LaHug's Captains Round 23 - DREAM TEAM GRAND FINALS

[LaHug]

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Hey guys,
It's Dream Team Grand Final week so this is the most important captain choice of your season. Read on if you want to win! If you've appreciated my work this season, why not reward me with a little vote in the Personality of the Year Award? http://www.fanfooty.com.au/forum/index.php/topic,45929.0.html

Each week, I will do some statistics on a player's last 3 games, their last 3 against this week's opponent, and their last 3 at this ground. I will also do a quick overview on my thoughts and taking a punt at their score for this week. If you have any requests, just ask away and I'll get to them as soon as I can!

The facts:

Mitchell
Last 3: 51, 103, 84 (79 avg)
Last 3 against West Coast: 122, 129, 147 (133 avg)
Last 3 at MCG: 84, 102, 106 (97 avg)

Franklin
Last 3: 67, 72, 115 (85 avg)
Last 3 against West Coast: 76, 127, 60 (88 avg)
Last 3 at MCG: 72, 115, 122 (103 avg)

Cox
Last 3: 87, 99, 147 (111 avg)
Last 3 against Hawthorn: 81, 79, 108 (89 avg)
Last 3 at MCG: 83, 113, 103 (100 avg)

Selwood
Last 3: 67, 88, 125 (93 avg)
Last 3 against Sydney: 103, 100, 92 (98 avg)
Last 3 at Skilled: 113, 119, 62 (98 avg)

Chapman
Last 3: 82, 76, 91 (83 avg)
Last 3 against Sydney: 118, 104, 120 (114 avg)
Last 3 at Skilled: 82, 104, 137 (108 avg)

Johnson
Last 3: 78, 98, 134 (103 avg)
Last 3 against Sydney: 86, 79, 104 (90 avg)
Last 3 at Skilled: 78, 1, 79 (53 avg)

O'Keefe
Last 3: 142, 115, 132 (130 avg)
Last 3 against Geelong: 90, 88, 68 (82 avg)
Last 3 at Skilled: 88, 71, 92 (84 avg)

Thompson
Last 3: 92, 108, 65 (88 avg)
Last 3 against Gold Coast: 135, 151, 135 (140 avg)
Last 3 at AAMI: 65, 80, 99 (81 avg)

Dangerfield
Last 3: 105, 108, 137 (117 avg)
Last 3 against Gold Coast: 89, 79, 128 (99 avg)
Last 3 at AAMI: 137, 130, 118 (128 avg)

Ablett
Last 3: 89, 175, 99 (121 avg)
Last 3 against Adelaide: 142, 156, 81 (126 avg)
Last 3 at AAMI: 156, 83, 81 (107 avg)

Swallow
Last 3: 140, 96, 87 (108 avg)
Last 3 against GWS: 98 (98 avg)
Last 3 at Skoda: N/A

Watson
Last 3: 76, 98, 132 (102 avg)
Last 3 against Collingwood: 104, 105, 101 (103 avg)
Last 3 at MCG: 76, 98, 128 (101 avg)

Swan
Last 3: 119, 120, 159 (133 avg)
Last 3 against Essendon: 171, 171, 104 (149 avg)
Last 3 at MCG: 120, 165, 116 (134 avg)

Beams
Last 3: 129, 129, 131 (130 avg)
Last 3 against Essendon: 121, 98, 59 (93 avg)
Last 3 at MCG: 119, 147, 137 (134 avg)

Pendlebury
Last 3: 129, 97, 105 (110 avg)
Last 3 against Essendon: 113, 141, 166 (140 avg)
Last 3 at MCG: 92, 142, 117 (117 avg)

Deledio
Last 3: 117, 78, 121 (105 avg)
Last 3 against Port: 107, 95, 68 (90 avg)
Last 3 at MCG: 117, 121, 99 (112 avg)

Cotchin
Last 3: 145, 101, 152 (133 avg)
Last 3 against Port: 61, 65, 114 (80 avg)
Last 3 at MCG: 145, 152, 118 (138 avg)

Redden
Last 3: 121, 121, 108 (117 avg)
Last 3 against Bulldogs: 125, 82, 105 (104 avg)
Last 3 at Gabba: 121, 93, 112 (109 avg)

