Round 5 of the 2026 AFL Premiership Season gets underway this Thursday 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.
Gather Round gets underway at Adelaide Oval where Adelaide host Carlton in what shapes as a lopsided contest in favour of the Crows. Adelaide arrive at this matchup having lost three games by a combined margin of just 16 points — they are a better side than their record suggests and at home in front of their Gather Round crowd, they are serious favourites. The Crows will welcome back Rory Laird from his calf complaint and Isaac Cumming from illness, while key forward Darcy Fogarty is confirmed out with a back injury for another week. Carlton head in under enormous pressure at 1-3, having blown three of four games after leading at half time, and are without Jacob Weitering and Harry Dean through concussion, with multiple further changes flagged by coach Michael Voss ahead of this week. Adelaide are up to six goal favourites 36 point favourites, making this a clear game stack opportunity for daily fantasy players
Draftstars are offering a number of different contests to suit your style, some of these include:
AFL $60,000+ Crows vs Blues
AFL $5,000+ Crows vs Blues High Roller ($150 Entry)
AFL $3,000+ Crows vs Blues Mini ($2 Entry)
AFL $2,000+ Crows vs Blues 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 5 – Adelaide vs Carlton
AFL Fantasy Round 5 - Thursday: Where to Attack?
We continue to lean on the back half of 2025 while blending in what we have seen through the first four rounds of 2026.
The clear attack angle on this slate is Adelaide across most positions on the ground. Carlton gave up above average points to inside midfielders, general forwards, attacking half backs and general defenders over the last 10 games. This along with the fact that the Crows are 34.5 point favourites opens up multiple options for a Crows game stack and stands out as the obvious play on this slate.
Going the other way, Adelaide have been one of the more defensively structured sides when healthy, conceding below average points across most positions. The one avenue to attack the Crows is through rucks where they have given up the most points in the league to the position over the last 10 games.
Game Script – Adelaide forwards, midfielders and half backs
AFL Fantasy Round 5 - Thursday: Our Value Fantasy Picks
Finnbar Maley ($6,770) holds his spot in the Adelaide forward line with Darcy Fogarty missing another week. Maley showed some good moments last week with a couple of big marks and a score of 57, although he still has plenty of work to do with his kicking! WIth Jacob Weitering missing from Carlton due to concussion, their backline is going to be under pressure to contain the big Crow forwards so there could be opportunity for Maley to pluck a few marks. The Crows have also quickly ditched the idea of running with two ruckmen, so Maley may get some moments as a backup ruck option as well. Had 11 hitouts against Geelong two weeks ago.
Jordan Boyd ($8,870) came into the team last week for his first game of the season and was handed the keys as the designated kicker due to his foot skills being a rarity in the Blues backline. He took 6 of Carltons kick ins (the most in the team) and utilised this to deliver an 87 point fantasy game. At his current price that level of output would be a huge return in a single game slate.
AFL Fantasy Round 5 - Thursday: Our Mid Price Fantasy Picks
Izak Rankine ($10,790) is a player I will keep coming back to at this price, with over 100 point upside he is nicely priced in the 10k range after a disastrous start to the year. In the second half last week they played him more through the midfield and that is usually his key to fantasy success. But in this matchup with the Crows heavy favourites he should also have plenty of opportunity to hit the score board up forward.
Josh Rachele ($12,830) has been attending over 50% of the Crows center bounces this season and returning an average of 92 points per game. His upside has been exposed at a season high of 114 points and I love him in this matchup where the Blues have been giving up above average points to inside midfielders and forwards, which will be his two main role in the matchup.
AFL Fantasy Round 5 - Thursday: Our Premium Fantasy Picks
Jordan Dawson ($16,850)… as always with the Crows, we start our game stacks with Dawson. The one premium on the Adelaide team that can be trusted from a fantasy perspective. Attending just under 70% of their centre bounces, this is an elite matchup for one of the best players in the league who is averaging 104 points per game through his first three games in what have been much tougher matchups.
Suggested Draftstars Lineup for AFL Fantasy Round 5 - Thursday
Weather Report for Thursday 9th April
23 degrees and possible storm (should pass by game time but monitor the rainfall and select teams accordingly).
AFL Betting Markets Round 5 - Thursday
Adelaide ($1.14) vs Carlton ($5.75)
Points: 170.5
Line: -34.5
Also, be sure to check out our full AFL Thursday Preview and Betting Tips. Our experts break down the game and highlight some key bets that you can follow!
