AHOY there, and welcome to Calvin’s Captains for round nine. This week we have many superstar AFL Fantasy captaincy options back on the field.
But we don’t have much time my friends, as the round isn’t too far away from starting, so we need to get our captains locked and loaded.
THURSDAY IS PIE NIGHT
Thursday night footy is back and this week at the Adelaide Oval, Collingwood and Adelaide meet fresh off their round eight byes.
A rested Dane Swan [MID, $559,575] will be ready to go, aiming to continue the hot form that has seen him score over 100+ points in his last four games this year. The mighty ‘Swanny’ scored 106 points against the Crows last year but only has a top score of 115 points against them in his last eight games.
Speaking of in form players, you won’t find much better than Dayne Beams [MID, $583,018] who has averaged 126 points in his last four games. He only managed 80 points last year when he met Adelaide but did score 132 points against them in 2012.
Another great option must be Magpie captain Scott Pendlebury [MID, $582,762]. Firstly, his lowest score for the year is just 91 points and last year when he met the Crows he was unstoppable for a score of 153 points.
Pendles may not have it all his own way this time though, as Adelaide have really restricted the Fantasy scoring of their opponents in the last three games, only allowing three opposition players to score over 100+ against them.
BEWARE OF TAGGERS
This week, the two of the best taggers in league will clash with the two best Fantasy players in the game, and we need to be on high alert.
St Kilda’s Tom Curren has claimed some premium scalps this year in Tom Rockliff (76 points) and Dyson Heppell (43 points) and this week he will run with Gary Ablett [MID, $622,790] at Etihad Stadium.
Not only will Ablett be tagged by Curren, but he has to try and break free at a ground he has struggled to score well at in the past. Since joining Gold Coast, Ablett has only averaged 109 at Etihad Stadium compared to the MCG where he has averaged 140 over the same period.
Curren will certainly have his work cut out for him though as Ablett has been in smashing form in recent weeks, racking up huge scores of 119, 122, 119, 132 and 146 points.
Over the last two seasons, St Kilda have always applied a fair amount of pressure on Ablett, holding him to scores of 71 and 64 points in two of their last four meetings. Ablett brought his usual amount of Fantasy pain in the other two encounters though, scoring 135 and 143 points.
Then we have Ryan Crowley who will have his sights set firmly on Steve Johnson [MID, $639,989] this week. Johnson has averaged 124 points over the last three weeks and visits Patersons Stadium, a ground he scored 143 points at last year.
Some people believe that Crowley may tag Joel Selwood [MID, $504,190] this week. But these people don’t wear a ridiculous pirate hat or speak with a lame Irish/American pirate accent do they?
Last year when Fremantle played Geelong, Crowley kept Selwood to just 38 points. Crowley was brilliant (from a tagger's perspective) that day, but the most important fact to note is that Johnson didn’t play that day.
Either way, someone will have their work cut out for them when Fremantle’s number 15 stands next to them, at the opening bounce on Sunday afternoon.
JUST QUICKLY...
Once again, here are few more of the most-selected players I have looked at. If I have missed your favourite player, shoot me a message on Twitter (@CalvinDT) and I’ll do my best to cover them next week.
Brett Deledio [MID, $497,536] v Melbourne at the MCG: Deledio returned last week after missing four games to score 84 points and has a history against the Demons that must be respected. He has scored 123, 109 and 105 against them in his last three games and should bounce back to his best this week.
Dyson Heppell [MID, $542,771] v Sydney Swans at Etihad Stadium: From Heppell’s eight games this year he has played four away from Etihad averaging 140 points, and four at Etihad Stadium to average 95 points a game. That's quite a gap! Dyson clearly loves life away from home.
Leigh Montagna [MID, $603,407] v Gold Coast at Etihad Stadium: Last year, Montagna scored 123 points against the Suns and has been in ripping form over the last three weeks averaging 133 points. He’s extremely stiff not to get in my top five this week.
Nathan Fyfe [MID, $525,868] v Geelong at Patersons Stadium: Fyfe has been in smashing form in his last four games scoring 130, 106, 114 and 111 points. He only averages 86 points in his last three games against Geelong but his form is simply too hot to ignore.
Brent Stanton [MID, $562,881] v Sydney at Etihad Stadium: Last year against the Sydney Swans, Stanton scored a huge 149 points. I doubt this will happen again though as they have only allowed one opposition player to score over 100 points in the last two weeks against them. But, he is a Fantasy jet and we all know what he is capable of on his day.
Nick Riewoldt [FWD, $471,342] v Gold Coast at Etihad Stadium: Riewoldt has been playing sore but has previous scores of 152, 86, 136 and 126 points against Gold Coast. He’ll bounce back this week for sure.
Trent Cotchin [MID, $516,782] v Melbourne at the MCG: Cotchin has played at the MCG four times this year and has failed to score over 100 points on each occasion. He has averaged 103 points against the Demons in his last three games and should crack the magic ton this week just like Tom Liberatore (146 points) and Ryan Griffen (113 points) did against Melbourne last week.
Tom Rockliff [MID, $600,098] v North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium: Last year against North Melbourne, Rockliff scored 134 and 117 points. When you place these great stats next to his form where he has scored 147 and 141 in the last two weeks, it’s obvious to see why Rockliff sits at number one this week as a captaincy pick.
Jobe Watson [MID, $512,071] v Sydney Swans at Etihad Stadium: Watson finally broke his run of five sub-100 point scores with an impressive 149 points last week against the Brisbane Lions. He only scored 85 points against the Sydney Swans last year and is a little unpredictable at the moment to carry the big ‘C’ in your Fantasy team.
Brandon Ellis [MID, $431,454] v Melbourne at the MCG: Smokey alert! Last year when Ellis played Melbourne he scored his highest Fantasy score ever! He managed 39 disposals for 155 points which mirrors a similar story to Tom Liberatore from round eight. Ellis has scored 94, 125 and 96 in recent weeks and is a red hot chance to score big again.
