LAST WEEKS TOP 5

Matthew Boyd – 128
Gary Ablett – 117
Dane Swan – 95
Brent Stanton – 124
Scott Pendlebury – 133

Yep… that’s how good I am with a great top 5 from round 8 and a pretty good order to match it. BOOM. But this week has been a very tough one for me with school camp and limited internet access, so I’ve popped in very quickly to show you my top 5 for the week. Arrgg and yes, even ‘Captain Picking Pirates’ have a day job.

Brett Deledio (smokey) Vs Hawthorn – Let’s kick off the list with a guy who didn’t make my top 5, but is a great smokey after his 160 last week. With previous scores of 51 (last year), 113, 139, 125 and 120 on the Hawks in his last 5… he’s certainly worth a thought.

Joel Selwood Vs Western Bulldogs – Last year Joel had just 92 against the Bulldogs but will be pretty good this week like he was prior to that 92. Over the last 3 years he has had scores of 92, 139, 45, 136 and 110. A little up and down but good enough for me, especially after a nice 136 (36d) last week.

Scottie Thompson Vs Collingwood – Thomo had 108 on the Pies last year but it’s his form that gets him the Irish nod this week. He has been on fire with a lowest score of only 121 in his last 4 games this year. Hot to trot.

Scott Pendlebury Vs Adelaide Crows – With Dane Swan not playing, Pendles should be just fine for those who have been asking. He had 103 (27d) on them last year and 101 prior to that. Pendles has been in great form and has a lowest score of 113 in his last 6 games this year and with a very nice 133 Vs Geelong last week. Pretty safe option!

Brent Stanton Vs Greater Western Sydney – Keeps getting it done with another massive 124 last week. He now has 6×115+ games next to his name this year and I have no reason at all why he shouldn’t kill the Giants at Skoda Stadium in Sydney. ‘Oh V8… what about Jobe?’ people will ask. Yeah he’ll be fine, not top 5 worthy but if you need my approval to do something a little different then… ‘go for it’. How’s that?

Gary Ablett Vs Port Adelaide – Despite having 83 in his only game against the Power last year, Gazza gets my #1 spot this week. That game was only his 3^rd for the new club and he did cop the Matt ‘who are you’ Thomas tag. When Gaz was with Geelong though he had scores of 133, 148 and 127 on them. Last week, Swallow (138) and Wells (118) were awesome against the Power and after having 2 games under his belt (106 and 117) after his knee injury, Gazza will be back to his best this week for sure.

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LAST WEEKS TOP 5

Dane Swan 143
Brent Stanton 140
Scott Pendlebury 119
Gary Ablett 106
Tom Rockliff 73

Before I get started… check out my top 5 from last week. Pretty solid (excluding old Rocky there) but the best thing about it is the order is pretty much on the money.  Yeah I know I don’t have Boyd in there for his massive 162pts, but you’d have to be pretty happy with any of those top 3 for your #1 job.

Grand Final Re-Match

This Friday night we will witness a massive match in DT for the week. This match could hold the key to your success over the weekend and it has some of the biggest guns playing. Scott Pendlebury had a nice 131pts in the Grand Final last year despite a rotating tag from Kelly and Corey. He has scored 4×100+ against the Cats in his last 5 games and with an average of 122 in his last 3 this year, he should be great once again. On the other hand, his partner in crime Dane Swan… had a terrible record against the Cats last year with scores of 68 and 84 in his last 2 games against them. But with Cameron Ling on the sidelines, things will now be much easier for him this year. Last week when the Crows played Geelong, Scott Thompson (138pts) was the only guy to crack a ton against them, although 7 others had 90+… and that was in a 50pt upset win to the Crows. Meaning, although they were pumped, the Cats made it tough to score. Swan has played in 3 Friday night games this year for scores of 102, 109 and 117 and has averaged 130 in his last 3 at the MCG with a massive 171 in his last. Taylor Hunt tagged Dangerfield (86) and will most likely go to one of these big Collingwood guns on Friday night. Joel Selwood is another guy certainly worth considering too. He had 119 (28d, 7t, 2g) in the GF last year and has scored 100+ in all of his last 4 games against Collingwood with a low of just 93 in his last 8 games. This week he goes for his 6^th straight ton at the MCG and should certainly be looked at with the big “C”.

Ablett V Boyd

How big will this be? Both players could actually walk out of this game with huge scores next to their names and I’m tipping it will happen. Last week (as predicted), Gary Ablett wasn’t at his best. Yes, he managed 106 but after flying with 62pts at the half, he did slow down. Whether he is wearing a GC top or a Geelong top, Gazza loves playing the Bulldogs and had 118 and 115 on them last year and is going for his 7^th straight 100+ on them this week. He has never played in Darwin but has averaged 121 in his last 3 this year. On the other hand, Matthew Boyd has played in Darwin several times before and averages 112 there in his last 3 games, with the most recent being in 2010 when he posted a nice 133. He played the Suns twice in 2011 for an average of 130 and finds himself coming off that ripper 162 last week against the Roos. My only concern (sorta) is that Boyd has had low scores of 84 and 94 in his last 4 games this year, but I’m brushing that aside. The weather is forecasted to be a high of 32 degrees during the day (yep I checked like a good pirate) and it may get hotter at night when these two lads get on fire. BOOM! Great creative writing!

