line for a VC drops this week and would be seriously considering anything that hits triple figures. With that said, if your VC selection doesn’t perform, I have picked out the 5 best options, in order, to be your Captain in Rd2!
Captains – Top 5
- Josh Dunkley
Another low ownership guy, if you are one of the 4% of coaches who have Dunkley locked into your sides, he is the number 1 Captaincy option this week. Fresh off a huge performance last week where he scored 130, he comes up against an Eagles outfit in round 2, who allowed Anderson (36 disposals) and Rowell (30 disposals) to find the ball at will last week on their way to scores of 117 and 108, respectively. Expect Neale to cop attention again in this game, allowing Dunkley to hunt more of the ball and make the most of a matchup against a weak Eagles midfield, who he scored 106 against last year, and carry on his form from last week.
- Connor Rozee
Rozee comes up against the Tigers at home this week, and after a very disappointing performance from the Power to start the year, expect the skipper to step up and make amends this weekend in a friendly matchup. We expected big things from the Blue against the Tigers last week and got a shock, but I expect Port to be more prepared after seeing that and being disappointed in their own Rd1 performance. Even though they struggled, Rozee still performed well personally last week, with 35 disposals on his way to 112. I expect Horne-Francis to be the main tag target, so I wouldn’t be too worried about the threat of Kamdyn McIntosh, and expect Rozee to make the most of the matchup and home game against a side he scored 116 and 100 on last year.
- Harry Sheezel
He made the list last week, and showed that we can expect more of the same from Sheez this year. 114 points in Rd1 consisting of 31 disposals and 6 marks, along with 2 points where he is usually very reliable infront of goal, so it arguably could have easily been a 120+ score to start the year. He scored 111 against the Dees last year, and Whitfield (34 disposals) and Tom Green (35 disposals) both found plenty of the ball against them in Rd1 on their way to 100+ scores. The young star should be a safe option again this week.
- Bailey Smith
It may seem reactionary to his round 1 performance, where Smith showed no signs of easing back into things after his knee reconstruction on his way to 32 disposals and 126 fantasy points. However, he comes up against the Saints this week, who allowed Jordan Dawson (126), Soligo (125) and Rankine (107) to do as they pleased against them last week through the midfield. If Rd1 results are anything to go by, the Cats should win this game pretty comfortably, and there should be plenty of footy for Smith to get his hands on. A higher risk, high reward option.
- Dayne Zorko
I don’t expect the Eagles to allow Zorko to run around collecting easy footy all day long, otherwise he would sit higher on my list. However, if he does, I will say that he will be the highest scorer of the round, and the potential reward may outweigh the risk for his owners this week. Zorko only scored 85 against the Eagles last year, however that was at Optus Stadium. This week will be at the Gabba, where Zorko had scores of 184, 148 and 131, last year. If Zorko avoids strong attention from the Eagles this week, he will be massive.
