AFL season has officially arrived and it’s time to get your DFS lineups together for the clash between the Blues and Tigers.
Summary
Conditions for Footy look to be perfect at around 20 degrees with no chance of rain forecast.
The breeze predicted to be around Melbourne will not be as much of a factor inside the swirling cauldron that is the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Despite some injuries, the Tigers remain firm favourites ($1.22 H2H) and the handicap is set between 27.5 and 30.5 at most of the Australian bookies.
Moneyball’s $5,000 bank (just a $10 entry) is a must!
Team news
Fantasy Stars players to consider
FORWARDS
Jack Riewoldt (Richmond) $6,700
Jumpin Jack Flash might have missed a gig in the Richmond leadership group but he hasn’t missed a beat in the Tigers preseason. Scores of 97 and 111 against the Blues last year for Jack bode well and he’s the first stud we are locking in for our forward line. Jack’s preseason has been very good and the perfect conditions for a key forward on Friday night make him a must play.
RUCKS
Shaun Hampson (Richmond) $3,500
It’s debatable whether or not Hampson is in the Tigers best 22 when everyone is fit and firing. However, with no Ivan Maric he becomes a terrific value pickup for DFS players. He’s up against his old team in the Blues and as the Tigers number one ruckman at $3,500 he’s just a lock and load pick. He only had the one preseason game officially and he was dominant on that day with 30 hit-outs against the Power.
Here’s what coach Damien Hardwick had to say about Hampson stepping into Maric’s shoes as the Tigers number one ruck position.
“We’re really excited to see what he’s got to offer,” Hardwick said of Hampson at Punt Road Oval on Tuesday.
“He has elite numbers, from a hitout-ruckman perspective, he’s 56 percent of hitouts last week, which is really important.
“We sort of haven’t had that, so we’re looking forward to what he can give us. He’s going to give us first use of the ball, we feel, for majority of the night. So we’re going to ride Shaun and see how he goes.”
MIDS
Dustin Martin (Richmond) $8,000
You’ve got to spend the cash somewhere when there is only two teams on the slate. Dustin has had a terrific preseason and primed for a career year. He can push forward and kick goals which is what makes him such a dual threat DFS option and to a degree he is ‘tag-proof’ because he can play so many positions so well. With Deledio almost certain to miss Dusty is the first Richmond mid to plug and play. He had two fairly disappointing fantasy games against the Blues last year and we are backing him to hit back.
DEFENDERS
**Jacob Weitering (Carlton) $3,500**
Young Carlton defender who looks to cheap to not play against the Tigers. Two solid performances in the NAB Challenge for the #1 pick in the 2015 AFL draft. The Blues will give him every chance to succeed and he’s a low risk, high reward play that will allow us to splash some cash on some premium mids.
