The AFL Fantasy Grand Final has arrived for those that have made it to the end in their leagues!
That also means that there is only 1 week left for you to make that last swing at a hat or your personal ranking target. That means that knocking your Captaincy selection out of the park is as important as it has been all year, with a lot of teams running similar premiums. So who are the top targets for round 24? Let’s take a look!
VC Options
With Thursday night football and a double header on Friday night this week, we have an abundance of VC options available in the first couple of days.
Zach Merrett plays first, and also sits on top of my list of preferences as a VC this round. It may sound crazy considering the form he has been in (or not in) this season and with guys like Rowell to come, but I expect him to pump out a monster this week. We know round 24 can become a feast in terms of fantasy points and Merrett is exactly the kind of guy that would like to dine in. Lord is out, so I doubt he cops any attention considering the game is irrelevant in terms of neither side is playing finals and Merrett has still shown this year he is capable of a nice ceiling with scores of 149 and 145 this year, whilst he also scored 132 in his last game 2 weeks ago before his injury. It’s also his 250th game, so there is a little bit more for him to play for also and he has averaged 116 at home this season compared to just 92 away. He did only score 79 last time he played the Blues, but I expect him to be a lot better than that this week.
Max Gawn has kept his early season form going all year besides the few down weeks post bye that everyone expected due to matchups. This week he comes up against the Pies on Friday night, who have been the 4th easiest match up for rucks over the last 5 weeks and when these sides met earlier in the year, Gawn scored 122. He has scored 120+ in 3 of his last 4 games, and will be elite again this week.
Nick Daicos lines up in the same game and copped heavy attention from Langdon when these sides met earlier in the year, limiting him to only 83 points. I don’t expect him to cop attention in this one with Melbourne’s season over and a new coach at the helm, so I expect Daicos to do everything he can to lock in another 3 Brownlow votes in the last game of the season. He is still averaging 119 over his last 5 games even with a couple of quiet ones in their, mainly due to back to back scores of 162 and 146 in that period. He certainly has the ceiling to be an elite VC option, and assuming he avoids attention, I expect him to cash in this week.
Noah Anderson sits just ahead of Matt Rowell for me in this one, but it is almost a flip of the coin. The only reason I lean towards Anderson is because I expect Drew to stand alongside Rowell before he stands alongside Anderson, just due to it being a better match up for him. Rowell ended his 11 game ton run last week, but he scored 103 against the Power last time they met and has averaged 110 against them in his last 3, so you can expect a bounce back to triple figures this week. Anderson scored 122 last time these teams met and also averages 111 against them over his last three, so they both should be good. NAndo has been up and down this year, as he usually is, but he still has 10 scores of 110+ for the season compared to Rowells 7. As I said, you could flip a coin, but I lean the way of Anderson just due to Rowell being more likely to cop attention in my personal opinion.
As always, if your VC doesn’t hit the mark or you want to wait until later in the round, I have listed my top 5 Captaincy options for round 24, in order, below!
Captains – Top 5
- Brodie Grundy
Every guy named in the top 5 this week has some sort of risk, and Grundy’s is that he isn’t quite right on return from concussion. The concerns end there though. Before his last game in round 22 when he got concussed, Grundy was on a 12 game ton run, 9 of them over 120, and scores of 150, 130 and 129 in his last 3. He plays the Eagles this week, who have been the easiest match up for rucks over the course of the season and Tim English scored 129 against last week. Straight back in, and straight back to the top of the list.
- Bailey Smith
Incase you missed it, Norths main onballers last week gave the Tigers midfield an absolute bath. Harry Sheezel equalled the record for the most disposals in a match and LDU had 40 of his own, for scores of 186 and 162 respectively. Smith hasn’t quite been in the form he was earlier in the year, which is the only knock on him, but he is still averaging 118 in his last 4. If he has any hope in still winning the Brownlow, he will be doing everything he can to rack up the pill this week and get back to his absolute best, just like he was earlier in the year against another bottom of the table team in West Coast when he scored 147.
- Harry Sheezel
Speaking of the man who equalled the AFL possessions record, he sits at number 3 this week. Yes, Adelaide are a tough match up, but with finals just around the corner for them and a top 2 spot on the ladder locked in, I expect them to play a bit of bruise free football this weekend and Sheez should cash in. As mentioned, 186 points last week is unbelievable, but he is currently on a 6 game ton run since seeing more midfield time, with 4 of them over 110. You wont get 186, but you will get a very good Captains score from him again this week.
- Marcus Bontempelli
If it weren’t for the risk of a tag he would sit higher up the list this week. The Bont is in ridiculous form, and with the Dogs needing a win to lock in a finals spot, I am expecting him to come out and put the boys on his back in this one. 6 scores of 120 or more in his last 9 games including monster scores of 166 and 146. He is averaging 120 across his last 5 games and he should be absolutely insane again this week, but sits at 4 just due to the concern he cops attention which the guys above him will not.
- Jeremy Cameron
Yes, Jezza Cameron rounds out my top 5. If the dream of 100 goals in a season is to live on, he simply has to kick a bag this week and hope for the best come finals. As long as they win (against Richmond, they will), they also have top 2 on the ladder and a home final locked in, so we should see some ridiculous efforts to get the ball in Camerons hands this week, as it is about all they have to play for. Oh, and Nick Vlastuin, the Tigers best defender, is out. Expect 10, don’t be surprised if he equals Buddy’s 13.
