Fry’s Cash Cows – 2024 Cash Cow/Rookie Awards

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Exhale fantasy coaches. Another testing, drawn-out fantasy season is in the rear vision mirror with successful Grand Final coaches taking out bragging rights over their mates, cash prizes, one of 100 New Era hats and of course, a shiny new Toyota Hilux. Whether the final round of your fantasy season was a success or not, coaches have an abundance of rookies to thank for helping them reach great heights over the duration of the year. As a result, it’s time to acknowledge the best performers from the cash cow class of 2024.

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Before I dive into the award winners, I want to quickly acknowledge and thank the DT Talk and AFL Fantasy community who have read these articles and consumed any of my content in season 2024. Hopefully my bits and pieces of advice have helped you throughout the season and I’m already excited for the 2025 campaign! But first, we rest…

Thank you all ❤️

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

Cash Cow King

Winner – Matt Roberts (42 votes)

Heading into the final fantasy round just three votes separated Colby McKercher, Jeremy Sharp and Matt Roberts for the CCK crown, setting the stage for an epic finish. Fast forward to the present and a stellar 120+ effort from Sydney’s budding backman against the Crows helped him leapfrog his cash cow peers and take out the award by earning maximum votes for Round 24. Throughout the season, Roberts polled in 12 different rounds – also besting the rest of the rooks with McKercher (10), Sharp (10) and Oliver Dempsey (9) the next closest.

Game of the Year

Winner – Matt Roberts, 138 in Round 20 (45% of votes)

It comes as no shock to see the highest score from a rookie emerge as the winner here. Jeremy Sharp’s 118 points and a score of 123 from Colby McKercher both garnered over 25% of the votes, but Roberts was the obvious option on the back of 36 disposals, 8 marks and a goal when he clashed with Bulldogs in late July. For good measure, Roberts’ 125 points on the weekend was the second-best cash cow score for 2024 – giving us more reason to believe Sydney’s cash cow is the deserving winner.

Cash Cow Coach of the Year

Winner – Chris Scott, Geelong (64% of votes)

I thought this vote would be closer than it turned out to be, with no standout coach/team when it came to supplying stellar cash cows. Buoyed by a fast-starting Oliver Dempsey and post-bye success stories in Lawson Humphries and Shaun Mannagh, Chris Scott became the overwhelming choice for the DT Talk community. Short-term contributions from Jhye Clark and Toby Conway also boosted Scott’s case to win this award – besting the likes of Ross Lyon (Saints) and Luke Beveridge (Bulldogs).

Winner – Colby McKercher (61% of votes)

All three candidates for the Defender of the Year had a reasonable case to put forth as the best cash cow down back, but a rebounding Roo was the clear favourite in the voters eyes. Owning the highest fantasy average amongst rookie-priced players this season at 82.3 points, Colby McKercher claimed over 60% of the votes and earned recognition for his stellar first season. McKercher ranked first amongst eligible rising stars for total metres game, while finishing second for total disposals, effective disposals and rebound 50’s.

Midfielder of the Year

Winner – Jeremy Sharp (64% of votes)

A lot of coaches started the season with Jeremy Sharp, but those who didn’t were forced to move swiftly to rectify that. Establishing himself as one of the best money-makers early on, Fremantle’s wingman averaged 80+ leading up to the Dockers’ bye in Round 13 – reaching a peak price of $725K. There were positive patches from the other MID’s contending for this award, particularly from Darcy Wilson and Sam Clohesy. With that said, Sharp deserved to claim this award in my eyes and clearly the fantasy community agreed.

Ruckman of the Year

Winner – Harry Barnett/Loophole R3 (60% of votes)

Thanks to the rolling lockout taking place over the entire season, having a red-dot rookie proved to be a handy tool that allowed you to cash in a stellar VC score. There were nine different occasions where a non-playing player was my captain for the week – with Harry Barnett rocking the C on six of those instances. Given the lack of reliable RUC rookies on offer, it’s possible a player like Barnett or Max Heath sat at your R3 spot for the entire season and helped you make the most of your VC’s score on a weekly basis.

Forward of the Year

Winner – Oliver Dempsey (81% of votes)

A landslide victory for Oliver Dempsey here was somewhat obvious. There was an abundance of cheap forwards to choose from throughout the fantasy season, but none of the cash cows produced consistent scores like Dempsey. Jeremy Sharp was the only rook who scored more total points for season 2024 with the crafty Cat now the odds-on favourite to claim Rising Star honours later this week. Given the scarcity of reliable top-line FWD’s, the smart play may have been to leave Dempsey sitting at F6 for the entire season, with a 96-point effort in the Grand Final icing on the cake from Geelong’s talented youngster.

Cash Cow MVP

Winner – Colby McKercher (39% of votes)

Your personal opinion on who deserved the title of MVP may differ depending on how long these cash cows resided in your team. While Matt Roberts (14%), Jeremy Sharp (22%) and Oliver Dempsey (26%) all received some love from the voters, it feels right to crown Colby McKercher as the best rookie for season 2024. Only three of Colby’s 16 games resulted in a sub-70 score, with an injury-affected score of 2 in Round 5 weighing down the average from North Melbourne’s skilled teenager. Some coaches opted to offload McKercher at that point of the season, but those who were able to keep him in the mix for his final 10 matches of the year were rewarded with an eye-popping 95.4 average. All four nominees deserve some love, however Colby McKercher is more than worthy of the MVP crown.

Fry

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