A Few Other Seamen

Marc Murphy will bounce back this week I reckon after poor scores in his last 2 games (prick). He has had 126 and 144 in his last 2 against the Crows and will be back to his best this week.
Sam Mitchell usually gets the tag from Crowley but has still averaged 110 on the Dockers in his last 3. He had just 63pts when he was at Aurora earlier this year but did averaged 127 there in 2011. The Dockers are one of his better teams though as he goes for his 6^th straight 100+ score on them this week.
Scott Thompson has averaged 100 in his last 3 games against the Blues but has previous scores of 86 and 88 against them. He only has 100+ score against them in his last 4 games and is a little bit of a worry this week.
Brent Stanton has continued his awesome run with 140 last week to average 137 in his last 3 games this year. He had 135 and 69 on Richmond last year and may cop the tag from Daniel Jackson. The Tigers didn’t give up a single 100+ score to the Swans last week and this one will be interesting.
Tom Rockliff plays the GWS and you’d be thinking he’d give them a DT lesson. Maybe. Will he be sat forward though like last week when he had just 73pts? Tough to call. He did crave up poor teams like Melbourne (130) and the Suns (143) earlier this year, so hopefully he’ll be back this week.

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Stan(mega)ton

How about that? Brent StanMEGAton might make him sound like a transformer but after a huge 193pts last week he can be anything he wants. He had a huge 32 kicks (39d), 17 marks, 8 tackles and 0.3 goals… and would have cracked the 200 mark if he’d kicked straight. But let’s not get too fussy! This week he plays the Eagles and he had 109 on them in his last game against them with a dirty 34 before that after he was subbed out at half time. Another great thing about this game is that it is at Etihad, the ground where Stanmegaton has averaged 154 there this year.

But the biggest question here is… Will Stanton be tagged? So far this year, Stanton has received a tag in two games from Harbrow and Marty Clarke where he only scored 93 and 77 points. In the other 4 games he has basically ran around by himself dominating big time averaging 159pts. This is a big difference from the average of 85 from the games when he received attention. Last week, Stanton had 36 uncontested possessions and 17 uncontested marks. So will be get someone on him this week? Ha ha, probably not. Last week McGinnity and Adam Selwood went to Brent Harvey (66pts) until Selwood broke his hand leaving McGinnity as the tagger. This week, surely he will go to Jobe Watson leaving Stanton free again. For the sake of Stanton and Stanton coaches, let’s hope so cause another big score might be on the cards.

We Hate it When it Raines

Yep, he’s back! Andrew Raines is back this week and will most likely go to Scott Pendlebury like he did last time these teams met back in Rd. 22 last year. That day, Raines held Pendles to just 94pts despite his 30d. Before Raines came onto the scene, Pendles had scores of 119, 129 and 135 on the Lions and if Raines goes to him, we need to be very careful as Raines has already claimed two other superstars of the competition recently in Ablett (97pts) and Selwood (69pts).

Which leaves Dane Swan to run-a-muck, like Stanton (193), Heppell (137) and Watson (134) did last week against the Lions, where they averaged 36d between them. If Swan avoids the Raines tag, he could be at his DT Pig best. Check this out… last week Stanton and Heppell combined for a massive 31 marks, 3o uncontested with Stanton claiming 17 uncontested himself. If Swan has room, he will be cashing in on this big time along with 35+ touches. Swan has had previous numbers of 119, 125 and 122 on Brisbane in his last 3 games (avg. 122) with that 125 occurring last time he was at the GABBA.

Which way will it go? History says it will rain on Pendles as he did a good job on him last time they met, but who knows!

Gazza Back?

Seriously? Who bloody knows. Let’s look at what might happen if the great man does return. Firstly, he hasn’t done much in the last 2 weeks. Resting and pushing out a few kilometres on the bike. He will be slightly under-done. But with that said… he has averaged 134 in his last 3 games this year and he only plays the GWS, a team he will smash. McDonald might have something to say about that though as he has been putting his hand up in recent weeks to tag the big guns of the competition. In the last few weeks he has had Marc Murphy (94), Griffen (124) and Scott Thompson (109). Although they have been pretty solid… we still have to give him some credit for the job he can do.

Last year, Gazza missed 4 games due to injury and the bye and no more than 1 game at a time. When he returned, it is safe to say that he did struggle a little. Check out his scores when he returned…

Rd. 2 = 96pts
Rd. 5 = 83pts
Rd. 10 = 92pts
Rd. 21 = 106pts

It’s so hard to say. If he does play you’d assume that the best player in the competition will carve up the worst team. After all, he does have a few Brownlow votes to catch up on.

