DraftKings AFL DFS Picks: Thursday, June 18th
Welcome to the next round of the Australian Football League (AFL) with the opening fixture of Round 3 between the Richmond Tigers and the Hawthorn Hawks. The action gets underway at 19:40 Australian Eastern Standard Time (05:40 AM ET) on Thursday. Richmond are currently the Premiership favorites with Vegas and looking to remain undefeated on the season against the Hawks. Let’s take a look with markets, history, teams and DraftKings fantasy thoughts.
If this is your first look at AFL DFS make sure you are aware of the game itself in our How to Articles:
— How to Play Daily Fantasy AFL on DraftKings
— AFL Daily Fantasy Strategy Steps to Success
— Using AFL Data
You will also want to leverage these tools to help build your Round 2 lineups:
— AFL Daily Projections from Daily Fantasy Rankings
— AFL Lineup Optimizer / Lineup Builder: LineupHQ
— FREE DraftKings Round 2 Cheat Sheet and Projections
— FREE DFS Matchup and Data Tools from Daily Fantasy Rankings
Also, be sure to catch some fantastic multimedia from Daily Fantasy Rankings every week. Below, you’ll find the AFL DK Down Under Show 2020 – Richmond v Hawthorn. Subscribe on YouTube and don’t miss an episode!
AFL Betting Market Odds, Teams and Weather
Richmond 1.55 (-182) v Hawthorn 2.45 (+145)
Total Over/Under – 135.5
Spread – 8.5
Lines and Prices are correct at the time of publication (2030 AEST 17-06-2020) and subject to change.
Weather Forecast
In Melbourne, it will be a clear day and cool night, great for footy!
Final teams can be accessed via the League’s Website afl.com.au for this match and a reminder that confirmed starters are at 60 minutes before the match commences. There is a significant change to the Richmond side, with star player Dustin Martin out of this match with rib soreness. This has moved the markets towards the Hawks favor. The Hawks also regained midfielder Jaeger O’Meara from an eye injury suffered in return to season training.
Credit – afl.com.au
Fantasy Contests Available
DraftKings have posted their main GPP contest with a $60,000 USD pool for a $10 USD entry. The contest is a 150 max contest. However, once contests are filled that is it! They do not continue to grow, so ensure you have your entry in your chosen contest reserved!
Quirky Fact – In the first 2 rounds Richmond gave up the least amount of fantasy points to opposition Forwards (35 points per player).
Lineup Building tip: There are a few interesting things to think about this slate, both ruck options are fairly break even, they will have similar output. Where you can think about attacking and starting your lineup builds from is the Hawthorn backline and Hawthorn midfielders. Another thing to consider is Richmond forwards, who will kick the goals and which of the Tiger Midfields will get an extra boost due to the star player out of the game. Could be worth looking at players such as Caddy, Higgins and Lambert.
Players of Interest
Trent Cotchin – M – $6,300
Richmond’s captain looked like the Trent Cotchin of old in patches last week against the Pies posting 86 fantasy points and spending the majority of time in the mid field with the second most centre bounce attendances behind ruck man Ivan Soldo. The Hawks got decimated at the stoppages last week losing the clearances by 18 so the script will see Cotchin will thrive in the middle.
Bachar Houli – D – $6,800
Houli was sensational in defense for the Tigers, leading the team in Disposals and breaking three figures in fantasy. This is the top matchup in the league for his position and he has averaged 101 points per game over his last three matches against the Hawks (20 minute quarters). From his last 12 games at the MCG he has posted an insane 110-point average with just two scores dipping below 100. At this price the field will be heavy as it gets on Houli and stacking him up with other Tigers defenders is the way to go here.
Jaeger O’Meara – M – $7,700
The probable tag on DraftKings will be removed on the announcement of teams (24 hours prior to the game) as O’Meara will return to the Hawks side after his facial fracture. O’Meara scored 83 fantasy points in Round 1 and was very consistent to finish the season 2019 with his final 7 rounds all over 82 fantasy points. The Hawks midfield group suffered down in Geelong in Round 2 and will be boosted by the return of O’Meara and the large spaces of the MCG.
Jack Higgins – F – $4,700
Higgins was fantastic against the Magpies with 12 Disposals, along with 8 Marks and a goal. With the injury to Martin, Higgins could be in the frame for play higher up the field. However the return of Josh Caddy (M/F $4,800) could also step into Martin’s role with the Tigers still warm favorites to defeat Hawthorn.
Jack Ross – M – $3,800
The key beneficially of Martin’s absence is the player that comes in the Richmond side and that is Ross. Ross’ seven games for the Tigers produced fantasy scores over 60 points for 5 out of the 7 games in 2019 and will see center bounce attendance throughout the match. Too good of value to pass up.
For further analysis of the Sunday Slate and access to Daily Fantasy Rankings AFL resources, we have a further breakdown on this slate in our Thursday Preview on the Daily Fantasy Rankings site.
RotoGrinders Premium subscribers can also access DraftKings AFL DFS Projections, which can be found in LineupHQ for more great options on this week’s slate.
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- Access to Content and LineupHQ
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Author: Luke Mathyssen
Player Image Credit – Hawthorn Hawks