IT IS that time of the week again, when you're logging into the Draftstars lobby and working out which contest you want to play over the weekend of footy.

We're here to help. This is the round 20 Draftstars cheat sheet with all the players you should consider, and a couple you might want to avoid.

Richmond v Collingwood, MCG, Friday night


Richmond has been the story of the week following its big loss to Greater Western Sydney, so who will stand up for the Tigers under the Friday night lights against Collingwood?



Tigers skipper Trent Cotchin (MID, $14,800) has had a consistent scoring season, but could manage just 62 points last week. It was his second lowest score of the year, so his body of work suggests he won't put in two in a row like that. 



Alex Rance (DEF, $10,500) presents as a reasonable defensive option, while Bachar Houli (DEF, $13,700) is a little bit more expensive than Rance but averages 92 a round. Adam Marcon (MID, $9350) gathered 71 points in his debut last week and knows how to find the footy, so could be a cheaper option.


For the Pies, James Aish (DEF/MID, $9100) has picked up his form recently and the former Brisbane Lion played perhaps his best game for Collingwood last week with 95 points. Two of his past three games he's hit 90 or more.  



A good weekend of Draftstars can rely on one of your base-price prospects pulling out a career-best game. That's what first-year Magpie Josh Smith (MID, $10,800) did last week when he collected 123 points against the Eagles. 


Sydney Swans v Port Adelaide, SCG, Saturday

It's hard to look at the Swans' Draftstars options without starting with Josh Kennedy (MID, $15,800) and Dan Hannebery (MID, $16,300). The star midfield pair collected 45 and 41 disposals respectively last week against Fremantle, which combined for more than 300 Draftstars points.

In attack, Isaac Heeney (FWD, $10,900) looked to be back to his exciting best with 22 disposals, four goals and 108 Draftstars points last weekend. Back him in for another good one against Port Adelaide.

Swans big man Sam Naismith (FWD/RK, $9600) was terrific last week in Callum Sinclair's (FWD/RK, $9900) absence. Naismith scored 90 points and took on the responsibility in ruck, and he's a solid low-cost choice. 


Port ruckman Jackson Trengove (DEF/RK, $11,500) is another worthy of consideration in your important ruck position. He has averaged 95 over the past three weeks. You'd be brave to select John Butcher (FWD, $9250) despite his four-goal and 124-point effort last week for the Power, but Aaron Young (MID, $11,600) could be the unique Power player you're after. He scored 112 in Port's thumping win over the Brisbane Lions last week. 

Melbourne v Hawthorn, MCG, Saturday

Melbourne hasn't beaten Hawthorn for 10 years, but if you're feeling a little more optimistic about the Dees, here's a few worth looking at.



Jack Watts (FWD/MID, $11,950) is having the best season of his career and last week scored 109 points in a match-winning game, while youngster Angus Brayshaw (MID/FWD, $9050) had his best game of the year with 100 points. He might be about ready to get a run on after an up-and-down year. Jack Viney (MID, $14,850) was quieter last week with 79 points compared to his average of 102, so should bounce back hard against the Hawks. 



Shaun Burgoyne (DEF, $11,900) probably wouldn't be the first player you'd pick from Hawthorn but he was their best scorer last week with 113 points against Carlton.

Grant Birchall (DEF, $12,250) is another selection that might not seem an obvious one but he's a regular scorer at a good price, while Jordan Lewis (MID, $15,450) is the premium Hawk you might choose as one of only two Hawthorn players to average more than 100 point a game this year, alongside Sam Mitchell (MID, $14,550).  

Gold Coast v Greater Western Sydney, Metricon Stadium, Saturday

We're going to run this as one of our 'turbo' contests of this weekend. The turbo style of Draftstars sees the salary cap rendered irrelevant, and makes you pick one player from six different tiers to make up your squad.



Stephen Coniglio (MID, $15,600) is in some brilliant form at the moment – he's scored three consecutive tons – so gets our pick as the tier one player. His GWS teammate Josh Kelly (MID, $13,250) gets the nod in the second tier with his 93-point average, while the Giants' running half-back Zac Williams (DEF, $12,250) has averaged 86 points this season and continues to fly under the radar. He's a unique and good choice.

We could pick Giants if we really wanted to, but the Suns have a couple of handy players in tier four. Kade Kolodjashnij (DEF, $11,400) and Touk Miller (MID/FWD, $11,000) are neck and neck, but we're going to go with Miller, who has averaged 94 points in the past three weeks.



To complete our turbo line-up for the Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney clash, we're adding Jack Martin (FWD, $10,650) in tier five and Josh Schoenfeld (MID, $9400) in tier six.


Western Bulldogs v North Melbourne, Etihad Stadium, Saturday

This will be a game worth following, but if you're out and about, remember the Draftstars app is now available. Download it to keep track of your team's successes (we're an optimistic lot here).

There was a surprise at the top of the Bulldogs' scoring last week, with Shane Biggs (DEF, $11,350) the only Dog to hit the 100-point mark. Next best were Jason Johannisen (DEF, $13,200), Luke Dahlhaus (FWD/MID, $14,350) and Tom Boyd (FWD, $8750), who all gathered 88 points.

