It all comes down to this on Saturday as Hawthorn and Brisbane meet at the MCG for a spot in the 2026 AFL Grand Final. The Hawks earned the week off after knocking over minor premier Fremantle in their Qualifying Final, while the Lions took the longer route and arrive in Melbourne after a dominant 53-point Semi Final win over Adelaide.
Interestingly, these two sides met just six weeks ago and Brisbane absolutely dismantled Hawthorn by 67 points at the Gabba. The Hawks will be desperate to turn that result around on their home deck, while the Lions have plenty of recent experience winning big finals at the MCG as they continue their push for a remarkable third straight premiership.
From a fantasy perspective, we're back to a single-game slate, so ownership will be heavily concentrated around the obvious stars and finding the right value plays will once again be crucial. With a Grand Final berth on the line, we can expect maximum game time for the big names and hopefully plenty of fantasy scoring along the way.
Draftstars are offering a number of different contests to suit your style, some of these include:
- AFL $75,000+ Preliminary Final Hawks vs Lions ($15 entry) at Draftstars
- AFL $10,000+ Preliminary Final Hawks vs Lions High Roller ($150 Entry) at Draftstars
- AFL $3,000+ Preliminary Final Hawks vs Lions Mini ($2 Entry) at Draftstars
- AFL $1,500+ Preliminary Final Hawks vs Lions Micro (50c Entry) at Draftstars
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AFL Daily Fantasy Lineup Tips: Preliminary Final – Hawthorn vs Brisbane
AFL Fantasy Preliminary Final Hawks vs Lions – Where to Attack?
This is a really tough game to dissect with two of the strongest teams in the league going at it. The biggest thing that jumps out from a fantasy perspective is that neither side has many glaring weaknesses, which is probably what we'd expect from two teams still alive at Preliminary Final weekend.
Brisbane have been particularly restrictive to opposition inside midfielders over the last 10 matches, at almost 11 points below league average which is the best in the league for that period. This means I’d be wary of loading up on the Hawks' inside mids despite some obvious individual talent.
Brisbane are also very stingy to the opposition designated kicker so there won’t be too many cheap kicks down back for the Hawks.
The Hawks offer a couple of areas of relief for fantasy teams. The Hawks have conceded above average points to general forwards as well as wings and outside defenders, which gives us some interesting Brisbane options in those roles.
The main area to watch out for against the Hawks is in the ruck where they are in the top three toughest matchups over the last ten games with Lloyd Meek proving hard to score against. The ruck situation is dire on this slate, and it seems like a good position to just save money and tank.
Overall, there aren't many obvious soft spots here so we look towards game script, role changes and pricing to help with our selections on Draftstars.
Game script: Lions are narrow favourites, and like to possess the ball, so lean towards Lions players.
AFL Fantasy Preliminary Final Hawks vs Lions – Our Value Fantasy Picks
Nick Watson ($9,870) is in play for me in this one. It goes a little against the obvious game script of the Lions being favourites but the thing that jumps out to me most here is the match up. Last time against the Lions, Watson was held goalless, but his opponent was Noah Answerth who has not been selected for this match as he recovers from an ankle injury. So who stands next to Watson - arguably the most dangerous forward in this match? I don’t see an obvious match up. I think Watson is too slippery for Zorko, Wilmot or Lester. And I don’t think Fletcher is defensive minded enough. For me, the matchup is Conor McKenna ($7,890) but that means grabbing him from the forward line and throwing him into defence. Either way, I think it’s a good spot for Watson to make a big impact. He should also get injected into a few CBAs which opens up additional scoring opportunity.
Josh Weddle ($9,410) has picked up a couple of hitouts in the last few games playing as a mobile second ruck, so it’s a shame we can’t pick him in the Ruck position which doesn’t really have any great options. As that floater, I think Weddle is a good play as he should be able to link up in the backline, while also getting some time on the ball. Had a solid score of 76 last match against the Dockers.
AFL Fantasy Preliminary Final Hawks vs Lions – Our Mid-Priced Fantasy Picks
Hugh McLuggage ($11,690) is getting another run in my team as I stick with him to turn his form around. While his teammates all cashed in last week in a big win, McLuggage pumped out another mediocre 77 for his third 70-ish score in a row. We really want more than that, so hopefully this is the match for him to get back to his best. We know his best would return a 100+ score which is ideal at this price point.
Will Day ($12,730) was huge in the first final for the Hawks and he’ll be primed for another big game here. A fully-fit Will Day is as good as anyone in the comp, and while he’s shown glimpses of his elite potential this season, he hasn’t put it together into a huge fantasy game yet with only two tons for the season. The promising stat that I liked from last match was Day’s CBA’s climbed to a season-high 89% against the Dockers. That’s close to double what he was doing previously with Josh Ward ($12,140) the one to cop the bump. Day has had 97 and 82 in the past two matches, so he does look a key for the Hawks, but it is a tough matchup for Hawks inside mids.
AFL Fantasy Preliminary Final Hawks vs Lions – Our Premium Fantasy Picks
Josh Dunkley ($15,260) seems a bit like a lock-and-load play for me in finals. As we mentioned last week, Dunkley loves the contested nature of finals and if the game is tight and tough, then he’ll be smashing bodies and collecting plenty of tackles to help his fantasy scoring. I don’t think he’ll have a negating role necessarily, but he’ll probably be standing next to Jai Newcombe ($13,540) to keep him in check. That won’t hurt Dunkley’s scoring at all. His recent form average of 103.7 is the highest in the match.
Will Ashcroft ($16,280) had 39 disposals against the Hawks last time for a score of 122 so although he’s the most expensive player on the slate, I don’t mind paying up to try and include him in my team. Ashcroft has a season average of 106.4 and racked up an easy 111 last week. While it’s been a few weeks since he went really big, he’s certainly the one player in the game capable of racking up touches if the game opens up.
Here is our Suggested Draftstars Lineup for Preliminary Final Hawks vs Lions
Weather Report for Preliminary Final Hawks vs Lions
Melbourne - Sunny, 24 degrees.
Glorious weather at the G for the Preliminary Final. Where else would you rather be?
AFL Betting Markets – Preliminary Final Hawks vs Lions
Hawthorn ($1.95) vs Brisbane ($1.85)
Line: Brisbane -1.5
Points: 189.5
Also, be sure to check out our full AFL Friday Preview and Betting Tips. Our experts break down the game and highlight some key bets that you can follow!
