A three-game Sunday slate rounds off Round 11 of the 2024 AFL season. First up, we head to Marvel Stadium in Melbourne where a rejuvenated Hawthorn will be taking on Brisbane. The Hawks have been in great form recently but last week’s devastating one-point loss against the Power will no doubt have stung them hard. We then travel across town to the MCG where Melbourne takes on St Kilda in a match where both sides will be hunting a victory to restore some momentum for their season. Finally, the Adelaide Oval will host Adelaide and West Coast to wrap up a big day of action.
Draftstars continue to offer massive prize pools with the Sunday main contest being worth $60,000 along with their usual variety of alternate contests:
- AFL $60,000+ Sunday
- AFL $5,000+ Sunday High Roller ($150 Entry)
- AFL $3,000+ Sunday 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 are set to return 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
Hawthorn ($3.08) vs Brisbane ($1.36)
Line: Brisbane -16.5
Points: 165.5
Melbourne ($1.32) vs St Kilda ($3.40)
Line: Melbourne -18.5
Points: 153.5
Adelaide ($1.19) vs West Coast ($4.75)
Line: Adelaide -27.5
Points: 164.5
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 AFL Round 11 Betting Previews for all games where we provide our best bet for the game as well as a great value Same Game Multi!
Weather
Melbourne - Sunny, 17 degrees.
Adelaide - Sunny, 21 degrees.
Looks a fantastic day across the country, so no issues with picking your teams in this one!
Where to Attack?
One of the most reliable trends over the last two seasons has been St Kilda giving up points to opposition defenders as they like to press back into their own defensive half and shut down the game. That trend has continued this season so look to target Melbourne defenders on this slate. There has been some changes in Melbourne’s defensive structure after the injury to Jake Lever, and Blake Howes omitted, so you may be able to find some value with someone shifting into a new, favourable role.
The Hawks have improved over recent weeks, but they are still one of the worst in the league for giving up fantasy points to opposition midfielders. This includes the opposition ruck. They come up against one of the best midfield units in the league in Brisbane, who have been producing some monstrous fantasy numbers lately.
If we look purely at the numbers, West Coast are above average for conceding to opponents across most positions on the ground this season, however they are drastically improved in recent weeks. Even the ruck, which was their most exploitable position, has been tightened up with Max Gawn even struggling to post a big score last week against Bailey Williams. However the Crows are the biggest favourite of the day, so their forwards should find themselves in the game.
Finally the ruck match up between Max Gawn and Rowan Marshall should be a beauty. Marshall has produced massive numbers in the last two weeks, but won’t have it easy against Maxy. If Marshall continues to play an offensive style and both rucks just do their own thing, then big Maxy could cash in.
Game script: Melbourne defenders, Brisbane mids
VALUE PLAYS
Josh Rotham ($6,000) is my pick of the long list of very average footballers hovering at the $6k mark on this slate. Rotham has averaged just 46.3 this season with the majority of his scoring between 40-50 points. Not great, but it’s a solid floor to work from, as he does have more of a ceiling than more of the other budget players. Scored an 85 late last season and does have a ton against the Crows in 2021. Shouldn’t get the match up against Tex or Fogarty, so hopefully he gets freed up to find a little bit of cheap ball in the Eagles backline.
Judd McVee ($8,250) / Jake Bowey ($9,110) might both be an option if you’re looking for a point-of-difference play in the Melbourne backline. They seem the most logical run and distribute players in this one, and with the Saints giving up massive numbers to the opposition backline, these two are right in play at a value price. Neither have set the world on fire this season, but offer a solid floor to hopefully upswing from.
MID PRICED PLAYS
Zac Bailey ($10,120) returns to the Brisbane side this week and comes in at a tempting price. He’s missed five weeks with an ankle injury, so hopefully he’s right to go and won’t be on reduced minutes. If he gets his usual mid-forward role, then it’s a great matchup against the Hawks for Bailey to go well. Scored 102 against Melbourne in his last match before injury.
Taylor Walker ($11,150) loves playing against the Eagles and went bananas against them last year with bags of 10 goals and 9 goals, for 166 and 164 fantasy points, in the two games against them last year. The Eagles are a little more improved this season, but it still looks a good spot for Tex to go big!
Steven May ($11,650) is the quarterback at Melbourne and the most likely to benefit from the favourable matchup against the Saints. He’ll take a large percentage of the kick outs, and if there’s any chipping of the ball around in defence, he’ll be right in the middle of it. Has scored three tons already this season, and that’s the number we’re looking for again here.
PREMIUM PLAYS
Jarrod Berry ($13,880) has 4 tons in his last 6 matches, yet we’ve been given a discount on his price this week. Berry might lose some midfield minutes with Zac Bailey returning, but otherwise he has been a solid play all season. Has a 90.7 average this year and a 106.8 average over his last 6 games. With a fantastic matchup against the Hawks, Berry offers you a little salary relief compared to the big dogs, and he can be picked as a defender, all while still giving you that big ceiling potential.
Rory Laird ($14,170) comes in at a nice price here after scoring just 61 last week. Prior to that, he has 7 tons from 9 games this season, so he has been typically consistent without having that massive fantasy score that we’ve seen in the past. You get similar projections to Jordan Dawson, but save almost $2,500 in salary by taking Laird.
Lachie Neale ($15,040) is my preferred premium pick this week with a fantastic matchup against a leaky Hawthorn midfield. Neale has definitely had some rocky moments this season through niggles and form, but he has a 137, 80 and 122 over his last three weeks. He looks hungry again and back to his best, so while Zorko and Dunkley have huge ceilings, Neale isn’t far behind at a much better price for your lineups.
Suggested Draftstars Team
Cheat Sheets
