
18 down, 5 to go!
If you’re reading this and you aren’t playing any rookies on your field right now, then tuning into Collingwood vs. Adelaide last weekend probably wasn’t a lot of fun. Nick Daicos continues to buck the trend for what we expect from a cash cow this late into the season and with him and a handful of other rookies producing high point totals, coaches are eager to make the most of their final 10 trades of the season. Whether it’s shuffling bench rooks or culling those final few pesky cash cows, make sure your squad is primed for a run at some silverware with the fantasy finals just around the corner.
Rookie/cash cows picks are players who start the season at $300,000 or lower
Mooooving On
Part of the weekly trade focus is to remove the rookie-priced players who are no longer making money. When a cash cow sees their average fall in line with their breakeven or they find themselves on the outside looking in for multiple weeks at a time, that’s a good time to give them the axe.
Fattened cash cows
- Jacob Wehr, Giants ($441K, AVG 60, BE 64)
- Nic Martin, Bombers ($616K, AVG 82, BE 83)
- Sam De Koning, Cats ($411K, AVG 47, BE 64)
- Jackson Mead, Power ($390K, AVG 48, BE 63)
- Ben Hobbs, Bombers ($499K, AVG 63, BE 66)
Injured/non-playing rookies
- Sam Hayes, Power ($408K, AVG 56, BE 51)
- Greg Clark, Eagles ($420K, AVG 59, BE 89)
- Marcus Windhager, Saints ($375K, AVG 45, BE 51)
- Mitch Ownes, Saints ($281K, AVG 43, BE 24)
- Judson Clarke, Tigers ($287K, AVG 42, BE 33)
Power Ranking Cash Cows – Round 18
After 18 weeks of action, these are the top-10 cash cow performers!
Knocking on the door (in no particular order): Massimo D’Ambrosio, Patrick Parnell, Jai Culley, Jase Burgoyne, Paddy McCartin
— SportsbyFry (@sportsbyfry) July 19, 2022
Cash Cow King – Round 18
Once again, Nick Daicos (147) stood head and shoulders above his rookie peers over the weekend, but there were a few candidates who did their best to stay in touch with the prestigious talent. His teammate Josh Carmichael (111) registered 24 touches (all kicks) while Hawthorn talent Josh Ward (133) chalked up a career-best 34 disposals that led to another whopping score. Mainstream MID/FWD Nic Martin (92) rounded out the group with his best score in the post-bye rounds, but he can’t hold a candle to Daicos after his Round 18 heroics.

Round 19 Rookie Rankings
DEFENCE
Looking every bit like a top-tier defender, roughly half of the fantasy community who still have Nick Daicos ($757K, 147, BE 55) in their lineups will focus their trade attention elsewhere over the coming weeks. The time has come to cash in Jacob Wehr ($441K, 52, BE ) after two average scores, although coaches won’t be acting so swiftly to ditch Patrick Parnell ($357K, 48, BE 36) and/or Massimo D’Ambrosio ($329K, DNP, BE 4) just yet. If you need to cull them to facilitate another upgrade, by all means, go for it, with D’Ambrosio no certainty to return after playing as a forward in the VFL and scoring a measly 43.
Top-4
-
Nick Daicos (Magpies)
-
Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera (Saints)
-
Jacob Wehr (Giants)
-
Massimo D’Ambrosio (Bombers)*
* if named
There may be some coaches rocking with Buku Khamis ($309K, 67, BE 18) or Rhett Bazzo ($287K, 51, BE 25) on their bench, both of whom still have a little bit of room to grow. The same can’t be said for Josh Gibcus ($297K, 21, BE 54) who was subbed out late in the third quarter with a shoulder injury and even if he holds his spot, it’s time for him to go. At state level, the fictitious fantasy prospect known as Will Gould ($190K, DNP, BE 25) did manage to accumulate 27 disposals for a score of 108 against Southport although I’m still wondering if he’s ever going to play for Sydney’s AFL side.