My Other Crew

Marc Murphy – Usually gets the Clinton Jones tag, but now St Kilda have a new coach I’m hoping things are different. Mitchell had 112 (29d) on Jones last week and Marc had just 105 in his last against him which happened to be his highest score against them in his last 5.
Matthew Boyd – plays the Kangaroos and had 102 on them last year with 145 and 108 before that. He only had 94 last week, but he is at Etihad once again where he has averaged 119 this year.
Sam Mitchell – had 113 against the Demons last time he played them which was his highest score against them in his last 4 games. Last week, Geelong had 6×100+ scores on them which came from Stevie J, Duncan, Chappy, Pods, Enright and Corey. Not many guys there are pure midfielders in that group due to the tags the Demons put on through Magner and McKenzie. Flip the coin cause Cyril, Hodge and Mitchell are all in the mix to receive the tag once again. Sam does love the MCG though with an average of 120 there in his last 3 games.
Joel Selwood – He will return this week to play a team he had just 84 on last time he met them in a game where he wasn’t tagged. Sydney had 5×100+ on the Crows last week so you’d think he’d be ok over at AAMI Stadium where he has averaged 102 in his last 3 games there.
Tom Rockliff – Has had 123 and 104 in his last 2 games against the Pies and averages 111 at the GABBA this year. Although he only had 77 last week, he’ll be good as Griffen (149) and Cross (124) had no worries scoring against Collingwood last week.

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Gazza out Again

Yeah what a bugger! Let’s hope I’m not saying that he’s missing again next week. I can see you smiling Warnie you trade happy tool arrggg. It’s lucky for dud DT coaches like the Warnedawg because Ablett would have carved the Dockers up big time. With previous scores on them of 175, 117, 130 and 118 it just depresses the old Pirate this week. But something to consider upon Gazza’s return is, last year when Garry had a week off he returned poorly with scores of 83, 92 and 106. Maybe he made his ‘comeback’ too early? Don’t care really, just get back out there Gaz!

Ground Lover and Haters

This is weird. Let’s take Marc Murphy for example. This week he plays the Greater Western Sydney Giants and should slaughter them. He plays at Etihad where he is going for his 8^th straight 100+ games there where he has scored 91% scores over the 100+ mark in his last 11 games, compared to the 55% at the MCG over the same period. Marc also scored his 2^nd best score last year against the Suns (comparison side) and should be a great option this week after Griffen (124), Boyd (115) and Cross (109) were good against the Giants last week.

Then you look at Brendon Goddard who shares the same ‘ground’  issues. 14% of his scores at the MCG are over 100+ with previous efforts of just 58, 94 and 56. Compared to Etihad where he cracks the ton 62% of the time over the last 2 years. Now this week, Goddard plays the Hawks at the MCG and therefore should be avoided, especially after he had just 54 last time he met them.

Here are a few other players of interest with their average at the MCG and Etihad over 2012/2011:

Swan – 117 (MCG) and 133 (Etihad)
Goddard – 77 (MCG) and 106 (Etihad)
Boyd – 94 (MCG) and 117 (Etihad)
Judd – 107 (MCG) and 95 (Etihad)
Murphy – 108 (MCG) and 117 (Etihad)
Pendles – 113 (MCG) and 119 (Etihad)

Interesting for sure… but just a small part of the complex Calvin’s Captains formula.

Oink Oink – Pigs Can Fly

Ha ha, yeah the DT Pig Swanny. Something we say with the upmost respect and what makes it funnier is the way the media have recently called him ‘fat’. Swanny is not fat, he’s… perfect. We call him a pig because of the way he is a ‘guts’ or a ‘pig’ when it comes to feasting on DT points. Last week the pig was at his best with a massive 171pts and this week he should be at his ‘piggery’ best again.

Last year when Collingwood played the Bulldogs, Swan, Boyd and Pendlebury all failed to crack the 100+ mark. Amazing stat really, but that will not happen again. In 2010, Swan had scores of 157, 128 and 143 on these guys and with scores of 171 and 134 in his last 2 games this year, this DT Pig is seriously flying.

The game is at Etihad (The Pig Sty) which is one of Swanny’s favourite grounds where he is coming off a 134 already from his only game there this year.  Look out cause the dude is smashing it.

Cop That in Ya Face

YEAH, BANG… cop that tap in your face Raines you tagging moron. As a ‘talented captain picker,’ taggers are my #1 enemy, plus as DT coaches we hate them. But credit to Raines, the dude can tag. Last week, Raines tagged Selwood to just 69pts, when Selwood found out about his score he whacked Raines in the face. Ha ha ha and then go let off YES!

But this is why it is important for this week. Selwood plays the Demons and they are one of his mega favourite teams. With previous scores of 178, 110, 131, 105 and 120 on them in his last 5 games, you see what I mean. Add to that, Selwood is playing back on his home track this week where he has already had his best score of 130 so far this year. For those wondering, Selwood has averaged 127 at Skilled (Simonds) over the last 2 years.  Selwood will be nasty this week and is certainly a great pick for your top job.

Righteo, there you have it. Very confident with my top picks this week and I’m expecting BIG things from my top 3.

