AFL

The traditional ANZAC Day clash will see Essendon and Collingwood meet at the MCG in one of the best home-and-away AFL matches of the season.

They say that it doesn’t matter where these two sides are on the ladder for a match of this magnitude, but this season both sides are nestled near the very top which makes this match extra spicy! Collingwood seem to be one of the real contenders of 2023, while Essendon have made a strong start to the season. A win in a match like this one might convert a few of the non-believers that they are the real deal.

Draftstars have delivered for ANZAC Day with a massive $90,000 Guaranteed Main Contest for Tuesday afternoon, as well as some new AFL Star Qualifiers and a wide variety of other lower stakes options with big prize pools.
 
  • AFL $90,000+ Magpies vs Bombers at Draftstars
  • AFL $10,000+ Magpies vs Bombers High Roller ($150 Entry) at Draftstars
  • AFL $5,000+ Magpies vs Bombers Fiver at Draftstars 
  • AFL $5,000+ Magpies vs Bombers Mini ($2 Entry) at Draftstars
  • AFL $50 AFL Star Qualifier – Magpies vs Bombers at Draftstars
  • AFL $5 AFL Star Qualifier – Magpies vs Bombers 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

Collingwood ($1.49) vs Essendon ($2.57)

Line: Collingwood -13.5

Points Total: 174.5 points

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Weather

Melbourne - Mostly sunny, 25 degrees.

A perfect Autumn day at the MCG for ANZAC Day. It should be an incredible spectacle and weather certainly won’t play a factor in your AFL fantasy lineups!

Where To Attack?

AFL Data Tools

Collingwood are one of the stingiest teams for conceding AFL fantasy points in the 2023 season so far. That’s typical for one of the better teams in the competition. In particular, through the midfield, they concede the least points of any team this season, so be wary of taking Essendon midfielders.

AFL Data Tools

The one area that the Bombers may be able to exploit the Magpies is in the ruck. With injuries to all of the Pies big men, including makeshift ruckman Dan McStay last week, it looks like the inclusion of Nathan Kreuger means he's going to be thrown into the deep end in the ruck! That’s an enormous ask. The combination of Scott Draper and Andrew Phillips did very well against the might of Brodie Grundy last week, so they are both very much in play here.

Game Script – Collingwood mids, Essendon rucks

VALUE PLAYS

Nathan Kreuger ($6,000) is the unlikely backup makeshift ruckman for this match as Collingwood scrape the bottom of the barrell in the ruck. While we suggested that the Bombers rucks are in play, it’s hard to ignore the basement price of Kreuger here as well. He’s going to be up around the ball for large portions of the game, and can get physical with a few tackles, so hopefully can hit value. The fact that he's a forward also allows you the option of the Bombers ruckmen in the ruck position.

Trey Ruscoe ($7,680) comes in for his first game of the season. Should have a fantasy-friendly role across half-back and many will remember his glorious fantasy ton in mid 2021. Around that, he does have some pretty modest scoring, but if he comes back as an improved player, then he's not a bad value option in defence.

MID PRICED PLAYS

Archie Perkins ($9,420) / Jye Caldwell ($9,920) With Essendon skipper Zach Merrett out through suspension, figuring out who gets his CBA’s and midfield minutes will be a key factor for success in this match. Inexplicably Ben Hobbs has again been left out of the side as he continues to crush in the VFL. That means the extra midfield minutes of Merrett might shift to Jye Caldwell or Archie Perkins. It’s a bit of a guess here, but if you get it right, then they could be a slate-winning play.

Andrew Phillips ($8,780) / Scott Draper ($11,890) Both Essendon rucks are in great form and they are working well in tandem. Both don’t mind pushing forward and kicking goals which is going to be tough for the Magpies to contend with due to their lack of height. Both are in play and you can work them into lineups depending on your budget in other positions.

PREMIUM PLAYS

Darcy Parish ($15,990) is the obvious player to get a boost from the lack of Merrett in the middle and his price isn’t too bad for his massive ceiling so he’s certainly in play as a premium option. I prefer his price to Shiel and Setterfield who are also likely to get a boost. It is a tough match up for the Essendon mids though, so I wouldn’t be going too hard.

Nick Daicos ($16,590) is leading the Brownlow Medal after Round 5 and is proving unstoppable with a ridiculous 118.6 average so far this season. It doesn’t seem to matter the match up or whether he is tagged or not, he just runs and accumulates at will. The Bombers tend to play a positive style and looking at their list, I can’t think of who they would possibly send to stop him. This means Daicos will have freedom to do his thing. While he’s the highest salary on the slate, he probably should be priced at $18k+ and there’s enough value around to fit him into your lineups.

Suggested Draftstars Lineup

Draftstars

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