Round 17 Early Mail: Teams whispers, SuperCoach news and Champion Data formguide

Alastair Clarkson has delivered some bad news for Zac Fisher owners in SuperCoach. See latest teams news plus Champion Data’s rookie and captain advice.

Zac Fisher will miss North Melbourne’s clash against Gold Coast on Saturday with a foot injury.

Fisher was listed as a test on the Kangaroos’ injury list this week after reporting a mid-foot sprain in last week’s loss to the Western Bulldogs.

He left the track early on Thursday, and coach Alastair Clarkson later confirmed the news, in a major blow for more than 55,000 SuperCoach teams.

“He won’t play,” Clarkson said.

“He came out of the game halfway thrugh the third last week and was hobbling around.

“He’s not far away but we want fit players. A big part of his game is his run and kicking. We’re better off getting him right.”

North Melbourne defender Zac Fisher left the track early and didn’t complete main training today. With no captain’s run officially scheduled tomorrow, Fisher is in doubt to face the Suns on Saturday as he nurses a foot injury @FOXSportsNews@FOXFOOTY#AFL

— Drew Jones (@DrewJonesFOX) July 4, 2024

Fisher’s place could be taken by Colby McKercher, who hasn’t played at AFL level since round 10 but has starred in the VFL in the past two weeks.

“Colby’s had foot problems before, so we just want to make sure we eased him back into full match play,” Clarkson said, adding the No.2 draft pick and Griffin Logue would “both come into calculations” for selection.

Fisher, who has averaged 30 disposals a game since settling at half-back in round 8, was subbed out against the Bulldogs with 22 touches.

“Zac had an incident where he twisted his foot in the second quarter,” North Melbourne head of performance Kevin White told the Kangaroos website.

“He presented with a mid-foot sprain which was sore Sunday but is steadily progressing, so we’ll assess his function at the back end of the week to determine his availability.”

Fisher has been a revelation in SuperCoach, averaging 109 points a game over seven rounds until last weekend.

Zac Fisher has been an attacking weapon of half-back for the Kangaroos. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

If he misses this weekend it would be a huge blow, but coaches could get a surprise bonus in the form of young Roos defender Wil Dawson.

Dawson suffered an AC joint injury in the Roos’ round 13 win over West Coast – the same week he was traded into almost 60,000 SuperCoach teams.

“Wil has come out of the sling with great strength and range of movement,” White said.

“He continues to progress his strength markers which are nearing full capacity and he’s put in some high volumes of footy conditioning over the past 10 days.

“He was in main training today (Tuesday), will have game-load conditioning on-field on Saturday and will look to play next week.”

Young midfielder George Wardlaw is a week away from returning from concussion.

FANTASY FREAKO’S ROOKIE FORMGUIDE

As we look ahead to round 17, most if not all SuperCoaches should be fielding full premium teams and won’t need to field a rookie.

But having the opportunity to loop a rookie with a good fixture or even the 23rd man is a viable option moving forward.

Trades are priceless at this stage of the season as we don’t know what’s around the corner from an injury or suspension perspective. Leave yourself 2-3 trades in the back pocket in the case of an injury.

Arie Schoenmaker and Logan Evans are the most obvious options ahead of round 17, but both are defenders only. Schoenmaker collected 15 disposals against Port Adelaide last round. He didn’t win as much of the ball back off the opposition with zero intercept marks and just two intercept possessions. His score of 55 reflected that.

Evans managed 11 disposals and one intercept possession against the Saints, scoring 50 points.

You’re unlikely to field either player, so in terms of which one to go for you could just opt for the cheaper one.

St Kilda defender Arie Schoenmaker is on the bubble. Picture: Graham Denholm/Getty Images

Another player to consider is Lawson Humphries. He debuted last week against Essendon and scored 91 points from 15 disposals, six marks, and five intercept possessions. Playing 100 per cent of game time in defence, he’s a DPP in SuperCoach and adds nice flexibility should you own Nick Daicos, Hayden Young or Jack Sinclair. Humphries must be in the midfield though to accommodate that rotation.

Anthony Moniz-Wakefield was another Round 16 debutant, and he filled the void of Christian Salem quite well. He kept Zac Bailey to just two disposals in the 40 minutes they were matched up, winning seven going the other way. He ended of 15 disposals, nine contested possessions, six intercept possessions, and 59 points.

