daily fantasy sports articles

We get a traditional Friday night game this week to kick off Round 19 of the 2023 AFL Premiership Season and it is a blockbuster! Essendon will host the Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium in what is a must win for both teams as they sit tied on 9 wins each in 7th and 8th place on the ladder.  The loser will face the very real possibility of falling out of the top 8 and have their finals hopes in serious jeopardy.

Draftstars has put together a $60,000 main contest for this match, as well as more qualifiers for the $750,000 AFL Star Final later in the year!

• AFL $60,000+ Bombers vs Bulldogs at Draftstars
• AFL $10,000+ Bombers vs Bulldogs High Roller ($150 Entry) at Draftstars
• AFL $2,000+ Bombers vs Bulldogs Fiver at Draftstars 
• AFL $3,000+ Bombers vs Bulldogs Mini ($2 Entry) at Draftstars
• AFL $50 AFL Star Qualifier at Draftstars
• AFL $5 AFL Star Qualifier at Draftstars

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

Essendon ($2.20) vs Western Bulldogs ($1,65)

Line: Western Bulldogs -6.5
Points: 171.5

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Weather

Melbourne - Partly cloudy, 13 degrees.

Playing at Marvel under the roof means conditions will be perfect no matter what the weather does!

Where To Attack?

Essendon have been giving up plenty of fantasy points to backs this season at 70 points per player each game, which is over 4 points above the league average. This lines up with the fact that they have conceded the fourth most uncontested marks in the league and has also seen them giving up points to wings who float back. It is worth noting that in recent weeks the Bombers have restricted these numbers more, however in this matchup I will be looking to stack up the Bulldogs backs who do love to possess the football through that part of the ground.

Game Script – Western Bulldogs back and midfielders

VALUE PLAYS

Nik Cox ($6,150) will return to the line up for the first time this season after an injuries and form have plagued in during 2023. Cox had an exciting first year where he averaged 56 points per game from 20 senior games and included 6 games or 70 or better and two upside games of 93 and 104. As a result I think he worth consideration at essentially the minimum price in this single slate matchup with little obvious value. If he gets a role on the wing or pushing up the ground from the flank he will have opportunity to score.

MID PRICED PLAYS

Bailey Dale ($13,060) is where I will start my Bulldogs defender stacks. As mentioned above this is an elite matchup for the Bulldogs defenders and Dale has their kick ins on lock taking 10 out of their 11 chances last week. Either pair him up with another higher priced back like Ed Richards or look to find value with a Taylor Duryea or Alex Keath.

Archie Perkins ($10,640) has finally been given substantial midfield time in the past two weeks and this has resulted in a uptick in his fantasy scoring. Attending 44% and 66% of the Bombers centre bounces in round 17 and 18 respectively has seen fantasy scores of 71 and 103, which shows upside and what would likely be a solid floor score at this price point in a single game slate.

PREMIUM PLAYS

Adam Treloar ($14,380) has seen two straight down games, however has still been one of the key mainstays in the Bulldogs midfield. I love this matchup for a player like Treloar as he will be playing on the inside but still drifts to the outside to rack up uncontested marks, which have been an avenue that Essendon have consistently conceded this season. I expect we see closer to a ceiling game for Treloar in this matchup back at Marvel in what should be an elite matchup for his game style.

Tim English ($17,000)… ruck is a hard pick with the Bombers going back to the dual role. I think Andrew Phillips is a potential value play if you don’t want to spend up on English, but I will be trusting big Tim to rack up against this pairing as he has done all season averaging 118 points per game. We know his role, it is safe, and I will be paying up with the ability to find value elsewhere.

Suggested Draftstars Lineup

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