Round 17 of the 2026 AFL season continues this Friday night with a two-game slate featuring Sydney vs Western Bulldogs at the SCG and West Coast vs Adelaide at Optus Stadium. Draftstars are offering over $50,000 in guaranteed prize money in their main daily fantasy tournament.
Friday night serves up a fascinating two-game slate with contrasting game scripts and a rich player pool across both matches. At the SCG, Sydney host the Western Bulldogs in what shapes as the contest of the round — two of the competition’s most dynamic midfield attacks colliding at a premium fantasy venue. Sydney are 16.5-point favourites but the Bulldogs are back to full strength in the midfield with Bontempelli, Liberatore and Richards all in the lineup together. At Optus Stadium, West Coast host Adelaide in a game that offers some of the most compelling fantasy value on the slate. Adelaide will be looking for a bounce back after a shock loss to Port last week and are heavy favourites away from home. The Crows arrive missing Ben Keays (suspension), while Jordan Dawson is averaging 120 across his last three games.
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AFL $50,000+ Friday
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AFL Daily Fantasy Lineup Tips: Round 17 Friday Night Slate
AFL Fantasy Round 17 Friday: Where to Attack?
Both games on this slate have clear directional angles and the matchup data supports a specific building approach for each.
At the SCG, the headline matchup angle is emphatically in favour of the Swans players despite expecting a relatively competitive match. The Western Bulldogs have been giving up above average points to both forward positions and the midfield, which creates a nice lean to the Swans stacks given they are just under three goal favourites. The area of the ground I am really keying in on, however, is the back line. The Bulldogs have been giving up over 10 points per game to wings and attacking half backs (the second most in the league), and over 6 points per game above league average to the designated kickers. Full back Swans stacks is the play here.
At Optus Stadium it is no shock that we will be looking for a Crows stack. Coming in as aver 5 goal favourites and with West Coast sitting 16th on the ladder we have a number of avenues to attack. The Eagles have been giving up above average points to general forwards, huge scores to rucks (over 10 points above average) and across the back line.
Game Script – Adelaide midfielders and forwards, Sydney backs
AFL Fantasy Round 17 Friday – Our Value Fantasy Picks
Oliver Francou ($6,000) is the most intriguing minimum-price dart on the Friday slate and his story is one of the more compelling mid-season narratives in 2026. A mid-season draft selection, Francou has been absolutely dominant in the WAFL since joining West Coast's system — accumulating disposals at an elite rate and forcing the selection conversation to the point where he earns his AFL debut on Friday night at Optus Stadium. There are no AFL scores to reference and no opponent history to lean on, which means the case here is built purely on role, price and matchup. At $6,000 he is minimum salary — the cheapest possible play on the slate — which means any score at all is salary relief and any score above 40 is a genuine win for the slot. As a mature recruit I expect him to get centre bounce attendances for the Eagles who will need his size and strength in the middle.
AFL Fantasy Round 17 Friday – Our Mid Price Fantasy Picks
Josh Rachele ($10,930) is the mid-price forward play of the Optus Stadium game and two factors align to make him compelling on Friday night. The first is the matchup — West Coast have been giving up 4.27 points above league average to general forwards and Rachele's combination of goal-kicking, forward half pressure and occasional midfield drift generates scoring from exactly the positions the Eagles have been leaking. The second is game script. Adelaide are installed as over 30-point favourites in this contest and in a game where the Crows are expected to dominate territory and flood the ball forward relentlessly, Rachele's inside-50 opportunities and scoring chains should be at their highest of the season.
Riley Thilthorpe ($11,110) is the key forward play to target in the Optus Stadium game against an Eagles depleted defense with star key back Ginbey still out with injury. The Eagles will have no matchup to negate Thilthorpe's aerial marking game in a game where Adelaide are 30-point favourites His opponent scores against West Coast of 80, 113 and 70 average 87.7 in this matchup — that 113 a standout ceiling score that was delivered in conditions where Thilthorpe was well-matched and still dominated.
AFL Fantasy Round 17 Friday – Our Premium Fantasy Picks
Jordan Dawson ($17,310) is the standout mid-price play on the slate — though at $17,310 his price is edging toward premium territory, it remains below what his current form deserves. He has posted 108, 97, 156, 131 and 131 in his last five for a last-three average of 120 — one of the most dominant recent scoring runs of any player in the competition. His opponent scores against West Coast of 147, 139 and 123 across his last three meetings average 136.3 — the highest opponent-specific average of any player on the entire Friday slate. His Optus Stadium venue scores of 108, 100, 100, 105, 147, 139 and 123 average 117.4. Now matter which was you look at it Dawon should dominate this matchup especially with the Crows as heavy favourites. Stack him up with their forwards and you have the perfect game script for this one.
Nick Blakey ($13,600) is the designated kicker premium lock of the SCG game and the matchup case is one of the strongest on the entire Friday slate. The Western Bulldogs have been giving up 6.91 points above league average to designated kickers — the third highest concession to that position in the competition — and Blakey is Sydney's primary kick-in operator and rebound half-back, generating scoring from virtually every Bulldogs score across the four quarters. His SCG venue history is extraordinary: scores of 105, 87, 146, 80 and 120 across five appearances at this ground average 107.6, including that 146 as a career-best performance that confirms exactly what is available when the matchup and his home ground align.
Suggested Draftstars Lineup for AFL Fantasy Round 17 Friday
Weather Report for Friday 3rd July
SCG (Sydney) — 14 degrees, clear. Mild winter evening, no weather concerns.
Optus Stadium (Perth) — 13 degrees, clear. Perfect conditions for a Friday night game under lights.
AFL Betting Markets Round 17 Friday
Sydney ($1.58) vs Western Bulldogs ($2.40)
Points: 184.5
Line: Sydney -16.5
Adelaide ($1.16) vs West Coast ($5.10)
Points: 173.5
Line: Adelaide -31.5
Also, be sure to check out our full AFL Friday Preview and Betting Tips. Our experts break down each game and highlight some key bets that you can follow!