Good luck and I’ll see you all next week for the best DT Captains advice you’ll ever get from an Irish Pirate.

Follow the Irish Pirate on Twitter…. @CalvinDT

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Gary Gone!

Talk about a double slap in the face! Firstly, Gaz scores 97 and then he is now set to miss the 1-3 weeks with that knee injury. Personally, I believe it will only be one week, 2 at the max and therefore trading him is pointless. But, as predicted, Raines did get the better of him though, but with so many going Ablett last week after his 162 against the Bombers… the 97pts as captain was shared by many Dream Team coaches but for me it proved how on the ball I am with my sh*t!

Some people have been saying to me on Twitter (@CalvinDT to join the fun)… “Ablett is my lock in captain every week…” well, just when I thought I’d be laughing at these people this week… we have a LOOP HOLE and this means ha ha, for the people who are happy with their VC score… they will actually be having Ablett captain again ha ha – I LOVE IT!! Lock in captain alright!

LOOP HOLE – Partial Lock-Out

Ok stay with me, especially you simple ones… This is how it works!

Today (Collingwood Vs Essendon) we can have a crack at the Loop Hole. Simply… put your VC on someone you like from this game and if you like their score, place your ‘C’ on a player NOT playing (Ablett). This will score you a 0 and the score from the VC is doubled and stays. Make sure you have also selected an Emergency in this position so their score replaces the 0 as well.  If you don’t like the score from you VC from today, then place your ‘C’ on another one of your superstars as you normally would. Easy hey!

Dane Swan is BACK! Swanny had a very solid 134 last week and looked awesome. So far this year he has only averaged 109 at the MCG, which is up already from his 2011 average. Last time Swanny played the Bombers was in Rd. 19 last year where he had a massive 171pts with 45d and 10m. Before that in the Rd. 3 ANZAC Day clash he had just 104. Swanny averages 130 on the Bombers in his last 3 and is a great option for the Vice Captaincy job this week.

Jobe Watson doesn’t look as good here with an average of 97 in his last 3 against the Pies and an average of 80 in his last 3 at the MCG. He had 105 last time he went against them with 27d, 8m. He posted 101 in the ANZAC Game last year and should be overlooked unless you don’t have anyone else.

Brent Stanton … somebody call 911, is on FIRE (NBA Jam). Stanton had a mammoth 175pts last week with 36d and 17m to average 128 in his last 3 games this year. Last time he played Collingwood he had 155pts from just 28d… but with 11 marks and 14 tackles (bloody hell). The dude is a DT god. Stanton has a pretty good record at ANZAC Day matches too. Back in 2010, he racked up a game high 139pts only to be ripped off by Pendlebury for the medal who only had 97 that day… top DT scorer gets the medal in my book! Stanton is the ultimate VC this week and whether he scores 70 or 170, he will most likely make the decision easy for you as to if you will need to name Gaz as the ‘C’ or not.

Scott Pendlebury loves ANZAC Day matches and has the last 2 medals to prove it. In 2011, he scored a big 166 (34d) and in 2010 that 97 (29d) as previously mentioned. Add to that… the last time he played these guys (Rd. 19, 2011) he had a huge 141 (32d, 10t, 3g). He averages an amazing 147 on them in his last 3 and carries an average of 105 over the same period at the MCG this year. It’s a toss of the coin between him and Stants for me… but it’s the single fact that Pendles walked around at training on Monday with his leg strapped is what is worrying me. If he is slightly injured… a 4 day turnaround isn’t ideal. With that said… it is ANZAC Day and this gun should be digging deeper than ever.

VC Sucked? – Loop it up! Get Another Captain

So if your VC fails and scores less than 120 (is my cut off) it’s time to look at one of these lads.

Brendon Goddard plays the Demons… and he loves playing the Demons! With previous scores of 122, 122, 107, 132, 116 and 108 on them… look out for a big one from him. He doesn’t usually post good numbers at the MCG though after averaging just 80 from his 6 games there in 2011. With that said, he will rip Melbourne to pieces and score very well.

Joel Selwood plays the Lions at the GABBA and after what Raines did to Ablett… you’d be a gutsy dude to be going with him. To prove it, last time he played them Raines tagged Selwood to just 70pts, and that was at the GABBA. Gotta be a pass sorry Joel.

Sam Mitchell averaged 127 at Aurora last year with a lowest score of just 119 during that time. He loves it there and meets the Swans who are flying nicely at the moment. Sam hasn’t scored over 100+ on Sydney in his last 3 games against them. But he is averaging 113 in his last 3 this year so he should be ok on his favourite track.

Marc Murphy is another good option. He has scored 3×100+ scores on the Dockers in his last 4 games against them and is on fire with an average of 123 in his last 3 games this year. He is a sure thing to pump out another solid score again this week.

