AAAAAAAAND we are off and racing! The first week of the AFLW season has come and gone, and with it, the AFLW Fantasy season has moved from 'pre-season' mode to 'in-season trading' mode.
Week one started off with some vintage form for Sabrina Frederick, who dominated the Swans' ruck department en route to a 118, followed by some excellent scoring by reigning League MVP Monique Conti and the best mid-priced score of the weekend from new Eagle Jess Hosking in the hitout between West Coast and Richmond.
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What truly defined the weekend was the goings-on at a wet and blustery Windy Hill on Saturday afternoon. The Fremantle trio of Aisling McCarthy, Mim Strom, and Aine Tighe dominated the Bombers, with all three featuring in the top five scorers of the round, plus the presumptive top forward option Bonnie Toogood injured her MCL in the second quarter on an unfortunate five points.
The rest of the weekend included some Fantasy stalwarts in Ebony Marinoff, Anne Hatchard, and Ash Riddell scoring at their expected 115+ levels and some excellent rookie performances from the likes of Shineah Goody, Sachi Syme, and Eilish O'Dowd.
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Top five price rises
1. Aisling McCarthy (MID, $1,087,000): +$205,000
2. Mim Strom (RUC, $1,183,000): +$156,000
3. Sachi Syme (MID, $550,000): +$150,000
4. Shineah Goody (MID, $449,0000): +$149,000
5. Aine Tighe (FWD, 1,060,000): +$143,000
Top five price falls
1. Bonnie Toogood (FWD, $1,044,000): -$279,000
2. Elisabeth Georgostathis (DEF, $704,000): -$182,000
3. Matilda Scholz (RUC, $837,000): -$142,000
4. Shineah Davison (MID, $458,000): -$127,000
5. Emma O'Driscoll (DEF, 1,060,000): -$143,000
Treat
Jess Hosking (DEF, $674,000)
Hosking was instrumental in the Eagles' upset victory over Richmond on Friday night. Pushing up to stoppage, she managed to impact handily through the midfield with 15 touches, six marks and five tackles, but also had an impact forward with two goals. No doubt she was fired up against her old team, but Hosking has put her hand up as a handy mid-priced option for those keen to revamp their defensive lines.
Aisling McCarthy (MID, $1,087,000)
We never should have doubted the pre-season form of McCarthy, who posted a mammoth 139 to begin the 2024 season. In a high stoppage game, she was everywhere with 14 tackles and two goals to help the Dockers storm past the Bombers. This may be far above her previous best, but if she continues this form against the Crows on Sunday then her price may skyrocket out of reach!
Mim Strom (RUC, $1,183,000)
Strom is quickly gaining a reputation as an opening-round performer, managing to set an AFLW record of 48 hitouts at Windy Hill on Saturday. On top of this, she was highly impactful after this with nine tackles and 15 disposals. There aren't too many rucks with this type of ceiling, so Fantasy coaches should have no hesitation in joining the Strom party this season.
Trick
Lucy McEvoy (DEF, $793,000)
McEvoy was elite in the season-opener for the Swans, impacting all over the ground with four intercept possessions, four score involvements and a goal. The challenge is understanding how consistently the co-captain will score, with her flexibility often throwing her all over the field into various roles. With her capacity to play lockdown defensive roles, we are extremely wary of jumping on board too soon.
Nicola Barr (MID, $1,050,000)
The Giants midfield ran all over the Western Bulldogs on Saturday, with Barr highlighting why she was a No.1 draft pick back in 2017. Despite the impressive performance, Barr will come up against far stronger midfield units in the coming weeks and is unlikely to have the space and freedom to post anything close to her massive 116 Fantasy points.
Georgia Garnett (FWD, $654,000)
Garnett managed to get on the end of a few scoring opportunities in the Giants' blowout of the Western Bulldogs, kicking two goals and having six score involvements on the day. However, the Giants had an incredible efficiency going forward, with 26 shots from their 35 inside 50s. We are expecting Garnett to have far fewer opportunities going forward, which should see her return to her Fantasy averages of 2023.