Best of the Rest
These players may or may not be in the selection mix this week, but be sure to keep them on your 2022 watchlist in case they burst onto the scene. In no particular order:
Darcy Wilmot (Lions, $260K)
Josh Eyre (Bombers, $190K)
Fischer McAsey (Crows, $201K)
Will Kelly (Magpies, $190K)
Will Gould (Swans, $190K)
Jez McLennan (Suns, $190K)
Garrett McDonagh (Bombers, $192K)
MIDFIELD
Daicos or Nic Martin ($616K, 92, BE 83) are still the most likely rookies to be sitting in your M8 slot, but there are a few MID prospects scoring well right now. The coaches who held onto Jake Soligo ($471K, 74, BE 56) in the hopes for another decent score were pleasantly surprised with his efforts in Round 10 and he could be trusted for a little longer if need be. Josh Ward ($483K, 133, BE 6) breathed life into his fantasy career with a monstrous effort against West Coast, although I wouldn’t be moving heaven and earth to get him on your field at this time of year.
Top-4
-
Nick Daicos (Magpies)
-
Nic Martin (Bombers)
-
Josh Ward (Hawks)
-
Jake Soligo (Crows)
The time has come to part ways with Jackson Mead ($390K, 34, BE 63) for those few coaches who are still clinging on to him, with Jason Horne-Francis ($481K, 53, BE 83) obviously another must-trade candidate. There won’t be too many fantasy sides who are still clinging onto JHF and a few viable targets bobbing up makes a move off of the North Melbourne prodigy much easier.
Some MID/FWD debutants will be hard to ignore, but one such prospect who could offer some upside that isn’t at the forefront of coaches’ minds is Will Hayes ($280K, 74, BE 14). The newly listed Blue put forth his best score of the season last weekend and he may just solidify a place inside Carlton’s best 22 to close the year. Debutant Tyler Sonsie ($254K, 57, BE 13) could fall into the same category with the first gamer hardly looking out of place as he gathered 19 touches in their loss to the Kangaroos.
Tyler Sonsie was solid in his first senior appearance. pic.twitter.com/v4o9WSyVPZ
— Richmond FC 🐯 (@Richmond_FC) July 17, 2022
Best of the Rest
These players may or may not be in the selection mix this week, but be sure to keep them on your 2022 watchlist in case they burst onto the scene. In no particular order:
Arlo Draper (Magpies, $202K)
Cooper Murley (Magpies, $194K)
Matthew Johnson (Dockers, $250K)
Josh Goater (Kangaroos, $248K)
Hugh Jackson (Power, $190K)
Tom Joyce (Eagles, $190K)
Bailey Laurie (Demons, $190K)
RUCK
No rookie rucks are instilling us with faith right now and anyone who has an R3 with some value could look to offload them to a basement-priced player in the near future. The likes of Caleb Graham ($279K, 35, BE 37) and Callum Jamieson ($307K, 45, BE 50) were the only two “cash cows” who took to the field last round, neither of which are long-term options. We may see the revival of Brynn Teakle ($192K, DNP, BE 22) as soon as this weekend though, with Scott Lycett suffering a potential infection following shoulder surgery that has seen him take a seat on the sidelines once again.
Top-3
-
Callum Jamieson (Eagles)
-
Caleb Graham (Suns)
-
Brynn Teakle (Power)*
* if named
Best of the Rest
These players may or may not be in the selection mix this week, but be sure to keep them on your 2022 watchlist in case they burst onto the scene. In no particular order:
Paul Tsapatolis (Cats, $190K)
Jacob Edwards (Kangaroos, $190K)
Charlie Comben (Kangaroos, $190K)
Mac Andrew (Suns, $282K)
Max Heath (Saints, $190K)
Alex Mirkov (Blues, $190K)
Samson Ryan (Tigers, $190K)
FORWARD
A rebound game from Nic Martin has seen him recapture the top forward ranking, but all of a sudden he has a few contenders. Tyson Stengle ($563K, 69, BE 74) maintained his string of strong performances and Connor MacDonald ($467K, 90, BE 32) has been rewarded for a career-best fantasy score, albeit much later in the season than coaches would have preferred. However, the talk of the town up FWD right now is the likes of Jai Culley ($224K, 76, BE -10) and Josh Carmichael ($278K, 111, BE -35) after they dominated on the weekend against the Hawks and Crows respectively.
