One down, 23 to go!

Man, it felt good to have footy back! I’m sure I wasn’t the only coach refreshing my apps consistently waiting for quick score updates or yelling at the TV to ‘kick it to him’ as we welcomed a nine-game slate and the first full fantasy fixture. Regardless of how your team went in Round 1, there are definite tweaks and changes that we’ll need to make – likely centred around rookies. Pouncing on the right cash cows early is still the priority with your trades as they still have a bunch of money to make.

Rookie/cash cows are typically defined as players who started the season priced at $400,000 or lower

Make sure to also cast your eyes over:
My DT Talk Preseason Pieces
SBF article – The most important rookies/cash cows for 2025

You can find more fantasy advice from Fry by joining the Fantasy SportsbyFry Patreon community!

Cash Cow King – Round 1

None of our rookies hit triple-figures in Round 1, but Xavier Lindsay came bloody close! The Demons debutant recorded the best cash cow score over the weekend thanks to 22 touches and 6 tackles – making him a trade priority this week for the coaches who missed out. Levi Ashcroft was the next best scorer after he shook the sub vest free before bounce down and Saints MID/FWD, Max Hall did his best to put up numbers in a losing side. Outside specialists, Lucas Camporeale and Corey Warner rounded out the first nominees for 2025 and I’m giving my vote to Carlton’s first gamer as he was the only player who helped contribute to my weekly total.

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Making Moves

Let ’em grow

The owner of the lowest breakeven in the game may surprise you, with Max Hall ($280K, 82, BE -14) managing to stand out despite a 10-goal loss at the hands of Adelaide. A balanced performance that included 2.2 in front of goal should see Hall remain in Ross Lyon’s side and he only needs one big score to make another significant price jump. Almost 7,500 coaches are opting to bring him into their team ahead of Round 2 – with Xavier Lindsay ($363K, 94, -8) and Levi Ashcroft ($371K, 84, BE 2) the only cash cows ahead of him as trade-in options this week. We all knew about the fantasy pedigree associated with Ashcroft, but Lindsay being the top rookie scorer came from left field.

The two of them will be coveted by coaches who missed out last weekend and after rising in a combined $96K, it’s clear that they are the must-have rooks. Sticking in the midfield, I can see why coaches didn’t want to lock too many pieces in on Thursday night and as a result, you may have missed out on strong performances from Sam Lalor ($368K, 68, BE 13) and Lucas Camporeale ($275K, 76, BE -10). We don’t have room for all these cash cows in our MID rotation, but patching holes and grabbing the rookies who are going to make significant cash is still a priority. Although, I wouldn’t overreact and pull the trigger on trading out a player like Finn O’Sullivan ($351K, 51, BE 24) to find room for those others – we can’t have them all, right?

Down back the popular combination of Jaxon Prior ($383K, 62, BE 21), Zach Reid ($264K, 63, BE -1) and Luke Trainor ($308K, 62, BE 7) are likely taking up residence at D6-D8 for most readers. They all finished within a point of each other and throughout the next few rounds, we may be forced to field a few of them to cover the gaps in our defence. I was particularly encouraged by what I saw from Trainor against the Blues and he probably leapfrogged the Dons duo in terms of on-field production. Hopefully, you can play the loop game during the early byes to get the best possible score from the three of them. Everyone’s favourite R3 Harry Boyd ($268K, 68, BE -5) did enough to ignite his cash generation against the Crows and popular forward picks Sam Davidson ($253K, 53, BE 5), Corey Warner ($322K, 75, BE -6) and Isaac Kako ($321K, 51, BE 19) are also among the rookies we can trust, despite the looming bye for the later pair.

Watch this space

I wouldn’t be desperately rushing to get any of these players out, but if you find yourself in a luxurious position they could be moved for one of the rookies I’ve already touched on. Take Murphy Reid ($325K, 69, BE 5) for example. The exciting Freo prospect had a 7-minute purple patch that we’ll remember for a while (scoring 47 points in the blink of an eye), however he scored just 22 points in the other 100 minutes he was on the ground. There are bound to be scoring lulls from Reid moving forward, along with the likes of Elijah Hewett ($343K, 47, BE 26) and Daniel Curtin ($299K, 30, BE 31) in out front-6. The duo were preseason darlings, but after a one-week sample size, there isn’t the same amount of confidence surrounding them. I’d love to see them find their mojo and put forth a strong score for their owners this round, with Melbourne debutant Jack Henderson ($251K, 48, BE 8) in the same boat.

I’m not ready to draw a line through Henderson just yet and a matchup against North should see him put a few more runs on the board. I also liked what I saw from his teammate Aidan Johnson ($247K, 43, BE 12)* as he helped pinch hit in the ruck for the Demons, while Sydney youngster Tom Hanily ($269K, 57, BE 2) showed enough to suggest he’ll keep moving in the right direction – providing he can stay in the 22 for Round 3. Port Adelaide debutant Joe Berry ($306K, 40, BE 25) was fine for his owners and should have better scoring output moving forward, while fellow FWD’s Conor Stone ($281K, 40, BE 6) and Jacob Konstanty ($257K, 55, BE 4) could be worth holding onto despite a seemingly capped ceiling when it comes to their point totals.

