This Sunday is a day for the cellar dwellers in the AFL, with three of the bottom four teams taking to the park alongside Richmond, who are an outside chance to qualify for the finals.

While the final two games of Round 18 may hold little significance when it comes to the makeup of this year’s top eight, all the sides involved will be desperate to score a win and make some inroads as the season approaches its end.

Draftstars have put up a $60,000 Guaranteed Main Contest, as well as a wide variety of other lower stakes options with big prize pools.

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 THIS MATCH 

Betting Markets

North Melbourne vs Hawthorn at Marvel Stadium (Hawthorn -17.5, Total 171.5)

West Coast vs Richmond at Optus Stadium (Richmond -41.5, Total 174.5)

If you’re looking to bet on the AFL this season, we highly recommend BoomBet. They are an exciting Australian-owned sportsbook with an excellent range of AFL betting markets. Click the banner below to join today!

Weather

Melbourne – Partly cloudy, 15 degrees.

Perth – Sunny, 19 degrees.

Perfect conditions for football are expected in both Melbourne and Perth on Sunday. As such, expect free flowing football.

Where To Attack?

While all the teams on this slate have been guilty of giving up bulk fantasy points in 2023, West Coast takes the cake as the worst team for points conceded. With that being said, North Melbourne have actually conceded more points than the Eagles over the last five weeks, so it may be wise to target both trends on Sunday.

When it comes to the ruck position, betting against West Coast has been the play all season long. Bailey Williams has performed well in the absence of Nic Naitanui, but he has given up a whopping average of 95 points to his opposite number every week.

Game Script – Richmond stacks

VALUE PLAYS

Elijah Hewett (DS $7,740) has made an impact since moving into the West Coast midfield, recording DFS scores of 62 and 65 in the last fortnight. Richmond aren’t the easiest matchup, but if Hewett maintains his role from the last two weeks (50-60% CBAs) then he should be able to push a score of around 70 – more than serviceable at this price.

Cooper Harvey (DS $7,300) was a shining light on debut in North’s thrashing at the hands of Geelong last week, pulling in six marks for a DFS score of 63. Harvey should find it easier to have an impact this week, as the struggling Hawks are down to just one true key defender with James Sicily playing the intercepting role. As such, this young son of a gun could be on for another solid outing.

MID PRICED PLAYS

Ivan Soldo (DS $10,360) – Soldo comes back into the Richmond team after Toby Nankervis recklessly got himself suspended last weekend. As the second big man in the pecking order, Soldo has only been called upon once this year, scoring 72 against Gold Coast. However, this week he returns to an easy matchup against the Eagles, which could see his scoring lift towards 90.

PREMIUM PLAYS

James Sicily (DS $15,720) – The word is that Sicily is absolutely raring to go after three weeks on the sidelines. Before his suspension, Sicily peeled off three 125+ scores in a row, showing off his impressive ceiling for a defender. The Hawthorn captain may be asked to play a more accountable role this weekend, but I’m still backing him in to comfortably crack three figures.

Shai Bolton (DS $14,140) has been up and down like a yo-yo this season, averaging 87 with three 120+ scores. Up against the dreadful Eagles this week, Bolton should have it all his own way in the midfield, racking up disposals to go with a couple of goals. If that is the case, a ceiling game is highly probable.

Suggested Draftstars Lineup

THINK. IS THIS A BET YOU REALLY WANT TO PLACE?
For free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit Gambling Help Online at www.gamblinghelponline.org.au.