AFL $20,000+ Kangaroos v Bulldogs Line-Up

The first edition of Good Friday footy is here! This matchup also marks the first edition of the Good Friday Draftstars $20k giveaway, so why not make a team and cheer on your fantasy players? Despite the Roos being 0-3, I suspect this may be a pretty close contest.

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Here is a team you may consider for the AFL $20,000+ Kangaroos v Bulldogs competition

Forward

Shaun Higgins ($12,450)

Shaun Higgins turned it on in the first two weeks, averaging 103 Draftstars points including one of the best games of his career against the Cats. Playing inside midfield, I can see Higgins more than justifying the $12k pricetag for Friday nights match. He performed pretty poorly against the Giants and will be looking to bounce back, and I’m backing him to do just this.

Kayne Turner ($6,850)

Turner looms as a cheap option who has the potential to score solidly if he snags a couple of majors. The goalsneak managed 61 Draftstars points from his goal and 17 disposals last weekend, his highest tally for the season. Has kicked five goals in 2017 so far and I’d expect him to add a couple more to that by the end of Friday night. A good value selection for our forward lines.

Midfield

Marcus Bontempelli ($15,150)

Bontempelli is just fantastic to watch, because you know he is going to pull through. ‘The Bont’ was on about 2 Draftstars points at quarter time on the weekend while being tagged by Connor Blakely, and STILL ended up hitting the ton. All class. Was tagged by Trent Dumont in the Bulldogs’ last clash against the Roos, and took him to the cleaners with 110 points from just 19 disposals. Also booted three goals and laid nine tackles. Gotta lock him in I reckon.

Luke Dahlhaus ($14,100)

Dahlhaus has underperformed a touch this season, getting those solid 80-100 Draftstars point totals but not taking it further. We’re at Round 4 now and I think this is the week he takes it to the next level. At his very best he tackles like a machine, and currently he has averaged just the four per game. On the big stage of Good Friday, I can see Dahlhaus putting in a God-like effort on this religious occasion.

Lin Jong ($12,650)

Jong has had a very impressive Draftstars season to date, averaging 98 points per match. His last appearance at Etihad yielded 114 points, where he heroically came back from a knock to his nose. This was one of his best performances of his career and who knows – maybe he’ll do this again on the Etihad turf. Should be a bit of a POD as he is fairly low profile.

Ryan Clarke ($8,950)

Young Clarke was a late in for the Roos on Saturday with Majak pulling out and was reasonable, scoring 58 Draftstars points. Very little at the cheap end in the midfield has forced me to jump onto the lad, but he is a known ball-winner. In fact, he scored 77 points against them in their last encounter. He should be hungry to keep his spot in the side, so hopefully we will see this score repeated.

Defence

Jamie Macmillan ($11,050)

Macmillan was down on his usual output last weekend, scoring just 53 Draftstars points. His total of 83 against the Cats in Round 2 is what we should expect for him against the Bulldogs, where the running defender should be able to perform better under the roof of Etihad than he did in the swirling winds of Blundstone Arena. Macmillan pretty much has the title of designated kicker out of defence for the Roos, so he should get opportunity to do so in the likely event that the Dogs actually rock up this week. Scored 101 points last time against the Bulldogs.

Shaun Atley ($9,450)

There isn’t a bevy of cheap defensive options, so I’ve gone with Atley. If there’s any venue that suits Atley it’s Etihad Stadium, because quite frankly he is suited to sitting outside packs. There was talk that he would join the on-ball brigade this season but that doesn’t seem to have eventuated. In saying all this, there isn’t many cheap defenders on offer, so I am going to hope he performs similarly to his 85-point performance against the Bulldogs in their last clash.

Ruck

Braydon Preuss ($9,000)

Many will look at this and go, “why have you not got Goldstein against Campbell?” The answer: Goldy looks stuffed. The fact that Preuss rucked the majority against the Giants says a lot considering Goldstein has generally been left alone to ruck for the past three years. Also, Preuss has averaged 107 Draftstars points in the past two weeks, including a 105 point effort with Goldy in the side last week. Even if Goldy does ruck the majority, I back Preuss to get at least 90 against Tom Campbell.

The Line Up

FWD: Shaun Higgins ($12,450)

FWD: Kayne Turner ($6,850)

MID: Marcus Bontempelli ($15,150)

MID: Luke Dahlhaus ($14,100)

MID: Lin Jong ($12,650)

MID: Ryan Clarke ($8,950)

DEF: Jamie Macmillan ($11,050)

DEF: Shaun Atley ($9,450)

RUCK: Braydon Preuss ($9,000)

Salary Remaining: $350