AFL Supercoach 2026: Dyl's Skippers - Round 17


<p>Last week we found plenty of gold on the captaincy front, so let’s do it again.</p>



<p>For the first time since round 11, we’ve got a full slate of games this weekend.</p>



<p>The byes are done, hallelujah!</p>



<p>Let’s take a look at the players to consider for your captaincy this week. </p>



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<p><strong>Bailey Smith &#8211; L3 v BRL: 154, 85, 81</strong></p>



<p>Fresh off the bye and was dominant in the same fixture in round 10, posting a 154. My main concern is that he might cop a little bit of attention maybe?</p>



<p><strong>Max Holmes &#8211; L3 v BRL: 108, 110, 127&nbsp;</strong></p>



<p>A nice bit of recent form against the Lions and Holmes loves playing on his home deck at GMHBA Stadium. In his six matches in Geelong this year, Holmes has scored 120+ every single time. I think I prefer him over Baz as a VC.</p>



<p><strong>Brodie Grundy &#8211; L3 v WBD: 151, 179, 86</strong></p>



<p>Those last two scores are BIG. If Grundy solo rucks this week, you’d almost certainly slap the VC on him. If Peter Ladhams holds his spot however, I’m not sure Grundy has the same ceiling score in him so there could be better options.</p>



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<p><strong>Isaac Heeney &#8211; L3 v WBD: 144, 82, 94</strong></p>



<p>Heeney is one of the most in-form players in the competition and looks primed to make an impact under the Friday night lights. You’d imagine the Dogs are unlikely to tag him (unless it’s Matt Kennedy), and we know how explosive he can be.&nbsp;</p>



<p><strong>Marcus Bontempelli &#8211; L3 v SYD: 135, 63, 135</strong></p>



<p>It feels like the Bont is a little bit off the radar for captaincy right now, but he returned to form in a big way against the Saints pre-bye with a score of 142. Does he cop a James Jordon tag? Jordan didn’t tag last week against Brisbane, but surely he goes to Bontempelli on Friday night.</p>



<p><strong>Jordan Dawson &#8211; L3 v WCE: 146, 138, 158</strong></p>



<p>Dawson ticks all the boxes we are looking for in a captaincy option. Strong recent record against the Eagles, in some red-hot form and has explosive potential. If I owned him, I’d be locking him in as VC.</p>



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<p><strong>Max Gawn &#8211; L3 v HAW: 118, 145, 142</strong></p>



<p>With Max Heath currently out of the side, Gawn has returned to the star ruck we’ve loved for a long time in the Supercoach world. While Hawthorn’s two-pronged ruck attack has proved a tough matchup at different stages this year, Gawn’s a beast. He averages 132.1 against the Hawks across his career. Tempting.&nbsp;</p>



<p><strong>Luke Jackson &#8211; L3 v GWS: 143, 84, 118</strong></p>



<p>Jackson has scored 119+ SC points in 11 out of 15 matches this year, exactly what we want from our captaincy options. In a rich vein of form, but does Sean Darcy get an expanded role in his second game back from injury? Surely you don’t mess with a winning formula…</p>



<p><strong>Nick Daicos &#8211; L3 v GCS: 85, 116, 149</strong></p>



<p>Two scores of 150+ SC points in the past fortnight and a career average of 113.6 against the Suns for Nick Daicos. Hasn’t provided as many captaincy scores this year as we might’ve expected, but he’s building nicely.</p>



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<p><strong>Noah Anderson &#8211; L3 v COL: 148, 140, 109</strong></p>



<p>Not much going right for the Suns at the moment, but their skipper Noah Anderson is doing everything he can. Has had a really strong month of footy and two 140+ SC scores in his past two against the Pies.</p>



<p><strong>Patrick Cripps &#8211; L3 v RIC: 114, 120, 135</strong></p>



<p>If you’re in the less than three per cent of teams who own the Carlton captain, I don’t mind him as a captaincy play this week against a struggling Richmond side. Has looked rejuvenated under interim coach Josh Fraser and the Tigers are an easy kill right now.</p>



<p><strong>Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera &#8211; L3 v ESS: 100, 134, 91</strong></p>



<p>The Saints are feeding Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera at every possible opportunity right now and with Jack Sinclair ruled out with injury, NWM is crucial to how the Saints move the ball. A strong captaincy play against a battling Dons outfit.</p>



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<p><strong>Zak Butters &#8211; L3 v NTH: 94, 162, 113</strong></p>



<p>Butters is on a heater right now, but youngster Finn O’Sullivan did a good job on him in their encounter earlier this year. Butters is averaging 135.7 SC points per game in his last three games, ranked fifth competition wide.</p>



<p><strong>Harry Sheezel &#8211; L3 v PTA: 134, 135, 119</strong></p>



<p>Speaking of strong form, Harry Sheezel is on another level right now, averaging 156.7 SC points in his last three weeks and 136.2 over the last five, ranked first in the competition. Loves playing Port as well and looks to be one of the best captaincy plays this week.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>DYLAN BOLCH’S CAPTAIN RECOMMENDATIONS</strong></h2>



<p>VC: Dawson / Gawn / Holmes</p>



<p>C: Sheezel / Wanganeen-Milera / Jackson</p>


AFL Supercoach 2026: Dyl’s Skippers – Round 17

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