Rockliff
Last 3: 69, 81, 66 (72 avg)
Last 3 against Bulldogs: 141, 91, 104 (112 avg)
Last 3 at Gabba: 81, 82, 110 (91 avg)

Boyd
Last 3: 131, 100, 102 (111 avg)
Last 3 against Brisbane: 70, 120, 116 (102 avg)
Last 3 at Gabba: 95, 108, 75 (93 avg)

The thoughts:

Mitchell
Mitchell is in pretty poor form but he's been great against the Eagles (like all premium mids seem to be). His last 5 against them are 122, 129, 147, 140, 106 and his owners will be hoping for another bang in the DT finals. His record against them is the only thing going for him though. Prediction - 115

Franklin
He's only had 1 ton from 10 games against the Eagles. He also had a poor DT game last week as his first back from injury. The plus is that he's 6 of 9 at the MCG this year. Still, no thanks. Prediction - 90

Cox
Been pretty good recently but there are not huge scores or poor scores to suggest anything but average Cox this week. Prediction - 100

Selwood
His recent form has been less than exciting but he's pretty decent against the Swans. His last 5 against them are 103, 100, 92, 111, 107. He's also been decent at Kardinia this year with scores of 113, 119, 62, 130 there. He should be pretty solid this week. Prediction - 110

Chapman
Like Selwood, Chappy has been a bit down on form recently but he's also good against the Swans. He's also been good at home this year with 82, 104, 137, 119, 100 in his 5 games this year. Hopefully he will turn around for the final. Prediction - 110

Johnson
Letting down his coaches last week (and, for the first time, I felt the sorrows of a poor SJ game), Stevie J went back to his well known rollercoaster scoring. His last three against the Swans haven't been amazing but his two before that were 144 and 111. He has been unpredictable at Kardinia recently, with 5 scores of 140+ and 6 scores under 100 from his 11 games there in the last two years (excluding the 1 where he was injured). Prediction - 90 (but fingers crossed for 140)

O'Keefe
ROK has a solid last three and he's only scored under 90 once in his last 10 games going back to the bye. Sadly, he is nothing flash against the Cats with only 2 tons there from 14 career games. To make matters worse, he's 0 from 6 attempts at the Cattery. Prediction - 85

Thompson
Scotty T is yet another premium who is out of form. Fortunately for his owners, he's shown some success against the Suns. Three games for 135, 151, 135 which is just ridiculous. He may not be as huge with his poor form but I think he'll still do well. Prediction - 125

Dangerfield
Danger is in crazily good form with his last 6 being 105, 108, 137, 130, 111, 118 to be paired with a delicious three game average at AAMI. Strangely, he's been pretty poor against the Suns in his three games with only 1 ton against them. Still, with the form he's in, he's hard to overlook. Take last week, for example, where he played like crap for the half then decided to dominate for a ton. Prediction - 120

Ablett
In his two games against the Crows since becoming a Sun, Ablett went bang and bang again. He didn't play them earlier in the year but I'd be inclined to think he'll continue the trend (he also had 92 and 155 against them in '09). The last two times he didn't score a ton, he returned with a 175 and 148 respectively so not scoring a ton last week is almost a positive, rather than a negative. Finally, he's shown ability to score well at AAMI with a 156 there last time and a 155 in '09. Prediction - 140

Swallow
Only one game against the Giants for a disappointing 98 and he's never played at Skoda, but Swallow excited coaches with a healthy 140 last week. Probably the best chance to rack it up against the likely wooden spooners, Swallow is a possible POD captain. Prediction - 110

Watson
Two horrid weeks in a row have dampened Watson's season of good form. He's consistent against the Pies though and he's gone 4 for 6 tons at the G this year (his last two were the two scores under 100). Prediction - 100

Swan
9 straight tons, 16 of 17 for the season. The best captain option in DT has been serviceable for much of the year and is hard to turn away from now. His last two against the Bombers were both 171, showing he can smash them too. Finally, the MCG, the ground where Swanny reigns supreme, 7 straight tons there, 11 of 12 for the year, 43 of 53 over the last 4 years. Everything points to awesome. Prediction - 145

Beams
In crazy good form with three straight scores of basically 130 and 16 tons in his last 17 games. He's also been huge at the MCG with 9 of his last 10 there being tons and many of them being huge! Prediction - 130

