AFL Round 21’s feature matchup this Friday night is an absolute blockbuster with Adelaide hosting Hawthorn at Adelaide Oval. The Crows have surged into flag favourites in recent weeks and now sitting just one win behind the Magpies for top spot. Meanwhile the Hawks are looking storm their way into the top four currenlty sitting in 5th position and just percentage points behind Geelong in fourth. Games don’t get much bigger than this at the pointy end of the season.
As always this is all about the daily fantasy and this massive Friday night game draws another massive $50,000 prize pool at Draftstars in their main contest. In addition, there are a variety of alternate contests:
AFL $50,000+ Crows vs Hawks
AFL $5,000+ Crows vs Hawks High Roller ($150 Entry)
AFL $3,000+ Crows vs Hawks Mini ($2 Entry)
AFL Daily Fantasy Lineup Tips: Round 21 Adelaide vs Hawthorn
AFL Fantasy Round 21 Adelaide vs Hawthorn: Where to Attack?
This is a brutal matchup for a positional targeting point of view as both teams are very stingy across the board. No surprises with Adelaide sitting second on the ladder and being one of the toughest teams in the league to score against. Over the last ten games they have restricted opponents to lowest fantasy scores for key forwards in the league, second lowest for general forwards and third lowest for inside mids. This means all attacking avenues have been cut off and on top of that they're also average in attacking half back positions and designated kickers. The only position above average (by less than a point) is general defender.
Hawthorn are not much different. Over this same time span they have below average points in every position on the ground except for the ruck where they are giving up the second most points in the league.
Game Script – Love the Crows at home – Adelaide midfielders and forwards, Hawks backs
AFL Fantasy Round 21 Adelaide vs Hawthorn: Our Value Fantasy Picks
Brayden Cook ($6,210) is fresh off a 57 point game. I love this play this week at close to the minimum price point. This game is very hard to find value and Cook allows free spending at other positions. He should get some run up on the wings and further up the ground and given it is a single entry game, will not need a big score to offer enough value.
Jack Scrimshaw ($9,550) is more of a matchup play than on form. The Crows a rare matchup that will force the Hawks key backs to matchup, which should leave Scrimshaw free to rack up more disposals than in typical games. He has shown a ceiling of just under 90 points this season.
AFL Fantasy Round 21 Adelaide vs Hawthorn: Our Mid Price Fantasy Picks
Wayne Milera ($11,980) is just great value based on form. He has really settled into the half back role for the Crows and posted three 100+ point games from his last four outings. He is taking the odd kick in, but the Crows essentially spread this duty across the board without having a specified designated kicker.
Izak Rankine ($11,170) has seen his price drop from earlier in the season with a reduction in output as his midfield time has been reduced. That said, even in this role he has over 100 point upside which is a great return at this price point. Rankine should also take advantage of the Hawks backline that is much more setup to defend opposition talls than smalls. He notched up 81 points against the Hawks earlier in the season, which is pretty much the floor I would expect in this game.
AFL Fantasy Round 21 Adelaide vs Hawthorn: Our Premium Fantasy Picks
Reilly O’Brien ($13,790) is the obvious ruck play on matchup data alone. He is one of the hardest rucks in the league to score against giving up the fifth fewest points in the league opponents over the last 10 games. On the flip side, as we noted at the top, Meek is giving up the second most points. O’Brien has also been in solid form with a 103 point game last week and 126 ceiling game three weeks ago.
Here’s our Suggested Draftstars Lineup for Adelaide vs Hawthorn
Weather Report for Friday 1st August
Adelaide – 15 degrees and partly cloudy. Perfect for football.
AFL Betting Markets Round 21 Friday
Adelaide ($1.40) vs Hawthorn ($2.96)
Points: 165.5
Line: Adelaide 15.5
Also, be sure to check out our full AFL Preview and Betting Tips for each match. Our experts break down each individual game and highlight some key bets that you can follow!
