Round 12 of the 2026 AFL season gets underway this Thursday night with another huge daily fantasy contest on offer from Draftstars with over $50,000 in guaranteed prize money in their main daily fantasy tournament.
The ladder-leading Hawks make the trip to Marvel Stadium to face a wounded Saints side in what shapes as a mismatch on paper — but for daily fantasy players, this matchup is absolutely loaded with opportunity. Hawthorn arrive at 7-3-1 but it has been a little bit of a bumpy ride in recent weeks. That said, they have won their last seven games at Marvel Stadium, and come in fresh off a hard-fought win over Adelaide in Launceston. The big news from Hawthorn this week is the return of Will Day, who will reclaim his role as Hawthorn's most dangerous midfielder. Jack Gunston also shapes as a significant inclusion, adding depth to their already dangerous forward line.
St Kilda arrive at 5-6 and decimated by injury. Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera — the No.9-rated midfielder in 2026 and the most important player on their list — is confirmed out for the third consecutive week with a calf strain. Co-captain Callum Wilkie (back) is a test after copping a knee from Ben King in Darwin but is expected to play. Despite the injury toll, the Saints have shown impressive defensive resilience in recent weeks with Max Hall, Hugo Garcia and Marcus Windhager stepping up in the midfield in Wanganeen-Milera's absence — a trend that creates some very interesting fantasy angles for this game.
Draftstars are offering a number of different contests to suit your style, some of these include:
AFL $50,000+ Saints vs Hawks
AFL $5,000+ Saints vs Hawks High Roller ($150 Entry)
AFL $3,000+ Saints vs Hawks Mini ($2 Entry)
AFL $2,000+ Saints vs Hawks Micro (50c Entry)
Also this season the AFL Star is back for 2026 with a massive $1 million prize pool! Win your way into the Final by winning a Golden Ticket in a range of qualifiers running every weekend!
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: Round 12 – Saints vs Hawks
AFL Fantasy Round Twelve - Thursday: Where to Attack?
The defence vs position data from the last 10 games offers one of the strongest angles in the league to attack in this matchup. St Kilda are the single most generous team in the competition to the attacking half backs and wings this year giving up over 8 points per game above the league average. This trend continues across all back roles, conceding over 2 points per game above average to general defenders and over 6 above average to the designated kicker. This trend of loading up backs against the Saints has been one that has continued for years ever since Ross Lyon took over as coach and we can lock it in on this slate once again.
On the other side of the game, Hawthorn have been one of the hardest teams in the league to score against in 2026, another trend that has also continued on from past seasons. This will lead us to build game scripts around playing Hawks backs and how the rest of it will play out from there. The Hawks are 16 point favourites in this matchup, so expect their forwards to hit the scoreboard and the Saints struggle more with the small forwards rather than key position. Through the midfield I would be looking to split across both teams as St Kilda tend to dominate the ball through this position more than the Hawks who look to move things quickly.
Game Script – Hawks backs and general/small forwards, Saints/Hawks mids
AFL Fantasy Round Twelve - Thursday: Our Value Fantasy Picks
Nick Watson ($8,860) is the standout value play on this slate. Watson has kicked two goals in each of his past two matches against St Kilda, a great head-to-head record. The young Hawk has averaged 66.1 points over his last 10 games in what has been an impressive breakout 2026 season, and with the Saints missing multiple defenders including question marks over Wilkie, the matchup for a sharp, forward-crashing midfielder like Watson is elite. The defence vs position data backs him — St Kilda are giving up over 2 points above average to general forwards. At under $9k he is a lock play with an upside of 100+ shown earlier this year.
Mattaes Phillipou ($9,940) is a genuine low-price option this week, and his form in recent weeks makes him far more interesting than his price tag suggests. At 22% centre bounce attendance on the year, Phillipou is seeing a share of midfield exposure — and Wanganeen-Milera's absence there continues to be opportunity to share around. His last five scores of 77, 76, 66, 78 and 103 average 80 points — excellent value at under $10k — and the form trajectory is clearly trending upward with three of his last four above 75.
AFL Fantasy Round Twelve - Thursday: Our Mid Price Fantasy Picks
Jack Ginnivan ($11,390) should get back to his early season form in this matchup noting that the Saints have trouble with general forwards. Ginnivan does not play like your typical small forward, rather pushing right up the ground from the forward flanks which provides plenty of scoring chances. His running power is unmatched and through the first 8 games he didn't go under 72 fantasy points and topped out at 113 points. If he gets back to that form this mid price point is a solid selection on a single game slate.
AFL Fantasy Round Twelve - Thursday: Our Premium Fantasy Picks
Karl Amon ($14,060) is the most compelling premium play on this slate given the structural matchup advantage he enjoys as Hawthorn's designated kicker operating against the team that gives up the one of the highest points in the league to that role. Prior to last weeks score of 67, Amon had been on one of the better fantasy runs of his career posting a string of four straight games over 105 points and he should be primed to bounce back this week with an elite matchup. Amon is taking between 4 and 8 kick-ins a game to boost his scoring and the big piece will be the level at which the Hawks will possess the ball in the backline based upon the Saints structure. Stack the Hawks back line, and start with Amon.
Max Hall ($13,450) has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the Saints injury to its star midfielder. He has seen an uplift in centre bounce attendnaces the past three weeks starting at 52% and peaking last game at 80%. This has also resulted in a a corresponding lift to his fantasy scoring, which is most important. Hall is averaging 102 points per game over these three matches with a top score of 114 in that same span. He is an absolute gun in the making and this has been his true break out stretch, it will be a tough contest against the Hawks but his price is not quite at where his role currently is.
Suggested Draftstars Lineup for AFL Thursday
Weather Report for Thursday 28th May
Marvel Stadium (Melbourne) — Indoor venue, conditions not applicable. Let’s play!
AFL Betting Markets Round 11 Thursday
St Kilda ($2.85) vs Hawthorn ($1.43)
Points: 180.5
Line: Hawthorn -16.5
Also, be sure to check out our full AFL Thursday Preview and Betting Tips. Our experts break down the game and highlight some key bets that you can follow!
