A full round of games for AFL Gather Round means we’re treated to a juicy four-game slate for Super Saturday. The Kangaroos and the Suns kick things off nice and early with a 12:35pm AEST start time in the Barossa Valley. The Blues will be the definition of desperate as they look for their first win of the season against the Eagles at Adelaide Oval. That’s followed by the Bulldogs and Lions out at Norwood before the second match of the day at the Adelaide Oval will see the Demons and Bombers go at it under lights.
As always this is all about the daily fantasy and this massive Saturday slate draws another massive $60,000 prize pool at Draftstars in it’s main contest. In addition, there are a variety of alternate contests:
AFL $60,000+ Saturday
AFL $5,000+ Saturday High Roller ($150 Entry)
AFL $3,000+ Saturday 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
North Melbourne ($3.90) vs Gold Coast ($1.26)
Line: Gold Coast -24.5
Points: 180.5
Carlton ($1.13) vs West Coast ($6.05)
Line: Carlton -37.5
Points: 176.5
Western Bulldogs ($2.65) vs Brisbane ($1.49)
Line: Brisbane -13.5
Points: 170.5
Melbourne ($2.00) vs Essendon ($1.85)
Line: Essendon -1.5
Points: 168.5
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Additionally, we have full AFL Round 5 Betting Previews where we provide our best bet for each game as well as a great value Same Game Multi!
Weather
Adelaide - Partly cloudy, 32 degrees.
Warm conditions in Adelaide but nothing that should affect fantasy scoring in any way. Let’s play ball!
Where to Attack?
The Blues are massive favourites and will be hungry against the Eagles who give up more points to opposition forwards than any other team in the league. Big Charlie and Harry should be popular picks.
The Eagles are also weak in the ruck, giving up enormous numbers to opposition rucks so expect to see TDK monster them.
North Melbourne are also significant underdogs against the Suns and have given up plenty of points to opposition forwards. Interestingly the Suns like to concede points to opposition defenders, including a league high to designated kickers over the last 10 matches, which plays into a nice game script if the ball is down that end of the field.
Melbourne are also a team to attack for fantasy this season, however they do go in even money against the Bombers. It may be surprising given their highly touted midfield, but they are getting beaten on the inside while also giving up above average points to opposition defenders.
Game Script: Carlton mids/forwards/ruck, Gold Coast forwards, North Melbourne defenders, Essendon inside mids/defenders
VALUE PLAYS
Griffin Logue ($6,000) comes in with a minimum price tag and might be worth a gamble among the budget choices. Has a good matchup against the Suns who like to concede points to opposition defenders, and with the Suns firm favourites, the ball should be down that end of the ground. It’s worth noting that Zac Fisher comes into the Roos backline this week, which might take away some output from a few other Roos defenders.
Will White ($6,000) looked really good on debut for the Blues last week and while his score of 45 was nothing special, he did kick 3 behinds, so a goal or three this week against the lowly Eagles should see White hit value.
MID PRICED PLAYS
Archie Perkins ($8,810), Will Setterfield ($11,980), Dylan Shiel ($13,010) are three interesting players on this slate, given there’s opportunity in the Essendon midfield following the injury to Jye Caldwell, and the fact that they draw a good matchup against Melbourne. Shiel started the season at half-back but looked far more comfortable in the midfield last match. He’s probably the safest choice. Setterfield comes into the side and we know he’s a big ball winner. Does he get the role that he wants? Can also be injury prone. Perkins is the high-risk, high-reward option if they decide to throw him into the middle.
Charlie Curnow ($12,250) is the premium forward option on this slate with a juicy matchup against the Eagles. It’s hard to forget that Curnow kicked 19 goals in two games when he last played against the Eagles (in 2023) for fantasy scores of 151 and 146! You could pivot to Harry McKay ($11,460) who returns to the side and should score well, but I think Harry’s presence will actually help to stretch the defence for Charlie to go bang.
PREMIUM PLAYS
Tom De Koning ($16,940) has the best match up of any player on the slate coming up against the West Coast Eagles. The only question is can you fit him into your budget at nearly $17k? TDK has shown that he’s taken his game to the next level this season with a 112.8 season average and a high of 132. He should monster Bailey Williams and be far too dynamic around the ground so we’re looking for a 130+ here.
Zach Merrett ($16,950) is the highest priced player on the slate but draws a great matchup against the loose Melbourne midfield who concede plenty of fantasy points to inside mids. Merrett is averaging 114 this season with a high of 138 and that’s the sort of number we’re looking for here at that price.
Suggested Draftstars Team
