Easter Sunday AFL brings a 2-game contest and you will see a theme here from Draftstars Veteran ‘Tbetta’. What to do with the baby West Coast Eagles team? Read on for ‘Tbetta’s’ Sunday preview with plenty of prize money up for grabs from Draftstars.

MAIN CONTESTS:
$75,000 Main ($15 entry, 125 max)
$10,000 High Roller ($150 entry, 3 max)
$5,000 Fiver ($5 entry, 50 max)
$3,000 Mini ($2 entry, 15 max)
$2,500 Buck Hunter ($1 entry, 100 max)
$2,000 Micro ($0.50 entry, 100 max)

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SATELLITE:

ESS vs GWS – Roof.
WCE vs MEL – Fine.

INNER CORE:

FWD
Jacob Van Rooyen ($7,760 FWD) rewarded punters with a 76 on debut at basement price last week, and the West Coast match-up is promising for those hoping for a repeat performance. He had the back-up ruck role so while the 3 extra hitouts didn’t make a huge difference, being up around the contest definitely gave him that easier access to make it to that impressive 6-tackle figure. With Tom McDonald back into the squad, it’ll be interesting to see who’s cast in the role as Brodie Grundy’s deputy, but I’d expect a big day up forward regardless (and you can throw guys like Harrison Petty and Kade Chandler at similar salaries into that mix too).

There are no actual Premium players available for us up forward, so I’ll be looking to marry the cheap Demons up with some mid-price ceiling options. Kysaiah Pickett ($9,700 FWD) is back from suspension and will be super popular after a 120 and a lick of midfield time in Round 1. Jamaine Jones ($10,550 FWD) could pick up some backline slack for West Coast – it should be pointed out that he averaged an extra 22 points per game after a midyear switch from attack to defence last season.

MID
Young Eagles dominate the sub-$10k bracket of this positional line and with so much midfield time available, it’s impossible that none of the 6 options returns value. The challenge then becomes which one, or two, or three, do you bank on? Elijah Hewett ($6,000 MID) was already in the 23-man squad and seeing a few CBA cameos as the substitute, but I think he might be destined for more forward line action than the others. It’s a painful exercise, but in trying to piece together the West Coast puzzle I had Greg Clark ($7,070 MID) as the high half forward, Connor West ($8.900 MID/FWD) and Jai Culley ($9,850 MID) forming the inside mid/forward rotation and Luke Edwards ($7,380 MID) easing back into it with a small forward role following his lingering osteitis pubis battle. 

Are we sure that Harry Rowston ($6,000 MID) at basement price and with 60% CBAs isn’t a better option; at least for mental health if not financially?

The elephant in the room is Elliot Yeo ($11,610 DEF/MID) given his body issues at odds with his bargain price-tag. I’m very hesitant following Adam Simpson’s press conference where he warned that “we need to be careful about what we expect from Yeoy, to get back in the rhythm and manage him a little”. Red flags everywhere.

Dylan Shiel ($14,280 MID) shapes as an interesting prospect after shooting to the top of Essendon’s CBA hierarchy in Round 3 with a 32% boost – maybe the Bombers have figured out he can only play one position? It’s great news for DFS buyers if so, as evidenced by that season-high 110 against the Saints. For just an extra $900-$1500 you can have any of Christian Petracca, Tom Green or Josh Kelly however, so that might limit his ownership despite the excellent KPIs.

DEF
Once again we’re forced to consider a couple of West Coast reinforcements. Sam Petrevski-Seton ($9,200 FWD/DEF) played arguably his best game as an Eagle and I can easily see his precision kicking and smarts complementing Jones’ line-breaking across half-back. Brady Hough ($8,550 MID/DEF) appears to be favourite for the vacant wing and has had a few upswings in the past, but sadly that was more across half-back after digging into the archives.

