Bandit’s skippers: Round 10 captain’s to target and avoid

Round 9 was a tricky one for many coaches, with lots of popular captaincy options failing to fire as they have in previous weeks.

Clayton Oliver (119), Marcus Bontempelli (112), Josh Dunkley (103), Rory Laird (98), Tim Taranto (90), Jordan Dawson (89) and Tim English (88) all posted scores well below their season averages and left many coaches with a sub-par captaincy score.

Other coaches who took the likes of Sean Darcy, Errol Gulden, Christian Petracca or Nick Daicos would have been feeling better about their choice as those players all registered healthy scores across the round.

This week is even trickier, with four viable captaincy options (Bont, English, Dawson and Laird) all playing in the same game, so a good captaincy score in Round 10 will be absolutely vital if you want to keep climbing the overall ranks or win a league head-to-head match.

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Clayton Oliver

Recent history suggests that Oliver doesn’t love playing Port Adelaide, but he is yet again right near the top of the overall points ladder in 2023 so must be considered. What he does have going for him is that Melbourne should dominate the hitouts, which will give him plenty of opportunity at stoppages to get his hands on the ball.

Last 3 v PORT: 68, 118, 105

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Max Gawn

If Todd Goldstein can put 171 on Port Adelaide, what will Gawn do this week to Teakle, Finlayson and co? I’ll be surprised if he scores less than 120, even with a bit of time playing forward of centre. A nice left-field VC option this week.

Last 3 v PORT: 50, 160, 102

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Errol Gulden

Simply demands some love in this article after back-to-back 156s in last two weeks. The problem with wanting to VC him this week however is that despite playing a dismal North Melbourne, that game overlaps with the Western Bulldogs v Adelaide game which starts just 25 minutes later on Saturday afternoon. An Errol VC might have to wait a week.

Last 3 v NM: 106, 52, 45

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Jack Ziebell

The Ziegull has quickly become a keeper for many coaches with a five-round average of 122. Should score well again this week in a game where the Roos will see plenty of ball in their back half, but the time clash with other more popular options will prove problematic.

Last 3 v SYD: 25, 90, 60

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Marcus Bontempelli

Tough to pick a VC or C in this game but if you are on the fence, surely you just have to pick Bontempelli. The number one SC player right now and I think he’s good for at least 125 on Saturday afternoon. If you’re an Oliver and Bont owner you should get a decent score out of one of them.

Last 3 v ADEL: 88, 87, 199

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Jordan Dawson

Had a quiet game against the Saints last week where the Crows put the result to bed at half time with minimal contribution from their skipper. Will need to fire this week however with the Bulldogs now starting to work out their midfield mix.

Last 3 v WB: 81, 141, 54

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Tim English

Rowan Marshall put 131 on Rielly O’Brien last week and there’s absolutely no reason why Tim English can’t do similar in Ballarat this week. Tipping he bounces back after a quieter game against Carlton.

Last 3 v ADEL: 111, 90, 104

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Sean Darcy

Geelong are one of the stingiest teams when it comes to concending points to ruckman, but Darcy could just do a number on them again on Saturday afternoon with the reigning premiers far from full-strength. Nice POD play if one of the popular players before him doesn’t fire.

Last 3 v GEEL: 156, 97, 74

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Zach Merrett

No Parish and now no Setterfield due to injury means that Merrett will need to carry a lot of the midfield load this week when Essendon meet Richmond for Dreamtime at the G. His record against the Tigers is excellent and he should score well this week if you’re bringing him in.

Last 3 v RICH: 150, 102, 137

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Nick Daicos

Carlton do have some capable run with players in their side, but will they pull the trigger on that move which could upset the balance of the rest of their team in such a season-defining game? It will be fascinating which way they decide to go but Daicos bounced back last week and looks like a reasonable play again.

Last 2 v CARL: 81, 59

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Rowan Marshall

As Rainman mentioned on the podcast this week, opposition ruckmen have been putting big scores on Matt Flynn and the Giants for a little while now. Marshall is really starting to hit his straps and there’s another big score in the offing for him on Sunday if he wants it.

Last 3 v GWS: 92, 118, 108

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SC BANDIT RECOMMENDS

VC: Oliver / Bontempelli

C: Bontempelli / Merrett / Marshall