Matthew Boyd I like a lot this week. He is playing GWS – need I say anymore? But I will anyway. Last year against the Suns (comparison side) he scored 136 and 125 and will be out to have a better day than the 84 Magner tagged him too last week. I’m not sure why two members of Team Calvinator are doing that to each other, but I’ve spoken to them both and Boydy said he’ll make up for it this week at Manuka Oval where he has averaged 112 in his last 3 outings there. Boydy does have the tendency of having low scores from time to time but bounces back well. In 2011 he had scores of 70, 85 and 89 but followed up his next game with 136, 120 and 134. A big score on the cards if you need him I reckon.

We’ll there you have it. Relax, the hard work has been done for you. Pick a VC and then assess the mess and go from there. Personally… I will be picking from the order on my list. Swanny will take the VC (with Ablett the ‘C’) and then I’ll be switching to Boyd if Swan scores <120.

Have a great ANZAC Day everyone!

Twitter follow: @CalvinDT … for the best advice you’ll ever get from an Irish Pirate.

Mighty Gaz (I’m not 100% sold just yet)

Yes, the mighty Gaz. What an absolute legend and even more of a legend to those clever cats who followed my #1 pick last week and took his 160pts. Ew! If you didn’t take my #1 pick you might have run with Matthew Boyd (#2 pick) who was also brilliant with 146pts. At the end of the day all three of us walked away with the title of a legend after the weekend… so what about this week.

Gary Ablett this week will be selected by nearly all dream teams, but I do have my concerns… and before you jump on your high horse and carry on like a tool…. Read this.

Things I like about Gaz this week – Firstly, it has to his form. He is averaging 147 so far this year and is coming off a mammoth 160 last week. He is simply on fire. Another thing I like is that fact that Fremantle players scored 5×100+ scores on the Lions last week and you’d think Gaz is a sure thing to get amongst that!

Things I don’t like about Gaz this week – Ok… He only averages 105 on the Lions with scores of 106 (28d) and 84 (20d) on them in 2011. In both games he was tagged by Raines who actually does a good job on him. Last week, Raines tagged Hill and held him to just 42pts. Raines is a pure tagger, meaning he sacrifices his DT points to shut down the points of others (unlike Carrz etc…). Add to this, the game is at the GABBA where Gaz has averaged just 95 in his last 3 games there, all in 2011.

Verdict – As so many people will be going with Gaz, it’s hard to turn your back on him, especially after his 160 last week and his smashing form. For me, he’s locked and loaded and despite the above information, he should kill the Lions… but it’s worth knowing all the facts!

Why Don’t You Just Pick Ablett Every Week?

You can if you want … will you do that every single week? Even when we have premium guns against the Giants, Port, Demons or the Suns? If Gaz’s form drops? If you still answer ‘yes’ why are you in here reading this? C’mon… you are kidding yourself. Garry Ablett will not outscore everyone this week . Mark my words, and at the end of the day HE IS A SAFE OPTION CAUSE EVERYONE WILL GO HIM, but if you can pick who will beat him… you’ve got one up on about 48% of the competition. This might help…

After A ‘New Direction’ This Week?

Ah look at that, Calvin at his best in the Paint Shop work place. I’d like to welcome you to a new band I have put together… “NEW DIRECTION” and they’d like you to consider them this week if you are looking at a different or new direction away from Garry (if you dare).

Matthew Boyd – Great back up vocalist and a great DT player who is coming off a nice 146 last week. His record Vs the Demons is surprisingly poor with scores of 93 and 86 on them in his last 2. But after Richmond had 8×100+ scores on the Dees last week with Tuck (151) and Grigg (142) running a muck, you’d think Boyd will be awesome.

Sam Mitchell – Lead tambourinist and Western Australian specialist. Averages 129 at Patersons Stadium in his last 3 with scores of 100, 147 and 141. Then with an average against the Eagles of 139 in his last 3… he will be a ripper.

Scott Pendlebury – Not actually in the band this week, but a part of the back stage crew. After just 62 last week, he will bounce back in style against the Power this week. Had 120 and 121 on them in 2011 and will be around that mark again. Not bad for a guy behind the scenes.

Scott Thompson – Back-up Pianist (when Cox isn’t there) and has never played the Giants, but loves killing the dud teams. Had 135 on the Suns earlier this year with scores of 151 and 135 on them last year. He will be awesome against them this week despite only having a top score of 109 from his last 6 games at AAMI.

Dane Swan – Lead singer and the New Direction pin up boy for this week. Was labelled as being ‘heavy’ during the week and will have a very heavy score this week. With previous scores of 155, 137, 141 and 154 in his last 4 against Port he will go bananas this week. Plus, the game is Etihad where Swan averaged 133 there in 2011 (MCG avg. 114) with 3 of his 4 games being 128+. I’d nearly have Swan as my number 1 if his form was better… need those big numbers Dane.

Yeah.. those guys are worth a thought, but don’t get too cute. People last week ‘chased’ Watson and Stanton against the Suns or Cox against the Giants and it didn’t come off. Stick to what we know and to what the crowd will do… GAZZA all the way!

