With just 5 rounds to go we are in the home stretch of the 2024 AFL Premiership Season and with the AFL ladder so tight, every matchup can have major finals implications, and if they don’t, we can still play DFS!
Round 20 gets underway this Friday night with Carlton hosting Port Adelaide at Marvel Stadium. The Blues are sitting one game clear of the log jam in second, while the Power are down in 7th spot but amazingly just a single game behind the Blues. That really says it all for how important this game is.
Draftstars continue to offer massive prize pools with the Friday night main being worth $50,000 along with their usual variety of alternate contests:
- AFL $50,000+ Blues vs Power
- AFL $5,000+ Blues vs Power High Roller ($150 Entry)
- AFL $2,000+ Blues vs Power Fiver
- AFL $3,000+ Blues vs Power Mini ($2 Entry)
The AFL Star contest is back for 2024 and Draftstars are offering the biggest prize pool in Australian DFS history with a $1 million guaranteed final with $250,000 top prize! There are qualifiers and satellites running for every AFL match, while there will also be a sprinkling of qualifiers across other sports such as NRL and NBA.
Meanwhile the 1000 AFL Target contests have returned to Draftstars for the first time since 2018. Enter the contest and hit the 1000-point barrier with your team to scoop the jackpot!
Betting Markets
Carlton ($1.48) vs Port Adelaide ($2.59)
Line: Carlton -13.5
Points: 182.5
If you’re looking to bet on the AFL this season, then you can bet with PlayUp by using the same account that you have at Draftstars. PlayUp are Australian owned and offer an strong range of AFL betting markets and offers, including Same Game Multis.
Additionally, we have a full Carlton vs Port Adelaide Betting Preview for the game where we provide our best bet for the game as well as a great value Same Game Multi!
Weather
No concerns at all on weather with this game being played at Marvel Stadium. Let’s play some fantasy.
Where to Attack?
This is a tough matchup from a fantasy rostering perspective as neither the Blues or the Power give up significant fantasy points to any position this season. Carlton are the hardest team in the league to score against, while the Power concede slightly above average scoring to designated kicker, attacking half back flankers and general forwards. This should play into the Blues game style who are typically the best in the league for uncontested possession play.
Game Script – Carlton backs and forwards
VALUE PLAYS
Oliver Hollands ($8,530) has found a bit of form in the last two weeks with back-to-back scores of 64 and 77 fantasy points. This doesn’t sound like a lot at this price point, but in a game like this between two stingy opponents, and on a single game slate, a floor in the 60-point range will likely be enough. In addition, with Blake Acres out, there will be more connecting play on the wings where Hollands plays up for grabs. If you are going down the route of stacking up the Blues on the outside, then he suits that narrative as well.
Mitch McGovern ($9,590) returns to the lineup this week and he has been a mainstay in the Blues kick-ins all season. As we mentioned above, one of the few areas that the Power are slightly above league average for points conceded is designated kickers, so I love McGovern at this price in this matchup.
MID PRICED PLAYS
Marc Pittonet ($10,420)… the ruck position is the one area where both sides have given up large amounts of points this year. Port Adelaide have given up over 6 points per game above league average over the last 10 games, while the Blues have given up a whopping 13 points per game above league average over that same stretch. So why not go with the Jordon Sweet?? Well… it's often a different game when Pittonet is at the helm. He is much harder to score against than Tom De Koning and at the cheaper price point, I like to spend elsewhere on this slate.
Adam Cerra ($11,590) has had a god awful season that was interrupted with injury. Last week he was taken out of the centre bounces totally and only managed a 52-point game. Which begs the question… why roster him now? His price continues to drop where he has great upside. He will likely sneak back into the centre bounces this week, but will also potentially get some time on the wing with Blake Acres out. You can’t hold a player of this talent down for long and eventually he will have a break out game. You want to catch it when the ownership is down to its lowest and it is returning the most value. After last week’s game, I am expecting it to come this week.
PREMIUM PLAYS
Connor Rozee ($15,300)… there won't be many Power players in my teams as I will be focused on the Carlton stacks, but Rozee is one of the few that I will be rotating from the Port midfield. He continues to dominate with just one game under 100 points from his last four (a 95) and a ceiling of 140+. In addition, he has performed well against Carlton in recent years with back-to-back scores of 110+.
Suggested Draftstars Team
AFL Fantasy Cheat Sheet