Carmichael made his presence felt in game No. 2 by registering 24 kicks and 0 handballs, while Culley was a tackling machine as he found his mojo in the Eagles engine room. Picking between the two is like splitting hairs and both are excellent rooks picks right now, but I think I have slightly more faith in Carmichael moving forward thanks to his high point total in rather low TOG. Again, both of them loom as crucial cash cows down the home stretch and they may provide coaches with the cash generation they need to facilitate those final few on-field upgrades.
Top-4
-
Nic Martin (Bombers)
-
Tyson Stengle (Cats)
-
Connor MacDonald (Hawks)
-
Josh Carmichael (Magpies)
Not too far behind the recent debutants was fellow fresh face Noah Cumberland ($268K, 89, BE -23) who stepped up adequately in Tom Lynch’s absence as a threat in front of goal. I had my doubts over his scoring capability prior to the matchup vs. North, and even though he’ll increase in value off the back of this game, I won’t expect him to register seven shots on goal each week. Another cheap forward who filled up the stat sheet in Ash Johnson ($212K, 58, BE 2) could become a downgrade option, especially for those who are still rocking with Corey Durdin ($344K, 35, BE 40). You could also part ways with Ben Hobbs ($499K, 63, BE 66) if he’s still on your team sheet, with Essendon’s promising young gun seemingly flatlining in value and primed for the culling.
Best of the Rest
These players may or may not be in the selection mix this week, but be sure to keep them on your 2022 watchlist in case they burst onto the scene. In no particular order:
Ely Smith (Lions, $190K)
Elijah Hollands (Suns, $190K)
Jai Serong (Hawks, $190K)
Sam Darcy (Bulldogs, $288K)
Ned Long (Hawks, $190K)
Sam Philp (Blues, $205K)
Arthur Jones (Bulldogs, $206K)
Wade Derksen (Giants, $190K)
FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER: @SportsbyFry for all things AFL Fantasy (and more)! Feel free to hit me up with any questions you have throughout the season. Good luck! ✌️

Great work, Fry. On the topic of the fictitious fantasy prospect, in today’s AFL column, ‘ON THE OUTER: Why can’t he get a game for your club?’, Will Gould did not even rate a mention.
Haha I’m convinced he’s not even real!! Saying that I’m sure he’ll bob up again in the preseason and start the cycle over again
So much for Hollands being Gould 2.0
Daics, that article on the AFL site is very misleading. I think the biggest omission has to be Charley Constable. Also, of the 74 players named, 48 of them have played 4 games or more.
Fry, Wanganeen-Milera actually plays for the Saint’s.
Slipped through on the final proof read, cheers mate!
All good Fry, love your work.👍
Thanks Fry! Forgot about Johnson, he isn’t far off 190k and should make a little bit of cash if he plays so probs be my downgrade option. Now to decide between Mills (for the match up) or Laird this week, in an upgrade for Cripps if you have any thoughts? Will sort rucks out next week so can’t get the other mid in for another 2 weeks if I’m lucky.
Which Johnson? There are only two. Ash ($212k) got a mention, while there is no word on Matthew (Freo, $250k) getting a game – too expensive at this time of year anyway. Carmichael is a more worthy target at Collingwood (although you should already have got him when he was cheaper), and if you haven’t got that money, Culley is the better option.
Laird is on fire; however, Mills is very good value, and has a very juicy finish to the season. I already had Laird. I am bringing in Mills this week.