Follow the Irish Pirate @CalvinDT

Ticks All The Boxes

Matthew Boyd is one of the guys from this week who I am very confident with. Last week, based on his history against the Crows… you couldn’t have gone him. If you did, well done. He was always going to be awesome at some point against them but with 0×100+ scores against them from his previous 5 games… it turns into a guessing game of when will he break the drought.

This week however, he ticks all the boxes.

History: TICK – had a huge 143 (39d) on the Saints in his last game against them in 2011.
Form: TICK – Averaging 120 from the first 2 rounds this year.
Ground: TICK – Boyd averages 129 in his last 3 there with a low of 115 in his last 4.
Opposition: TICK – last week the Saints allowed 2 premium on ballers in Ablett and Swallow to crack 100+ and that’s after they were flogged by nearly 100pts.

So there you go. Lock this lad with confidence my friends.

Block Buster

What a huge game we have on Friday night. Let’s quickly run over a few of the stars in this game to see if we are using our captain nice and early this week.

Dane Swan had a solid 116 last week with 32d. In his last encounter with the Blues he’s had 101and 116. But the amazing thing here is… he has scored 11×100+ scores on them in his last 12 games. Sadly, it’s a pass for me this week as his form hasn’t been up there with the other guns so far. He will go BANG at any moment and it might be this week! Scott Pendlebury loves the big stage and has scores of 123, 95, 129, 115 in the games in the past. He loves the MCG and has already posted a nice 134 there this year. I’m tipping something very solid from him this week. Marc Murphy plays against his worst team to score on over the last 2 years this week. With previous scores of 93, 69 and 67 on the Pies… it’s not overly nice.

Shining Sun

Wow, how good was Gary Ablett last week? After a slow start he came home with a belting 143 (40d). Despite the tag from Clinton Jones, Gazza was simply awesome. He is back home at Metricon too this week where his last 3 scores have been 136, 147 and 142. Gazza loves the sun and loves ripping teams to bits on his home turf. But his form against the Bombers is slightly concerning. Last year he was tagged by Heath Hocking, who didn’t play last week because of concussion but might return this week. In his last game against them (Rd. 6) he only scored 81pts – his worst for the year (excluding his injured game). In this game he still had 30d and received a knock to the ankle in the 3^rd term. Add to this, Essendon have only given up 2×100+ scores from their 2 games this year. NOW, with that said, they’ve only played the Power and the Roos and showed no evidence of tagging players during this time.

So what does this all mean? Well, there comes a time in captain selection when the positives clearly out weigh the small negatives. I am just putting all the facts on the table. Gazza has been in smashing form and plays on his home track which he loves. Watch out for another 130+ game from Gary again this week.

Final Word

Brent Stanton – averaging 135 this year and will rip the Suns badly after 5 Saints posted 100+ on them last week. He is on fire at the moment and should be considered if you have him.
Joel Selwood – Has had 3×100+ on the Roos in his last 3 games. Should be good.
Sam Mitchell – averaging 126 this year and loves the MCG, had 123 on the Crows in his last.
Scott Thompson – averages a horrible 66 on the Hawks in his last 3. Yuck.
Dean Cox – plays GWS! H-Mac (106) and Goldy (71) didn’t really cash in last week though as Giles holds his own. He should still be very good.

Twittertown: @CalvinDT

Let’s clear up a few things before I set sail. This week I have copped abuse in Twittertown about Swanny not scoring as high as Pendles, Boyd or Ablett. You pick your own captain. If you don’t like my top 5, go against it…  but don’t cry me a river when you fail to back your own judgment and follow mine. “Calvin talked me out of it” is a poor excuse for people who can’t make their own decisions as they are afraid of failing. Instead, by resting on my calls the fault isn’t theirs. Insecurity at its best. At the end of the day… I’ll take 116 off Swanny on a low day, all day long.

Ha ha arrggg there you go… My top 5 stand there in the order I would be picking them this week. Currently Ablett is marginally ahead of Boyd and I’m tipping BIG things from all the 5 this week.

Thanks for hanging out – Good luck and I’ll see you all next round.

Argggg welcome back to best DT captains advice in the land. There I am – a HAPPY PIRATE. Last week my top 5 were very good with Ablett (136pts) and Scott Thompson (135pts) leading the way. But as you know, I am the Irish Pirate and I know best.

The Loop Hole

Yes, we have another chance at the LOOP HOLE and this week it is more real than ever because we have players who are not playing such as GWS veteran James McDonald who is suspended. No dumb questions please about how this works… read this carefully!

• Pick a person from the Thursday night game and give them the VC
• After the game starts… all Lions and Blues will be locked-out
• If you like the score your VC has, put McDonald or another person who ISN’T playing this week on your field and give them the “C” so their score (zero) is replaced by the score of your VC … and also by the emergency who is on your bench that you have SELECTED!
• Don’t like the score from your VC? Pick a gun to replace them by putting the ‘C’ on them as you usually would.
• Confused? Go back to the top and read again. Repeat if necessary.

