Calvin’s Captains – Rd. 15

Bomber Boys Vs Saints

Firstly me hearites… look at this. Last week the Kangaroos beat St Kilda and by doing this, many of their midfielders had a field day. Swallow (144), Adams (135), Wells (129), Anthony (115) and even rookie Gibson (110) cashed in, catch my drift? Watson and Stanton should be awesome right?

Last year, Stanton scored just 76 on the Saints and had 134 and 62 on them in 2010. He gets the Clinton Jones tag! But will he again? Saints have a new coach so it’s tough to call, but CJT knows he has Stanton’s measure so it wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest to see him there annoying the shit out of him again.

Jobe Watson on the other hand was allowed to run free last year as he clocked up a nice 134 against them. St Kilda are his favourite team to play and after previous scores of 134, 123, 96, 146 and 133 in his last 5 against them, it’s easy to see why. He has averaged 119 in his last 3 games this year and is one of the most dangerous players in the AFL. Will the CJT stay away from him? That’s the million dollar question. But history says… yes it will and Stanton will have a long day.

Boom or Bust

This week we are presented with several players who might just go BOOM with a huge 160+ score… but at the risk of having a 60pt game at the same time… hence the title (BUST). Now that you understand that part, let’s chat about a few players that fall into this very creative and humorous category of mine.

They come no bigger than Steve Johnson who plays the Suns this week. A team he had 171 and 146 on last year. Stevie doesn’t hold back against these new teams and proved it in Rd. 10 this year when he had 146 on the Giants. With previous scores of 79, 86 and 60 in his last 3 games though might have you a little worried. But as I said… Boom or Bust. Paul Chapman is another to mention after he had scores of 132 and 95 on these guys last year. He has averaged 114 in the last 3 weeks and should be pretty solid after having a rest last week. Selwood had 119 last week and had 116 and 135 on the Suns in 2011 and although his numbers aren’t as monstrous as Stevies… he’s certainly an option. The last guy I want to mention I Buddy Franklin, yeah he probably won’t play but if he does… I’m tipping a huge 10+ goals against the Giants at the MCG and after having 115 and 122 in his last 2 games there he might go BOOM as well… or Bust if he doesn’t play.

But at the end of the day, all the talk here will be in regards to Stevie J. If you nail him, you’ll be talked up as the DT hero of the week… but a fail might see you walking away with 60 odd in the pocket! Boom or Bust ladies and gents… certainly players I won’t be talking you out of this week. But they come with a risk.

Safety Swan

After his huge 172 last week, Swan will be the most selected captain this week and therefore the ‘safest’ option. Maybe the soft option with some guys a chance to go bang this week, but the best option due to his consistency, form and scoring potential. He will not score the highest in my top 5… but he is the safest pick because Swan will not have a 60-80 like some of these others there can.

So what will Swan do? He’ll be solid and the tag from Carrazzo is an obvious concern. In Rd.3 of this year, Carlton pumped Collingwood by 60pts with Steele (113) and Swan (109) the only guys to crack the ton. Now, that result will not happen again, so let’s assume we will see more tons this week.  In that game though, Carrazzo went to Pendles and held him to his worst DT score of just 62pts over the last 3 years (excluding vest and injuries) and surely he will be targeted again based on Carrazzo’s Rd. 3 success. But… he may go to Beams like Crowley did last week, hopefully letting our boy Swanny run free again on the MCG.

So, Swan had 109 (31d) on the Blues earlier this year and only 101 and 116 on them in 2011. The good news here is… he does average 137 in his last 5 games and 149 in his last 3 this year, making him the easiest, smartest and safest option this week based on that alone.

Boyd Heads West

I really like Boyd this week so if you want to be different… then I encourage you to follow Body as he heads West and this is why.

Matthew Boyd had a massive 155 and 162 on the Dockers last year and averages 126 at Patersons Playground in his last 3 trips there. HUGE! In fact, Boyd has previous scores of 102 and 162 in his last 2 runs at Patersons and finds himself going for his 6^th straight 100+ there this week. With the tag of Crowley (#1 tagger) most likely going to Griffen again this week, like it has in the past from Ross Lyon when he used CJT to on him… Boyd should be free like Swan was last week when he racked up 43d (172pts). Mark my words… Boyd will be very bloody good.

Ok… Very Quickly

Ablett – Mr. Inconsistency and very hard to pick. He only had 92 on the Cats last year and had just 102 last week. Ablett averages just 105 at Metricon in his last 3 and although he might be good, you just never know what you’re going to get.
Maric – Has had 122 and 113 in his last 2 games this year and only plays Melbourne this week. He met them earlier this year and had 86. Boom or Bust? Form says boom.
Beams – Yep, really like Beams this week and would have made my top 6. Averages 128 in his last 3 games this year and had 93 on the Blues earlier in Rd. 3. The Hawks on scored 4×100+ on Carlton last week in their big win and although that’s quite small in a big win, Beams should be pretty good.
Pendlebury – Hasn’t played since Rd. 10 and had 62 in his last with a tag from Carrazzo. We have to say no this week.

Righteo guys and gals… thanks again for hanging out with the Irish Pirate. All the best for this week.