Shaun Mannagh is unlikely to play his third match of the season this week despite having a blinder in the VFL. He won 21 disposals and booted six goals on his way to 179 points. A DPP, he’s another player you could trade down to if you have the luxury of carrying a dead rookie. There is every chance that Mannagh returns to the Cats side in the run home should Chris Scott choose to bring him back, or injuries strike.

As always, trade wisely and best of luck for the upcoming round!

Champion Data’s top rookie picks for round 17.

CAPTAINS CORNER

Let’s open by saying ignore any talk of illness, injuries or late outs and include Marcus Bontempelli in your captaincy calculations this week.

Coaches who played it safe by avoiding the Bont have paid dearly in his past two games, and he could hurt them again this weekend. The Dogs skipper has a great record against Port Adelaide, scoring 125, 145 and 128 in his past three against them, the last two at Adelaide Oval.

Friday night’s blockbuster provides an opportunity to get the round off to a great start with a big VC score. Nick Daicos edged out Zach Merrett by one point on Anzac Day (128 v 127) but both have great records in this match-up – Daicos average 114.6 in his past three v Bombers, Merrett average 127.6 in his past three v Pies – and neither team is known for deploying taggers.

Max Gawn could take advantage of an injury to Eagles ruckman Matt Flynn (he’s listed as a test after rolling his ankle last weekend), but Gawn’s record against West Coast is underwhelming, with a high score of 109 in their past three match-ups.

Champion Data’s top captain picks for round 17.

Zak Butters against the Dogs (118 and 146 in his past two against them), Dayne Zorko at the Gabba and the ever-reliable Sam Flanders are other options to consider.

But if you’re going purely on match-ups you can’t go past Luke Ryan. The last time he faced Richmond, Ryan had 39 disposals, 15 marks and 197 SuperCoach points.

His recent form (three-round average 96) is less than captain-worthy, but the Tigers are the easiest team for defenders to score against this year and allowed Nic Newman to score 156 and Adam Saad 118 last week. So I’m backing Luke in.

Al Paton’s top three captains:

1. Marcus Bontempelli

2. Nick Daicos

3. Luke Ryan

MIDFIELDER FLANDERS DOESN’T LET DIMMA DOWN

– Callum Dick

Expect to see more of Sam Flanders in Gold Coast’s midfield mix moving forward after the super Sun starred in the season-defining win over Collingwood on Saturday night.

Having played across half-back since round 4, Flanders was thrust back into the onball rotation by Damien Hardwick, who pulled the emergency lever after watching his engine room struggle over the past few weeks.

Between rounds 10 and 16, the Suns slumped from among the best clearance differential sides to the worst in the AFL. It became a worrying trend the coach needed to rectify, and his solution was to move one of his favourite magnets.

The move proved a masterstroke, as Flanders tallied 22 disposals and five clearances in the first half to set the platform for an 11-point Suns victory that could have major implications come September.

Flanders had established himself as one of the premiere running defenders in the AFL over the past two months, averaging 31.6 disposals per game. But with Joel Jeffrey deputising in his stead, he was able to return to the Suns’ engine room and play as though he had never left.

“It was early in the week, Tuesday I think, when I went to do some review with Drummo (backline coach) and he said, ‘I’ve got some news for you’,” Flanders told this masthead.

“I walked into Dimma’s office pretty nervous, to be honest, but it was all positive. He told me I was moving back into the midfield.

“I think we just wanted a bit of a different mix. I played the last quarter there against Freo. Obviously, we have a great bunch in there that we can spin around and the best thing about it is we all work so well together.”

Sam Flanders didn’t miss a beat moving back into the midfield. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images

Flanders had 27 centre bounce attendances against Collingwood – the most of any Gold Coast midfielder – suggesting Hardwick has gone all-in on him as an onballer once again.

“I’m going to assume probably midfield against next week. But I’m pretty happy to play anywhere. I’m just very grateful to be back in the team playing AFL each week,” Flanders said.

His balanced inside-outside game perfectly complemented the roles of Matt Rowell and Noah Anderson, and gave Touk Miller freedom to play a more advanced role, which led to the co-captain getting involved in nine scoring chains.

“The great thing about Flanders is you need three of him. One forward, one mid and one back,” Hardwick declared.

“He’s just a special player. I think his profession this year and the back end of last year has been really important for us as a side. He’s such a wonderful player and complements what we have in that midfield brigade.”

Originally published as Round 17 Early Mail: Teams whispers, SuperCoach news and Champion Data formguide