Sorry, meant it as in “I forgot about Johnson”, so talking about Ash. I already have all the gun rooks you’ve mentioned with healthy cash gen, so could do a 190k debutant if there is one
You’re lucky. I have no rooks on-field, but apart from Soligo, Carmichael and Culley, the rest of my bench rooks are duds. Too many other issues to deal with before I can clean them up.
Ash Johnson will probably play this week, but after that, I doubt it unless the Pies cop injuries.
Johnson is a fine downgrade target if you want the $$$ to make another move for Laird/Mills. Personally out of the two I think I’d go for Laird but you really can’t go wrong with either choice
Which trade option is best?
1. Cripps to Steele/Oliver
2. Heeney/Coleman to Baz/English/Bont/Marshall
3. O’Brien to Marshall
4. Sic dog to Dawson
I think No. 1 for Steele is the best of the bunch. Could maybe make the case for Heeney to a Bulldog, but I like Steele’s prospects better
Hoping hollands doesn’t play this week so I can loophole Heeney if he scores well. What score would you take from Heeney before putting Carmichael/Culley on field?
I don’t think he will crack Gold Coast’s lineup so should be safe. Honestly, I’d back Heeney to outscore the other two this week and anything over 70 I’d lock in.
Hollands to debut. Lol
Read it like 30 mins after I hit go on this comment 😂
Not that bad for me. Just need to hope either Johnson, Carmichael, Culley or Soligo will get dropped and if they both play, then I’ll just have to field Heeney
Great again Fry
No rooks on field (except possibly Daicos/Brodie if counted).
Whats your thoughts
– Cripps and Siciliy to Marshall and Mills (Daicos to D6 and Brodie to M8) – $27k short of Laird
or
– Cripps to Laird and bench rookie upgrade with $$ left over
I have a relative healthy bench for emergencies and later upgrades
– will continue with English/Cameron ruck for at least another week
Cheers man,
I prefer the Cripps to Laird move and then you can start ditching rookies next week if you need the $$$
Fry, Do I buy Cumberland or Elijah Hollands? Thanks mate
I think I’d bank the extra $$$ and go Hollands
Thanks for another good read Fry.
I’m just playing for finals glory at this point (finals place secured).
Option 1: Carmichael / Culley for Owens / Mead (and the following week Wehr / Solly out, Doch/190k rookie in)
Option 2: Lloyd / Culley for Wehr / Solly.
Thinking I could do with the cash down the line, but wondering if option 1 is bit too risky?
Glad to help mate!
I’m assuming Solly is Soligo and if that’s the case I’d do No. 2
Is it better to go
1. Darcy/Witts to Rowan Marshall if so who to trade?
OR
2. Get Culley this week as a rookie and cash before he gets too expensive and get Marshall next week.
I’m in a similar position and opting to wait one more week on Marshall so I can get Culley. That being said, if you want to maximise the points on the ground, there’s nothing wrong with grabbing Marshall this week vs. West Coast
Culley or Hollands?
I have been eyeing off Hollands for so long now, I want to just trade him in, but Culley has proven form at AFL level without a massive price jump. So, the sane part of my addled brain says to go Culley this week, and Hollands next week if he gets a second game. What do you reckon?
Out of those two I’d go Culley mate
Wondering why Paul Curtis has never been mentioned on here. He has been getting a regular game, has earned a couple of hundred grand and scored 71 last week
Fair call, he’s one of the ones who has somewhat slipped through the cracks and never really scored well enough to warrant trading in. Doubt the very few number of people who invested in will still have him in their side, but credit where credit is due!
Wehr or Mead out first?
And are we putting Mills in front of Zerrett and Steele?
Depends on who you can get too. Mead goes first in my eyes, but if it helps you get a premo MID over a questionable player then I’d ditch Wehr. Also, yep Mills the clear No. 1 target out of that trio if you ask me
All Wehr gets me is a bit of extra cash in the bank for next week.
Yeah, I’d ditch Mead now. Wehr can go next week
Who are the top 2 ruck men atm?