Dahlhaus is probably the only one you could pick with a degree of certainty he'd do that again this week facing North Melbourne, but Boyd is an interesting one. He is getting closer to a big breakout game. 



Also, a young Bulldog in Josh Dunkley (MID, $10,100) is worth considering. He comes at a nice value and after his 81 points last week his average has risen to 74. If you're stuck, he could be a good option.

Beware of the one-round screamer in Draftstars. Jamie Macmillan (DEF, $11,050) scored 118 last week, but it was his first ton of the year. The odds are he won't do it again this week against the Dogs.

We'd play it a little safer with our North selections, with Todd Goldstein (RK, $15,250), Jack Ziebell (MID, $14,300) and even the often injured Daniel Wells (MID/FWD, $12,550) proving more regular scorers.

Adelaide v Brisbane Lions, Adelaide Oval, Saturday

This could be a blood bath, so load up on Crows players. Percentage is a big factor for the top four this season, and the Lions were smacked by 94 points last week by Port Adelaide. It's hard to see this one going much better. 


Scott Thompson (MID, $13,550) will be rested this week, but fellow star midfielder Rory Sloane (MID, $15,650) ran amok last week against Essendon with 128 points so should go well again facing the Lions. Matt Crouch's (MID, $12,700) clearance work is also winning many plaudits and he's been a consistent scorer in his third AFL season.

The Lions will find it hard to contain Eddie Betts (FWD, $11,550), Josh Jenkins (FWD, $11,800) and Tom Lynch (FWD, $13,500) in that Crows forward line, so you probably can't go too wrong selecting any of them in your Draftstars line-up.

One player you might want to consider from the Lions if you're willing to take a risk is Archie Smith (RK, $11,500). The ruckman was excellent in his debut last week, tallying 96 points against Port. With Sam Jacobs (RK, $13,800) to miss for the Crows, Smith could be a rare choice to give your side an advantage. 

Carlton v St Kilda, MCG, Sunday


There's different levels of buy-in available to Draftstars coaches, and different game formats, too. The head-to-head battles pits coaches one-on-one, and in the 'double up' field nearly half of the entrants will double their money.

There's also the 'guaranteed' market, where the cash prize pool is locked in even if the available number of contestants is not full.

There's not many guarantees with the Carlton and St Kilda game, however, with the Saints still proving an inconsistent side. Someone who is proving to be a reliable performer is Seb Ross (MID, $14,600), with the midfielder scoring 101 points last week and nudging his average up to 97 points.

Third-year Saints Blake Acres (MID, $9500) and Jack Billings (FWD, $12,150) also went well with scores of 85 and above, while Jack Steven (MID, $16,250) would be short odds to rebound from his poor score last week with a big game against the Blues.

The locks for the Blues are the midfielders such as Bryce Gibbs (MID, $16,100), Patrick Cripps (MID, $14,050) and half-back Sam Docherty (DEF, $15,150). Sam Kerridge (FWD, $12,250) is also a player you should consider for a forward or midfield spot having averaged 83 this season.

Geelong v Essendon, Etihad Stadium, Sunday

The Cats are keen on a percentage boost so this could be a dangerous game for Essendon. Obviously Patrick Dangerfield (MID, $17,600) is the player you need to pick if you can afford his hefty price tag. He is averaging a remarkable 120 points a game this year and he has scored fewer than 100 on only three occasions this year. Lock him in.



Steven Motlop (FWD/MID, $12,700) has a knack of turning it on against Essendon and scored 100 points last week, and Rhys Stanley (RK/FWD, $9900) should be riding a wave of confidence after his five-goal performance in last round's win over the Western Bulldogs.



Stanley would be a good choice in your team's solitary ruck position, but he has only averaged 63 this season. The challenge is for him to back it up, but the Cats are facing the bottom-placed Bombers so the chance is there to take.



Essendon ruckman Matthew Leuenberger (RK/FWD, $10,650) will go up against Stanley, and has been in solid form. Last week he collected a season-high 103 points, and he's averaged 93 in his past three games. Fellow Bombers recruit Craig Bird (MID/FWD, $12,050) has also steadily built up his average to 82 points, and last week gathered 107 points against the Crows.

Fremantle v West Coast, Domain Stadium, Sunday

We're going to play this one in the turbo format, isolating the Freo and Eagles game and choosing six players from different categories. Lachie Neale (MID, $16,400) is the obvious candidate in tier one, so we'll grab him there, but we're going to take a bit of a risk and select ruckman Scott Lycett (RK/FWD, $13,300) in tier two.

Lycett can rack up some important disposals around the ground. From here it gets hard, but Mark LeCras' (FWD, $12,150) 80-point average stands out in tier three, and if Jack Darling (FWD, $10,700) repeated his 75-point effort from last week we'd be happy with that from a tier four player.

Hayden Crozier (FWD, $10,150) is our fifth-tier player with an average of 75, and his Dockers teammate Tommy Sheridan (DEF, $9600) gets the final spot of the turbo derby line-up. This game doesn't present huge interest in terms of the ladder, with the Eagles expected to win, but it could make or break your weekend of Draftstars action.