I’m sick of writing about Eagles, so what about a Lachie Ash ($10,080 DEF) dart after 99 last weekend? He might be finally enjoying some extra responsibility in defence with 7 kick-ins behind Isaac Cumming’s 8 and ahead of Lachie Whitfield’s 4, but it’s likely that Carlton’s poor accuracy fueled his upswing more than anything else.

RUC
I’m not going to spend too much time on this line because the Brodie Grundy Chalk Day is absolutely justified, but I couldn’t help but notice that Sam Draper ($9,920 RUC) is a solo ruck again after a season-high score last round. 

BLACK HOLES:

Clayton Oliver ($17,550 MID)

The easiest decision Adam Simpson will ever make is to use West Coast’s injury exodus as an excuse to send one of his young plucky Eagles for a cooling job on the red-hot Demon. On a 3 or 4 game slate I wouldn’t even have Clarry in my player pool at this monster price, but his ceiling on a two-gamer with a hobbled Eagle midfield to contend with is enough to keep him in play.  

Angus Brayshaw ($14,080 MID)

I thought Gus would be allowed to move in the midfield last week with the Demons adding an extra defender, but it was instead Petty who flipped forward to balance the ledger. If Melbourne are intent on keeping Brayshaw in the backline for as long as Christian Salem remains on the sidelines, then I’d avoid the red and navy helmet at this salary. West Coast’s forward press makes them the hardest team for DEFs to score against in recent times – not to mention a projected lack of supply this Sunday.

STAR SIGNS:

Grundy Grows

No Nic Naitanui again makes this game an unmissable lay-up for Brodie Grundy, who’ll again shoulder the ruck with his skipper Max Gawn nursing a knee. Scores against the Eagles this year are unreal with Tristian Xerri on world-record pace in Round 1 before his injury, followed up by 110 from Matt Flynn and 128 for Sean Darcy in the Derby. Lock. And. Load.

Tracc Watching

The Melbourne theme continues with Christian Petracca ($15,160 MID) coming up against his bunny side in West Coast as his last three scores against them are belters with 113, 100 and 139. More of an even MID-FWD split this year (CBA’s are steady but he’s pushing forward once the clearance is won more often) has lowered his floor slightly, but the ceiling is still there. He’ll see a lot of the red leather thing even when “resting” forward this week.

Any Merrett In It?

Zach Merrett’s record against the Giants is diabolical, managing just 64 and 55 against them in his last two attempts. On the other hand, GWS don’t have a Harry Perryman or a Matt de Boer to turn to for a tagging job this year, so it begs the question: which trend do you put more stock in? The Essendon mocker, or his unbeaten run of triple-digit scores in 2023?

GALAXY CLUSTER:

Essendon – Full Stack

Home ground advantage has been massive in AFL results so far this year – think Brisbane’s entire footballing personality, Gold Coast upsetting the Cats, and so on – so that’s what I’m solely basing this potential stack on (two game slates… you need to get creative). One team has to fly on a cramped airplane, while the other team rocks up to their favourite stadium in front of a rabid one-sided crowd. Could be something in it, but it’s nowhere near as potent as the option below…

Melbourne – MIDs, RUCs, FWDs Stack

While the footy won’t be in West Coast’s forward line enough to sate the defenders, I’ll be snapping up Demons in every other line on the ground. Key Forwards and Ruckmen are the obvious DvP targets historically, but West Coast has just lost some serious experience in Dom Sheed and Luke Shuey from their midfield. It’ll be a highly-popular strategy as the clear stacking option on a sparse slate, but I don’t think it’s one you can afford to overthink by fading and outsmarting yourself. The numbers don’t lie.

MULTIVERSE THEORY:

In a parallel universe:

• Lachie Ash is moved into the midfield to tag Zach Merrett or Darcy Parish after being given a similar role a couple of seasons ago…
• Jordan Ridley is finally allowed to play as the intercept defender with another tall added to the mix and recaptures that 2021 form…

Tbetta.

Ready to go? Draftstars multi game Sunday slate will close at 2.10pm AEST. ENTER NOW!

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