Pendlebury
Pendles loves games against the Bombers with his last three (and the 134 before that) making him look excellent. He hasn't been in particularly great form this year but he's likely to bring the goods against his old nemesis. Prediction - 120

Deledio
The best back in the competition has an average record against the Power but is a solid 9 of 12 tons at the MCG this year. Hard to pick where he'll be this week but probably not a captain option. Prediction - 105

Cotchin
The in form man of the AFL right now, Cotchin has done wonders for those who were wise enough to pick him up. He has 9 straight tons since the bye and many big ones have come from the MCG. My worry would be his horrible performances against the Power with a 61 this year and a 65 in the last round last year. Hard to say whether he'll continue his form or go poorly once again. I'd be wary if considering him. Prediction - 100

Redden
The best Lion in the DT world and coming up against the Bulldogs means Redden is worth a look. We know that he loves the Gabba and his recent form is great but he's got nothing huge to point towards a big score. His 125 against them earlier in the year is a positive as well as his two straight 121s. Prediction - 120

Rockliff
I said earlier that all of his good scores have come against the bottom 4 teams and, finally, Rocky comes up against one of them again. The Bulldogs are hopeless and, in a Lion mauling, Rockliff scored a big 141. Sadly, his form is absolutely horrid and the risk is far greater than the potential reward. Prediction - 90 (with a 140 a real possibility)

Boyd
Boyd scored another healthy 130 last week to show why he's one of the best mids in the competition. He only had a 70 last time the Dogs played the Lions but there was no tag, he just played poorly. The good news is that he probably won't get the Raines tag again (Griffen is the likely target) meaning he'll have the opportunity to run rampant if he doesn't have another poor one. He hasn't played at the Gabba this year and didn't last year but his form there is nothing special. Prediction - 105

The verdict:

1. Swan (145)
2. Ablett (140)
3. Beams (130)
4. Thompson (125)
5. Dangerfield (120)

Requests:

If you want me to look at another option, just ask in the comments or via Twitter at https://twitter.com/LaHugDT

[Fireballz]

If you don't have Swan or Ablett, you might as well make Darren Glass your captain

[nrich102]

Thanks for a great year lahug :)

[KoopKicka]

If you don't have Swan or Ablett, you might as well make Darren Glass your captain

What was the need for this comment? People with tight GF's could be looking for a POD to get them over the line ::)

Great work LH!

[Fireballz]

If you don't have Swan or Ablett, you might as well make Darren Glass your captain

What was the need for this comment? People with tight GF's could be looking for a POD to get them over the line ::)

Great work LH!

The point is that these 2 are the only captain choices. If you're opponent has them captain and you don't, you're at an immediate disadvantage.

Thanks for a great year lahug :)

+1 cheers LH!

[Adamant]

Great work as always LH  :)
Going with Swanny to finish the year!

[LaHug]

Thanks for the kind words, gang. I kinda went overboard looking at 20 different players this week so I'm not really expecting many requests but, if you have any, feel free to shout out!

[Justin Bieber]

I brought Swanny in to be my skipper. So I probably have to stick by him...  :-\

[nrich102]

I'm going Swan as well

[Grazz]

Thanks for all your efforts this year mate. going with Swan this week to finish off the year with a bang i hope. :)

[LaHug]

Thanks for all your efforts this year mate. going with Swan this week to finish off the year with a bang i hope. :)

The only thing better than a 150 from Swanny would be a 150 from everyone in my team ;)

[Justin Bieber]

Thank you LH. You have had a fine season :)

Better than that rip-off Calvin ::)

[Grazz]

Thanks for all your efforts this year mate. going with Swan this week to finish off the year with a bang i hope. :)

The only thing better than a 150 from Swanny would be a 150 from everyone in my team ;)

I'll drink to that, Cheers. Would improve the rank a bit for me  ::)

[Lobbus]

Crazy but have feeling Jack Riewoldt will kick at least 8 and score 150 plus. Dry day at MCG Tigers look to finish season strongly

[stew42]

Crazy but have feeling Jack Riewoldt will kick at least 8 and score 150 plus. Dry day at MCG Tigers look to finish season strongly

If JRoo kicked 8, he'd be lucky to get 90  ::)