The second and final game for the infamous 2025 Opening Round will take place on Sunday as the GWS Giants host Collingwood at ENGIE Stadium. The Giants were as close as you could come to beating last year’s premier in the finals last season and will be looking to go one step further this year, while Collingwood will be looking to bounce back after a very disappointing title defence last year just missing the top 8.
For all of us Daily Fantasy lovers we get a huge $60,000 prize pool in the main contest at Draftstars for this single game slate on a Sunday afternoon. In addition, there are a variety of alternate contests:
AFL $60,000+ Giants vs Magpies
AFL $5,000+ Giants vs Magpies High Roller ($150 Entry)
AFL $3,000+ Giants vs Magpies Mini ($2 Entry)
The AFL Star contest is back again for 2025 and Draftstars are once again 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.
Betting Markets
GWS Giants ($2.12) vs Collingwood ($1.73)
Points: 170.5
Line: Collingwood -4.5
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Additionally, we have a full GWS vs Collingwood Betting Preview where we provide our best bet for the game as well as a great value Same Game Multi!
Weather
27 degrees and a shower or two. No sign of the impact of Cyclone Alfred at Sydney although we can expect a slight shower or two through the day. This should not have any impact on the fantasy scoring in this game.
Where to Attack?
The GWS Giants were one of the stingiest teams in the league during the second half of 2024 as they went on a massive winning tear to finish in the top four. During this time they held teams to well under the league average at every fantasy position except for ruck. That said, to start this season the Giants will be short-handed through the midfield with Tom Green out injured, and Peatling and Perryman leaving in the offseason.
Collingwood on the other hand, were giving up points across a number of areas in 2024. They were above average for points conceded in the midfield and up forward, while giving up the second highest fantasy average in the league to the designated kicker during the last 10 games of the season.
Game Script – GWS Giants backs, Collingwood midfielders
VALUE PLAYS
Connor Stone ($6,000) has slotted into the half back role at the Giants that was left vacant by Harry Perryman. Don’t expect him to be the main ball user for the Giants coming out of the backline given they still have Whitfield and Ash, however this role at minimum price is far too hard to pass up on a single game slate. He was solid with 51 fantasy points in the only official preseason game against the Blues.
James Leake ($7,500) has been getting midfield opportunities as a result of players leaving in the offseason and injuries coming into the opening game. In their only preseason game, he attended 60% of the Giants centre bounces and returned 66 fantasy points, which would be a great return at this price point in a single game slate.
MID PRICED PLAYS
Harry Perryman ($12,980) will play his old club in the first game of the season so let’s just firstly get the revenge narrative out of the way as I am sure he will be keen to have a good showing. Even more importantly his role at the new club is completely different to the one he had at the Giants. Playing exclusively as a midfielder during the Magpies preseason, he attended a massive 20 centre bounces and was able to lay 10 tackles in this role en route to 99 fantasy points.
Finn Callaghan ($13,690) will be a mainstay in the midfield this season and to start the year the Giants will be leaning on him to lead the way for the side in that role. In their only official preseason game he was the games second highest scorer with 27 disposals, 5 clearances and 96 fantasy points. Expect his price to be higher by Round 5.
PREMIUM PLAYS
Darcy Cameron ($15,150) will be without the constraints that Mason Cox put on his role last season in this opening game. With the sole ruck role all his, I expect him to post a ceiling level score in the 120 point range against Keiran Briggs who was one of the best fantasy matchups in the league in 2024.
Lachie Whitfield ($17,660) is the top priced player on this slate and with good reason, he averaged a massive 111 fantasy points per game in 2024 playing off half back. This shapes up to be an elite matchup for Whitfield as noted the Magpies were one of the more generous sides to backs last year. While his price is high, it is easily roster-able given the value opportunities on this slate.
Suggested Draftstars Lineup
