The Phantom’s Round 3 Final Word: Rockliff, Boak, the teams, on-field rookie selections, captains and more

As the start of Friday night footy nears, The Phantom delivers the final SuperCoach word on the trades, teams, on-field rookies, captains and more.

• The Phantom’s verdict on all the Round 3 trade options
• Round 2 SuperCoach Review: Dusty to Rocky?
• SuperCoach Draft: Waiver Wire targets
• Battle of the Postcodes: Who’s the best SuperCoach in your area?

As the start of Friday night footy nears, The Phantom delivers the final SuperCoach word on the trades, teams, on-field rookies, captains and more.

If you were planning on bringing in Tom Rockliff or Travis Boak this week, don’t let the return of co-captain Ollie Wines deter you.

Given the flexibility within the group, both Rockliff and coach Ken Hinkley have forecast little change to midfield roles against the Lions.

“We are playing a different game style this year and there seems to be a lot more freedom in our ball movement so no reason why I can’t impact the contest like I have been the last two or three weeks,” said Rockliff on the return of the contested-ball beast.

“I don’t think anyone’s roles will change but it is obviously great to have him back.”

Ollie Wines, left, in action in front of Willem Drew at Power training.

At his midweek press conference, when asked specifically whether Boak and the impressive Willem Drew retain their midfield spots, Hinkey said “they stay”.

“They own their spot. They keep their space in the middle as much as anyone,” Hinkley added before mentioning the impact Brad Ebert and Sam Powell-Pepper are having forward of centre.

All aboard the Rocky train, SuperCoaches.

In other team news, Giant star Josh Kelly has surfaced for the first time in 2019 and will line up against the Tigers on Saturday.

But there’s still no Toby Greene. Sound the alarm.

I won’t tell you not to trade him this week because for someone with Greene’s injury history to miss a further two weeks after just one match is a big concern.

Shane Mumford is back and will line up against the Tigers on Saturday.

Ruckman Shane Mumford will play his first AFL game in 576 days after serving his club-imposed, two-game suspension.

But let’s give him a week, at least, before considering the 32-year-old in any trade plans.

Lincoln McCarthy owners can breathe a sigh of relief after the former Cat was named in Brisbane’s 22, despite suffering rib cartilage damage last week.

ON-FIELD ROOKIES

DEFENCE

1. Xavier Duursma

2. Jordan Clark*

3. Sam Collins

4. Connor Rozee

5. Jack Scrimshaw

MIDFIELD

1. Charlie Constable*

2. Sam Walsh

3. James Cousins

4. Zak Butters

5. Bailey Scott

And if you’ve got Luke Davies-Uniacke, it goes without saying, you have to start him!

RUCK

No.

Willem Drew is leading the way for Port Adelaide and on-field rookies. Picture SARAH REED

FORWARD

1. Willem Drew

2. Will Setterfield

3. Matthew Parker

4. Jack Petruccelle

5. Gryan Miers*

After Thursday night’s three-goal, 69-point performance against the Crows, Miers is proving himself as an on-field selection and could move up this list ahead of Round 4.

*played Thursday night

CAPTAINS

Firstly, if you put the VC on Patrick Dangerfield on Thursday night, take the score if you can work the captain’s loophole.

Sure Jack Macrae could score 150 but there’s no guarantee. It’s only a matter of 22 points, anyway.

If you didn’t go with Dangerfield or you want to be greedy, here’s the options to consider.

Max Gawn (Melb)

v Essendon, Friday night

The Melbourne big man, who found form against the Cats last week, averages 135 in his past three matches against the Bombers. And the Demons should open their account with a win against a struggling Essendon side on Friday night.

Max Gawn at Melbourne training head of the Friday night clash with the Bombers. Picture: Alex Coppel.

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 you’re not taking Dangerfield’s score.

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.

THURSDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

If you traded Cat Tim Kelly in before the first bounce on Thursday night, you would’ve been nervous as the star Cat limped off with what originally looked like a knee injury early in the last quarter.

🚨INJURY ALERT🚨

Tim Kelly has gone down to the rooms with a possible knee injury #AFLCrowsCats #supercoach

Match centre: https://t.co/SStAtkD97r

— SuperCoach AFL (@Supercoach) April 4, 2019

But it was later confirmed as an ankle injury and the club is confident the 24-year-old has avoided serious injury. But it will be a long few days for owners.

Chris Scott:

On Tim Kelly’s ankle - it appears as if he could have gone on late if we wanted him to.

On Mark O’Connor - It was a corkie. He couldn’t run and he couldn’t kick. So we couldn’t put him out there.#StandProud #WeAreGeelong

— Geelong Cats (@GeelongCats) April 4, 2019

One of the Phantom’s favourites, Brodie Smith, although he tallied 22 disposals, failed to have real influence on the clash, making a number of uncharacteristic errors by foot.

Brodie Smith needs to play to his strength - kick it long. Often misses targets when he tries to hit someone up. Kicking efficiency of 53% tonight hurt his score. #SuperCoach #AFLCrowsCats

— Fantasy Freako (@FantasyFreako) April 4, 2019

Smith’s half-back sidekick Rory Laird couldn’t get near the footy in the first-quarter, sending SuperCoaches into meltdown early on.

Just the 1 touch for Rory Laird in 32 minutes of footy. #AFLCrowsCats #SuperCoach

— The Phantom (@ThePhantomSC) April 4, 2019

But he responded in the second term and finished with 24 disposals and a respectable 85 points. For those who don’t own him, his price will be coming down very soon.

13 disposals in the next 29 minutes. #AFLCrowsCats #SuperCoach https://t.co/jL9SVVVcb9

— The Phantom (@ThePhantomSC) April 4, 2019

Again, if, like JB from Doctor SuperCoach, you put the VC on Dangerfield, just take his score!

I am yet to show my captaincy to an active player this season.

Round 1; Cripps 126
Round 2; Grundy 137
Round 3; Dangerfield 128

The importance of hitting your VC is huge, a matter of tens of thousands of ranks in a lot of instances.

— JB (@JB_DRSC) April 4, 2019

Originally published as The Phantom’s Round 3 Final Word: Rockliff, Boak, the teams, on-field rookie selections, captains and more