15 down, 9 to go!

The bye rounds are done so cash cows don’t matter anymore, right? For the successful coaches that’s somewhat true, but every fantasy enthusiast will still have superstar players they are eager to bring into their team. To afford those first-rate scorers, you’ll still need to generate cash elsewhere and investing in cheap players on your bench remains one of the best ways to help grow your funds. Of course, the bulk of the fantasy community still has a few pesky rookies on their field and as we look to finish the fantasy season with a flurry, it’s still important to nail your cash cow selections.

Rookie/cash cows are defined as players who started the season priced at roughly $300,000 or less

Mooooving On

Part of our 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

1. Bailey Humphrey, Suns ($545K, AVG 58, BE 80)
2. Samson Ryan, Tigers ($401K, AVG 48, BE 77)
3. Will Ashcroft, Lions ($686K, AVG 81, BE 101)
4. Alex Cincotta, Blues ($396K, AVG 55, BE 57)
5. Harry Sheezel, Kangaroos ($758K, AVG 98, BE 97)

Injured/non-playing rookies

1. Blake Drury, Kangaroos ($234K, AVG 31, BE 31)
2. Lachlan Cowan, Blues ($327K, AVG 41, BE 29)
3. Alwyn Davey Jr, Bombers ($300K, AVG 40, BE 44)
4. Harry Sharp, Lions ($332K, AVG 59, BE 5)
5. Fergus Greene, Hawks ($361K, AVG 42, BE 71)

Cash Cow King – Round 15

It only took Angus Sheldrick seven career games to post his first 100+ score, topping all cash cows last weekend with his 111 points vs. West Coast. A pair of Lions rooks in Darcy Wilmot and Will Ashcroft found themselves almost the nominees after their decent performances, with Seamus Mitchell returning from his bye to score handsomely. Budding Docker Matthew Johnson came close to hitting triple figures as he continues to generate some handy cash for his owners.

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Round 15 Power Rankings

After 15 weeks of action, these are the top 10 cash cow performers in season 2023!

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Making Moves

Money makers

As order is restored for fantasy coaches and our best 22 players take residence back on the field, it’s possible that you’re only left with a handful of cash cows in your optimal team. Offloading them is still a necessity, but coaches will have a lot of faith in success stories like Angus Sheldrick ($370K, 111, BE -39) and/or Matt Johnson ($481K, 99, BE 20) following their healthy scores during the bye rounds. Sheldrick in particular has impressed coaches with an average north of 90 in his last three games and Johnson isn’t too far behind after scoring 93 and 99 in two of his last three matches. You should still proceed with some caution if you’re going to trust the duo long term and Sydney battling the Cats this weekend could hamper Sheldrick’s ability to a lot of points. Still, both rooks have room to grow and they’re the clear pick of the bunch for the next block of games.

The return of premiums aplenty also pushes several rookies to the bench, with a few cheap prospects among the early most traded in players. As the season from hell somehow gets worse for West Coast, you’d expect Elijah Hewett ($238K, 47, BE 23) to feature regularly in the AFL side to end the 2023 campaign. The Eagles first-rounder still hasn’t scored over 60 in his fantasy career, however that could change as soon as this weekend. Given the price difference between Hewett and Brisbane young gun Jaspa Fletcher ($318K, 49, BE 19) I understand why coaches are favouring the WA cash cow, but that doesn’t rule Fletcher out of the mix. Providing the Lions rook can hold his spot in the team then he should keep rising in value. Even though I still have concerns over Harvey Harrison’s ($291K, 46, BE 7) job security, he is another bargain that may assist the fantasy community down the stretch.

Keep the faith

A steady number of coaches have decided to offload Harry Sheezel ($758K, DNP, BE 97) during the last few weeks and if the North ball magnet is your final on field rookie then moving him on makes complete sense. However, a lot of teams will still be relying on Sheezel to contribute and given his convenient DEF/FWD flexibility there’s no urgency to trade him if you have other pressing issues. As the Sheez returns to the field for his owners, Darcy Wilmot ($485K, 75, BE 42) will take up his familiar spot at D7/D8 following his strong showing during the best of 18 rounds.

Scoring between 60-70 for the better part of five weeks may have seen Wilmot as one of your top-18 scorers when you needed him most and thanks to his mediocre breakeven, you could wait another week or two before chopping out the Brisbane rookie. Seamus Mitchell ($572K, 91, BE 50) is another cash cow who is poised to increase in value over the coming rounds, with the ascending Hawthorn talent taking his season average to 70+ after 24 touches against the Suns. There’s nothing wrong with keeping Mitchell as the final rookie you start thanks to his season long track record of respectable scores.

GameDay Squad – Create. Coach. Compete.

Cut them loose

Bailey Humphrey ($545K, 36, BE 80) was supposed to be a trustworthy cash cow as the byes were drawing to a close. Now that he dropped a stinker against the Hawks, Humphrey has stagnated in cash gen and it’s the perfect time to abandon ship. Over 10,000 smart coaches have already chopped the Gold Coast rookie out of their lineup and you should do the same. If you needed Mattaes Phillipou ($469K, 31, BE 71) as a green dot during the byes then make sure he goes, along with Will Ashcroft ($686K, 80, BE 101) who decreased in price for a third consecutive week. I don’t care how often he’s playing at the Gabba, he’s done his job.

