Lachie Neale is back to his best. Picture: lions.com.au
With Round 2 quickly upon us on Thursday night, the SuperCoach Sanctum Podcast has done the analysis and taken a look at the five best captaincy options for the round, including a couple of left-field options that could help you rise up the rankings.
Jack Macrae – $699,000
The Bulldog midfielder will be a prominent selection all year as captain. Last year he averaged a league-best 128.6 and he has averaged over 120 each of the past five seasons. Macrae started the season strongly with a 133 in Round 1, despite his side going down to the Demons.
Not surprisingly, Macrae has scored well against Carlton in recent times, notching up 106 against them in 2021, 138 in 2020 and a whopping 150 in 2019. A small concern is potentially his scoring ability at Marvel Stadium, where he averages only 106.4.
Given his high ownership (49.2%) of teams, you run the huge risk of falling behind early on in the round if you don’t put the VC on him. Lock it in and any score of 130, take it to the bank!
Patrick Dangerfield – $567,900
A SuperCoach lock as captain a few years back, Dangerfield has been largely forgotten this year, as his positional change to MID only meant few took the punt on selecting him (2.4% of teams). A dominant display against the Bombers, with 31 disposals, 19 of which were contested, as well as eight clearances, lead to a huge Round 1 score of 155.
Dangerfield’s recent history against Sydney also bodes well for a huge score. A mammoth 170 last time he played them in 2020 and a 130 in the match-up prior point to another captaincy-worthy score being on the cards.
Fully fit and starting in the centre square, you can expect Dangerfield on the small SCG to burst out of the middle – if he can manage to be accurate in front of goal, a large score is certainly possible.
If you are one of the few to have him, it would be a wise investment to take advantage and plonk the VC on him, or if you are backing Jack Macrae and are not happy with his score, then put the C on Danger with confidence.
Lachie Neale – $543,200
Lachie Neale is officially back! After an injury-interrupted 2021, his price dropped for the start of 2022 to a point where it was too hard to refuse (currently in 53.7% of teams). In Round 1, he certainly didn’t disappoint. Neale was back to his best, amassing 31 disposals, 15 of which were contested, 7 clearances and a great score of 140.
Neale’s recent history against his Round 2 opponent in Essendon also works in his favour. Despite his poor 2021, he scored 157 against them, and also scored 157 against the Dons in 2020 and 140 in 2019.
If the Lions get on top of the Bombers midfield early, Neale could score points quickly and help put the game out of reach. You can have every confidence that Neale will again post a big score this week and he is a great captaincy choice.
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Christian Petracca – $606,200
If you were picking a captain based on a player’s last two games, the first player you would pick would be Christian Petracca.
Petracca picked up right where he left off following his Grand Final Norm Smith Medal performance, dominating against the Bulldogs in Round 1. 38 disposals, 8 marks, 2 goals and 9 clearances all contributed to his huge score of 163.
Round 2 sees Petracca up against the Suns, a side that the Demons, and Petracca himself, have the potential to dominate against. The last time the two sides met, Petracca scored 148 points in a near best-on-ground display. With his ownership increasing daily (up to 11.7%), now could be the best time to cash in on his good form.
Unique Captain Choice – Rowan Marshall – $536,800
Looking for totally unique captain choice for Round 2? A strong candidate is Rowan Marshall.
124 in Round One is a nice score, but given his opponent was Brodie Grundy, you would happily take that against a premier ruckman of the competition. Round 2 sees St Kilda play Fremantle in the last game of the round, and given Sean Darcy’s likely absence, Marshall with have much weaker opposition to contend with in Lloyd Meek.
The open spaces of Optus Stadium give Marshall plenty of room to roam and collect possessions and marks at will, hopefully running his opponent off his feet on his way to a huge score.
8.7% of teams own him, yet hardly any of those would take the risk with Marshall as captain, but if your VC has bombed and you are falling behind in your head-to-head matchup, this unique captain choice may see you storm home to finish the round.
Consider…
Travis Boak $578,500 – playing at home against Hawthorn, 149 points in Round 1, in just 1.2% of teams.
Ben Keays $560,400 – number one Crows midfielder with no Laird, racks up the possessions, 128 points in Round 1, in just 0.7% of teams.
Avoid…
Jack Steele – Only 87 in Round 1, averages a low 80 against Fremantle and has a high of only 109 at Optus Stadium.
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