Round 1 of the 2026 AFL Premiership Season will continue this Sunday another huge daily fantasy contest on offer from Draftstars with over $60,000 in guaranteed in prize money in their main daily fantasy tournament.
This Sunday brings our first multi game Sunday slate of the season with a fun 3 games to work through. The day gets underway with North Melbourne hosting Port Adelaide at Marvel Stadium in what will be a big contest for both teams looking to improve on their 2025 performances. Then, Melbourne will host St Kilda at the MCG as the Saints look to bounce back from their Opening Round defeat. The hammer game for the day is not the most eciting from a foobtall perspective but it is a fantasy players dream, as we all will be stacking up the Gold Coast Suns who are hosting the lowly West Coast Eagles at People First Stadium.
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AFL Daily Fantasy Lineup Tips: Round 1 – Sunday
AFL Fantasy Round 1 – Sunday: Where to Attack?
Given it is Round 1 we continue to rely on prior year trends to guide our decision making.
Let’s just get started with the obvious play, Gold Coast against West Coast. The Suns are favoured in this game by over 11 goals and will be the favourite game stack option for the majority daily fantasy players on this slate. West Coast gave up the most points in the league to midfielders across the last 10 games of the season in 2025 (at over 9 points per game above league average), they also gave the most points in the league to general forwards and just above league average to key forwards. The only position they weren’t crucified in for fantasy points was backs that is likely because the ball is rarely down that end of the ground.
Other areas to consider attacking around this game include Melbourne backs against St Kilda. The Saints have given up points to backs for years, and over the last 10 games of last season they gave up the second most points in the league to designated kickers. North Melbourne are also on this slate and last year you could take advantage of them with key forwards (they gave up a whopping 11+ points per game above league average over the last 10 games in 2025).
Game Script – Gold Coast forwards and midfielders, Melbourne backs
AFL Fantasy Round 1 – Sunday: Our Value Fantasy Picks
Ben King ($9,600) is just an obvious angle to find value on this slate as part of your Gold Coast team stacks. King was the Suns leading goal scorer and one of the top scorers in the league last season, and in this matchup the Suns are expected to pile on the goals, sometimes it is really that simple.
Jai Culley ($7,630) had a solid finish to last season and has been a standout for the Demons through the preseason. With their mass exodus over the off season they are looking to plug their midfield in multiple places and Culley looks to be one of their key options. While he was missing in action due to injury for their preseason game I think playing a midfield role at this price point is a great value option.
Dante Visentini ($8,830) is positioned as the number one ruckman for the Power this year. During their preseason matchup against West Coast he racked up 34 hit outs and 75 fantasy points making him a solid value option. Although, before you dive in just remember this matchup against Xerri will certainly be harder opposition.
AFL Fantasy Round 1 – Sunday: Our Mid Price Fantasy Picks
Caleb Windsor ($11,750) is another player for Melbourne that has moved to the inside midfield this year after the loss of Clayton Oliver and Christian Petracca. During the Demons preseason game he attended their second most centre bounces behind only Max Gawn. At a mid priced point like this, that role shapes up to be a great fantasy play with a high ceiling.
Marcus Windhager ($13,760) has made the move to half back this season as part of the new look Saints and the early signs are this is an absolute bonaza for his fantasy scoring. During their preseason game against the Bombers he racked up 41 disposals and 140 points then backed this up in the opening round last week with a 116 point performance again Collingwood. It is shaping up that his $13k price point could be closer to $15k in a couple of weeks in this role.
AFL Fantasy Round 1 – Sunday: Our Premium Fantasy Picks
Sam Flanders ($15,270) is set to flourish from a fantasy perspective in his role with St Kilda. Moving to the inside midfield he attended 18 centre bounces in the opening round (the most for the Saints) and returned 100 points despite barely getting a touch in the first quarter. He should be more settled this week and I can see him getting back to his past seasons 100+ average.
Christian Petracca ($16,160) started his Gold Coast tenure with a bang last week notching up 34 points and kicking 3 goals en route to 121 points. He looks back to his best from the year he won the flag at Melbourne and gets to back things up this week with a matchup against West Coast who will concede huge scores to both midfielders and up forward. So expect Petracca to rack up a lot of both again this week.
Here is our Suggested Draftstars Lineup for AFL Fantasy Round 1 – Sunday
Weather Report for Sunday 15th March
Melbourne – 23 degrees and cloudy
Gold Coast – 24 degrees and partly cloudy
AFL Betting Markets Round 1: Sunday 15th March
North Melbourne ($2.41) vs Port Adelaide ($1.57)
Line: Port Adelaide -10.5
Points: 187.5
Melbourne ($2.45) vs St Kilda ($1.56)
Line: St Kilda -10.5
Points: 176.5
Gold Coast ($1.01) vs West Coast ($21.00)
Line: Gold Coast -68.5
Points: 187.5
Also, be sure to check out our full AFL Previews and Betting Tips for each match. Our experts break down each individual game and highlight some key bets that you can follow!
