The Phantom’s captain anaylsis: Grundy, Fyfe and Dangerfield the obvious options but don’t forget about Rory

With the second week of SuperCoach fast approaching, The Phantom looks at all of the captain options for Round 2. PLUS review The Phantom’s answers to reader questions.

• The Phantom’s Round 1 Trade Talk
• Every Round 1 SuperCoach score
• By The Numbers: Power fight back at the contest

With the second week of SuperCoach fast approaching, The Phantom looks at all of the captain options for Round 2.

Review The Phantom’s answers to reader questions in the comments below.

THE PHANTOM’S BEST OPTIONS

Brodie Grundy (Coll)

v Richmond, Thursday night

In his past four matches against the Tigers, including last year’s preliminary final, Grundy has posted scores of 146, 157, 115 and 135. And last week’s score of 81 wouldn’t have looked as bad if it weren’t for six clangers. The Phantom is expecting Grundy to bounce back, making him the perfect Thursday night VC option.

Rory Sloane, right, was huge for the Crows in Round 1.

Rory Sloane (Adel)

v Sydney, Friday night

Adelaide’s co-captain was huge with 155 points against the Hawks in Round 1 and, while he miss last year’s clash through injury, Sloane has scored 140 and 137 in his past two home-and-away matches against the Swans. The threat of George Hewett is there but he hasn’t gone to him in the past. There’s 60 per cent chance of rain in Sydney on Friday night and we know the 29-year-old thrives in the tough conditions. A great point-of-difference VC option.

Patrick Cripps (Carl)

v Port, Saturday afternoon

Cripps is always a great option, given there’s really no one in the competition who can stop him. The Carlton star tallied 21 contested possessions and 126 points last week and boasts a career SuperCoach average of 117 against the Power. If you’re looking at Cripps, try to VC him into a Saturday night or Sunday captain option.

Patrick Dangerfield (Geel)

v Melbourne, Saturday night

Geelong are back at home and Dangerfield loves playing down at the Cattery, averaging 127 SuperCoach points in his past seven matches at the venue. Melbourne will be out to make amends for last week’s loss to the Power but expect Dangerfield, who’s posted scores of 126 and 138 in his past two home-and-away matches against the Demons, to thrive on a red-hot midfield contest.

Jack Macrae (WB)

v Hawthorn, Sunday

While Macrae’s career average against the Hawks is only a modest 94 points, expect him carry on with his ball-winning ways against a Hawthorn midfield who gave up 76 disposals and 292 points to Crows Rory Sloane and Matt Crouch in Round 1.

Nat Fyfe, right, picture with Isaac Heeney is the best captain option this week.

Nat Fyfe (Freo)

v Gold Coast, Sunday

A huge 147-point performance in Round 1. Scores of 160, 148 and 157 in his past three against the Suns. If you’ve got Fyfe, he’s your captain in Round 2.

SMOKIES

Jake Lloyd (Adel)

v Adelaide, Friday

The play-making defender is averaging 127 points in his past seven matches at the SCG and it’s unlikely the Crows will target Lloyd directly with a defensive forward.

Zach Merrett (Ess)

v St Kilda, Saturday

He’s copped it all week, as has his team, after a disappointing Round 1 performance against the Giants. But Merrett has tallied 36 disposals or more in his past three matches against the Saints, posting SuperCoach scores of 121, 120 and 100. It would be a brave VC call but you might consider it if you’ve got Fyfe to fall back on in the final game on Sunday

Tom Rockliff as VC anyone?

Tom Rockliff (Port)

v Carlton, Saturday

Speaking of big calls, if you really want to go to left-field with your VC this week, you could consider Rockliff if you’ve got him. He tallied 29 disposals and 92 points against the Blues last year and in his last encounter with Carlton as a Lion he tagged Bryce Gibbs. But in 2016, Rockliff posted scores of 206 and 159 against the Power’s Round 2 opponent. Hmmm.

BY THE NUMBERS

Average past three v opponent

Nat Fyfe (Frem) 153

Brodie Grundy (Coll) 140

Rory Sloane (Adel) 131

Zach Merrett (Ess) 123

Clayton Oliver (Melb) 120

THE PHANTOM’S CALL

I’ll be going with Grundy as VC on Thursday night before relying on Dangerfield as C on Saturday night if Grundy fails again.

Originally published as The Phantom’s captain anaylsis: Grundy, Fyfe and Dangerfield the obvious options but don’t forget about Rory