17 down, seven to go!

How good does it feel to have 22 players contributing to our weekly score? The end of the bye rounds was celebrated by many, with premiums stepping up to produce 130+ scores and a lot of fantasy coaches surpassing the 2300-point threshold with ease. Even some of our rookies stepped up to help with our weekly point total, although it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. Our FWD depth was tested when Bailey Smith was confirmed out and coaches (me) who are playing the loop game with Tom McCarthy may have found a way to lose points. Even as we gear up for the fantasy finals in the near future, it’s not time to punt our benches just yet with cash cows still playing an important backup role in our successes.

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

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Cash Cow King – Round 17

An unlikely hero emerged as the Cash Cow King in Round 17 with Max Hall producing one of the best rookie scores we’ve seen all season against Hawthorn. Almost all of the Hall owners have moved on from the mature-aged Saint by now, although anyone who had him sitting at F7 as their Bailey Smith cover would have been licking their lips! A pair of Eagles in the form of Jobe Shanahan and Tom McCarthy excelled on Friday night, while Isaac Kako also found a perfect time to produce his season-high score. The last nomination went to Geelong debutant George Stevens, who finally got a chance to ply his craft at the top level and didn’t look out of place.

*If you’re having issues submitting your vote try clicking “view results” first and that should resolve the problem 🤞

Who's gets your vote as the most important cash cow in Round 17?

• Jobe Shanahan (78)
• Tom McCarthy (76)
• Isaac Kako (79)
• George Stevens (84)
• Max Hall (124)

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Round 17 Power Rankings

After 17 weeks of action, these are the top 10 cash cow performers in season 2025!

Power Ranking 2025 #AFLFantasy Cash Cows Round 17 💰🐮

1. Tom McCarthy ⬆️ 1
2. Daniel Curtin ⬇️ 1
3. Max Hall (NR)
4. Levi Ashcroft ⬆️ 2
5. Elijah Hewett ⬇️ 2
6. Zak Johnson ⬇️ 1
7. Harry Rowston ↔️
8. Kai Lohmann ↔️
9. Sam Davidson ⬇️ 5
10. Clay Hall (NR) pic.twitter.com/I7UWkUVF8J

— SportsbyFry (@sportsbyfry) July 8, 2025

Making Moves

As we gear up for the home stretch of the 2025 fantasy season, I’ve simplified the rookie piece to look at each positional group. While most of the fantasy community have moved their cash cows off the field, there are still some of us fielding a few rooks across multiple lines. Hopefully, this will act as an easy guide to help coaches get the best 22 scorers on-field each round!

DEFENCE

Tom McCarthy ($489K, 76, BE -17) continued his rapid rise to fantasy relevance with another strong score against GWS. Despite a lean third quarter, most coaches would’ve been happy with what T-Mac produced – either fielding the Eagles mid-season recruit or finding a way to loop his score onto their field. A tougher on-paper test looms this weekend against the Power in Adelaide, but McCarthy hasn’t given us a reason to doubt him yet. In that same game vs. West Coast, we saw the return of James Leake ($260K, 39, BE 18) for the first time since Round 1. I’m not convinced he will maintain a place in the Giants’ lineup for much longer, but any additional money he can make would be a bonus.

The same could be said for Angus Hastie ($301K, 69, BE 5) from a job security standpoint, however the young Saint did manage to avoid the vest for the first time this season and put up a respectable score as a result. If there were assurances that Hastie would dodge the fluro in the upcoming rounds, there’s a world where we could add St Kilda’s DEF/MID to our squad – providing us with a convenient looping piece to use with McCarthy. Swapping another Angus out for him in the form of Angus Clarke ($487K, 65, BE 32) could also net you some handy cash to use for another decent upgrade. The budding Bomber had a solid outing in Round 17 and a matchup with Richmond should see him maintain his price rise. With that said, coaches who are flush with green dots on their bench will want to start cashing some of them in to access the best possible upgrades each week.

Swapping Clarke out for someone like Bo Allan ($270K, 23, BE 19) or his teammate Luamon Lual ($328K, 29, BE 27) doesn’t seem like the wise play, but perhaps North Melbourne’s Wil Dawson ($287K, 54, BE 0) is the answer as a heartbeat at D7-D8. Acquiring him will net you a cool $200K and providing Dawson can stay in Clarko’s side, he should keep churning out somewhat consistent 50’s. Speaking of 50’s, Alix Tauru ($387K, 63, BE 13) was able to surpass the half century last round and his season-best score came at a time of need for a lot of coaches. I was one of the few who opted to take whatever Tauru dished up as a Bailey Smith replacement, with the Flying Viking turning plenty of heads during his 63-point effort.

