AFL Finals continue on Friday night with arguably the most anticipated matchup for the first round of games as the Western Bulldogs and Hawthorn will face off at the MCG. The Bulldogs have won 8 of their last 10 games heading into finals, while the Hawks have gone 13-3 since Round 8 to storm into finals. Despite being a matchup between 6th and 7th, these two squads are arguably the form sides of the competition and one will be eliminated and the winner will have a legitimate shot at going on to win a premiership.
Now that is all great for the footy fan, but for daily fantasy players it gets even better as Draftstars have upped their massive prize pools with the main contest for this game being worth $70,000 along with their usual variety of alternate contests:
- AFL $70,000+ Bulldogs vs Hawks
- AFL $7,500+ Bulldogs vs Hawks High Roller ($150 Entry)
- AFL $2,000+ Bulldogs vs Hawks Fiver
- AFL $3,000+ Bulldogs vs Hawks 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's only a couple more chances to qualify for the AFL Star final this season so jump into the qualifiers in the Draftstars lobby now!
Betting Markets
Western Bulldogs ($1.66) vs Hawthorn ($2.17)
Points: 162.5
Line: Western Bulldogs -6.5
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Additionally, we have a full Western Bulldogs vs Hawthorn Betting Preview for the game where we provide our best bet for the game as well as a great value Same Game Multi!
Weather
Melbourne - Late rain developing, 24 degrees.
High chance of showers in the afternoon and evening up to 6mm. Keep an eye on the weather and forecasts leading up to this game as there is legitmate chance it will be raining during the game.
Where to Attack?
As you can imagine, when you have two of the in form sides going head to head, there are limited opportunities to attack. Both sides have shown elite defense over the last 10 games, limited fantasy scoring to opposition forwards and keeping opposition midfielders in check.
The areas both teams have allowed points are to their opponents backline, especially designated kickers and in the ruck. So the main strategy on this matchup would be to pick out game scripts that would make sense for the outcome of a game. So stack up Bulldogs midfielders and forwards and Hawks backs or, vice versa, stack up the Hawks midfielders and forwards with Bulldogs backs. I do like the Bulldogs premium midfielders to stand up from a fantasy perspective while the Hawks typically are more balanced scoring wise through that part of the ground.
Game Script – Bulldogs midfielders and forwards, Hawks backs
VALUE PLAYS
Tag Watch: Finn Maginess ($7,580) / James Harmes ($11,010)
We have to turn an eye to the potential taggers in this game, not only as players to roster but also who they will likely shut down. Maginess has been the go to for the Hawks all season and has loved putting a lock down role on inside midfielders, opposition backs and forwards alike. Keep an ear out for who he may play on this week, locking up Bailey Dale is a huge possibly if he is to take out a back, or if he goes to a midfielder it would likely be Bontempelli or Treloar. If he is taking an inside mid, I love rostering Maginess at his cheap price point given we have seen plenty of upside through the season and he will be around the ball.
James Harmes is coming into the Western Bulldogs lineup this week and you would have to think it is to do a role on someone. Rather than use him directly in the midfield, I expect it potentially will be to play on Dylan Moore who has been on fire in recent weeks. Harmes price point takes him out of being playable for me.
MID PRICED PLAYS
Caleb Daniel ($10,850) / Jackson Macrae ($10,470)
Both these two experienced vets have been out of the Bulldogs team for the majority of the year, but as the season came to a close they forced their way into the lineup for finals with their return to form. Daniel was playing his usual role across half back last week and has returned back-to-back scores of 87 and 88, meanwhile Marcrae has also looked good with two straight 80+ point scores. In a tough final, I’d expect returns in the 80s to be very solid at their price point. In addition, finals football will not trouble these two given their experience.
PREMIUM PLAYS
Tim English ($15,340) has not been returning the level of scoring we would typically expect from him as the Bulldogs have leaned into Sam Darcy ever so slightly. But in this big final he draws a matchup against Lloyd Meek who has been one of the better matchups this season. He is still conceding over 2 points above league average over the last 10 games, but across the season this is much higher. English should have every opportunity to return a slate breaking score in this matchup and if the rain hits there will be even more opportunity for rucks to score.
Suggested Draftstars Team
AFL Fantasy Cheat Sheet
