AFL is finally back for the 2026 season with Opening Round kicking off this Thursday night, and Draftstars does not disappoint offering fantasy players over $75,000 guaranteed in prize money to be won in their main contest!
To get the Opening Round (also known as Round 0) underway, the Sydney Swans will host the Carlton Blues at the SCG in what shapes up to be one of the most interesting games of the round. Both teams will be looking to get their season underway on the right foot and to bounce back from disappointing seasons last year. Each side features strong midfield groups from a fantasy scoring perspective with several players capable of producing elite fantasy scores which should give us plenty of viable lineup combinations. To cap things off we have the revenge game aspect with Charlie Curnow making the off-season move from Carlton to Sydney, which will add that extra bit of drama to the contest.
Draftstars are offering a number of different contests to suit your style, some of these include:
AFL $75,000+ Swans vs Blues at Draftstars
AFL $5,000+ Swans vs Blues High Roller ($150 Entry) at Draftstars
AFL $3,000+ Swans vs Blues Mini ($2 Entry) at Draftstars
AFL Daily Fantasy Lineup Tips: Opening Round Sydney vs Carlton
AFL Fantasy Opening Round Thursday Night: Where to Attack?
We are obviously kicking off a new season, which means the data we will be relying on is from 2025. But for these early games it is still a solid trend to look at. Over the last 10 games for the season in 2025 we can see that Carlton were giving up above average scores through the midfield at over 2 points per game above league average. As a result, stacking up the Swans through this position stands out as an obvious play and their talent in the middle brings high ceiling opportunities. Their midfielders have consistently produced strong fantasy numbers due to their ability to accumulate disposals in transition. With Gulden back in the lineup and set for a big year, supported by the likes of Warner and Heeney there are a number of premium options to load up on.
This stack would be nicely complimented with Swan forwards given the Blues had been getting destroyed by opposition key forwards to end last season. Over the last 10 games they were giving up a massive 6 points per game above league average to key forwards.
To play back against this, stacking Blues backs makes for a perfect game script. The Swans had given up above average scoring to wings and general defenders to end last season and Carlton defenders are extremely fantasy friendly because of the Blues' preference to control the ball through half back before transitioning forward.
Game Script – Sydney midfielders and forwards, Carlton backs
AFL Fantasy Opening Round Thursday Night: Our Value Fantasy Picks
Liam Reidy ($7,230) should get plenty of opportunity in the ruck as he shares duties with Marc Pittonet and chops out up forward. All preseason the reports out of Carlton were that Reidy was dominant and potentially looking like a replacement for the number 1 ruck role. During their preseason match he notched up 62 points against the Cats, which would be a solid return at this price point in a single game slate.
Oliver Florent ($9,830) is the first of two clear plays on this slate with a revenge narrative lining up against his former club. While the narrative angle adds some intrigue, the real fantasy appeal comes from his role change into Carlton’s half-back line where he will be assuming partial kick in responsibilities, a fantasy bonanza! We all saw this during the preseason game where he racked up 88 fantasy points and took 6 Carlton kick ins. Furthermore, as noted in where to attack this is a plus matchup for Blues defenders meaning at this price point Florent is essentially a lock and load value play.
AFL Fantasy Opening Round Thursday Night: Our Mid Price Fantasy Picks
Charlie Curnow ($10,920) shapes as a very interesting tournament play on this slate as he faces his former club Carlton for the first time since moving to Sydney in the offseason, which brings an obvious revenge narrative into play.
From a fantasy perspective Curnow has historically been a high-ceiling but volatile scorer, which is exactly the type of profile we want in a single-game DFS tournament. Over the past three AFL seasons he has produced 14 games of 100+ fantasy points. I would expect a shift to a better club that is favoured in this game will result in a return to his average of 80+ fantasy points this year.
If you are looking for mid priced options in the midfield there are plenty to consider, with Angus Sheldrick ($11,170), Jagga Smith ($11,550) and Cooper Lord ($10,170) all looking strong during the preseason with fantasy scoring roles.
AFL Fantasy Opening Round Thursday Night: Our Premium Fantasy Picks
Errol Gulden ($16,470) is set for a monster season if the preseason is anything to go by. Set to split time between both inside midfielder and the outside he will have every opportunity to capture form of 2024 where he was averaging over 110 points per game.
Gulden has a strong history of scoring against Carlton. In his most recent matchup against the Blues he produced 118 fantasy points from 32 disposals and 9 marks, demonstrating how well his outside midfield role translates against Carlton’s defensive structure.
From a matchup perspective, the Blues have historically allowed strong fantasy production to opposition outside midfielders and wing players, particularly those who accumulate marks in space. Carlton conceded over 6 fantasy points above average to wing and outside midfield roles across the final 10 rounds last season, which suits Gulden’s style perfectly.
Brodie Grundy ($16,150) stands out as one of the strongest positional advantages on this slate given both his individual fantasy production and the favourable matchup against Carlton’s ruck setup. The change in ruck rules did not appear to hamper Grundy’s production during the preseason where he posted 88 fantasy points in just 58% game time against the Giants.
Last year was one of the greatest resurgence to form we have seen in AFL fantasy history with Grundy over 108 points per game (up over 11 from the previous year), which included a low score of 111 from round 9 to round 21.
Suggested Draftstars Lineup for Thursday Night
Weather Report for Thursday 5th March
25 degrees and sunny
Sydney vs Carlton Betting Odds
Odds: Sydney ($1.29) vs Carlton ($3.62)
Points: 172.5
Line: Sydney -23.5
Also, be sure to check out our free AFL betting tips this season. Our experts break down each individual game and highlight some key bets that you can follow!