Sell
Bonnie Toogood (FWD, $1,044,000)
She was meant to be our guaranteed forward premium, but sadly Toogood has been ruled out for 6-8 weeks with a knee injury. This means that she is a guaranteed trade out for the two thirds of the competition that started her. The question of the week is whether to target this week's best forwards (Tighe/Kate Hore), a 'fallen premium' (Katie Brennan/Gemma Houghton), a genuine mid-pricer (Casey Sherriff/Ash Saint), or a rookie (Isabel Huntington/Ella Maurer)
Amber Clarke is stretchered off with concussion and Bonnie Toogood limps down to the rooms after this heavy clash
Elisabeth Georgostathis (DEF, $704,000)
Georgostathis ended 2023 as one of the highest scoring defenders. That run ended abruptly on Saturday, after she scored a measly five points, with only 68 per cent time on ground, two kicks, four handballs and three frees against. It might be a few more weeks before the Western Bulldogs' new gameplan under Tam Hyett really starts to take hold in this very young squad, so while that takes its time, trading out Georgostathis is a must.
Serene Watson (DEF, $427,000)
Where was the St Kilda gameplan that we all saw in the pre-season?! Watson was the key pivot on switches, sat out the back of defensive 50 stoppages for backwards handpasses, and looked to be a vital distributor for the Saints when they played West Coast two weeks ago. Sadly, that role and game style was noticeably absent against Gold Coast, where the Saints looked to attack the corridor and eschew any and all lateral transition play in defence. A likely trade out while she still holds some value on her head, and targeting a below $800k defender remains possible via a downgrade of Toogood.
Matilda Scholz (RUC, $837,000)
A 26 really must've stung for all the coaches who started last year's best rookie. Unfortunately, Scholz spent half of her time on ground playing as a forward, splitting her ruck time with Olivia Levicki (both had 48 per cent of Port's ruck contests). Whilst Port Adelaide figures out its ruck balance, trading out Scholz is the way to go, likely with a downgrade to Jess Allan (Adelaide, $790,000), Poppy Kelly (Richmond, $616,000) or Lauren Wakfer (West Coast, $600,000).
Top rookies
With the speed that prices move in AFLW Fantasy, it can be hard for any one player to be considered a 'rookie' for very long. For the purposes of our trades this week, I think that anyone below $500,000 can still be considered a rookie, as trading them in will be a means to guarantee some bench cash generation at the very least. Each week, we aim to give you a couple of rookie options to target for your trades. For the purposes of this list, we have assumed that everyone owns Shineah Goody, but if you don't yet, then she is comfortably your No.1 priority.
Defenders: Dayna Finn (Carlton, $372,000), Ainslie Kemp ($394,000)
Midfielders: Hayley Bullas (Sydney, $425,000), Mattea Breed (Hawthorn, $471,000)
Rucks: Eilish O'Dowd (GWS, $406,000), Georgie Cleaver (West Coast, $334,000)
Forwards: Isabel Huntington (GWS, $470,000), Ruby Tripodi (North Melbourne, $421,000)
Captains
Fresh off being nicknamed 'Captain Planet' by fellow Free Kick co-hosts Mel and Will, Liam will be providing his top captain picks for each round of 2024!
1. Ebony Marinoff: Starting the season off with a 121-point effort was nice for all those coaches who started the game's most expensive player. She now plays a Fremantle side that loves a high-stoppage, high-tackle game, and turned their nose up at tagging Madison Prespakis last week. A 130+ ought to be the target this week.
2. Charlie Rowbottom: Started like a house of fire, but faded in the last quarter against St Kilda. The same Carlton midfield that allowed Rowbottom to score 121 in round one last year will line up against her this week, after allowing Eliza West to score a career-high 106 last week. I expect the bruising best of Rowbottom to return this week, with a 120+ score.
3. Anne Hatchard: Starting forward? No issues for Hatchard, who still got her marks and her tackles against Port Adelaide. I expect the game against Fremantle to be very high scoring, and Hatchard looks back to her scoring best.
4. Ash Riddell: Her match against Brisbane was the archetypal Riddell performance – 31 disposals (20 kicks), five marks, five tackles and a goal. I am looking past the season-low of 79 that she scored against Geelong last year, because that came when she was tasked with tagging Georgie Prespakis, who comes into this game looking hobbled. Jasmine Garner spending a bit more time forward this year also helped Riddell's scoring prospects.
VC shouts: Shineah Goody v Western Bulldogs, Ellie Blackburn v Port Adelaide, Ally Anderson v Melbourne, Kate Hore v Brisbane
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