The 2024 AFL Premiership Season kicks off this week with the landmark Opening Round that will see four marquee matchups under the spotlight of the nation before we head into the official “Round 1” next week.
Opening Round kicks off Thursday night as the Sydney Swans host the Melbourne Demons at the SCG and this means it is time to dust off our AFL daily fantasy skills (well unless you are a total AFL DFS addict and were partaking in the preseason games).
Draftstars are kicking the year off in monster fashion with a massive six-figure main contest to go along with the usual array of supplementary games from which you can pick your poison:
- AFL $100,000+ Swans vs Demons
- AFL $10,000+ Swans vs Demons High Roller ($150 Entry)
- AFL $2,000+ Swans vs Demons Fiver
- AFL $3,000+ Swans vs Demons Mini ($2 Entry)
Additionally, Draftstars have a couple of other juicy contests for players to get involved this AFL season.
The AFL Star contest is back for 2024 and Draftstars are offering the biggest prize pool in Australian DFS history with a $1 million guaranteed final with $250,000 top prize! There are qualifiers and satellites running for every AFL match, while there will also be a sprinkling of qualifiers across other sports such as NRL and NBA.
Meanwhile the 1000 AFL Target contests are set to return to Draftstars for the first time since 2018. Enter the contest and hit the 1000-point barrier with your team to scoop the jackpot!
Betting Markets
Sydney ($1.90) vs Melbourne ($1.90) - Odds thanks to PlayUp
Line: Melbourne -0.5
Points: 164.5
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 an strong range of AFL betting markets and offers, including Same Game Multis.
Addtionally, we have a full Swans vs Demons betting preview where we provide our best bet for the game as well as a great value Same Game Multi!
Weather
Expect hot and muggy conditions with a chance of showers and even thunderstorms during the game. Keep a closer eye on the conditions as we appraoch the first bounce but overall I wouldn’t expect the weather to impact this matchup from a fantasy perspective too heavily.
Where to Attack?
While we start a new season there is only so much we can rely on past season data as teams gameplans change and so do their personnel. For example, last season Sydney were consistently beaten in the ruck, however this year they have brought in Brodie Grundy who will likely sure that role up.
That said, the Swans did give up points to forwards so there is a strategy to target the Swans backline by stacking up Demon forwards, while Melbourne have consistently given up points to inside midfielders in past seasons to taking advantage of the Swans injured midfield to unearth value through that position is a clear play on this slate.
Game Script – Melbourne forwards, Sydney inside midfielders
Top Fantasy Plays
VALUE
Matt Roberts ($8,000) has finally gotten a chance to be unleashed after putting on a fantasy scoring clinic in the VFL in recent years. Roberts has spent the preseason playing off half back and up on a wing which will provide plenty of fantasy scoring opportunities, which was demonstrated in the Swans preseason game last week against the Lions where he piled up 18 possessions and 65 fantasy points.
MID PRICE
Tom Sparrow ($10,340) looks set for a breakout season in 2024. He has been ear marked for an increase in midfield time and we already saw the impact of this through the preseason attending 24 centre bounces in the Demons initial practice match and then 10 in the official practice game last week. He was one of the best players on the ground last week against the Blues kicking 3 goals and racking up 20 disposals on his way to 113 fantasy points.
Trent Rivers ($10,000) is expected to be playing further up the ground this season and notched up 80 fantasy points from 24 disposals in the preseason match against the Blues last week. At this mid price point he makes for a strong upside play that can be stacked up with other Swan defenders.
PREMIUM
Max Gawn ($16,590) will take sole ownership back of the ruck position for good this season as he goes up against his old team mate Brody Grundy in this matchup. He closed last season with 6 of his last 9 games at over 97 points and in last weeks preseason game put the league on notice with 130 fantasy points in just 75% game time. Look to take advantage of this role in betting markets by taking on prices of Gawn to score 90+ and 100+ fantasy points.
Isaac Heeney ($13,890) is looking to be played through the midfield as the Swans deal with several players out including Luke Parker, Callum Mills and Taylor Adams. With preseason reports noting that Heeney will move from the forward line to playing mostly midfield we can expect to see his highest scoring fantasy scoring season of his career. Look to take advantage of this role in betting markets by taking on prices of Heeney to score 90+ and 100+ fantasy points.
Suggested Draftstars Lineup
Cheat Sheet
