With the bye round upon us, and some of our big name premiums missing this week, the Captaincy options are looking strong but thin.
With best 18 back and people in danger of struggling to field the bare minimum this week, the best way to save yourself as much as possible is by nailing your Captain. So who are the best options this week? Let’s take a look.
VC Options
We are blessed with fantastic VC options and easy access to taking their score this week, the issue is the best options all play on the first night of the round. So how do you rank them if you own multiple? In my opinion, the order goes like this.
Dayne Zorko sits as the top VC option in round 12 in a tight split with Zach Merrett, then followed by Nic Martin. The game is at the Gabba on Thursday night, and Zorko is the man who has the form behind him in this one. 5 Tons in a row, 3 of them over 124 and scores of 126 and 119 at home already this year, and scores of 184, 148 and 131 his best at home last year. He also scored 110 against the Dons in round 24 at the Gabba. The numbers stack up.
Zach Merrett it right behind him after his massive 149 against the Lions at the Gabba in round 24 last year and coming off 149 last week. He might cop some attention from Dunkley at stoppages, but should avoid a hard tag in this one, and when he has been left alone this year he has already pumped out scores of 138 and 134 along with the 149 last week. The ceiling is nice, the match up is decent, and that is more than enough for a VC option, especially on a bye round.
Nic Martin could consider himself stiff to be the third option on the list after scoring a round high 166 last week, his third ton on the trot and 2nd of the three over 140, giving him a rolling average of 137 in that timeframe. He also scored 120 against the Lions at the Gabba last year, so his form stacks up with the two above him. These three guys are all great options, I only lean to Zorko at the top due to playing at home.
If you don’t own any of the guys above, Josh Dunkley can also certainly be considered, scoring 111 in the same game as the big scores from the guys above, but after 2 sub 100 scores in the last 2 weeks, he sits behind the others.
If your VC doesn’t net you the result you’re hoping for in this one, there are still a couple of super good options in a limited field later in the week, but it does drop off. As always, I have rated the top 5, in order, below!
Captains – Top 5
- Max Gawn
7 scores in a row over 113, including a 138 (and rested for the second half of the last quarter), 158 and 140 last week. The Saints have been a reasonably soft match up for rucks this year, and last year against them, Gawn scored 152. Honestly, this could get super ugly. Melbourne are back in form, and that only helps big Max score more fantasy points.
- Bailey Smith
Finally, the respect the man deserves. 126 last week takes his season average to 120, and 132 over his last 3 weeks. From his 10 games this season, he has scored 9 tons, 6 of them over 123. In fact, he has only scored under 110 twice all season. That is hitting Tim Taranto first half of 2023 sorts of areas. His 3 round rolling average is during arguably the hardest 3 round stretch you could get in terms of match ups… Imagine what he could do this week in a friendly one.
- Andrew Brayshaw
Coming off a down week last week resulting in a score of just 88, I expect Brayshaw to bounce back this week taking on the Suns. They are a great match up for midfielders, and last year against them he scored a lazy 136. 7 of his last 9 games have been tons, 5 of them 110+. A long way behind the two guys above him, but he can be trusted if need be.
- Jordan Dawson
138 and 139 in his last two games, hitting all stat lines, and coming up against a Sydney outfit who have given up the 5th most 100+ and 120+ scores per game this year. This is at the SCG, not Adelaide Oval, but considering he started his career at Sydney, it shouldn’t be an issue for Daws. Last year against the Swans he scored 101 and 84, so not setting the world on fire, but he is in great form so you can back him in again if you need to.
- Lachie Ash
Yes, Lachie Ash is in here over Lachie Whitfield. The move to the half forward flank for Whitfield has scared me off him, and given me a massive confidence boost in Ash, which was honestly probably over due anyway, considering what he has been producing. 6 scores of 110+ from his 11 games this year, and with Whitfield moving forward, there will be even more ball for him back there, and more kick outs. We love free points! He play Richmond this week who allowed Nic Martin (166), Zach Merrett (149) and Jye Caldwell (120) all to dominate last week, and Ash could cash in, in a big way this week.
