daily fantasy sports articles

The monster Saturday slate is upon us with four games and infinite options to work through in preparation for the major DFS contest across the platforms:

• AFL $50,000+ Saturday at Draftstars
• AFL $5,000 (All Games) Special at Moneyball

In addition to previews for each an every slate this season, Daily Fantasy Rankings has also unveiled our AFL Resources page. This section provides you all the data you need to build your best lineups. It includes daily cheat sheets for both Draftstars and Moneyball, Player Correlation tables, Player Out tables, Scores Against tables, Tagging information, statistical breakdowns and much more!

The four games on this slate are as follows (click on the team to read our season preview!):

• Essendon v St Kilda at Marvel Stadium (bookmakers’ total 178.5, line ESS -20.5)
• Port Adelaide v Carlton at Adelaide Oval (bookmakers’ total 168.5, line PTA -34.5)
• West Coast v GWS at Optus Stadium (bookmakers’ total 170.5, line WCE -17.5)
• Geelong v Melbourne at GMHBA Stadium (bookmakers’ total 169.5, line GEE -8.5)

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS OUR CHEAT SHEET FOR THIS SLATE

Where to Attack

On this slate we have two of the top five teams for points conceded in 2018. The Blues gave up the third most points, while the Saints gave up the fifth most. On the other side of the scale four of the five most stingy teams from last year are also on the slate, which makes a clear path for selecting teams to target.

Carlton gave up the second most points to midfielders in 2018 and on this slate they travel to Port Adelaide, which is a tough road trip for the young side. This makes the Port Adelaide midfield a great option to target and they are fresh off a huge round one win where they had four players over 100 fantasy points.

On the other end of the scale be wary of rostering St Kilda mids as Essendon conceded the lowest amount of points to the position in 2018.

St Kilda gave up the second most points to opposition number one rucks in 2018, a trend that looks to continue this year as they rotate through the likes of Lewis Pierce last week and Rowan Marshall this week.

Game Stack

There is an absolute stand out team to stack on this slate and it is Port Adelaide who looked like world beaters in round 1 slaying everyone's preseason darlings the Melbourne Demons on the MCG. In this round they face Carlton who are fresh off the spoon and will have to travel to the Power’s home stadium. Port Adelaide are the largest favourites on the slate, with the bookmakers expecting a 6 goal win.

In round 1 Tom Rockliff and Travis Boak absolutely dominated in the midfield together notching up 166 and 144 respectively. While they have both been unleashed in the midfield this season they have always held a strong correlation with a positive 0.6. They will be the first two players picked for a lot of rosters this round.

VALUE PLAYS

Josh Smith FWD (DS $5,100, MB $7,400) comes in at a scratch above the bare minimum on Draftstars, which again, is far too cheap. Smith has shown in the past that he score fantasy points averaging 81.6 points in 2018 and 76.2 in 2017.

Jordan Clark DEF (DS $6,880, MB $4,000) has slotted perfectly into the role across half back through JLT and in round 1 where he notched up 60 fantasy points from 17 possessions. In this matchup he will be back in the safety of the Cattery and plays against Melbourne who were conceded above average points to backs in 2018.

Charlie Curnow FWD (DS $8,150, MB $6,000) is fresh of an absolute howler in round 1 and is going into one of the tougher matchups fantasy wise this week. That said, on Draftstars, he just far too underpriced to ignore. He scored over 80 fantasy points in 10 games last season including a 97 against Port Adelaide.

MID-PRICED PLAYS

Dom Sheed MID (DS $13,650, MB $7,200) was unleashed in the Eagles midfield the moment Gaff was suspended in 2018. With the confidence of last years finals series under his belt and another preseason he looks set to take the entire league by storm. In a losing effort in round 1 he racked up 38 touches en route to a massive 133 fantasy points. He is still under priced for that level of upside.

Ryan Burton DEF (DS $10,610, MB $5,500) looks to be back in a link up role at Port Adelaide where he can return to the scoring levels of his 2017 season at Hawthorn. Playing loose across half back and creeping up onto the wing Burton is an elite matchup this round as noted above, and would be a perfect addition to Port Adelaide stacks.

PREMIUM PLAYS

Tom Rockliff MID (DS $16,230, MB $8,200)... the head pig is back at the trough. With Ollie Wines out injured, Chad Wingard moved and Brad Ebert up in the forward role, the mid field has been handed back to Rocky. Everyone knows his history when given the opportunity and this year he looks like the old Rocky we knew and loved, posting a monster 178 points in JLT2, he then followed in up in round 1 with a 166. On this slate he has one of the top matchups in the league for mids and despite getting a price bump still comfortably can provide a GPP winning score.

Tim Taranto MID (DS $14,640, MB $7,800) is a junior pig on the rise. With Dylan Shiel no longer on the team and Josh Kelly still not back from injury Taranto has been unleashed in the midfield permanently. He averaged +12.1 fantasy points in games Kelly missed last season compared to games he played. In round 1 this was on full display dropping a huge 137 points.

FADE

Stephen Coniglio (DS $17,120, MB $9,900) … wait... who you say? Yes I realise Congilio is fresh off a 161 point performance, we are fading Sloane on Friday night and I am going to continue the trend on this slate. At his price this isn’t a huge call to be honest, however, with the Eagles employing Mark Hutchings each week we need to be on the lookout for who will target. Josh Kelly is yet to return from injury so it is likely to be either Coniglio or Lachie Whitfield. On that basis I will be fading Coniglio and let the masses flock to roster him after the massive round 1 performance.

Data for this preview is sourced from the Daily Fantasy Rankings AFL Resources page.

The Daily Fantasy Rankings "Dragon" has scoured the Australian sports betting markets and found some great value picks for these games. Check out his picks for the day below and click on the links to follow his betting plays!

The Dragon has also picked out a lineup for the Saturday $2 Mini - feel free to use it as a starting point for your own lineup and adjust to your liking! (YTD $4 spend, $9.89 return)

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