Another super Saturday of fantasy AFL awaits with a full suite of four cracking AFL matches for us to enjoy. First up, we head to Mars to kick things off as the Bulldogs host the Power in Ballarat - two teams that are in great form and should provide a fantastic match. The Crows welcome the Blues to Adelaide for the afternoon match before two night matches wrap up the day’s action. The MCG will witness a battle of the heavyweights between the Pies and Cats, while the Eagles will be hunting their first win of the season against the Dees.
As always this is all about the daily fantasy and this massive Saturday slate draws another massive $60,000 prize pool at Draftstars in it’s main contest. In addition, there are a variety of alternate contests:
AFL $60,000+ Saturday
AFL $5,000+ Saturday High Roller ($150 Entry)
AFL $3,000+ Saturday Mini ($2 Entry)
The AFL Star contest is back again for 2025 and Draftstars are once again offering the biggest prize pool in Australian DFS history with a $1 million guaranteed final with $250,000 top prize! There are qualifiers and satellites running for every AFL match.
Betting Markets
Western Bulldogs ($1.35) vs Port Adelaide ($3.22)
Line: Bulldogs -20.5
Points: 170.5
Adelaide ($1.50) vs Carlton ($2.60)
Line: Adelaide -12.5
Points: 174.5
Collingwood ($1.50) vs Geelong ($2.60)
Line: Collingwood -11.5
Points: 172.5
West Coast ($2.79) vs Melbourne ($1.45)
Line: Melbourne -14.5
Points: 160.5
If you’re looking to bet on the AFL this season, then you can bet with PlayUp by using the same account that you have at Draftstars. PlayUp are Australian owned and offer a strong range of AFL betting markets and offers, including Same Game Multis.
Additionally, we have full AFL Round 8 Betting Previews where we provide our best bet for each game as well as a great value Same Game Multi!
Weather
Ballarat - Mostly cloudy, 16 degrees.
Adelaide - Cloudy, 23 degrees.
Melbourne - Mostly cloudy, 20 degrees.
Perth - Light rain, 21 degrees.
No issues with the weather around the country this Saturday. Some light rain in Perth in the morning but should clear prior to the night match.
Where to Attack?
The West Coast Eagles have been the team to attack this season as they have been the league’s worst in conceding points to opposition forwards. The only stat that is in their favour in this one is that they are only 14.5 point underdogs. That's much closer than most of their matches so maybe they can hold their own in this one! The Eagles also concede above average points to opposition midfielders, and are the league worst in the ruck where they have a match up against the premier ruckman in the competition in Max Gawn. Melbourne stacks will be a popular play but the Dees have been hard to trust this season as well.
Melbourne themselves have been leaky in a number of areas this season. They are above average to opposition key forwards and inside midfielders, while they are among the league worst for points to opposition wings and designated kickers. So a contrarian game script might be to look at a possible Eagles win.
If you’re looking for an alternative in the ruck, Geelong is also one of the worst for conceding points to the opposition. They’ve used a mixture of Sam De Koning and Rhys Stanley this season, but Collingwood’s Darcy Cameron should enjoy the match up.
There’s not a lot of areas to exploit in the other matches.
Adelaide and Port Adelaide have been particularly tough for opposition to score fantasy points against this season.
The only other area you may like to consider is against the Bulldogs who have given up significant points to opposition key forwards. They did switch out their key defenders last match for an improved result, but big Power forwards may be in play.
Game script: Melbourne forwards and ruck, Eagles wings and defenders
VALUE PLAYS
Oscar Allen ($7,500) might not be an obvious play but the price looks right for a potential bounce back game. Allen has been playing in defence, but I think either end of the ground might work for him against a Melbourne team who can leak points. Should provide us with a solid base of marks to hit value, and if the Eagles are in the game, he could push forward to kick a couple of goals as well.
MID PRICED PLAYS
Tom Sparrow ($10,240) might be the one to get more midfield time this week with Clayton Oliver not on the plane to Perth. Sparrow was good last week, albeit against a weak Tigers team, but he still pumped out 111 fantasy score on the back of 11 tackles. That would be a great score at this price point. Alternatively, you might like to look at Harvey Langford ($9,580) or Caleb Windsor ($9,210) at around the same price for a potential boosted role.
Mitch Georgiades ($10,850) is turning into one of the premier key forwards in the competition. He has been huge for Port and looks menacing every time he goes near the ball. Has 17 goals so far this season, and plucked 10 marks for a 94 last week, yet his price has come down! Gets a weakened Bulldogs defence this week, so I expect him to go well.
Tim Kelly ($11,980) has had a poor season by his standards, even with some time in the WAFL to think about things. However he’s still a classy, valuable player for the Eagles and has a good match up here against the Dees. At his best, he’s a tier one midfielder but he’s at a price point that offers us some value for an upswing. Had a ton earlier in the season against the Lions, so we’d love him to rediscover that form here.
PREMIUM PLAYS
Max Gawn ($17,780) is easily the highest-priced player on the Draftstars slate but I want him on my side as he could be in for an enormous evening against Matt Flynn and the Eagles. Gawn has been excellent recently with scores of 138, 125 and 118 in his last three and has been single-handedly carrying the load for the Dees. This is a game they need to win and you feel that Maxy will be giving his all to ensure victory. It should be another 130+ score, but you just need to find the budget to afford him.
Suggested Draftstars Team
