AHOY there and welcome back to the greatest Fantasy article in the land, Calvin’s Captains.
Once again, we salute you Mr. Gary Ablett. You have made me one happy pirate this week as my number one pick from round 15, with a massive 157 Fantasy points.
Ablett was simply sensational against Hawthorn last Saturday, but it’s not time to dwell on the past and pat a pirate on the back.
We have work to do so let’s get going as we look forward to round 16.
ROCKY TO ROAR!
Before we all get caught up in the awe of Gary Ablett, let’s just take some time to relax and check out the League's highest averaging player of the year, Tom Rockliff [MID, $621,824].
Rockliff has scored 122, 175 and 75 points in his last three games and scored 116 points earlier this year when he played against Richmond, the side he faces this week.
Rockliff is in some nasty tackling form at the moment, clocking up double figure tackles in six of his last seven games. He has averaged 122 points at the MCG over the last four years and without a Richmond tagger in sight, he is set for another top score this week.
Also running around on the MCG this Saturday afternoon will be the in-form Trent Cotchin [MID, $522,887] who has averaged 119 points in his last three games.
He goes for his fifth straight score of 100+ points against the Brisbane Lions this week after scoring 138 when these teams met in round five.
102 OF THE BEST
After clocking the highest score for round 15 and averaging 140 points in his last four games this year, surely we are backing in Gary Ablett [MID, $619,353] as captain once again?
This week he takes on Collingwood at Metricon Stadium. Ablett loves playing on his home ground and has averaged 129 points there this year with scores of 137 and 146 in his last two clashes there.
But if that’s not enough, I have some stats that are so heavy, my pirate ship can’t even hold the weight of these large numbers.
In Ablett’s last two games against Collingwood, he has scored 163 and 190 points, accumulating a total of 102 disposals. Amazing!
In these games, Ablett wasn’t tagged and things might change when he meets Collingwood’s Brent Macaffer this week.
Macaffer has been in great form this year and held Marc Murphy to just 74 points last week. In fact, Patrick Dangerfield (135 points) and Ryan Griffen (102 points) are the only two players who have scored well against the mighty tagger this year.
The numbers don’t lie. His lowest score is just 97 points against the Pies in his last 10 games. His history, combined with his form and his record at Metricon Stadium have convinced me that he will be amazing again on Saturday afternoon.
The decision is simple and as Luke Hodge says, “it’s all about … Gaz”.
JACK OUT OF THE BOX
With the news that Kieren Jack [FWD/MID, $534.325] will be able to be selected as a forward from this week, it doesn’t mean we should be crossing him off list to wear the captaincy badge.
Jack has been on fire in recent week scoring 100+ points in eight of his last nine games. He racked up 117 last week and averages 111 in his last three games against the Eagles.
He’ll be sensational this week along with his teammate Josh P. Kennedy [MID, $574,318] who is coming off an impressive score of 136 points.
Kennedy scored 100 points against the Eagles in 2013, and along with Jack, will enjoy the open spaces of Patersons Stadium.
CATS TO WEAR DOG TAGS
Joel Selwood [MID, $482,431] bounced back to some good Fantasy form last week with 133 points, his first score over 105 points in his last six games. But sadly, that’s where the good news ends.
Against the Western Bulldogs, Selwood always attracts the No.1 tag and has struggled against it in the past. He has only averaged 92 against them in his last three games but does return to Simonds Stadium this week alongside Steve Johnson [MID, $501,847] who has scored 168 and 121 points there already this year.
Johnson has scored 141, 78, 148, 143 and 115 points in his last five games against the Bulldogs and is hoping to avoid a tag from Mitch Wallis or the dangerous Liam Picken this week.
Although Johnson only has a highest score of 103 in his last five games, he will return to his Fantasy best this week on his favourite ground. I know I’ve said this before - surely I’ll get it right soon.
JUST QUICKLY...
Once again, here are few more of the popular players going round this week. If I have missed your favourite, please let me know Twitter (@CalvinDT) and I’ll do my best to cover them next week.
Callan Ward [MID, $558,734] v Adelaide at Spotless Stadium: Ward’s score of 92 points last week broke his good run of form that saw him average 125 from his four games prior to this sub-100 point effort. He was tagged by Sam Kerridge earlier this year when these teams met and only managed 44 points before being subbed out of the game.
Brendon Goddard [MID, $566,400] v Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval: Goddard scored 123 points against the Power last year and after Scott Thompson managed 141 points against them last week, he's every chance to produce a solid score again.
Dane Swan [MID, $520,608] v Gold Coast at Metricon Stadium: Dane Swan hates playing away from the MCG. He has only averaged 87 points in away games this year and carries a highest score of just 114 in his last seven away games. Swan did have 130 points against the Suns last year and although we know what he is capable of, these stats don’t look overly flattering.
Tom Liberatore [MID, $544,109] v Geelong at Simonds Stadium: Liberatore has only averaged 72 points in the last four games he has played without Ryan Griffen. He had just 57 points last week against Melbourne and had 79 and 94 in his last two games against the Cats. He’ll be back on the radar when Griffen returns and when opposition taggers give him a break.
Michael Barlow [MID, $545,723] v Melbourne at TIO Stadium: Barlow scored 116 and 149 against the Demons last year and should produce quality numbers in Darwin this weekend.
Dayne Beams [MID, $533,064] v Gold Coast at Metricon Stadium: Beams scored 134 against the Suns last year but has only scored 104, 88 and 76 in his last three games. We must pass on him until we see better numbers than this.
Adam Treloar [MID, $546,530] v Adelaide at Spotless Stadium: Treloar has scored 97 and 91 in the past two weeks and although he has played the Crows four times during his short career, he is yet to score over 100 points against them.
Kade Simpson [DEF/MID, $455,248] v St Kilda at Etihad Stadium: We all know that the Saints are one of the easiest teams to score Fantasy points against, and Simpson discovered that earlier this year when he recorded his highest score of 145 points for the season. He even had 163 points against them back in 2011 and is huge roughie to go big again.
Dyson Heppell [MID, $535,838] v Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval: Heppell had his second 150+ point game last week against Geelong but hasn’t scored over 100 against the Power in his last three games. Too risky.
Scott Pendlebury [MID, $557,524] v Gold Coast at Metricon Stadium: Last week, the Suns allowed four Hawthorn players to score over 115 points. Pendlebury managed 109 when he met them in 2013 and is coming off his seventh straight 100+ score after his 128 point effort last week. He’s a Fantasy jet who is ultra-reliable. Lock him in for another big score this week.CALVIN'S TOP 5 CAPTAINS: ROUND 16
1. Gary Ablett (Gold Coast)
2. Tom Rockliff (Brisbane Lions)
3. Scott Pendlebury (Collingwood)
4. Trent Cotchin (Richmond)
5. Kieren Jack (Sydney Swans)
