SuperCoach AFL stats dossier: Full CBAs, kick-ins, time on ground for round 11, top round 12 captain picks
With Tristan Xerri on a bye, where do we turn for a captain in SuperCoach this week? We’re here to help. Plus the alarming stats on Harry Sheezel, Ryan Maric and Lachie Whitfield.
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No Tristan Xerri, no worries.
The North Melbourne ruckman has been the most reliable captain in SuperCoach, with a five-round average of 153 making him the default choice for many coaches.
This week the Kangaroos have a bye, which makes things a lot more interesting.
With most teams carrying a collection of blue dots (bye players) who are live until the final game of the round, it’s the perfect time to get two shots at a great captain score using the VC loophole (place the VC on a player who features early in the round and if they score well, make a bye player your captain to get the VC score doubled. If they flop, pick a later captain as usual).
SCROLL DOWN FOR FULL CBAs, KICK-INS, TIME ON GROUND FOR ROUND 11
Champion Data match-up stats reveal how many points each team concededs in every position, which help point is in the right captaincy direction. Here are our top picks – scroll down for all the key numbers from round 11 including CBAs, kick-ins and time on ground.
WHO TO TARGET THIS WEEK
Midfielders v Melbourne, West Coast, Richmond, Collingwood, Adelaide: Bailey Smith is projected to score 130 by SuperCoach Plus and is a great fall-back captain on Sunday as the Cats finish the round against West Coast – if he’s not a late out.
Essendon is rated a neutral match-up for midfielders, but Brisbane stars are ideal VC candidates on Thursday night especially considering their recent history against the Bombers. Lachie Neale’s past three games have delivered scores of 166, 109 and 198 – and he has another three 140-plus scores against them since 2019. Josh Dunkley’s past three v Essendon are 124, 103, 139. For Dayne Zorko it’s 108, 103, 116.
Tom Green owners could take advantage of a great match-up for mids against Richmond, which gave up 156 points to Zach Merrett, 122 to Sam Durham and 119 to Jye Caldwell last week.
Rucks v West Coast, Geelong, Richmond: Not many serious captain options here, but there is hope for a bounce-back score from Matt Flynn. Rhys Stanley might be available as a free agent in SuperCoach Draft. St Kilda concedes the fifth-most points to rucks and Rowan Marshall is yet to face the big two this year; Jarrod Witts scored 127 against the Saints, Matt Flynn 111, Tom De Koning 104 and Toby Nankervis 123. That augurs well for Max Gawn, who has a five-round average of 157 and scored 180 against the Saints last year.
General defenders v Gold Coast, St Kilda, Richmond, West Coast: Great match-ups this week for Jordan Clark, Max Holmes, Tom Stewart and Lachie Whitfield – if he returns to defence (see stats below). Richmond also allowed Nic Martin to score 163 a week ago, and Whitfield could produce similar numbers in his preferred role.
WHO TO AVOID THIS WEEK
Midfielders v Brisbane, Gold Coast, Fremantle, Hawthorn: Perhaps not the best week to bring in Zach Merrett, although he did score 135 against the Lions last year. Caleb Serong and Andrew Brayshaw might have a tough week, while Nick Daicos faces the sixth-toughest midfield this year in Hawthorn. SuperCoaches are still having nightmares about Finn Maginness tagging Daicos to just 41 points, but that was back in 2023 and in two encounters last season he scored 102 and 106. Is he back in down after a 28-disposals second half against the Roos?
Rucks v Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, GWS: Not many popular SuperCoach rucks here. Todd Goldstein might get some help from the mid-season draft!
General defenders v GWS, Essendon, Adelaide, Geelong: Essendon has done a good job of restricting defenders this year, but players like Bailey Dale (144) have got off the chain. Can Dayne Zorko do the same?
AL’S TOP CAPTAIN PICKS
1. Max Gawn
2. Lachie Neale
3. Max Holmes
4. Josh Dunkley
5. Lachie Whitfield
STATS BOMBSHELL: THE THREE SCARIEST CHARTS IN SUPERCOACH
Three of the most reliable defenders in SuperCoach found themselves in unfamiliar territory in round 11.
And the magnet moves could have a huge impact in fantasy.
His 20 disposals and 14 kicks for the game were the lowest numbers in both categories since round 1, and his 49 SuperCoach points has sent his Break Even soaring to 154 this week.
After making $260k since round 3, is it time to cash in?
On Saturday, fans at the Giants v Port Adelaide game were surprised to see Lachie Whitfield line up at half-forward. He still found the ball 27 times, but just eight of those disposals were kicks (season average 19) and he failed to take a kick-in for the first time since round 23, 2022.
Harry Sheezel, meanwhile, has been used in a variety of roles all season, including a stint in defence from rounds 7-9, when he took 11 kick-ins and averaged 118.6 SuperCoach points. But that role is definitely over, recording zero kick-ins the past two rounds and scoring 77 and 63 SuperCoach points.
The real killer for Sheezel’s SuperCoach scoring is not his move out of the backline, but out of the centre square as well. Against Collingwood he attended just two centre bounces, spending a season-high 56 per cent of game time in the forward line.
It’s no coincidence Sheezel’s move out of defence has allowed Caleb Daniel to shine, taking 15 kick-ins in the past two rounds and scoring 97 and 97 SuperCoach points.
Whitfield’s move up the ground opened the door for Lachie Ash to take eight kick-ins for the Giants, while Jacob Wehr spent more time in defence. It was a similar story for Brady Hough at West Coast, who earned dual-position status after round 11 after a boost in centre bounce numbers but was back in defence for portions of the game against the Crows.
Champion Data’s round 11 stats report also reveal Mattaes Phillipou attended zero centre bounces for St Kilda, with Ross Lyon turning to Marcus Windhager (15) and Zak Jones (14).
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Originally published as SuperCoach AFL stats dossier: Full CBAs, kick-ins, time on ground for round 11, top round 12 captain picks
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