Captain’s Challenge: Round 20, skippers to target and avoid

Two words.

James. Tedesco.

And that concludes the Captaincy article for this we–…

Okay. Okay. But I have honestly never wanted to straight Captain a player so much in my life!

One try. Three try assists. Three line-breaks. Two line-break assists.

152 points.

304 glorious Sir Captaincy points.

Let’s just get right into the Captain Congratulations, which goes to everybody (including yours truly) who Captained or Vice Captained our new favourite King.

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And a big thank you to that beautiful duo of Teddy and Manu, who are singlehandedly saving my SuperCoach season with their Captaincy prowess over the last two weeks.

Now. I would also like to quickly point out an oracalising moment that came from absolutely nowhere but the ends of my fingertips last week in my Round 19 Captaincy article, when talking about a Captaincy on Scotty D:

“So, when considering the Captaincy on him this Round, do take all that into account and reflect on the last time he played the Tigers back in Round 10, when he scored a try. Then also remember that in that same game vs the Tigers in Round 10, he scored 46 points. That is all.”

And my heartfelt condolences to anybody who Sir Captained Scotty D.

So, let’s get into our Top Captaincy Choice for Round 20, who is of course:

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The Great James Tedesco

If you own him, the matchup tonight vs a depleted Manly side missing seven of their usual line-up, looks very tasty indeed.

Gunning for that top 8 finish, Teddy is on a tear, and I imagine he will reward Vice Captainers and Captain Captainers by knocking out a solid ton (or two).

Boasting a three-round average of 106, and making it rain with tries and try assists like a rapper on a three-day bender in Vegas – he definitely needs to be considered for a straight-up Captaincy this round.

And if it backfires, well.

I’ll just hold a Support Group, and then all the pain will fade into beautiful whisky-coloured oblivion.

Of course, you might not own our new King, and then I feel very sorry for you, very sorry indeed.

But here are some more options in a tough week for Captains just for you:

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Cameron Munster

I do not own Munster, and it makes me scared. So very, very scared.

Because despite Melbourne losing four in a row, surely, surely they do not lose five in a row.

And despite Melbourne not looking, well Storm-like, Munster still boasts a three-round average of 77 and the 9^th highest average of all players this year at 79.5.

And Munster just loves rising to the occasion.

So. Playing the Warriors on Friday night, you can most certainly count on Munster to rise to the occasion of not losing five in a row and avoiding a Bellyache blowup in the sheds.

And last time he played the Warriors he did score 110 points including three try assists.

Definitely if I had Munster, I would VC Tedesco into a Captaincy on him.

But I do not. So you do it instead.

(*Important disclaimer because I feel it’s only fair to be transparent. I actually hope Melbourne lose five in a row because I want my Warriors to win at home in front of all their fans, and I will be manifesting this hard for the next 28 or so hours up until kick-off, and my manifesting wand is working at around 75% right now…so you know…just a little tiny warning my friends…).

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Nathan Cleary

Like Batman without Robin, and bread without butter (omg I am actually OBSESSED with bread and butter and also potatoes and butter), Cleary is missing his sidekick Luai.

BUT does this mean Cleary gets his hands on the ball more? And does the ball go right more? And does To’o score about a thousand tries or more?

As a non-To’o owner, but an owner of both Tago and May, this also scares me. (Apparently, I’m going to spend most of Round 20 hiding behind the couch watching the games through slugs of whisky…).

Anyway, we’ll know the answer on Friday night, when Cleary takes on the Eels.

With an average of 86 and a three-round average of 85 – you can basically just count on Cleary to knock out a score.

However, I must point out that when the Panthers played the Eels back in Round 9, Cleary only scored a 40. So…depending on which Eels team turn up – well this match at CommBank might not be a complete walk in the stadium for the Panthers.

Cleary is definitely a Captaincy consideration – however not my favourite Captain of the Round.

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Prince Nicho Hynes

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy.

I hope this game between the Sharks and the Bunnies is just an absolute salivating try-scoring fiesta!

Because as an AJ and a Latrell and a Mulitalo and a Prince Nicho owner – I need both teams’ defence to be absolutely abysmal and their attack to be right on point.

(You’ll note that I am no longer a Talakai owner and RIP and apologies to my poor soul and to everybody whom I broke Talakai for. You got me back by breaking Garrick).

Now. When weighing up a Captaincy on Prince Nicho, we must consider the following:

1. It is not meant to be raining on Saturday; however, I have noted he often still has wet hair now even in the dry games which is quite nice.
2. Prince Nicho boasts the fifth-highest average of all players at 83, however his three-round average has dropped to 74.
3. The Bunnies are just looking a different team right now with Latrell back and can we just give a shout-out to my main man AJ who is an absolute try-scoring connoisseur.
4. I forgot where I was going with this…

Oh yes. Against a revitalised Bunnies, a Prince Nicho Captaincy is also not my favourite Sir Captain of the Round. However, I do hope that he scores us all a double-ton.

Also, you may consider Latrell in this match too but I don’t have enough time to write 1000 words on why.

The end.

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Val Holmes

Okay all you Captain POD hunters.

I do not sniffle at a Captaincy on last week’s last game of the round hero – Mr Valentine Holmes.

Scoring a delicious 119, and boasting a three-round average of 101 – you can most certainly Sir Captain the great man vs the Dragons in the final game of this round.

But of course, like all responsible Captaincy article authors, I must also point out that last time Val played the Dragons back in Round 14 he scored a 65 – but this is now and that was then, so pop that big C on him should you so please.

If you are going to do this, choose your Vice Captaincy wisely – I would like to suggest a Tedesco or a Munster takes those honours. And also – make sure you’re in the position to hit that loop button friend.

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Verdict

Okay ladies and sirs. I am so, so tempted to just straight Captain the great man Tedesco.

If I had Munster, I would Sir Captain him vs the Warriors with a Vice Captaincy on Teddy. But I don’t (unless somebody wants to give him to me in a straight swap for Ilias who actually outscored Munster last week…any takers? No?).

Of course, we can always look to our safe options like Cleary and Prince Nicho (are they safe this week?), or go all poddy with a Val Holmes or a wingercoaster you think is going to go large…

So much to think about and so little time to think about it all!

But that’s it from me this week. I hope you have an absolutely stunning weekend whatever it is that you’re doing.

Here’s to our Captains scoring us 500 points, making your Head-to-Head Finals, and of course seeing all those lovely green arrows come Monday…

Clementine xx