AHOY there, my name is Calvin and welcome to the greatest Fantasy article in the land, Calvin’s Captains.
Join me as I put on my pirate hat and help you select your AFL Fantasy captain.
Click here to play NAB AFL Fantasy
For the rookies amongst us, your Fantasy captain scores you double points. Your vice-captain is only used when your captain is a late withdrawal.After analysing all the data, previous form, opposition teams and taggers, I have come up with my top five selections to help guide you through the stressful split round ahead.
So, let’s get started shall we and all the best for round one.
Golden Gaz
On Saturday night under the lights at Metricon Stadium, Gary Ablett will be scoring plenty of Fantasy points. He averaged 118 points a game there in 2013 and comes up against Richmond, a team he scored a relatively modest 106 points against last year after receiving some attention from Daniel Jackson.
Ablett averages 112 against the Tigers in his last three games and usually starts the season with a bang. Over the last two years, he has scored 136 and 135 in the opening round and should dominate again.
The mighty Richmond duo of Brett Deledio and Trent Cotchin also carry an impressive record at Metricon. Gold Coast are Cotchin’s favourite team after scoring 114 last year to average 123 points in his last three games against the team from the Sunshine State.
Deledio also loves playing the Suns and although he only scored 84 against them last year, he does have very respectable scores of 141 and 119 against Ablett's team from previous years.
Tassie bound
After flying over the seven seas (or Bass Straight), Sam Mitchell and Jarryd Roughead will arrive in Launceston on Saturday week, to take on the Brisbane Lions. Mitchell loves playing at Aurora Stadium which happens to be one of the highest scoring Fantasy grounds in Australia.
Over the last three years, Mitchell has scored over 100 points in 79 per cent of his games there and goes for his sixth straight 100+ score against the Lions. It’s a safe bet he’ll score over 100 again, but will it be big enough?
After the departure of Lance Franklin and a great pre-season, Jarryd Roughead could be a real ‘roughie’ as captain this week. In his previous games against the Lions, he has scored 110 and 111 points and should be unstoppable again.
Swanny under the roof
111, 172, 125, 131 and 158 are, believe it or not, Dane Swan’s last five scores against Fremantle. He averages 139 in his last five games against them and has to be given the captaincy in your team this week.
Our favourite Fantasy pig played at Etihad Stadium three times last year averaging 123 points a game and opened round one with 31 possessions and 123 points. What a jet! #oinkoink
But Fremantle have a dangerous tagger by the name Ryan Crowley who likes to wreck the Fantasy scores of our best players. He will most likely tag Scott Pendlebury this Friday night as he did in 2013 when he held him to 92 points.
Pendlebury did average 126 at Etihad Stadium last year but selecting him with the big ‘C’ carries too much of a risk with Crowley roaming around.
On the other hand, Dayne Beams is another good option for this week. Despite not playing Fremantle last year, Beams has played them four times over his career for scores of 113, 128, 100 and 102. He’s a great option and appears fit in 2014 after an outstanding pre-season.
With such an attacking midfield, Collingwood do allow opposition midfielders to score well. Michael Barlow might reap the rewards as he has on many occasions before. Collingwood are his favourite team to score Fantasy points against as he averages 113 on them over his career with top scores of 146 and 120.
Just quickly…
A few more considerations for your captaincy pick:
Ryan Griffen v West Coast at Patersons Stadium. Griffen scored 106 points last time he played the Eagles but that is his best score in his 12 career games against them.
Lance Franklin v Greater Western Sydney at Spotless Stadium: Buddy has never really dominated Greater Western Sydney scoring just 81 and 72 in the last two games he played against them. He could start the season with a bang but we have to pass, based on his pre-season form.
Steve Johnson v Adelaide at Simonds Stadium: After playing against Adelaide 11 times over his career, you’d think Johnson would have some massive scores against the Crows. Wrong. His best ever score is only 106 points and that was back in 2007.
Jobe Watson v North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium: The Kangaroos are Watson’s second favourite team to score Fantasy points against, as he carries a lowest score of just 91 in his last nine games against them. He had 121 points when they met last year and even scored 132 and 110 in 2012. He’s a serious option this week based on these stats.
Patrick Dangerfield v Geelong at Simonds Stadium: Dangerfield didn't play against Geelong last year and only has one 100+ score against them in his last seven games. Pass.
Scott Selwood v Western Bulldogs at Patersons Stadium: Selwood dominated the Bulldogs last year for scores of 113 and 119 points. He averaged 118 points in his final four games at Patersons Stadium last year so give him strong consideration.
Brent Stanton v North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium: Stanton scored 96 points against North Melbourne last year but usually starts round one with a bang. Champion Data told us recently that he averages 138 points in his round one games since 2010 which is an amazing stat.
All the best for the opening round. Time for a rum! Arggghhh.