This works! And for those who are asking… my cut off is usually 120pts. If my VC scores 120+, that’s good enough for me. I doubt we will get any wicked numbers though. 13% of DT coaches own Marc Murphy who would be my main pick followed by Gibbs 5% and Rockliff 5%. I am a little concerned about the amount of time that Rocky spent forward last week. Yes, he did score well, but Melbourne are a fair bit different from Carlton. With that said, he’d be a better option than Mitch Robinson. He’s the guy I will be going with as my VC… hey, he might be great, but I have no other Carlton or Brisbane players to go with. Go Robbo you loose nut!

Lay A Tackle!

If Dane Swan can lay a tackle… LOOK OUT!

Firstly, Swan averages 130 on Richmond in his last 3 games with a very nice 131 coming in his last games against them in 2011. Last week, Swanny was pretty good… he found the ball 31 times, but only scored 102pts. This is because, he only took 3 marks and only laid 1 tackle.

During the week, Nathan Buckley publically said that Swanny needs to work a little harder both ways blah blah blah basically telling him to pull his finger out, lift his efforts and lay a bloody tackle.

Obviously, Swan is now aware of this! He knows he laid 1 tackle and will lift his output this week and this is why…. Here are the last 2 games in 2011 from when Swan had just 1 tackle.

In Rd. 4 last year, Swan laid 1 tackle. The following week he had 7.
Then again in Rd. 14 when he had 1 tackle he had another 7 the following week.

Get my drift. Add a few uncontested marks in there and we should be fine. Let’s bloody hope so! After all, he is the great Dane Swan!

Calvin = 5 … Boydlovers = 0

This is the game every year where I say… AVOID MATTHEW BOYD. People then say… “as if Calvin you sexy pirate, Boyd will smash the Crows”…

These people have been wrong for the last 5 times as Boyd has never scored over 100+ on the Crows in his last 5 games. FACT! They are his worst team by a mile and has only averaged 82 in his last 3 against them. Add to that, Boyd is not playing at his beloved Etihad but at AAMI this week and although it hasn’t mattered in the past where the game is played, he’ll probably score under 100 again… I’m warning you now.

Other Good Options

Scott Pendlebury – averages 113 on the Tigers in his last 3 games with a nice 121 last year. He had 132pts last week with 60 of them coming in the 3^rd quarter. Will be great!
Marc Murphy – had his 4^th highest score for the year on the Lions in his last game against them (128pts) and after 116 last week, he should be a great Loop Hole option,  if you are lucky enough to have him this week.
Nick Dal Santo – posted 154pts (39d, 7m) on the Suns last year and after Thompson had 39d (135pts) on them last week, I’m tipping something big here.
Gary Ablett – didn’t let us down with 136pts last week and had 118 on the Saints last time he played them in 2011. Has always been tagged by Clinton Jones and had 81 and 115 in his only games at Etihad last year.
Tom Rockliff –  As I’ve previous said, little worried about his time up forward… but it’s still Rocky! Great VC option.

There you go. A little risky really as Pendles, Gary and Thomo were so good last week. But I’m backing in the big Swanny and based on the research, he should be awesome. He averages very well against them and looked pretty good last week against quality opposition in the Hawks. He should kill the Tigers on Saturday night.

Thanks for hanging out with me again – see you next week.

Follow the Irish Pirate @CalvinDT

Thanks for tuning in again for another year of Calvin’s Captains. My name is Calvin and I’m the world famous ‘Irish Pirate’ who will guide you each week in your captain selection. Arrgg and I have been doing this for many many years so I’m pretty bloody good and modest as well.

Please note I said “guide” – this means you can’t bitch at me if I get it wrong ha ha, but you can anyway cause I really don’t care. You click who you want!

What I do here is… analyse all the stats taking into consideration who they play and their previous scoring history against them. The ground, previous form, taggers and the list goes on and on. But at the end of the day… I know my sh*t!

Swan Gone?

You’re either in the 28% of DT coaches in Team Swan or you’re not. In fact, Scott Pendlebury is more selected than Swan this year ranked at #15 in the most selected player category compared to Swan at #21. (as of Tuesday night) – for many reasons of course. Pendles is not getting much of a mention tonight as over his career of 9 games against the Hawks, his highest score is just 108.

As for Swan, don’t write him off.

Last year, many wrote off Swan because of his pre-season (like this year) where he had 125, 94, 77 and 77. Then he came out in Rd. 1 and had a massive 137pts against Port. He continued this run and averaged 130 over the first 5 rounds. But can he do it again?

Let look at who he plays this year in the first 5 rounds and what he scored on them last time he played them in 2011.

Rd. 1 – Hawks (122)
Rd. 2 – Tigers (131)
Rd. 3 – Blues (119)
Rd. 4 – Port (155)
Rd. 5 – Bombers (171)

So as you can see… he might be awesome over the first 5 rounds, but I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

So how will he go against the Hawks this week?

We’ll… in his last 5 games against the Hawks, his lowest score is just 119pts with an average of 128 in his last 3. Look out cause Swan might make the 72% of DT coaches who didn’t pick him rather nervous this week. One negative here is, the game is at the MCG, a ground where Swan only averaged 114 in 2011, compared to Etihad Stadium where he averaged 133.

