The Phantom’s SuperCoach captain anaylsis: Dangerfield and Macrae pick themselves in Round 3

With the Thursday night footy fast approaching, The Phantom looks at all of the SuperCoach captain options for Round 3.

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With the Thursday night footy fast approaching, The Phantom looks at all of the SuperCoach captain options for Round 3.

THE BEST OPTIONS

Patrick Dangerfield (Geel)

v Adelaide, Thursday night

The Geelong star averages more points against his old side than any other team in the competition. Dangerfield, who has posted scores of 142, 149 and 158 in his past three home-and-away matches against the Crows, should be your VC Thursday night.

Max Gawn (Melb)

v Essendon, Friday night

There’s no reason you can’t go with a VC/C option on Thursday and Friday with the Melbourne big man, who found form against the Cats last week, averaged 135 in his past three matches against the Bombers. And the Demons should open their account with a win against a struggling Essendon side in Round 3.

Expect Giants star Stephen Coniglio to bounce back against the Tiger

Stephen Coniglio (GWS)

v Richmond, Saturday

After scoring 154 points in the opening game, Coniglio copped the Mark Hutchings tag against the Eagles in Round 2. But expect the 25-year-old to respond against a Richmond side who gave up SuperCoach tons to five Collingwood midfielders last week.

Brodie Grundy (Coll)

v West Coast, Saturday night

The Collingwood big man averages 112 points in wins at the MCG since 2017 and, while the result didn’t go their way, Grundy recorded 141 points in last year’s grand final – the Magpies last meeting with the Eagles.

Jack Macrae (WB)

v Gold Coast, Sunday

There’s seemingly no stopping the Bulldogs ball-magnet, who has hit the ground running in 2019, posting scores of 132 and 127 in the opening two rounds. And in his last meeting with the Suns, Macrae tallied 40 disposals and a career-high 189 points. The go-to captain option if Dangerfield fails to score 130 or more.

Nat Fyfe (Freo)

v St Kilda, Sunday

Fyfe’s career average of 85 against the Saints is his lowest but he’s the No. 1 scoring player in the game after two rounds. Must be considered at home.

THE SMOKIES

Lachie Whitfield (GWS)

v Richmond, Saturday

The Tigers didn’t just give up SuperCoach tons to five Magpies midfielders, they gave up 10 in total. And Whitfield was everywhere against the Eagles last week, tallying 33 disposals, 13 marks and 123 points. A left-field option if you need it.

Lachie Neale (Bris)

v Port Adelaide, Saturday night

The former Docker got his side over the line in Round 10 with a huge 43-disposal, 140-point performance against the Kangaroos. And while it was with his old side, Neale averages 121 SuperCoach points in his past four meetings with the Power.

THE PHANTOM’S CALL

The VC and C almost pick themselves this week. The Phantom will be going with Dangerfield as VC on Thursday night into Macrae as C on Sunday.

BY THE NUMBERS

Average past three v opponent

Patrick Dangerfield (Geel) 140

Max Gawn (Melb) 135

Rory Sloane (Adel) 131

Jack Macrae (WB) 130

Luke Shuey (WCE) 128

Dustin Martin (Rich) 125

Lance Franklin (Syd) 123

Brodie Grundy (Coll) 118

Marcus Bontempelli (WB) 114

Zach Merrett (Ess) 110