*Johnson has been suspended for Round 2

Let ’em go

If you rolled the dice on James Leake ($248K, 14, BE 24), then you’re probably looking to move him after he scored just 14 from 60% time on ground. The preseason buzz around Leake has subsided and while he has managed to dodge a vest so far in his young AFL career, that could be coming when GWS returns from their bye. Tall trio Matthew Jefferson ($238K, 33, BE 18), Archer Reid ($237K, 32, BE 18) and Liam O’Connell ($235K, 29, BE 21) are the other cash cows I’d want to jump off, with all three of them failing to surpass 35 points on the weekend. Jefferson managed to kick a few goals and O’Connell had some moments, although I can’t see any of them scoring more than 40 on any given week. It’s still early enough in the season to do some patchwork with your trades and do a rookie shuffle.

Sub status

Subbed On – Riley Bice, Arthur Jones, Sid Draper, Harvey Langford, Max Gruzewski

Subbed Off – Angus Hastie

Another season, another year of us ranting about the stupid sub-rule ruining our cash cows. The most annoying vesting probably hit Angus Hastie ($244K, 40, BE 13) with a lot of coaches opting to plug him onto their MID bench. He did score well in the limited game time he had, but I don’t know if we can trust Ross moving forward. Trading him to an Ashcroft/Lindsay/Lalor type is a decent fix-up trade if you ask me. Seeing Harvey Langford ($310K, 16, BE 45) start as the sub was equally frustrating, although most switched-on coaches probably pivoted to his teammate in Lindsay before bounce down. Seeing just 21% game time meant that Langford LOST money over the weekend and now we’ll have to wait until he shakes the vest free before investing. Keep an eye on Sid Draper ($334K, 37, BE 33) and Riley Bice ($240K, 35, BE 17) as future trade targets. Both Draper and Bice impressed in their limited action and as soon as they free themselves from the shackles of a sub role, I’ll be looking to bring them into my side.

Q & A

I’m adding a Q&A section to the weekly articles to help address the biggest issues we have with our rookies/cash cows. If I don’t get to your answer in the article, I promise I’ll answer it on Twitter – and as always, you can drop your follow-up question below.

Job security of Hall with other STK forwards to return?

— Michael Haynes (@NoHaynesNoGain) March 18, 2025

Definitely something worth monitoring when the teams are announced Thursday night. Mitchito Owens and Liam Henry could return for Round 3, with Dan Butler also poised to return in the next 2-3 weeks. I think we can still target Hall and ride his quick price rise and hopefully, he does enough to avoid being demoted to the sub role or flicked out of the side.

Missed the Langford sub and copped his score on the bench, is a swap to Lindsay a play?

— Adam Coles (@Colesy93) March 18, 2025

Nothing wrong with this move. Lindsay is quickly rising in price and Langford is going backwards, so if you have nothing else pressing to do I’d make this trade.

If we missed Ashcroft & Lindsay, are these boys the main priority this week over S. De Koning? Thanks, mate.

— Glenn Bartlett (@glendi173) March 18, 2025

This is a tricky question. Personally, I’d prioritise the rookies and make sure you have Ashcroft and Lindsay moving forward. You’ll potentially take a points hit by not grabbing SDK, but long term you will be better poised with these money makers in your team.

Hastie or Henderson out presumably both named for Linday coming in

— Nathan (@NateoSC) March 18, 2025

After seeing Hastie cop the sub vest and given the fact that he was subbed on/off four times in five games last season, he goes first.

Thinking of downgrading Garcia to Corey Warner and pocketing some cash. Thoughts on young Warner?

— ⚓️ Chris Read ⚓️ (@Ready1976) March 18, 2025

I’m quickly becoming a fan of Corey Warner as a rookie pick and with a few pieces missing for Sydney, he could be a great short-term option for cash generation. I’ll be watching him closely at the Dockers game this weekend, but it’s not a bad idea to pull the trigger now thanks to his negative breakeven.

Remember the Name

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

DEFENDERS

Josh Gibucs (Tigers, $230K)
Luke Beecken (Lions, $230K)
Saad El-Hawli (Bombers, $230K)
Jedd Busslinger (Bulldogs, $230K)
Kaleb Smith (Tigers, $230K)
Alix Tauru (Saints, $313K)
James Barrat (Saints, $247K)
Ben Jepson (Suns, $230K)

MIDFIELDERS

Hugh Boxshall (Saints, $230K)
Tom Gross (Eagles, $230K)
Luke Urquart (Kangaroos, $230K)
Clay Hall (Eagles, $267K)
Jaxon Binns (Blues, $230K)
Sam Marshall (Lions, $268K)
Cooper Hynes (Bulldogs, $283K)
Zak Johnson (Bombers, $230K)
Ben Camporeale (Blues, $230K)

RUCKMEN

Max Heath (Saints, $230K)
Taylor Goad (Kangaroos, $230K)
Tom Campbell (Demons, $316K)
Kayle Gerreyn (Bombers, $232K)
Lachlan McAndrew (Crows, $302K)
Nic Madden (Giants, $230K)

FORWARDS

Will McLachlan (Lions, $230K)
Cooper Simpson (Dockers, $230K)
Cody Angove (Giants, $230K)
Isaac Keeler (Saints, $230K)
Ashton Moir (Blues, $230K)
Will Hayes (Magpies, $230K)
Hamish Davis (Eagles, $230K)
Ty Gallop (Lions, $230K)

Fry

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