KFC SuperCoach 2020: The best Round 2 captain options

Brodie Grundy as VC on Thursday night is usually a sure thing but the Collingwood star only scored 115 KFC SuperCoach points. So should you take it or go with another big gun as captain? The Phantom looks at all of the best options

The Phantom

3 min read

June 12, 2020 - 4:58PM

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KFC SuperCoaches wanted just one decision to be made for them in Round 2 but it’s not going to happen.

Most SuperCoach teams locked in Brodie Grundy as VC on Thursday night, expecting a standard 130-point score from the Collingwood star.

But they didn’t get it.

Instead, they have been left with not one, but two, agonising decisions.

Do I take 115 points – 230 doubled – as captain?

The safe, conservative answer is yes because it’s a score on the board. Anything could happen over the next few days.

But after so many big scores in the opening round and a favourable Round 2 fixture for some of the competition’s best, The Phantom will be looking elsewhere.

This leads to the second decision; who, out of a number of great options, gets the C?

Patrick Dangerfield of the Cats leaves after speaking to media on Friday. Picture: Daniel Pockett/Getty Images

Patrick Dangerfield (Geel)

V Hawthorn, Friday night

The Geelong star boasts a career average of 121 against the Hawks and Alastair Clarkson’s side haven’t played at the Cattery since 2006, a venue Dangerfield averages 130 points at in his past 32 matches. Enough said. In prime time and in his 250th game, a score of 150 or more is a chance.

Tom Mitchell (Haw)

V Geelong, Friday night

The ball-magnet showed no effects of the broken leg which kept him out of 2019 in Round 1, finishing with 119 points against the Lions. And the AFL shutdown has allowed him to strengthen the leg even further. Geelong conceded nine SuperCoach tons to the Giants in Round 1 and Mitchell has posted scores of 148, 102 and 136 in his past three matches against the Cats.

Can Lachie Neale go big against his former side on Saturday? Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

Lachie Neale (Bris)

V Fremantle, Saturday

Neale was huge in Round 1, tallying 26 disposals, 16 contested possessions, 10 tackles and eight contested possessions in shortened quarters, to post a score of 157 points. Nat Fyfe aside, the Dockers midfield is young and Bomber Dylan Shiel did as he pleased back in the opening round, finishing with 35 disposals and 163 points. He may have struggled to 79 points against his former side last year but the Neale, who averaged 117 points per game at the GABBA in 2019, will enjoy a somewhat normal preparation, unlike that of the Dockers who have spent all week in their new hotel home on the Gold Coast.

Max Gawn (Melb)

V Carlton, Saturday

In Round 1, 10 ruckmen posted SuperCoach tons and, surprisingly, Gawn wasn’t one of them. But don’t let that put you off. The star big man will go head-to-head with former Hawk Marc Pittonet in the absence of Matthew Kreuzer on Saturday and, although Pittonet plans to get physical, he managed just seven senior appearances in four seasons on Hawthorn’s list. He doesn’t play at the venue a lot but Gawn has posted scores of 133, 117, 139, 127 and 168 in his five matches at Marvel Stadium in the past two seasons.

Clayton Oliver (Melb)

V Carlton, Saturday

It would be a big call to overlook Gawn – or any of the first three – and go with Oliver on Saturday but the tough midfielder dominated in his last match against the Blues. In Round 16 last year, Oliver tallied 26 disposals, 19 contested possessions, 11 tackles, 10 clearances and 158 points. Sure, Patrick Cripps didn’t play for Carlton but there was no Gawn to set Oliver up in the middle, either.

Patrick Cripps (Carl)

V Melbourne, Saturday

Cripps was injured in the Round 16 clash against Melbourne in 2017 but in his four other matches against the Demons since 2014, the Carlton skipper has finished with scores of 152, 109, 153 and 131.

Does no Tom Hickey mean more game-time and a bigger score for Nic Naitanui against the Suns? Picture: Darren England/AAP

Nic Naitanui (WC)

V Gold Coast, Saturday night

This one is a bit left-field but with second ruckman Tom Hickey dropped for the clash against the Suns, is Naitanui finally set for more game-time ? If the answer is yes, the influential big man could be in for a huge score given his league-leading 1.9 points-per-minute – and 100 points in 61 per cent of the game - in Round 1.

Rory Sloane (Adel)

V Port Adelaide, Saturday night

Sloane only had 18 possessions in Round 1 against the Swans but 16 were won in a contest, resulting in a SuperCoach score of 123. The influential Crows leader averages 130 points in his past five Showdowns and it’s going to wet in Adelaide on Saturday night. Expect a big one.

Jack Macrae (WB)

V St Kilda, Sunday

The SuperCoach star, who was quiet by his high standards in Round 1, has posted scores of 120 and 121 in his past two matches against the Saints at Marvel Stadium. And we know how much he loves the venue, against any opponent, averaging 138 points per game there last season.

THE PHANTOM’S CALL

It’s Dangerfield for me. But I’d be considering Gawn if I had him.