Round 17 of the 2026 AFL Premiership Season wraps up Sunday with a two-game slate featuring Essendon vs St Kilda at Marvel Stadium and Port Adelaide vs North Melbourne at Adelaide Oval. Draftstars are offering over $50,000 in guaranteed prize money in their main daily fantasy tournament!
Sunday delivers two games with very different shapes but a consistent fantasy opportunity — both feature one clearly dominant side expected to control the contest and a set of team changes that meaningfully reshape the scoring landscape. At Marvel Stadium, St Kilda are 29.5 point favourites against Essendon despite the fact that both sides have been in miserable form with the Bombers losing streak growing by the week and the Saints notching just 1 win from their last 5 outings.
Over in Adelaide, Port are coming in off a huge win in the Showdown against rivals Adelaide, and will be solid 16 point favourites against North. This goes against recent form trends though, as North have managed to win 4 of their last five games, while Port continue to battle near the bottom of the ladder with just 2 wins in their last five games. The game is much more critical for North as well who are clinging to a top 10 position and would love to move further up the ladder to lock in a better chance at making it through to the finals.
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AFL Daily Fantasy Lineup Tips: Round 17 Sunday Slate
AFL Fantasy Round 17 Sunday: Where to Attack?
The matchup data across both games points toward two dominant game scripts and a rich set of structural angles created by the confirmed team changes.
At Marvel Stadium, St Kilda continue the trend of conceding points to backs under Ross this season, giving up over 9 points above league average to attacking half backs and wings, over 1 point above average to general defenders and over 4 points above average to designated kickers. This sets up a perfect game script play as the Saints are heavily favoured to win this game so you can play Saints midfielders and forwards along with the Essendon back line, with the Bombers giving up above average points to general forwards (7 points above average – most in the league) and inside midfielders (6 points above average – second most in the league). This will be the most popular play on the slate and with good reason.
At Adelaide Oval, fantasy points will be much harder to come by. Both teams, despite their limited success this season, have been tough to score against fantasy wise. North Melbourne typically over possess the ball and starve their opponents resulting in below average scoring across the majority of the positions except for key forwards where they are giving up the most in the league. So if you are looking for a Port, play Mitch Georgiades should have a field day. Meanwhile, things are not much better against Port with them restricting teams to below average scoring across all positions apart form key forwards and ruck.
Game Script – St Kilda inside midfielders and forwards, Essendon backs
AFL Fantasy Round 17 Sunday – Our Value Fantasy Picks
Tobie Travaglia ($8,100) is a structural value play as he comes into the half back line for the Saints with Jack Sinclair out with injury. Playing his first game of the season, Travaglia has been in strong form in the VFL with two games over 115 fantasy points from his last three outings showing his strong scoring potential. He will only need to hit the 70-80 point mark at this price point and with Sinclair out of the lineup, we can forecast boosts in scoring opportunities for all Saints players in the back line. It is also an elite matchup against the Bombers with them conceding above average scores to every position.
Liam Henry ($6,600) is a value play dart on this slate. He has shown ability to score fantasy points in the past including an 86 point game earlier this season. With St Kilda 29 point favourites against the Bombers in this matchup I love their forwards as they will be granted plenty of opportunity. Look to stack him up with other Saint forwards and use his near minimum salary to get relief for spending up on premiums.
AFL Fantasy Round 17 Sunday – Our Mid Price Fantasy Picks
Jordan Ridley ($11,850) returned to the form we know he can reach last week after an injury interrupted season posting a 98 point game. He took 5 of the Bombers kicks ins and was right in the thick of their possession football across the half back line. At this price point he makes for a great mid price selection in Bombers stacks as I expect them to have big scores against the Saints with St Kilda conceding plenty of points in this area of the ground. His last outing against the Saints he notched up 101 points and his last two games at Marvel Stadium have been over 90 points.
The Saints midfield will offer plenty of middle ranged options and I love stacking them up on this slate against the Bombers, consider combinations of Marcus Windhager ($13,140), Max Hall ($12,870), Hugo Garica ($14,150) and Darcy Wilson ($12,980) who are all getting plenty of opportunity in the Saints midfield.
AFL Fantasy Round 17 Sunday – Our Premium Fantasy Picks
Zach Merrett ($16,940) is one of my premium locks on this slate. He has switched to half back over the last three weeks posting a three game average of 115 points per game and splitting the kick ins with Jordan Ridley. This should be a high scoring fantasy game at Marvel stadium with both the Saints and Bombers conceding high fantasy scores. This is particularly true for the Saints giving up points to defenders (as has been the case under Ross Lyon for years). We noted at the top that they give up over 4 points above league average to the designated kicker and over 98 points to attacking half backs (the third most in the league). So as mentioned, Bombers stacks will be high on my priority list and I will look to fit in Merrett as a premium play in those stacks.
Rowan Marshall ($15,210)… rucks are a challenge on this slate. All four teams are very stingy to rucks with only Port giving up above league average points, however Xerri’s role has been up in the air when he has played recently, attending less than 30% of CBAs in each of his last two games. So despite the tough matchup against Essendon, I am going to back Marshall in as a premium ruck play with him getting sole ruck duties. He has had great success against the Bombers in the past posting three games over 117 in their last three meetings. We all know how good Marshall is as the sole ruck, averaging 106 points in 2025 and 117 in 2024 so we can expect him back to his best in the game this week.
Suggested Draftstars Lineup for AFL Fantasy Round 17 Sunday
Weather Report for Sunday 5th July
Marvel Stadium (Melbourne) — not the best weather in Melbourne, but the roof will bne closed at Marvel for perfect conditions
Adelaide Oval (Adelaide) — 14 degrees, clear. Good conditions for the afternoon game.
AFL Betting Markets Round 17 Sunday
Essendon ($4.60) vs St Kilda ($1.20)
Points: 176.5
Line: St Kilda -29.5
Port Adelaide ($1.34) vs North Melbourne ($3.00)
Points: 171.5
Line: Port Adelaide -16.5
Also, be sure to check out our full AFL Sunday Preview and Betting Tips. Our experts break down each game and highlight some key bets that you can follow!
