Selecting a skipper

Every week on the Big Footy forum there's countless numbers of DT coaches wanting to know who to pick as their on-field leader. As Hodges noted yesterday, these are the coaches without Jimmy Bartel.

Deciding who to entrust double-point duties to can be bloody nerve-wracking, so use this fail-safe checklist to take the sting out of choosing your captain.

1. Are they injured, suspended or shithouse? Straight-forward question that narrows the field considerably.

2. Are they consistent? Chris Judd and Brad Johnson have been installed as season-long skippers in many a DT team due to their ability to (almost) guarantee about 85-100 points every game. However, neither racks up 150s very often. If you're a betting man, use your captain's armband elsewhere.

3. Who are they playing? Sydney has built a reputation as a DT killer. Rarely is it a good idea to send your captain into battle the Swans. Also, some players have genuine bogey teams. Monty's marvelous FanFooty site can tell you whether your captaincy candidates crap themselves against certain opposition.

4. Are they wearing their lucky underpants? This one is harder to get stats on but just as important.

5. Where are they playing? Home or away? As you'd expect, most do better on their own turf. Matthew Pavlich is a notable exception, with the Freo forward faring much better in Melbourne than at Subi. Then there are other factors like the size of the ground and the weather. Are they playing under the roof at the Telstra Dome or under driving rain in Darwin; in the confines of the SCG or the open spaces of Launceston's Aurora Stadium?

6. Do they have gingervitis? Taking a punt on a carrot-topped captain is risky business indeed. For more information, see http://www.gingerkids.org/

7. Will they attract a tag? Elite players like the aforementioned Judd have to break the shackles at every stoppage. Sometimes the taggers get on top. Less-effective blokes like Dane Swan, on the other hand, are free to roam wherever they please.

8. Do they have a point to prove? Having a player who's been sledged during the week isn't necessarily a bad thing. It might make them ideal captaincy material on the weekend. Also consider players coming up against a former team which they left in a foul mood. Okay, this really only applies to Jason Akermanis.

9. Any off-field distractions? Consider all the intangibles that could affect a potential captain's output. Has their brother been sending them menacing texts during the week, for example?

10. Milestone match? Playing their 200th game? Two goals short of 1000 in their career. Expect these blokes to give it everything.