The 2026 AFL Grand Final takes place this Saturday at the MCG as Fremantle face Brisbane in what promises to be one of the great September occasions. Draftstars are offering their biggest prize pool of the season in their main daily fantasy tournament at a whopping $200,000!!
As far as the Brisbane Lions go, this is the type of legacy game that people will be talking about for years to come. They are chasing history — a third consecutive AFL premiership, and looking to secure their third three-peat of the decade. Chris Fagan’s Lions have become a machine — disciplined, ruthless, deep in talent and absolutely remorseless in September. They arrive at the MCG as 7.5-point favourites on the back of their back end of the season and their finals from past years. For Fremantle, this is a moment that transcends football. The Dockers have never won an AFL premiership and their last Grand Final appearance was a painful loss to Hawthorn in 2013. An entire generation of Fremantle supporters has never witnessed their team win the flag. The emotion flowing through the purple army who have made the journey to Melbourne will be unlike anything seen at the MCG in years. Fremantle have been the most complete team in the competition for most of 2026 and their path to the Grand Final — through a qualifying final loss and two grinding elimination wins — tells you everything about the character of this group.
The biggest selection news heading into the Grand Final is the successful appeal of Lachie Neale’s suspension. The Lions’ captain was rubbed out after the preliminary final in a decision that sent shockwaves through the competition, but the AFL tribunal overturned the ban on appeal and he will take his place in the Brisbane lineup. His inclusion is a genuine game-changer — Neale’s leadership, clearance ability and defensive pressure are irreplaceable at this level and Brisbane are a demonstrably better team with him in it. Both sides go in otherwise completely unchanged from their preliminary final victories, which reflects the confidence both coaches have in their selected 23.
Now that the stage is set, lets get into the part everyone wants – the fantasy breakdown! We have big big money on the line.
Draftstars are offering a number of different contests to suit your style, some of these include:
- AFL Grand Final Main Slate ($200,000!!)
- AFL Grand Final High Roller ($150 Entry)
- AFL Grand Final Mini ($2 Entry)
- AFL Grand Final Micro (50c Entry)
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: Grand Final – Fremantle vs Brisbane
AFL Fantasy Grand Final – Where to Attack?
A Grand Final. One game. Everything on the line and every year we face a tough dilemma from a fantasy perspective as the two teams that get here are always very tough to rack up fantasy scores against.
With Fremantle in these contests it's always hard to start anywhere else but the ruck position. It is often a simple 50/50 call that has to be made, but this week it will really shape the rest of your builds. For the Dockers, Luke Jackson, is one of the best players in the entire competition right now and his price point is a premium play. On the other hand, the Lions have two value plays splitting the role. So whichever way you go will greatly impact everything else. Jackon has been destroying opponents, holding the opposition rucks to over 13 points below league average over the last 10 games, the lowest mark for anyone in the league. Meanwhile, Brisbane have held up relatively well keeping their opponents to just under 1 point below league average.
The Lions have been a lock and key across all positions on the ground in their run to the finals. They have kept every area of the ground to below average scoring, but where they have been particularly dominant is in the inside midfield. Here they are holding opposition to over 9 points below league average, which is easily the lowest in the competition. On the flip side, the Dockers have also dominated in this area, holding teams to 6 points below average. Something will have to give in this area of the ground and it will go a long way to determining the winner of the game and the daily fantasy winner.
The one area you can attack against Fremantle has been out of defence. They are giving up above average points to general defenders and just slightly under league average to designated kickers and attacking half backs. Brisbane love to get their players loose in this area of the ground.
An area that I would avoid regardless of game script in this matchup is Brisbane’s key forwards. The Dockers (and especially Alex Pearce) have been crucifying their opponents tall forwards holding, them to a ridiculous 9 points below league average.
These two teams only met once this season, back in round 12, which feels like a lifetime ago. This game was at the Gabba and the Dockers bucked the odds in that one winning comfortably on the Lions home ground by 25 points. However, from a fantasy perspective it is worth noting that despite the Dockers winning they did not have one player go over 100 fantasy points, while the Lions had Darcy Wilmot (back) posting 125 and Zac Bailey (m/f) with 107.
