The Phantom’s captain analysis: Grundy, Dangerfield at the top of the list again but don’t discount Jake Lloyd

With the Thursday night footy fast approaching, The Phantom looks at all of the SuperCoach captain options for Round 4.

• The Phantom’s Round 3 Review
• Is Neale the man to replace Martin?
• SuperCoach Trade Targets
• The Phantom’s Waiver Wire

With the Thursday night footy fast approaching, The Phantom looks at all of the SuperCoach captain options for Round 4.

THE BEST OPTIONS

Jake Lloyd (Syd)

Thursday night v Melbourne

With scores of 131, 124 and 130, the Sydney defender is one of three players to score more than 120 points in each of the first three rounds. And Lloyd averages 127 points in his past eight matches at the SCG. A great Thursday night VC option. The Phantom prefers Lloyd over Melbourne big man Max Gawn, who has a career-average of 91 against the Swans, after the inclusion of second ruckman Braydon Preuss.

Brodie Grundy (Coll)

Friday night v Western Bulldogs

After a quiet Round 1, the Collingwood big man has bounced back with 137 and 132 in the past two matches. Grundy, who scored 152 points in the two sides’ only meeting last year, should be far too good for young Bulldogs’ ruckman Tim English on Friday night. Should be in your VC/C combination this week.

Jack Macrae (WB)

Friday night v Collingwood

The threat of Magpie stopper Levi Greenwood is there but Macrae’s ball-winning, as he proved on a number of occasions last seasons, is almost unstoppable. It’s hard to see Macrae scoring less than 100 again.

Patrick Dangerfield is always a great SuperCoach captain option down at the Cattery.

Patrick Dangerfield (Geel)

Saturday v GWS

The Geelong star averages a huge 156 points in his past three matches against the Giants and we know he loves playing down at the Cattery, with a 154-point performance against the Demons in Round 2 the latest piece of evidence. The ideal captain option after a Thursday/Friday night VC.

Lachie Neale (Bris)

Saturday v Essendon

The Bombers midfield like to go head-to-head so it’s unlikely a direct tag comes Neale’s way, despite a blistering start to the year. If you include his final four games at Fremantle, Neale has a seven-round average of 138.

Patrick Cripps (Carl)

Sunday v Gold Coast

While the Suns won, the Bulldogs midfielders had a field day, with Macrae, Tom Liberatore and Marcus Bontempelli tallying 413 SuperCoach points between them. And in Carlton’s last meeting with the Gold Coast, Cripps recorded 37 disposals, 11 tackles and 173 points.

SMOKIES

Zach Merrett was one of the Bombers’ best in their win over the Demons in Round 3.

Zach Merrett (Ess)

Saturday v Brisbane

After a quiet start, the Bomber midfielder is building nicely, tallying 120 points, on the back of 26 disposals and 14 contested possessions, despite the attention of James Harmes against the Demons. A left-field option if you need it.

Travis Boak (Port)

Saturday v Richmomd

With scores of 119, 123 and 136 in the opening three rounds, the former Power skipper, who is back in the midfield, is in some serious form. And after giving up SuperCoach tons to five Collingwood midfielders in Round 2, the Tigers conceded another four against the Giants.

The Phantom’s Call

It’s likely, I’ll be playing it safe with Grundy as VC into Dangerfield as C but Lloyd is well-and-truly in the picture.

By the numbers

Average past three v opponent

Patrick Dangerfield (Geel) 156

Patrick Cripps (Carl) 133

Adam Treloar (Coll) 126

Elliot Yeo (WCE) 123

Joel Selwood (Geel) 118

Brodie Grundy (Coll) 114

Scott Pendlebury (Coll) 113

Zach Merrett (Ess) 108

Lachie Neale (Bris) 103

Travis Boak (Port) 101

Originally published as The Phantom’s captain analysis: Grundy, Dangerfield at the top of the list again but don’t discount Jake Lloyd