Round 3 of the 2026 AFL Premiership Season gets underway this Thursday night with another huge daily fantasy contest on offer from Draftstars with over $60,000 in guaranteed prize money in their main daily fantasy tournament.
For this matchup we head down to GMHBA Stadium where Geelong host Adelaide in what shapes as a fascinating contest given the circumstances surrounding both teams heading into it. The Cats come off an early bye after a mixed start to the season, while the Crows have been competitive but now head into this game off a loss last week the Western Bulldogs and are facing several injury concerns.
The big news out of the Adelaide camp is the loss of skipper Jordan Dawson (calf) to go with already injured Rory Laird (calf), two of their most fantasy-relevant players, along with the absences of Callum Ah Chee (hamstring) and Taylor Walker (rest). That is a massive four players out of the Adelaide lineup, which creates a wave of opportunity throughout the Crows' midfield and forward line for us daily fantasy players. For Geelong, skipper Patrick Dangerfield is confirmed out with a calf strain while James Worpel will miss again.
There is also a significant weather story to keep an eye on with up to 10mm of rain forecast in Geelong on Thursday night, which historically suppresses scoring at this ground considerably.
Draftstars are offering a number of different contests to suit your style, some of these include:
AFL $60,000+ Cats vs Crows
AFL $5,000+ Cats vs Crows High Roller ($150 Entry)
AFL $3,000+ Cats vs Crows Mini ($2 Entry)
AFL $2,000+ Cats vs Crows 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 3 – Geelong vs Adelaide
AFL Fantasy Round 3 - Thursday: Where to Attack?
We are only in Round 3 so we continue to lean on trends from the back half of the 2025 season to guide our decision making, while blending in what we have seen through the first two rounds of 2026.
The headline story for this slate as mentioned at the top is the mass of key outs from the Adelaide lineup. With Dawson, Laird, Ah Chee and Walker all out, there is CBA time, uncontested opportunity off half back and general midfield/forward responsibility up for grabs across the Crows' roster. From a matchup perspective, Geelong were one of the harder teams to score against overall last season, however they did concede above average points to inside midfielders and the ruck through the back half of 2025 and into this year, which gives us a clear angle to attack.
Looking at Adelaide's defensive matchup, they gave up above average points to opposition wings and attacking half backs last season, which is a great setup for Geelong's ball-using defenders and half-back operators like Tanner Bruhn and Tom Stewart. They have also conceded points in the ruck, noting that given the weather expectations and the nature of the GHMBA ground things could get quite contested.
The major weather warning is worth factoring into your lineup construction. With significant rain expected, contested, inside ball-winners tend to hold their value better in wet conditions while outside and disposal-dependent players can fall short of their ceiling. Furthermore, the key position players are likely to go under their usual output.
Game Script – Inside midfielders (focus on Crows) and rucks from both sides, Geelong half backs and small forwards who love to tackle
AFL Fantasy Round 3 - Thursday: Our Value Fantasy Picks
Finnbar Maley ($6,000) is making his debut for the Crows this week as a forward and back-up ruck option. Maley shapes as the primary ruck option off the bench behind fellow youngster Lachlan McAndrew. For a minimum-priced player getting ruck time on a ground that favours stoppages and ruck scoring, with pending rain conditions, against a Geelong outfit that has conceded above average ruck scores in recent seasons, this is a classic lock and load value play on a single-game slate. He brings a solid fantasy floor from his handful of games to date averaging 45 points in games where he wasn’t the sub, but in a good matchup with ruck minutes you can see a ceiling that would return value at this minimum price point. From a Geelong point of view, Mitchell Edwards ($7,290) looks an obvious play in the ruck from a value perspective coming off a 65% centre bounce attendance against Fremantle.
Mitch Knevitt ($7,780) is a value option up forward that's worth considering with Geelong expected to win this matchup comfortably. I love this play as much for the weather as anything. Knevitt can win the contested ball and tackle which is where this contest will head rather than being a leading forward night.
AFL Fantasy Round 3 - Thursday: Our Mid Price Fantasy Picks
Sam Berry ($11,830) is one of the clear beneficiaries of the Adelaide injury carnage and has been in strong form this season, posting 108 and 89 in his first two games. He has been the Crows' primary inside midfielder through the first two rounds attending around 70% of their centre bounces. With Dawson now out, Berry's load should only increase further and he is already returning value at his current price. Even in a potential wet weather, lower-scoring game, Berry's inside work (tackling and contested ball) means he holds floor value well.
James Peatling ($10,120) / Jake Soligo ($10,250) are two of the more interesting mid-priced plays on this slate given the opportunity that has opened up in the Adelaide midfield following the loss of Jordan Dawson. Looking at the CBA data, Dawson was attending 71% of the Crows' centre bounces across the first two rounds which now needs to be redistributed. Peatling attended 52% of CBAs in Round 1 before dropping back to 29% in Round 2, suggesting his role has been somewhat rotational, but with two of the primary CBA attendees now gone he should see a significant lift this week.
Soligo tells a similar story, jumping from 37% in Round 1 to 52% in Round 2 as his role has been building nicely, and we have a really compelling historical data point to lean on here; during 2024 when Dawson was out of the side, Soligo's average increased by 12 points per game, which is a significant uplift.
Both players are inside midfielders whose scoring is driven by contested ball, clearances and tackles, which also makes them well suited to the wet conditions expected at GMHBA on Thursday night. At these price points you don't need a massive game from either — anything in the 85-95 range would represent excellent value on a single-game slate. If you are building an Adelaide-heavy lineup to take advantage of the midfield carnage, stacking these two together as your mid-priced engine room is a very viable construction.
AFL Fantasy Round 3 - Thursday: Our Premium Fantasy Picks
Tanner Bruhn ($13,690) continues to be one of the most fantasy-relevant players in the competition this season in his half-back role for Geelong, averaging 96 points through two games with scores of 94 and 98. As we noted in the where to attack section, Adelaide have historically conceded above average points to opposition wings and attacking half backs, which is exactly the position Bruhn is operating from for the Cats this season. We got a really clear look at just how damaging this role can be for Bruhn's fantasy output earlier this year when he posted 108 points in the Opening Round preview game. I also love the conditions for his style of play with this game. He has floated through the inside mid at times already this season and he was naturally recruited for that role, which means the wet weather should suite if it hits.
Tom Atkins ($13,680) is shaping up as one of the best value premium plays on the slate given both his role and the matchup. He is Geelong's workhorse inside midfielder who goes about his business accumulating contested possessions, clearances and tackles, which is exactly the type of scoring profile that holds up and even improves in wet weather conditions. He has averaged 84 points through two games this season and has a strong recent record against Adelaide. Adelaide have conceded above average points to inside midfielders over the last 10 games, and it's hard to find a better matchup for a player of Atkins' profile anywhere on the slate this week.
Suggested Draftstars Lineup for AFL Fantasy Round 3 - Thursday
*Brad Close has since been omitted. Consider pivoting to Jyhe Clark ($6,210), Oisin Mullin ($6,000), or Oliver Wiltshire ($6,000)*
Weather Report for Thursday 26th March
14 degrees with significant rain forecast (up to 3-10mm)
AFL Betting Markets Round 3 Thursday
Odds: Geelong ($1.22) vs Adelaide ($4.35)
Points: 165.5
Line: -25.5
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!
