That final day in September has finally arrived and we will see the two best teams of not only this season but the 2020’s square off with Geelong and Brisbane playing at the MCG. This is a rematch of the first round of the finals series where the Cats accounted for the Lions quite handidly. As we have seen many times, however, when the rematch roles around it can be a very different game and the Lions look to have grown into form as the finals series has progressed.
As always this is all about the daily fantasy and this Grand Final draws a massive $200,000 prize pool at Draftstars in their main contest. In addition, there are a variety of alternate contests:
AFL $200,000+ Cats vs Lions at Draftstars
AFL $20,000+ Cats vs Lions High Roller ($150 Entry) at Draftstars
AFL $5,000+ Cats vs Lions Mini ($2 Entry) at Draftstars
If you're new to the Daily Fantasy Sports scene and want to join in on the fun, simply join Draftstars via this link!
AFL Daily Fantasy Lineup Tips: Geelong vs Brisbane Grand Final
AFL Fantasy Grand Final Cats vs Lions: Where to Attack?
The Grand Final is always going to be a challenging game to break down as we are down to the two best teams in the league. Neither Geelong or Brisbane have been giving up high fantasy points this season with the Lions giving up the third fewest fantasy points in the league and below average scores to every position over the last 10 games.
The Cats areas to target really stem around the ruck position where they have been consistently beaten all season, conceding the second most points in the league to the role over the last 10 games (over 7 points per game above league average) and the back positions. Geelong concede over 1 point per game above league average to the designated kicker and slightly above average to general defenders while restricting the attacking half backs.
When these two sides met in the first final it was the Brisbane side that racked up the fantasy scores especially through the midfield with the trio of Dunkley, Neale and Will Ashcroft all topping the 100 point mark. While no surprise that the Cats had a more even spread with their forwards doing the biggest damage in what was just under 50 point win.
Game Script – Brisbane designated kicker and midfielders, Geelong forwards
AFL Fantasy Grand Final Cats vs Lions: Our Value Fantasy Picks
Brandon Starcevich ($6,310) price remains at just over the bare minimum and as we discussed last week makes for a great value play with a relatively safe floor. He came through last week with a 50 point performance which is just enough enough to keep you in the ball game while giving you salary relief to spend up elsewhere, which seems an obvious approach in the grand final where the top players consistently do the most damage. As noted above stacking up the Lions backs in this matchup seems like one of the few areas to target and Starc has posted four scores of 50+ from his last five games.
Brad Close ($7,850) / Tyson Stengle ($8,990) with the Cats favourites in this matchup it will be an obvious strategy to stack up their forward line. Given the form that Harris Andrews is in patrolling the airways I will be looking more to Geelong’s plethora of small forwards. Both Close and Stengle offer nice value options and have performed well this finals series with Close posting 88 points in their first final against the Lions and Stengle taking over with 93 points last week against the Hawks. If you are looking to spend up on the Cats forwards, Shaun Mannagh ($11,870) has continued his strong season through the finals series with back to back scores of 87 and 79 fantasy points.
AFL Fantasy Grand Final Cats vs Lions: Our Mid Price Fantasy Picks
Patrick Dangerfield ($12,180) is coming off one of the all time best finals performances last week where he racked up 31 touches and kicked 3 goals on his way to 118 fantasy points. Now we can’t expect that output again, but the thing we do know is that the Cats will be using him plenty in the midfield in these must win games, attending over 40% of their centre bounces in each of their two finals (his most since Round 4). He has been a lock and load play each game in the finals for me and this wont change in the biggest game of the year.
AFL Fantasy Grand Final Cats vs Lions: Our Premium Fantasy Picks
Dayne Zorko ($15,490) has the best matchup on the slate bar the ruckman with the Cats actually conceding above average scores to the designated kicker. He is bomb proof game script wise racking up the following scores against the Cats in the three games this season – 130, 124 and 119. So win or lose it doesn’t matter he will get the ball. This is my first picked premium player on this slate.
Josh Dunkley ($17,130) would be fighting it out with Patrick Dangerfield for the player of the final series right now. His fantasy scores through three games have been 147, 131 and 109. He is well suited to finals contests and had his biggest score of the year against Geelong in week one of the finals.
Here's Our Suggested Draftstars Lineup for the Grand Final
Weather Report for Saturday 27th September
18 degrees and partly cloudy – perfect Grand Final weather
AFL Grand Final Betting Markets
Geelong ($1.58) vs Brisbane ($2.40)
Points: 173.5
Line: Geelong -11.5
Also, be sure to check out our full AFL Grand Final Preview and Betting Tips. Our experts break down the clash and highlight some key bets that you can follow!