As we chase a complete team Josh Weddle ($513K, 47, BE 67) could also be given the flick as he reaches peak value. Six of his eight scores this year are below 65 and you can net some very handy funds by offloading the Hawthorn backman. I was surprised to see Jacob van Rooyen ($434K, 45, BE 50) still being dumped from a few sides, although it’s clear he needs to be traded if the Dees rookie is still in your FWD unit. Mainstream starting picks Luke Pedlar ($489K, 68, BE 51), Kade Chandler ($496K, 52, BE 59) and Reuben Ginbey ($508K, 59, BE 56) are probably gone by now, but this is the last reminder to trade them away for anyone who missed previous instructions.

Thin Ice

With just nine rounds left in the fantasy season, a lot of coaches will be content leaving some of the dead weight rookies on their bench as we prioritise points on the field. It appears as though Kai Lohmann ($249K, 27, BE 16) isn’t going to make us as much money as we would’ve liked and he may find his way out of the side in the near future. Proving he’s playing, we’ll take whatever scores he can give us and Ryan Maric ($233K, 27, BE 16) is another discounted FWD who probably won’t be a factor to close the season.

West Coast may continue to develop the mid-season draftee in the AFL for now, but if their list gets healthier (which is no certainty) he could go back to the WAFL to further enhance his craft. I’m more confident Campbell Chesser ($291K, 23, BE 31) will play at the top level in some capacity, although he’s always a risk to have his output dictated by a vest. He and Sam Sturt ($290K, 19, BE 29) could continue to be heartbeats for coaches on the pine and hopefully they can generate some wealth while they’re playing.

Sub status

Subbed On – Campbell Chesser, Jye Menzie, Sam Sturt

Subbed Off – Kai Lohmann

Most of the sub-effected cash cows have already been covered with Jye Menzie ($382K, 23, BE 51) the lone exception. With all 18 teams back in action, the vest is bound to impact more rookies moving forward and hopefully the $200K players aren’t forced to enter the fray via limited action. Yes Adam Kingsley, I’m mainly talking to you…

Reserves Watch

My sights were set on Elijah Tsatas (85) last weekend as the Bombers draftee continues to work his way towards a highly-anticipated AFL debut. Accumulating 21 disposals while featuring as one of Essendon’s best players won’t hurt his chances although he may have to wait for an injury to earn an opportunity this season. Geelong’s Mitch Knevitt (95) has already had a chance this year and laying 12 tackles on the weekend could keep him in the selection frame for the Cats. Knevitt’s teammate Ollie Dempsey (127) continues to feature among the top scorers at state level with 32 disposals fuelling his lofty points total.

We don’t expect to see Ned Moyle (116) back in Gold Coast’s senior side providing Jarrod Witts is fit, although the Suns prospect may earn another gig or two if he keeps up his current form. Registering 20 touches and eight tackles is impressive for a ruckman and Moyle added 51 hitouts to his box score for good measure. Zane Trew (115) top-scored for the Eagles to keep his name in the mix while uncapped Magpies Jakob Ryan (112) continues to string together impressive games that may lead to an opportunity, You’d think Collingwood’s team is fairly set in stone, however Ryan is now averaging over 20 disposals a game with a decent 75.6 points. Never say never.

Sydney pair Jack Buller (84) and Will Gould (99) aren’t going to attract a lot of attention form coaches given their failures before, but it’s worth acknowledging their efforts last weekend. Buller managed to kick 3.3 in front of goal and Gould hit the scoreboard himself in the Swans’ loss to Collingwood. Finally, with the likes of Jaspa Fletcher and Deven Robertson in the senior team it appears as though Harry Sharp (86) will be staying in the two’s for the foreseeable future. Gathering 21 touches with four marks and four tackles keeps his VFL averages looking healthy, but it’s obvious he’s slipped down the depth chart.

Remember the Name

In no particular order, here are some of the other rookie-priced players to consider throughout the season.

DEFENDERS

Jake Stein (Suns, $288K)
Rhett Montgomerie (Bombers, $200K)
Jakob Ryan (Magpies, $246K)
Sam Banks (Tigers, $200K)
Karl Worner (Freo, $200K)
Sam Durdin (Blues, $213K)
Darragh Joyce (Lions, $241K)

MIDFIELDERS

Connor Blakely (Suns, $235K)
Billy Dowling (Crows, $216K)
Elijah Tsatas (Bombers, $292K)
Ed Allen (Magpies, $264K)
Hugh Bond (Crows, $202K)
Mitch Hardie (Cats, $200K)
Jack Peris (Saints, $200K)
Henry Hustwaite (Hawks, $228K)

RUCKMEN

Jacob Edwards (Kangaroos, $200K)
Alex Mirkov (Blues, $200K)
Hamish Free (Kangaroos, $200K)
Harry Barnett (Eagles, $256K)
Max Heath (Saints, $200K)
Dante Visentini (Power, $200K)

FORWARDS

Jaxon Binns (Blues, $238K)
Joe Richards (Magpies, $206K)
Finlay Macrae (Magpies, $290K)
Hugh Jackson (Power, $200K)
James Willis (Cats, $200K)
Jaiden Hunter (Bombers, $200K)
Patrick Voss (Bombers, $200K)

Fry

An Australian coffee/burrito enthusiast who is the frustrated owner of 16 fantasy teams. Writer for SportsbyFry and DT Talk ?