Friday night footy for Round 9 for the 2025 AFL Premiership season delivers a classic Victorian clash between two sides fighting for their finals lives this season in St Kilda and Carlton. St Kilda are currently 10th of the ladder and coming off a huge win last week against Fremtanle, while Carlton took another step back in their season with a loss last week against Adelaide pushing them back down to 13th. A win in this match will be crucial for both sides in getting closer to a coveted top eight spot.
As always this is all about the daily fantasy and this massive Friday night game draws another massive $60,000 prize pool at Draftstars in their main contest. In addition, there are a variety of alternate contests:
AFL $60,000+ Saints vs Blues
AFL $5,000+ Saints vs Blues High Roller ($150 Entry)
AFL $3,000+ Saints vs Blues 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
St Kilda ($2.26) vs Carlton ($1.64)
Line: Carlton -6.5
Points: 164.5
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 a full St Kilda vs Carlton Betting Preview where we provide our best bet for the game as well as a great value Same Game Multi!
Weather
18 degrees and sunny. Perfect conditions for football. Let's play!
Where to Attack?
St Kilda continue to be a great team to target for fantasy scoring. They are giving up the second most points in the league to attacking backs at over 10 points per game above league average, a trend that has existed righ through Ross Lyon’s tenure at the side. In addition, they continue to give up above average points to all other back positions including general defenders and the designated kicker.
Both Carlton and St Kilda giving up above average points to inside midfielders, with the Saints conceding just under 5 points per game above league average, while Carlton are giving up just under 3 points per game above league average.
Game Script – Carlton backs, split midfield and Carlton forwards
VALUE PLAYS
Lachlan Cowan ($7,780)… love looking for value plays across the Carlton back line in my stacks this week. Given the elite matchup against St Kilda and that it is a single game slate, this looks like a great avenue to attack. Cowan has shown ability to provide a solid return in this price range and he will be my go to value play as I pair him up with a more expensive Carlton defender.
Hugh Boxshall ($8,340) came in last week and attended 39% of their centre bounces and saw time on the wing as well. He returned a fantasy score of 74 points, which was an elite return when he was the minimum price, but off that result things have jumped slightly this week. He is still a great value option on a single game slate if he continues to get that role and he showed plenty of potential. There will be a bit more of a log jam this week for midfield roles at St Kilda so consider whether that, and the increased price, still makes him a good play.
MID PRICED PLAYS
Hugo Garcia ($9,960) / Mattaes Phillipou ($10,640) …as discussed last week this is going to be an interesting consideration on this slate. Last week we didn’t have to make a call in the end as Philippou withdrew and Garcia went on to attend 78% of the Saints centre bounces and provide a great fantasy return of 84 points.
Phillipou remains at around the same price point and will be playing his first game of the season after getting injured in the preseason. But coming into the year he was expected to be one of the biggest breakout candidates in the league after finishing 2024 in the midfield. There is no reason to believe he won’t be getting midfield time now, however it might be a bit more of a split with a forward role as he works his way back.
Ollie Hollands ($12,530) has started to find the fantasy form many were expecting coming in to this season playing across half back. He has topped 83 fantasy points in four of his last five games, including a 104 point performance two weeks ago. As noted several times in this preview, Saints are one of the best teams to target for attacking half backs and wings who float back so stacking up Hollands with other Carlton backs looks an elite play. It would also be worth considering Mitch McGovern ($10,890) as the Blues primary designated kicker and Blake Acres ($11,990) who loves to float back on the wing.
PREMIUM PLAYS
Sam Walsh (14,890) …absolutely love this matchup for Walsh. Saints tick all the boxes for his game play giving up points both on the inside and outside. He has a great history recently against them with three of his last four games against St Kilda topping the 100 point mark and his last two in particular posting 122 and 131.
Suggested Draftstars Team
