The second preliminary final of the 2024 AFL Finals Series will take place this Saturday night with Geelonghosting Brisbane at the MCG. Geelong are coming in after a mouth-watering display in their first final where they showed all the finals nouse of an experienced campaigner belting Port Adelaide. Brisbane have made it through the hard way with back to back wins that included a miracle comeback last week against GWS. This should be an electrifying contest to see who makes the grand final, and that is before we even get to the daily fantasy of it all.
Daily fantasy players will enjoy the games on offer as Draftstars continue their massive prize pools with the main contest for this game being worth $75,000 along with their usual variety of alternate contests:
- AFL $75,000+ Cats vs Lions
- AFL $7,500+ Cats vs Lions High Roller ($150 Entry)
- AFL $5,000+ Cats vs Cats vs Lions vs Power Mini ($2 Entry)
Betting Markets
Geelong ($1.75) vs Brisbane ($2.08)
Points: 169.5
Line: Geelong -3.5
If you’re looking to bet on the AFL this season, then you can bet with PlayUp by using the same account that you have at Draftstars. PlayUp are Australian owned and offer a strong range of AFL betting markets and offers, including Same Game Multis.
Additionally, we have a full Cats vs Lions Betting Preview for the game where we provide our best bet for the game as well as a great value Same Game Multi!
Weather
17 degrees and cloudy. Medium chance of showers in the afternoon, but only up to 1mm. No real impact to fantasy scoring at the MCG expected but just keep an eye on the weather approaching the bounce.
Where to Attack?
Geelong have conceded the second most fantasy points in the league this season, which is generally unusual for a team that has made it all the way to preliminary finals. Over the last 10 games this has tightened up a bit, however they are still giving up over 3 points per game above league average to inside midfielders and a massive 13 points per game above league average to rucks.
Brisbane on the other hand, like most finalists, have been extremely stingy in terms of fantasy points conceded. They have given up almost 2 points per game above league average to key forwards and over 6 points per game above league average to attacking defenders and wings.
All that said, we know finals are a different beast as we saw when Geelong absolutely decimated Port Adelaide in the first round of the finals. I would be looking at stacking up the Cats forward line, with a focus on key forwards, and their rebounding attack from the back line. While mixing in the Lions through the midfield.
Game Script – Geelong forwards and attacking half backs, Lions midfielders
VALUE PLAYS
Brad Close ($6,780)… as usual finding the value is going to be a huge challenge on this slate with both teams in peak form. I love going to a value forward in a team I will be looking to stack up for a win. Close should start on the ground and in Cats stacks he can very easily get on the end of a few goals for 60+ return or even higher. He has shown a ceiling game of 82 points this season. If you are expecting a Lions win, I would go back to Eric Hipwood ($7,820) or Charlie Cameron ($8,320).
MID PRICED PLAYS
Jeremy Cameron ($12,880) has rounded into great form to close the season with three 100+ sores from his last six games including two 120 point scores. He also notched up 95 points in the Cats first final. As noted above, one weak point for the Lions has been giving up points to key forwards and there is no one better to take advantage of that in the league than Jeremy Cameron on the big stage at the MCG.
PREMIUM PLAYS
Max Holmes ($14,330) will rotate through the inside midfielder role and across the back line. I love him in this matchup to take advantage of the fact that Lions give up almost 6 points above league average to attacking half backs. He was the Cats highest fantasy scorer when these two sides met very early in the season in what was a sizeable Geelong win at the Gabba.
Oscar McInerney ($14,080) has been on absolute fire over the last four weeks really taking ownership of the ruck role for the Lions. He has posted four straight scores of 96 or higher (three of which were over 106 points). This slate will arguably be his easiest matchup across that stretch as we highlighted the Cats have been getting decimated by the ruck position over the last 10 games at over 13 points above league average. It is a lot to spend on the ruck position, but scoring will likely be hard in this game across the ground and his opponents will not have as much access to ruck role as big Oscar.
Suggested Draftstars Team
Cheat Sheet
