As we edge towards the pointy end of the season with only 3 weeks left before Fantasy finals, the chance to make up points in the rankings is getting harder and harder.
So who are the best options to lead our sides to league wins and jump us up the rankings in round 18? Let’s take a look.
VC Options
Dayne Zorko is the only player I have any form of interest in on the Thursday night clash between the Blues and Lions. His 2 scores against the Blues last year were 109 and 105, but the Blues have been the 5th easiest team for rebounding defenders to score against over the last 5 weeks, allowing scores of 120 to Rozee and 99 to McKercher in the last 3 weeks. Carlton are a side who could use a defensive forward as a tagger on Zorko this week though, and their unpredictabiity, along with mixed form from Zorko in recent weeks highlighted by a score of 79 last week, makes me more likely to look elsewhere.
Friday night footy opens up some more options for us as Gold Coast take on Collingwood. The obvious choice here is Nick Daicos, who is coming off back to back scores of 130+, and coming up against the 3rd easiest team for midfielders to score against over the last 5 weeks, and the 2nd easiest over the course of the season. Last week it was Zach Merrett who ran free on his way to a monster 145 against the Suns, and this week is will be Sir Nick. Last year he scored 115 against the Suns, and I expect him to cash in this week.
The other option to be considered is Noah Anderson. A little bit up and down over the course of the year, Anderson is averaging 116 in his last 3 games and scored 122 on the weekend just gone. He has 8 scores of 110+ for the year, so he is capable of producing a quality Captains score, it just depends on whether you get him on a good week or a bad week. His recent history against the Pies does give you more hope, with a massive 140 against them last year and 123 in 2023. I prefer Daicos out of the two, but he could be a nice POD VC option for his owners this week.
What do we do if our VC doesn’t hit the mark, or you want to hold onto it until later in the round? You target the two best options that you own from my top 5, which is listed in order, below!
Captains – Top 5
- Bailey Smith
He gets another chance at the top of the list after being a disappointing late out last week in his juicy match up. The match up isn’t anywhere near as friendly this week against the Giants, but Smith hasn’t worried about who he has come up against yet this year, so I don’t expect him to start now. In fact, he actually scored his season high 149 when he played the Giants earlier this year. With only 2 scores below 100 for the season, Smith holds his title as the number 1 Captaincy option until he gives us a reason (apart from late outs) to look elsewhere.
- Brodie Grundy
The ruck pig is on a serious heater! 8 scores of 110+ in a row, and 5 over 120 in his last 6 games. He comes up against the Saints this week, who have been the NUMBER 1 EASIEST team for rucks to score against over the last 5 weeks, and number 2 for the season! In the last 5 weeks against Marshall, Meek has scored 138, Darcy Cameron has scored 128 and Time English has scored 120. The points will be there for Grundy this week, and he is a fantastic fallback option playing the 2nd last game of the round.
- Zach Merrett
Merrett was back in a big way last week, hitting form with a massive 145 against the Suns. It doesn’t get much more difficult for him this week as he comes up against Richmond, who he scored 149 against in round 11 this year. With Caldwell also ruled out, there shouldn’t be any concerns over Merrett’s role like there was earlier in the year, and I fully expect him to cash in this week with another huge day out.
- Nic Martin
Likewise to Merrett, Martin certainly didn’t struggle against the Tiges in round 11. In fact, he was better than Merrett, ending the day with a ridiculous 166 points. He has been a bit more down on form over the last few weeks, but his monster against the Tiges wasn’t a one hit wonder, with another huge score of 141, just 2 weeks prior to the Richmond game. He has a massive ceiling and if you don’t own Merrett, he could be a great POD Captaincy option this week.
- Errol Gulden
If I didn’t have concerns over a Windhager tag, Errol would sit higher on the list this week. However, even with the threat of attention, he has to make the top 5, with back to back scores of 120+ in his 2nd and 3rd game back from injury showing us he is still one of the absolute uber premiums in AFL Fantasy. St Kilda have been the easiest team for outside mids to score against across the last 5 weeks, so if anyone can cash in, it is Errol, as he has shown in the past with ceiling scores of 151 (twice) and 154 last year. Not many people would have it in them to use the VC or C on Gulden this week with the threat of Windhager looming, so you could separate yourself from the pack nicely if you have the cojones!