Game Script – Brisbane mids, general forwards and backs, Fremantle ruck
AFL Fantasy Grand Final – Our Value Fantasy Picks
Connor McKenna ($8,070)… on a slate where the value is hard to find, I love the form McKenna has been in this season, including a 72 point performance last week against the Hawks and a floor of around 60 points the last four weeks. That doesn’t sound like much, but in this game finding salary relief anywhere it is probably enough especially if you are expecting a Lions win. The one area the Dockers struggle to keep their opponents held down is the smaller forwards, so looking at McKenna or the slightly higher priced Charlie Cameron, or even up to Kai Lohmann stand out as good plays to me.
Darcy Wilmot ($10,180) has been priced down very nicely to $10k after have a burst during the season that saw him looking like the next fantasy premium back. While it will be Dayne Zorko that they like to get the ball to, we can't fit in every premium on this slate and Wilmot will likely get in the chains and he shouldn’t have a tough direct opponent to do a matchup on this week.
If you are looking for more value plays, I would be leaning to Dockers backs including Judd McVee ($7,010) and Heath Chapman ($8,360) whose form has been just enough to return value and purely to give some salary relief elsewhere.
AFL Fantasy Grand Final – Our Mid Price Fantasy Picks
Hayden Young ($12,940) has looked every bit the big game player during this finals series. He has been playing mostly in the midfield attending over 50% of the Dockers center bounces but also moving to the flanks depending on where the Dockers need him. His last week score of 117 is the form reference entering the Grand Final. He has posted 117, 96 and 66 in his last three — that 117 the most recent and a serious ceiling confirmation. His three most recent games against Brisbane have produced 95, 119 and 112 — three consecutive scores all between 95 and 119 against this opponent, one of the most consistent opponent-specific records on the entire slate. At $12,940, and in this form, he is a Grand Final lock for me.
AFL Fantasy Grand Final – Our Premium Fantasy Picks
Will Ashcroft ($16,530) is the premium lock of the Grand Final. Sure he has the form, averaging 111 points per game over his last 10 contests, 106 points per game over his last five matches at the MCG. But it is that grand final pedigree that everyone knows about where this really comes home. He is a back to back Norm Smith medalist, which is just ridiculous at his age. In his last Grand Final appearance — Brisbane’s premiership win last year — he posted 135 and I expect nothing to change this week.
Zac Bailey ($13,950) has been in outstanding finals form with back-to-back scores of 96 and 111 before a solid 83, averaging 96.7 across his last three. His three most recent games against Fremantle have produced 107, 124 and 71 — the 107 and 124 are extraordinary ceiling references in this fixture. As we noted above, the Dockers are giving up above average points to general forwards and Bailey will split some of his time in this part of the ground. He dominated against the Dockers earlier in the year and like Ashcroft, Bailey has great form in grand finals including a 124 point performance last season where he kicked an amazing 3 goals and 6 points, inaccuracy the only thing costing him the Norm Smith medal.
Luke Jackson ($15,980) is the ruck lock of the Grand Final and the case is built on form, role and a completely clear matchup. He has posted 105, 124 and 105 in his last three for an average of 111.3 — three consecutive scores all above 100 and that 124 two weeks ago one of the finest ruck performances of the entire finals series. Brisbane's ruck concession is neutral-to-slightly-above-average, meaning there is no matchup headwind working against him, and as essentially Fremantle's sole ruckman, he owns the majority of hit outs and centre bounce ruck contests from the first bounce to the final siren. He posted 96 in the matchup against Brisbane this season, which was the highest scoring Docker.
FADE: My big fade in this game is Logan Morris who will likely be well stunted by the Dockers backs.
Here is our Suggested Draftstars Lineup for the 2026 AFL Grand Final
Weather Report for the Grand Final
MCG (Melbourne) — 18 degrees, partly cloudy. Good conditions for the Grand Final with no significant weather concerns. A perfect early spring Saturday at the MCG.
AFL Betting Markets – 2026 AFL Grand Final
Odds: Fremantle ($2.35) vs Brisbane ($1.60)
Points: 173.5
Line: Brisbane -7.5
Also, be sure to check out our full AFL Grand Final Preview and Betting Tips. Our experts break down the game and highlight some key bets that you can follow!
