Each week, we rely on our AFL Fantasy Projections (available to members of The Keeper League) to identify some of the best captain options for your team.
While there are always some obvious captain options, we try to dig a little deeper to find less popular options due to the widespread nature of players in keeper leagues. However, if you have Uber premium players, please don’t take this article as advice not to put the captaincy on them.
In addition to the top captain options, we’ll also look at some streamer options who may not be automatic selections in your side but have a history of performing well against their opponents. These options are worth considering if you’re looking for a differential advantage in your matchup.
Captains
Hawthorn has a ‘witches hat’ for a ruck which means Max Gawn is going to post 120 AFL Fantasy Points at a minimum this week, enough said.
Zak Butters has averaged 107 AFL Fantasy Points from his last three games against Richmond. Additionally, Richmond has been leaking 100+ point scores.
Coming up against the West Coast Eagles makes it hard to imagine a world where Stephen Coniglio doesn’t score over 100 AFL Fantasy Points this week. Cogs scored 105 last time he met the Eagles at Optus Stadium.
Chad Warner with the midfield injuries at the Sydney Swans, is flourishing racking up possessions for fun. Warner has averaged 101 AFL Fantasy Points against Essendon in recent years and will go big again.
Clayton Oliver has not missed a beat notwithstanding his tumultuous off-season, and coming up against Hawthorn at the MCG has me excited. Oliver has averaged 106 AFL Fantasy Points from his last few games against the Hawks.
Vice-Captain
St Kilda once tried to poach Jordon De Goey, I can only assume it’s because he burns them every time they match up. De Goey has averaged 115 AFL Fantasy Points from his last three games against the Saints.
Jordon Dawson will be fuming after his team’s round 1 performance; I’m expecting a big response from the Crows captain. Dawson notched up 116 AFL Fantasy Points against Geelong when they last met.
Tom Stewart has a healthy average against the Adelaide Crows, averaging 112 AFL Fantasy Points in their last three head-to-heads.
Rhys Stanley is not a very good ruckman, which has me thinking Reilly O’Brien is a handy early vice-captain option. O’Brien notched up 106 AFL Fantasy Points on Geelong last year.
Jeremy Cameron is unquestionably the best forward in the AFL right now; coming up against an injury-ravaged Adelaide Crows defence on Friday night makes him my vice-captain loophole option of the week!
Streamers
Harry Perryman has been a bit of a ‘Mr Fix-it’ in the last couple of seasons for GWS, people might be forgetting his fantasy pedigree. I back him to get plenty of loose ball against West Coast Eagles at Optus this weekend.
Fremantle have lost half of their defence in one round which could see Nick Larkey pop up with a bag of goals this weekend. Alex Pearce is still a tough match-up, but the lack of team defence will help Larkey.
On the other side of the ledger, Sam Switkowski will come up against North Melbourne this week, who are arguably the worst defence in the competition. He has a 90 AFL Fantasy point ceiling this week with a low 70s floor.
Jeremy Finlayson is a streamer favourite in keeper leagues and this week he comes up against a depleted Richmon defensive unit and will likely match up on their third tall.
I also like the look of Cam Zurhaar against the Fremantle backline this week. He is a difficult player to match up on, who scored 76 AFL Fantasy Points against the Dockers last year.
Want more projections? View the top 20 projected scores of the round here…
