Round 7 in the AFL continues on Friday 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.
Richmond will host Melbourne this Friday night at the MCG as the ANZAC round coninutes. Richmond arrive at the MCG having now lost 11 consecutive matches going back to last year and are coming off another heavy defeat to North Melbourne. The Tigers have been averaging just 56 points across their last five games while conceding well over 100, and will now be without Tim Taranto meaning their best and most reliable fantasy midfielder and primary centre bounce attender will need to be accounted for. The Tigers will welcome two debutants to the MCG stage — highly touted midfielder Sam Cumming and SSP recruit Tom Burton both pull on the yellow and black for the first time.
Melbourne have been the surprise packet of 2026 under new coach Steven King, sitting at 4-2 and coming off a notable scalp of back-to-back premiers Brisbane Lions last weekend at the MCG. Max Gawn continues to lead the competition's ruckmen, while fellow superstar Kysaiah Pickett is in the form of his career. Melbourne are heavy favourites in this matchup and there should be plenty of game stacking opporunities for daily fantasy players.
Draftstars are offering a number of different contests to suit your style, some of these include:
AFL $60,000+ Tigers vs Demons
AFL $5,000+ Tigers vs Demons High Roller ($150 Entry)
AFL $3,000+ Tigers vs Demons Mini ($2 Entry)
AFL $2,000+ Tigers vs Demons 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 Seven – Richmond vs Melbourne
AFL Fantasy Round Seven - Friday: Where to Attack?
The data from the last five games makes the attacking angles on this slate exceptionally clear, noting that it is a small sample size.
It is no shock that Richmond have been giving up over 14 points per game to key forwards given that they are yet to win a game this season. This is the highest mark in the AFL and with Melbourne over 6 goal favourites in this single game slate, this makes for an obvious area to start our builds. Surprisingly this has not continued through the midfield with The Tigers only giving up league average scoring through this position, however they are conceding above average scores across all back roles.
On the flip side, Melbourne have been one of the stingiest teams in the league to inside mids and to rucks. Their defence has been relatively solid to key forwards as well. But where they do leak points is to the back line. They are giving up the second most points in the league to wings and half backs, the second most to general defenders and the most to designated kickers. So this makes for a very clear game script of stacking up the Melbourne forwards and midfielders and offsetting that with the Tigers backs.
Game Script – Melbourne forwards & midfielders, Tigers defenders
AFL Fantasy Round Seven - Friday: Our Value Fantasy Picks
Koltyn Tholstrup ($9,710) is one of the more interesting value plays this week after moving into Melbourne's backline last week after starting the season as a tagger. The critical fantasy angle this week is his kick-in role, as with Christian Salem out of the lineup Tholstrup took 10 of Melbourne's kick-ins last week for a 70 point fantasy return. This is a more friendly fantasy matchup for that role with Richmond giving up 7 points above league average to the designated kicker position this season.
Jacob van Rooyen ($9,540) should round out the forward end of the Melbourne game stacks. He's Melbourne's primary key forward and has been in solid touch through 2026, kicking six goals against St Kilda in Round 1, a performance that announced his arrival as a dangerous target in that end of the ground. The matchup this week is as good as it gets for his position. Richmond have been giving up 14 points above league average to key forwards in 2026, the worst concession rate to that position in the entire competition, and in a game where Melbourne are 38.5-point favourites and expected to generate relentless inside 50 entries all evening, Van Rooyen will be receiving heavy delivery in a dominant game script from start to finish.
Sam Cumming ($6,000) is the cheapest play to look to on this slate, which makes opening for more premiums in your roster. Richmond's Pick 7 in the 2025 draft makes his AFL debut on the MCG stage on Friday night and steps directly into an elevated role with Tim Taranto out, pointing to genuine centre bounce time for a player whose entire game is built around contested midfield work. His VFL form heading into this debut has been outstanding — 30 disposals, five inside 50s, five marks, two clearances, a goal and best afield against the AFL Academy last Saturday. His development coaches have compared him to Isaac Heeney for his ability to combine inside midfield grunt with forward impact, and his "fast feet around stoppages" and "inside-to-out" ball use are precisely the attributes that generate fantasy points from a midfield role.
AFL Fantasy Round Seven - Friday: Our Premium Fantasy Picks
Max Gawn ($18,460) is the first name on the team sheet for every lineup on this slate and the most dominant individual play available. He has posted 93, 108 and 121 in his last three games for an average of 107 points and faces a Richmond ruck combination that have been giving up over 7 points per game above league average this season. While he is priced as the most expensive player on the slate, he has shown a 140+ point ceiling already this year and this is the type of single game matchup where Gawn can break the slate, especially considering he is one of the hardest ruckman in the league to score against as well.
Jayden Short ($14,390) is the standout premium play from the Richmond side and the data makes the case decisively. Melbourne have been giving up over 13 points above league average to the designated kicker position in 2026 (the most in the league) and Short has led his club in kick-ins consistently throughout the year. His 2026 form backs this play up, averaging 102 points this season, his best scoring rate in years,. He is arguably the only Richmond player whose individual fantasy ceiling is genuinely elite regardless of game script but in this matchup there is an added boost for scoring potential.
Kysaiah Pickett ($15,860) is in career-best form in 2026, posting 80, 124 and 98 in his last three games, and the Richmond matchup presents one of the most favourable individual angles on the slate for his role. The Tigers have been giving up above league average to inside midfielders, and the Demons are expected to hit the scoreboard heavily as over 6 goal favourites allowing for Kozzie to rack up fantasy points in both areas of the ground. I will be starting my Melbourne stacks here in the middle where Pickett has been a revelation this season attending over 70% of their centre bounces.
Suggested Draftstars Lineup for AFL Fantasy Round 7 Friday
Weather Report for Friday 24th April
MCG (Melbourne) — 17 degrees, partly cloudy, no rain expected
AFL Betting Markets Round 7 Friday
Richmond ($6.05) vs Melbourne ($1.13)
Points: 187.5
Line: Melbourne -38.5
Also, be sure to check out our full AFL Friday Preview and Betting Tips. Our experts break down the game and highlight some key bets that you can follow!
