The first week of finals series for the 2022 AFL Premiership Season will wind up with a super Saturday double header. Things kick off at 4:35pm with arguably the most anticipated game of first round with Geelong and Collingwood facing off at the MCG. Then we get a nightcap over in the West where Fremantle will host the Western Bulldogs.  This should be a fun afternoon of football and daily fantasy with Draftstars offering a massive $70,000 main competition in addition to their usual array of other options: 

In addition to previews for each and every slate this season, Daily Fantasy Rankings will continue with our AFL Resources page. This section provides you all the data you need to build your best line-ups. It includes daily cheat sheets for Draftstars, Player Correlation tables, Player Out tables, Scores Against tables, Tagging information, statistical breakdowns and much more!
 

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS OUR CHEAT SHEET FOR TODAY
 


Betting Odds

Geelong vs Collingwood at the MCG (GEE -17.5, Total 164.5)

Fremantle vs Western Bulldogs at Optus Stadium (FRE -12.5, Total 155.5)

Bet now at Ladbrokes!


Weather

Melbourne



Perth

There no major weather concerns at either location for tomorrow’s games. Could be a light shower or two but nothing that will impact the fantasy scoring! 
 

Where to Attack?

Let’s call on the Daily Fantasy Rankings Data Tools to assist our selections!



The Western Bulldogs have consistently been one of the top teams to target with backs going back to last year. However, these numbers have absolutely ballooned as the season came to an end, as you can see where they are giving up 79 points per player over the last 5 games and a massive 107 points per player when you isolate the top three scorers. Fremantle rack up the most uncontested possessions in the league so stacking up their defenders is a lock and load play over at Optus Stadium.



Amazingly Collingwood has ended the season conceding the most points in the league to midfielders despite finishing 4th on the ladder. This is such an outlier that the other three teams who have given up the most points to the position this year finished 13th, 17th and 18th. The Magpies style of play has been fast paced and low possession, allowing opponents to accumulate the football and often winning the battle on the inside.

Game Script –  Fremantle defenders, Geelong midfielders


VALUE PLAY

Brandon Walker ($8,840) as noted above this is an elite matchup for Fremantle backs. So given it is just a two game slate with both games being finals I will be looking to find value in elite spots, and this is certainly one for small defender Brandon Walker. Stack him up with premium priced Docker defenders or even link him with other value backs to find savings to spend up at other positions.


MID-PRICE PLAY

Patrick Dangerfield ($11,170) has certainly slowed down from the player he once was, but in a big final I still expect him to lift. He has been playing around 50-60% through the midfield during the back half of the season, but these numbers are likely to lift slightly in these big games. As noted above, Collingwood is the best matchup in the league for midfielders, in particular inside mids, and Dangerfield has posted three 100+ point scores this season of which one game against the Magpies.

Rory Lobb ($10,290) will likely be a nice point of difference in line-ups given his awkward price point. That said, the Western Bulldogs concede points to forwards, and in particular they give up the third most in the league to key forwards.  When these two teams met a few weeks ago, Lobb posted 73 fantasy points from just 2 goals. If he gets a hold of the Dogs in this final at home, he has 100 point upside, which at this price on a two game finals slate would be a GPP winning return.


PREMIUM PLAY

Luke Ryan ($13,500) is the designated kicker for the Dockers and the Bulldogs have conceded over 7 points per game above league average to this role during the year. As noted above they have given up the most points in the league to the top three highest scoring players at the back position and as a result, I will be stacking up the Dockers defenders. Ryan had his biggest game of the season just three games ago against the Bulldogs racking up a monster 151 fantasy points.

Cameron Guthrie ($14,740)… is one real mainstay in the Cats midfield this season. He plays around 65-80% of this time in that role while the rest split at around the 40-50% mark. As a result, given this is the best matchup in the league for midfielders I want to get as much exposure to Guthrie as I can. He is the highest scoring player in the Cats line up this season.


Suggested Draftstars Team

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