Bloody good question! With Ryder out for St Kilda, you kind of side with Marshall although there’s really no one putting their hands up as the top talents right now. ROB and Witts have arguably been the most consistent, but if I had to choose I’d go English and then Marshall right now
Thanks for your efforts Fry . Still one rookie left on field unfortunately being Martin in fwd line move to bont next week. Too many other issues to fix in the last month but everything else complete 👍🏼
I can relate mate, if team selection is kind I’m only getting rid of my last on-field rookie this week!
Hey Fry,
Not sure what premium to trade Angus Brayshaw to… I already have Mills, Laird, Neale, Steele, Dunkley, Coniglio, Treloar, Brodie, Brayshaw and Taranto… this leaves me with the options of bringing in Oliver, McCluggage, Sinclair or Bont, unless you have a better option what do you reckon? Any help is greatly appreciated!
I’d try target Sinclair this week mate. Hopefully he provides instant reward against West Coast
Do I trade Brayshaw, Steele or Oliver in this week, legends?
I would go with Brayshaw mate!
Tough to split the trio TBH, I’d go with Steele though
Love your work once again Fry man.
What’s thoughts on the below options this week. Pretty much locked in Kelly > Mills but which is the best second trade?
1) Sean Darcy > Bont (dpp Cameron to R2)
2) Sean Darcy > Marshall
Cheers mate
Thanks mate!
Big fan of the first trade and I think with the 2nd one go Darcy>Marshall. Gives you DPP flexibility as well moving forward and can always turn Cameron to Bont in the future
If Grundy is in who do you trade first: Darcy Cameron or Sean Darcy?
Tough one, I think I’d ditch Darcy either way and see how Darc looks with Grundy alongside
Bont or Marshall +$100k ??
Marshall and the $$$ for me mate
Is Sinclair a must? I’m $4k short of upgrading both Kelly and Sicily to Mills and Sinclair. Would you consider someone else than Mills to get Sinclair in?
That’s frustrating! Honestly, I’d rather get Mills over Sinclair, but depends on what other DEF you can get in. If you don’t have Doc or Dawson I’d go down that route, otherwise getting Sinclair and a cheaper MID makes sense
Hi Fry, (also any other opinions highly appreciated)
With Grundy being likely to play VFL this week, should I still trade Cameron to Marshall or go from wehr to Cumberland (bench). Thanks
But Grundy cannot play VFL this week. Collingwood have the bye.
Does that mean he is out for two weeks?
If Grundy plays then Cameron to Marshall works, otherwise the Wehr to Carmichael move is the way to go
Which forward premium is best to bring in (cash is not relevant here)?
I’ve got Cogs, Brodie, Taranto and Dunkley
Bailey Smith is the one I’d grab, him or Bont
Which trade option is best?
1. Hewett to Pendlebury or any defender below 730k and Coleman to Marshall
2. Hough to 190k defender and Cripps to Steele (field Carmichael and D’Ambrosio)
3. Hough to 190k defender and Hewett to Dawson (field Carmichael)
4. Hough to 190k defender and Coleman to Marshall/Bont/English/B.Smith/Duncan (field D’Amrbosio)
I like No. 4 and going after Bazlenka mate. Either that or Marshall
Are we going Marshall after the news that he’s sick?
I’m not too concerned, it seems like 90% of Australia has some form of the flu right now
Was thinking Kelly > Mills and then Sean Darcy > Bailey Smith but I’m $1k short!! $1k!!!!!! :( who’s the next best options. It’s either Bont or Marshall I’m thinking but with news of Marshall being sick does that make it the Bont?
Worst feeling! I’d go Darcy to Bont if you can’t reach Baz – solid second option
Only playing for league (will win this week) so not sure whether to hold Hewitt and trade Cripps to Mills/Steele(?) or go Hewey to Sinclair.
I’d do the Cripps > Mills move this week mate. Could always go Hewett to Sinclair next round
hey fry, whatcha reckon; culley or carmichael??
Decisions been made for you now that Carmichael missed the cut