All I’m saying is – don’t write him off.

Magic @ Metricon

Oh boy! This will be an awesome DT match and Gary Ablett and Scottie Thompson will have a ball.

Gary Ablett – averages 136 at the Stadium in his last 3 games with scores of 142 and 156 against the Crows last year. Douglas tried to tag him in their first encounter when he had 156pts (41d) and then Van Berlo had a crack the other day and he had 142 (39d). Message here is simple. He is untaggable and should carve the Crows to pieces.

Scottie Thompson – averaged a massive 143 on the Suns last year from his 2 games and had a massive 151 in his last game at Metricon. He had a blinder of a pre-season and there is no reason why he won’t be awesome again.

Wow, A Smokey Rocky Cox

Ummm, probably need to get to the doctor if that’s you… but here we are talking about Dean Cox and DT Talk’s own, Tom Rockliff. Cox played the Bulldogs twice last year and should be considered this week after scores of 155 and 125. Cox averaged 113 at Etihad as well last year which included the 155 against the Dogs. What worries me here is Cox’s effort in the NAB Final where he had 6d. He’s a mega smokey I reckon and after opening Rd. 1 last year with a huge 142… he’s worth considering but unfortunalety misses my top 5 this week (just). Rocky on the other hand plays Melbourne at the MCG. Last time he played them he registered his 3^rd highest score of the year (134pts) and loves playing at the MCG where he averaged 130 there in 2011. Look out for him as well.

So there you go… I will be going Gary Ablett this week, hoping he can continue his dominance over the Crows. In Rd. 1 last year Gazza had just 96, but I think he can do much better this year.

Thanks for hanging out with me in the opening round and I look forward to seeing you all in here next week for another edition of Calvin’s Captains – the best advice in all the land. Arggg

TWITTER FOLLOW – @CalvinDT for more captain tips.

ARRRRRGGGGGG – that’s a big one!
Welcome for the last time in season 2011 to Calvin’s Captains, the greatest DT captains write up in the land. This week we are not messing around with who not to pick and all that sh*t… it’s the top 5 only, so don’t bother asking… “Where’s whatshisname” cause I know my stuff and have looked after you very well this year… so in Calvin you trust. Check it out!

Dane Swan should be awesome. He had 115 (30d, 8m) on Geelong this year in Rd. 8 and has previous scores on them of 141, 127 and 94 (all in 2010). In this game, Cameron Ling aka the Pink Pig tagged him during the 1^st quarter and then was moved off him. Only 7 players cracked the 100+ from both teams in this game with Stevie J top scoring with 129. Joel Selwood was good with 121, but Pendles only managed 89. Swanny had a nice 125 (35d) last week and has averaged 127 over the last 3. He’s going for his 6^th straight 100+ score at the MCG this week and is coming off 119 and 171 there in his last 2. Surely he’s ya man?

Sam Mitchell plays the Suns this week and what a great option he’ll be. He had 132 (38d, 8m) last time he played them this year and was one of 9 Hawks to crack the triple figures that day. But he had a week off? Last time he did that this year he bounced back for 129 (Rd.4) and a 113 (Rd.18) and I’m tipping for him to be awesome again this week.

Gary Ablett is worth a thought too. 135 last time he played the Hawks with 34d, 8t and 5m to go with his previous scores against them of 100, 120, 131, 123 and 115. He’s had 142 and 118 in his last 2 games at Metricon and should be great. Last week the Bulldogs only managed 3×100+ scores on the Hawks and they were Boyd 108, Griff 105 and Cross 103 so we know the Hawks don’t give much away but Gazza will cash in for shizzle this week.

Matthew Boyd had his career best DT score EVER last time he played the Dockers… and that was this year. He had 162pts and is going for his 8^th straight 100+ score this year at Etihad where he has averaged 114 there in his last 3… worth a thought for sure.

Tom Rockliff has been in better form over the last 3 games than anyone listed here today averaging 129. His lowest score has just been 110 in his last 9 games this year and is ending the year like a Rocky Steam Train. Certain ‘roughie’ this week.

Good question and my answer is this.

Will you win if you match your Swan against your opponent’s Swan?  Meaning, is your team better on paper? If the answer is ‘YES, my team is better’ and match their captain with the Swan. But if yours is worse? You need a roughie… but don’t go silly! You just need to go someone other than Swan hoping that Swan gets subbed or something unthinkable like that happens. Simply pick a dude from the list above and cross your little DT fingers that they will smash out a 150+! Certainly can happen on any given day from those boys.

Anyway… that’s enough for me. Thanks heaps to everyone for a wickedarse season. My personal highlight was getting Gazza’s 175 at Patersons Playground this year, despite what people might think… getting our logo next to my top pick on fanfooty was a close second J.  I’m looking forward to getting back in here next year (when my team is better) to pumped out more captains advice for our DT TALK dedicated fans like you. So thanks again lads.