Round 6 of the 2026 AFL Premiership Season will continue this Satruday another huge daily fantasy contest on offer from Draftstars with over $60,000 in guaranteed prize money in their main daily fantasy tournament.
The three game slate kicks off with the afternoon game at Metricon Stadium where Gold Coast host Essendon. The Suns as extraordinary short-priced favourites after making significant changes to their side and welcoming back Christian Petracca and Bailey Humphrey from injury to strengthen the midfield. Noah Anderson is unfortunately sidelined for 1-3 weeks after having surgery to remove his appendix, which will open up gaps in the middle. Essendon arrive on the back of a confidence-boosting upset win over Melbourne last week and make just the one change, with Saad El-Hawli replacing the managed Jaxon Prior. The second game at Marvel Stadium is a high-quality battle between the in-form Hawthorn — winners of four straight since their Opening Round loss — and a Port Adelaide side searching for consistency at 2-3. Hawthorn lose both Mabior Chol and Jack Gunston to injury, while Port bring in Moraes and Visentini with Lukosius out for 6-8 weeks with a groin injury. The night game at Adelaide Oval will be between Adelaide and St Kilda. The Crows have lost substantial power in their midfield with Jordan Dawson and Jake Soligo out for the contest, but this will open up fantasy opporunity. Meanwhile the Saints will be looking to stamp their finals aspirations with a statement win on the road.
Draftstars are offering a number of different contests to suit your style, some of these include:
AFL $60,000+ Saturday
AFL $5,000+ Saturday High Roller ($150 Entry)
AFL $3,000+ Saturday Mini ($2 Entry)
AFL $2,000+ Saturday 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!
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AFL Daily Fantasy Lineup Tips: Round Six – Saturday
AFL Fantasy Round Six - Saturday: Where to Attack?
We are now looking at the trends for the 2026 season with five games in our rear mirror, but lets caveat that with the fact it is still a very small sample size and if you can find a trend that goes back to the prior year… even better.
The first game makes for the perfect game stack opportunity on this slate with Essendon giving up the most points in the league to inside midfielders at a massive 14 points per game above league average. You can combine this with general forwards where they have conceded over 13 points per game above league average. Where I would caution is including the Suns backs given how the Dons are playing this last two weeks by trying to slow the game and possess it in their own back line.
The Hawks should have a positive matchup against Port given they are 40 point favourites. However oddly enough, despite Port’s dismal performance this season they have been conceding few fantasy points with all positions under league average apart form general defenders.
Interestingly, Adelaide have gone from one of the toughest teams in the league to score fantasy points against to one of the easier sides in 2026. They have been conceding above average points to general forwards, inside midfielders and across the back line this year, while St Kilda have been restricting sides apart from general forwards and attacking half backs.
Game Script – Gold Coast forwards and inside midfielders, Adelaide backs (or play back against the Gold Coast team with Essendon backs)
AFL Fantasy Round Six - Saturday: Our Value Fantasy Picks
Mac Andrew ($9,850) is one of the more intriguing value plays on the Saturday slate, and the CBA data from last week makes the case. The athletic 206cm former first-round pick attended 40% of Gold Coast's centre bounces against Sydney last week, splitting the role of ruck with Witts who has been struggling significantly with the new rules this season. He spoke pre-season about his belief in his ability to influence games at the centre bounce under the new ruck rules and has been true to his word, with the Gold Coast coaching staff clearly willing to use him.
Nick Watson ($8,880) is one of the most dangerous low-ownership value plays on the Saturday slate and his price is a gift given what he has been doing in 2026. The 21-year-old small forward has been nothing short of sensational through the opening five rounds, averaging 16 disposals and 2.5 goals per game. While he does attend a small number of centre bounces for Hawthorn which help boost his fantasy output, his primary role as a small forward also matches up well with Port Adelaide who as noted at the top have been giving up one of the highest amounts of points in the league to general forwards this season.
AFL Fantasy Round Six – Saturday: Our Mid Price Fantasy Picks
Kyle Langford ($10,060) has been shifted to the backline for the Bombers early in the season. This has helped switch their in-game approach over the last two weeks with Essendon slowing up the play significantly through possession across the half back line. Langford turned this into a 103 point game at around 10x his value at this price point. Look to stack him up with other Bombers backs as if this game plan continues we can expect to see consistently ceiling scores before their prices catch up.
AFL Fantasy Round Six - Saturday: Our Premium Fantasy Picks
Sam Berry ($12,460) / Josh Rachele ($14,030) are the two players who stand to benefit most from Jordan Dawson's unavailability this week and together they form the cornerstone of the Adelaide game stack against St Kilda on Saturday night. Dawson was attending nearly 70% of Adelaide's centre bounces through the first five rounds — the primary organiser of their on-ball structure and their most influential player by a significant margin. With that volume now redistributed among the remaining midfielders, Berry and Rachele are the two most likely beneficiaries at the centre bounce.
Rachele has already been attending over 50% of Adelaide's CBAs this season and has been in the form of his life, posting 124, 88 and 114 in his last three. Berry has been outstanding through 2026 from his contested inside role, posting 93, 74 and 86. He operates as Adelaide's contested grunt midfielder — the inside bull who wins the hard ball and feeds the outside runners — and in a game where the Adelaide midfield is understaffed, his CBA attendance and work rate should be elevated above the levels we have already seen.
Christian Petracca ($15,680) returns from a hamstring injury and should slot right into the gap left by Noah Anderson. He started this year with a blaze of glory before the injury hit, posting 121 and 108 fantasy points in his first two games. This weeks matchup is elite for his role as noted with the Bombers giving up the most points in the league to inside midfielders. A Gold Coast midfield stack is a great play and there are several options to combine with Petracca.
Archie Roberts ($15,940) has been the revelation of the 2026 season so far and arrives at this game with back-to-back 100+ scores of 164 and 136 that have the entire AFL fantasy community standing up and taking notice. The Essendon defender has developed into one of the most prolific ball-winners in the competition from his half-back role, generating intercept marks, rebound possessions and metres gained at an extraordinary rate. His ceiling of 164 points set just last week makes him arguably the most dangerous individual play on the entire slate at any price point.
Suggested Draftstars Lineup for AFL Fantasy Round Six – Sunday
Weather Report for Saturday 18th April
Metricon Stadium (Gold Coast) — 25 degrees, sunny
Marvel Stadium (Melbourne) — no worries - roof
Adelaide Oval — 20 degrees, partly cloudy
AFL Betting Markets Round Six
Gold Coast ($1.09) vs Essendon ($7.50)
Points: 190.5
Line: Gold Coast -41.5
Hawthorn ($1.10) vs Port Adelaide ($7.50)
Points: 183.5
Line: Hawthorn -40.5
Adelaide ($1.54) vs St Kilda ($2.50)
Points: 177.5
Line: Adelaide -10.5
Also, be sure to check out our full AFL Saturday Preview and Betting Tips. Our experts break down each individual game and highlight some key bets that you can follow!
