Round 21 of the 2026 AFL Premiership Season kicks off this Thursday night at the MCG with one of the great rivalries in football as Collingwood host Geelong. Draftstars are offering $50,000 in guaranteed prize money in their main daily fantasy tournament.
Both sides come into this one with plenty at stake. Collingwood are now one of the in form sides in the competition winning six streak games since the bye and have worked their way into eight position on the ladder. Geelong are in desperate need of stablisation after a mid season free fall down the ladder. They have been able to win their last two games to help right the ship and are sitting just below the Magpies in ninth. A matchup between 8th and 9th as we head towards the finals run doesn’t get much bigger, especially when it is an all Victorian affair. The Magpies have made one enforced change, bringing in Lachie Schultz for the injured Brayden Maynard. Geelong’s only change sees Jack Martin come in for the injured Patrick Dangerfield, which is a more significant loss for the Cats given Dangerfield’s capacity to generate contested ball and midfield scoring.
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AFL $50,000+ Thursday at Draftstars
AFL $5,000+ Thursday High Roller ($150 Entry) at Draftstars
AFL $3,000+ Thursday Mini ($2 Entry) at Draftstars
AFL $2,000+ Thursday Micro (50c Entry) at Draftstars
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!
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AFL Daily Fantasy Lineup Tips: Round 21 Collingwood vs Geelong
AFL Fantasy Round 21 Thursday: Where to Attack?
We have to start things off with the ruck position here as we have the two top teams in the competition for conceding fantasy scores to ruckman. Geelong have been giving up over 20 points above league average to the ruck, which is just an incredible number and the highest in the league by far. Meanwhile, Collingwood have been giving up the second most at over 12 points above league average. It is easy to understand why the Cats are beaten so soundly in this position given they don’t have any stable player manning the role, but the Magpies number is much more surprising with Darcy Cameron at the helm.
Despite their winning streak, Collingwood have still been conceding scores with above average fantasy points to both small and key forwards, around league average to midfielders and above average to wing, half backs and designated kickers. You can almost roster any position on the field against Collingwood and be in a solid position.
Geelong on the other hand have been locking down on forwards, but giving up average fantasy scores to midfielders and above average to wings, half backs, and general defenders. This game will likely be more of a game script decision than pure positional plays and the bookies have Geelong as 4.5 point favourites.
Game Script – Geelong forwards, Geelong backs, mix the midfielders, Collingwood ruck
AFL Fantasy Round 21 Thursday – Our Value Fantasy Picks
Jhye Clark ($8,960) looks to have finally found himself a role at the senior level for Geelong playing across half back. While it’s the area all failed midfielders typically find themselves in, all we care about is whether it is giving us fantasy scores. Clark has established a floor over 60+ and showed the upside this role can produce with a 98 point game two weeks ago. This is a solid matchup against Collingwood for half backs so take advantage of the value price.
Shannon Neale ($9,150) has taken the reins as the top key forward target at the Geelong with Jeremy Cameron out with injury. Last week we saw this produce 82 fantasy points in their win over the Demons and I expect similar returns on the cards in a game where the Cats are slight favourites against the Magpies. As noted above, the Magpies are giving up just over 3 points above league average to key forwards making this a strong matchup for Neale’s position.
AFL Fantasy Round 21 Thursday – Our Mid Price Fantasy Picks
Lawson Humphries ($12,430) let's stack up the backs with the Cats top designated kicker off half back. Humphries offers us that 100 point ceiling but always brings a risk of a score in the 70 point range. If I am stacking up the Cats backs though I will start with him, taking the majority of the kick-ins for Geelong he gets that extra scoring boost.
AFL Fantasy Round 21 Thursday – Our Premium Fantasy Picks
Darcy Cameron ($14,100) has hit his form patch of the season after what has been a bit of an up and down year averaging just 88 fantasy points in 2026. His last three games have seen an average 120 points including a 137 point performance last week. He has settled into the sole ruckman role that he is used to and will draw the greatest matchup in the league and maybe even the century against Geelong’s ruck division this week. Lock and load.
Bailey Smith ($16,690) is the Geelong premium lock and one of the two or three best fantasy players in the competition this season. Scores of 95, 118 and 120 in his last three — the 118 and 120 his two most recent — and his form against Collingwood is outstanding with 127 and 119 in his two most recent games against the Pies. He is first named in any Geelong lineup.
FADE ALERT Nick Daicos ($16,030) will be drawing the toughest tagger in the competition this week as Oisin Mullin will go to him and look to hold him under 100 fantasy points like he did earlier in the season (just one of three occasions this year that Daicos has not topped the 100 point mark). Easy avoid at this price point.
Suggested Draftstars Lineup for AFL Fantasy Round 21 Thursday
Weather Report for Thursday 30th July
MCG (Melbourne) — 9 degrees, clear. Cold winter evening but perfect conditions for Thursday night football.
AFL Betting Markets Round 21 Thursday
Odds: Collingwood ($2.14) vs Geelong ($1.72)
Points: 172.5
Line: Geelong -4.5
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!
