AFL Round 17s feature matchup this Thursday night will see North Melbourne look to bounce back from an embarrassing loss last week as they host the Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium. The Bulldogs will be looking for a big percentage booster however to help solidify their finals spot as they are currently tied in the 7th – 9th spot on the ladder.
As always this is all about the daily fantasy and this massive Thursday night game draws another massive $50,000 prize pool at Draftstars in their main contest. In addition, there are a variety of alternate contests:
AFL $50,000+ Kangaroos vs Bulldogs at Draftstars
AFL $5,000+ Kangaroos vs Bulldogs High Roller ($150 Entry) at Draftstars
AFL $3,000+ Kangaroos vs Bulldogs Mini ($2 Entry) at Draftstars
AFL Daily Fantasy Lineup Tips: Round 17 North Melbourne vs Western Bulldogs
AFL Fantasy Round 17 Thursday Night: Where to Attack?
North Melbourne have been getting obliterated from a fantasy perspective by opposition inside midfielders over the last 10, games giving up the most points in the league to the position at over 11 points per game above league average. Through that same period they are also giving up the second most points in the league to key forwards and most points in the league to general forwards. Given that the Bulldogs are 44 point favourites in this matchup, the game script really writes itself – stack up Western Bulldogs mids and forwards.
Game Script – Western Bulldogs inside midfielders and forwards, North Melbourne backs
AFL Fantasy Round 17 Thursday Night: Our Value Fantasy Picks
Riley Garcia ($8,630) has been absolutely tearing the VFL apart with three straight scores of 107, 121 and 122 fantasy points and racked up a season high 167 point game earlier in the year. The real question is how much opportunity will he get in the midfield, but with Adam Treloar now out and the opportunity for the Bulldogs to blow this game open, he should be right in consideration as a value play on this slate.
Bailey Scott ($9,480) was averaging 80 points per game last year off a wing for North Melbourne before losing his spot at senior level this year. When given game time he has capability to score fantasy points and with all the outs for North this week, he should get opportunity in a similar role to last season. I love stacking up North backs in this matchup and Scott would work well with that play.
AFL Fantasy Round 17 Thursday Night: Our Mid Price Fantasy Picks
Aaron Naughton ($10,240) is a cheaper alternative to Sam Darcy as a key forward against North Melbourne who are giving up the second most points to the position over the last 10 games. After a long down patch he came to life last week and showed he still has the upside to win you a tournament posting a massive 122 fantasy points against the Swans.
AFL Fantasy Round 17 Thursday Night: Our Premium Fantasy Picks
Tristan Xerri ($15,750) has the better matchup of the two rucks in this game with Tim English giving up over four points per game above league average over the last 10 games to opposition rucks. Xerri on the other had has been very tough to score against all season, although he has been in a down patch scoring wise himself. This is a great opportunity to bounce back to the earlier season form where he had a run of 6 from 7 games of 109+ fantasy points. These two sides met in round 1 and Xerri posted 129 fantasy points.
Sam Darcy ($13,190) is looking like the best key forward in the league already and since coming back from injury immediately posted scores of 115 and 114 fantasy points, before being well held last week against Sydney at the SCG. As noted through the top this is one of the best matchups in the league for Darcy and the Bulldogs are expected to win this game by over 7 goals.
Heres our Suggested Draftstars Lineup for AFL Fantasy Round 17 Thursday
Weather Report for Thursday 3rd July
Weather is always perfect at Marvel – lets play!
AFL Betting Markets Round 17 Thursday
North Melbourne ($7.50) vs Western BUlldogs ($1.08)
Points: 180.5
Line: Western Bulldogs -44.5
Also, be sure to check out our full AFL Preview and Betting Tips for each match. Our experts break down each individual game and highlight some key bets that you can follow!
