NBL27 SuperCoach Round 3 Captains: Best Captain Picks Ranked
Round 3 is the first week of NBL27 where captaincy gets properly crowded.
Eight teams play twice. Perth and Sydney are the only single-game sides. That makes this less about finding a double and more about choosing the right combination of role, form and two-game opportunity.
The headline call is simple: Arnas Velička is our preferred Round 3 captain. Parker Jackson-Cartwright is the strongest alternative, while Bryce Cotton remains an elite option and Cole Anthony carries genuine ceiling if you want to move away from the two obvious point guards.
Buckets call: Captain a doubler. Velička has the best mix of current scoring, price-independent role security and two-game opportunity.
Round 3 captain board
| Rank | Player | Team | SC average | Round 3 games | Buckets call |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arnas Velička | Brisbane | 55.0 | 2 | C1 |
| 2 | Parker Jackson-Cartwright | New Zealand | 50.3 | 2 | C2 / elite VC |
| 3 | Bryce Cotton | Adelaide | 45.3 | 2 | C3 |
| 4 | Cole Anthony | Melbourne | 37.0 | 2 | Upside captain |
| 5 | Taran Armstrong | Tasmania | 35.5 | 2 | POD |
| 6 | Will Magnay | Tasmania | 36.0 | 2 | POD / centre option |
C1: Arnas Velička
At this point, Velička's opening fortnight has moved beyond “nice start”.
The Brisbane point guard is averaging 55.0 SuperCoach points, the best mark in the competition entering Round 3. His first two NBL games produced 23 points and 14 assists on debut, followed by 17 points and another 11 assists.
The important part is not that he has started hot. It is how he is scoring.
Velička owns the ball. His assist production gives him a fantasy base that does not require a huge shooting night, and Brisbane now gets two opportunities: Sydney away on Wednesday before Tasmania at home on Saturday.
His 14.5 breakeven adds another reason to own him, but it does not really affect the captaincy call. This is about role and volume.
Verdict: C1. If Velička is in your side, he is the cleanest armband play.
C2: Parker Jackson-Cartwright
If you want the proven premium rather than the new breakout, PJC is an extremely defensible choice.
Jackson-Cartwright enters the round averaging 50.3, second only to Velička, and New Zealand has two games: Cairns at home on Wednesday and Adelaide away on Sunday.
PJC has also accumulated 151 SuperCoach points through his opening three games. There is no role question here. The Breakers' offence belongs in his hands, and assists, scoring and defensive events give him multiple ways to get there.
The slight separation between PJC and Velička is value-neutral — captaincy does not care what you paid — but Velička's opening role has simply produced the higher fantasy floor so far.
Verdict: C2. An excellent captain and arguably the best vice-captain if your structure allows it.
C3: Bryce Cotton
Cotton just posted the biggest SuperCoach score of Round 2.
His 94-point Round 2 total included the monster outing against Perth, and he enters Round 3 averaging 45.3. Adelaide travels to Illawarra on Friday before hosting New Zealand on Sunday.
Normally Cotton's scoring volatility creates a little more captaincy risk than an assist-heavy point guard. The flip side is obvious: very few players in the league can break a fantasy round open as quickly.
There is also a workload note. Trevor Gleeson acknowledged Cotton was overplayed in the Perth game after he effectively went the distance. That is worth remembering across a two-game round, but it is nowhere near enough to remove him from the premium captain group.
Verdict: C3. Higher scoring volatility than Velička or PJC, but a legitimate round-winning ceiling.
C4: Cole Anthony
Anthony is the interesting one.
At $300,000 and a 37.0 average, he has not matched the raw fantasy production of the top three yet. But Melbourne has Tasmania away and Cairns at home, and Anthony's ceiling remains enormous as his NBL role settles.
This is where captaincy strategy matters. If you are simply trying to maximise expected points, Velička and PJC are ahead. If your side already owns Anthony and you are deliberately looking for a lower-owned route to a huge two-game score, the argument becomes more interesting.
Do not confuse “interesting” with “safer”.
Verdict: Upside captain. Better as an aggressive alternative than the default call.
The PODs: Taran Armstrong and Will Magnay
Tasmania gives us two less obvious options.
Armstrong is averaging 35.5 and has enough creation responsibility to generate fantasy points even when his scoring is modest. Magnay is averaging 36.0 and has the positional advantage of being a centre in a game where that position can become awkward quickly.
Tasmania hosts Melbourne on Thursday before travelling to Brisbane on Saturday.
Neither jumps Velička, PJC or Cotton on our board, but both are viable if your team construction leaves you without the premium guards.
What about Kendric Davis?
Keep him. Don't captain him this week.
Davis is averaging 46.0, which would ordinarily put him right in this conversation. The problem is purely structural: Sydney plays only once in Round 3.
When eight clubs have two games, asking one player to beat elite options with twice the opportunity is unnecessary.
The same principle applies to Perth's best fantasy players.
Verdict: Great player, wrong captaincy round.
Captain or vice-captain?
If your SuperCoach structure lets you use the vice-captain tactically, the early Wednesday games make Velička and PJC especially useful because both play immediately.
The bigger rule is simpler: do not get cute purely for the sake of being different. Captaincy doubles the entire round score. With two-game premiums available, this is not the week to chase a single-game miracle.
Round 3 lockout
Round 3 begins Wednesday 30 September at 5.30pm AEST, with New Zealand hosting Cairns.
The round contains eight double-game teams:
- Adelaide
- Brisbane
- Cairns
- Illawarra
- Melbourne
- New Zealand
- South East Melbourne
- Tasmania
Perth and Sydney play once.
For the broader acquisition picture, read our Round 3 Trade Targets: Buy, Hold & Sell.
Before locking trades, also check the Round 3 Injury Report and Selection Watch.
And if Max Mackinnon is part of your trade plan, we have a dedicated breakdown of why his Round 3 role matters.
FAQs
Who is the best captain for NBL27 SuperCoach Round 3?
Arnas Velička. He enters Round 3 with the competition's best SuperCoach average at 55.0 and Brisbane plays twice.
Is Parker Jackson-Cartwright a good captain?
Absolutely. PJC is averaging 50.3 and New Zealand doubles against Cairns and Adelaide. He is our No. 2 option.
Should I captain Bryce Cotton?
Cotton is a strong captain choice because Adelaide plays twice and he is coming off the biggest SuperCoach score of Round 2. We have him third behind Velička and PJC.
Can I captain Kendric Davis?
You can, but we wouldn't in Round 3. Sydney only plays once while eight teams double, leaving Davis with half the game opportunity of the leading captain options.
Who is the best POD captain?
Cole Anthony is the upside swing. Taran Armstrong and Will Magnay are deeper alternatives for teams without the leading guards.
Final call
There are plenty of viable names this week, which is exactly why the decision should stay simple.
Velička is C1. PJC is C2. Cotton is C3.
All three combine premium roles with two games. Anthony is the ceiling play if you want to attack the round differently, while Armstrong and Magnay are legitimate structural alternatives.
Round 3 gives SuperCoach players more doubles than they can realistically use. Captaincy is where you make sure the extra opportunity actually counts.
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