Round 19 of the 2026 AFL Premiership Season gets underway this Thursday night at GMHBA Stadium as Geelong host St Kilda. Draftstars are offering $50,000 in guaranteed prize money in their main daily fantasy tournament.
This game has all the hallmarks of a complex but richly rewarding single-game slate. Geelong arrive at Kardinia Park having taken a significant injury hit from last week’s game, with seven changes to their lineup including the loss of two premium fantasy players. Jeremy Cameron has hurt his shoulder and is out, removing their primary key forward and Tanner Bruhn is also out with injury, creating a CBA vacancy in the Geelong midfield that will need to be filled from within. St Kilda, by contrast, arrive near full strength with just one change — Hunter Clark coming in for Angus Hastie — continuing the selection consistency that has underpinned their strong form run. The Saints have won four of their last five and with Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera in full flight after a slow start to the season and Bradley Hill in the best form of his life posting back-to-back scores of 159 and 134. The Cats have fallen to ninth on the ladder and will be desperate to get themselves back on track with a finals push, while the Saints are one below in 10th and desperate to stay inside the top 10.
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AFL $50,000+ Thursday
AFL $5,000+ Thursday High Roller ($150 Entry)
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AFL Daily Fantasy Lineup Tips: Round 19 Geelong vs St Kilda
AFL Fantasy Round 19 Thursday: Where to Attack?
Let’s kick things off which what has been the most consistent play in the league over the past few years… backs against the Saints. Ever since Ross Lyon took over as coach his structure has allowed the opposition to overpossess the football in the back half, and I love that play for the Cats down at their home ground where they know how to the work the angles of the unusually shaped ground. The Saints give up the second most points in the league to wings and attacking half backs, and above average points to general defenders and designated kickers. Stack backs aplenty! In addition, they also give up slightly above average scores to key forwards and general forwards, with the Cats coming in as just under 2 goal favourites, this looks like another area to target.
On the flip side, the Cats have been difficult to score against, but with their poor run of form we are seeing some chinks in the armour. They give up slightly above average scores to back positions and general forwards. The gold area to attack is the ruck though, with the Cats getting obliterated at this position conceding over 12 points per game above league average (2nd most in the league).
Game Script – Geelong half backs, wings and forwards, St Kilda ruck, split the midifeld
AFL Fantasy Round 19 Thursday – Our Value Fantasy Picks
Patrick Dangerfield ($9,760) has become a break glass in case of emergency star as his career winds down, but what is certainly evident is he can still do it when needed and this is that occasion. With the Cats in a must-win situation at home and depleted due to injury, I am expecting a huge game from Danger. Two weeks back he put on an absolute show with 124 fantasy points booting 5 goals, and with Cameron out of the lineup I am expecting they will use him as a target down forward this week and we may see similar output.
Tom Stewart ($10,430) has seen his price come down enough that I love him in this matchup. As we noted above, the Saints give up points to backs and I will be stacking up the Cats in this area of the ground. He has provided back to back scores of 76, which is a solid floor at this price point and his upside of 100 would be a big payoff. Look to link him up with other Cats defenders.
AFL Fantasy Round 19 Thursday – Our Mid Price Fantasy Picks
Mattaes Phillipou ($11,500) looks to be finally over his injuries that have ravaged his AFL career so far and has been reinstated into the midfield role in recent weeks that has been long spruiked over the last three years. He has attended over 50% of the Saints center bounces over the last two weeks and this has resulted in back to back scores of 117 (season high) and 84. I love him in this role as a mid price play as the upside is there and the Cats ground typically benefits inside contested players. If you are looking for an alternate in this price range, James Worpel ($10,870) has some appeal with the Cats needing inside players to plug the hole left by Tanner Bruhn.
AFL Fantasy Round 19 Thursday – Our Premium Fantasy Picks
Rowan Marshall ($13,630) is the standout premium lock of the entire slate and the ruck matchup is extraordinary. Geelong have been giving up 12.95 points above league average to the ruck — one of the highest ruck concessions in the competition — and without Blicavs it will be down to Mitch Edwards to try and put up any resistance. Marshall steps in as the undisputed number one ruckman in the best individual ruck matchup on the board. He has found his old form again in recent weeks with TDK no longer in the lineup and sharing the ruck duties, evidenced by posting back to back scores of 134 and 118. Marshall is way too cheap for his role, form and matchup. Lock and load.
Max Holmes ($14,890) is the Geelong premium I will be going to given his price point and the matchup here. As noted above, the St Kilda wing and half back leakage is huge and this will suit Holmes completely with his role across half back and pushing into the midfield. He has posted just a single game under 100 points form his last five matches and he absolutely loves it down at GHMBA Stadium where he has four straight games over 100. Bailey Smith ($17,510) also totally suits the matchup and if you can fit him in price wise they would make a great pairing.
Suggested Draftstars Lineup for AFL Fantasy Round 19 Thursday
Weather Report for Thursday, 16th July
GMHBA Stadium (Geelong) — 10 degrees, clear. Cold winter evening with no weather concerns. Good scoring conditions under lights at Kardinia Park.
AFL Betting Markets Round 19 Thursday
Geelong ($1.56) vs St Kilda ($2.44)
Points: 181.5
Line: Geelong -11.5
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!