MIDFIELD

The midfield continues to be the most fruitful line for rookies late in the season. Players such as Harry Rowston ($391K, 55, BE -5) and Zak Johnson ($488K, 63, BE 22) are best suited as bench pieces, but they did enough to encourage those coaches who are stuck with them at M8. They should make another chunk of change this weekend, although the time is coming to move on from Johnson. If you want to get ahead of the curve, you could chop him out for Geelong debutant George Stevens ($280K, 84, BE -14) who excelled in his first official outing. After putting up serious numbers in the VFL, Stevens helped himself to 21 disposals and a goal in a near dream debut. Yes, he won’t be playing against Richmond every round, but there were enough positives to suggest he’ll hold his place in the team and get another chance to prove his fantasy worth.

Currently, over 7,000 coaches are pulling the trigger on the young MID and that number should only continue to climb if he’s named in the team tomorrow night. It’s hard to trust a cash cow in Chris Scott’s side, with a sub vest potentially just around the corner, but Stevens deserves another full crack. If he’s omitted from their team, we could chase Roan Steele ($267K, 69, BE -5) who also performed admirably in his first AFL hitout. The job security concerns with Steele exist as well, although he could string a few games together for the Pies to close the season after an encouraging debut. Port Adelaide duo Hugh Jackson ($329K, 30, BE 24) and Mani Liddy ($357K, DNP, BE -6) are losing faith in the fantasy community and despite a good game last time out, Cooper Hynes ($286K, 55, BE 4) falls into the same category. Clay Hall ($432K, 70, BE 12) deserves a quick shoutout after his second consecutive 70+ score, but none of us are buying into him this late into the season.

RUCK

With Nic Madden ($382K, BYE, BE 1) left out of GWS’ team last week, the ruck department is dire in terms of reliable rookies. Mid-season draftee Lachlan Blakiston ($234K, 34, BE 15) managed another appearance for the Bombers, however he hasn’t done enough for us to seriously consider him as a trade target. We seem destined to be rocking a red dot in our R3 slot for the remainder of the season unless Madden or Harry Boyd ($268K, DNP, BE -4) earn an unlikely recall, with Finnbar Maley ($324K, 65, BE 7) the only other RUC eligible rookie in action last weekend. I wouldn’t advise coaches to chase Maley as a bench piece, but bringing him into your FWD line could at least give you another heartbeat.

FORWARD

Outside of 4-5 trustworthy options, the forward line continues to frustrate coaches as we endeavour to get the best possible scorers on our ground. Daniel Curtin ($688K, 50, BE 58) and Elijah Hewett ($644K, 65, BE 69) emerged as a potential F6 play thanks to the scoring rate they displayed in the bye rounds, while the body of work Levi Ashcroft ($677K, 72, BE 77) produced in the first two-thirds of the season saw some trust the Lions cub at that same spot. The recent form of Max Hall ($594K, 124, BE 10) suggests he could also be one to consider and before being listed as out last Thursday, Sam Davidson ($672K, 39, BE 76) was yet another cash cow in the discussion at F6. Ideally, none of these cash cows will be fielded over the final seven rounds and if you find yourself playing any rookies in your forward line, I’d make that a priority fix-up at the trade table.

In terms of cheaper rookies, Archer May ($358K, 64, BE -9) continued to enhance his reputation as a viable cash cow – kicking three goals in a five-minute stretch during the third quarter against Gold Coast. With a matchup against the Tigers on the horizon, another 60+ outing should be on the cards. We could consider Eagles’ tall Jobe Shanahan ($310K, 78, BE -7) for our benches as well, following an impressive effort last Friday at both ends of the ground. Shanahan won’t pump out 60-70 point scores every round, although he displayed the ability the play at both ends of the ground and compete in the air. A ton of changes for the Roos last week saw Cooper Harvey ($345K, 62, BE 15) enter the fray for his first senior match of the season and he didn’t look out of place in North Melbourne’s senior side. While they will welcome back some troops, Harvey should still keep his spot in the team and as a result, he may become an option in the FWD line. Finally, spare a thought for the coaches who bought into Tigers’ teen Jasper Alger ($245K, 8, BE 25), with a low-grade syndesmosis injury ruling him out for the next 3-4 weeks.

Sub status

Subbed On – Robert Hansen Jr, Wil Parker, Flynn Young, Malakai Champion, Hugh Jackson, Seamus Mitchell, Harry Sharp

Subbed Off – Sam Lalor, Max Ramsden

Continuing a promising trend, most of the sub-affected cash cows last weekend weren’t highly owned by the community. A lot of us had Sam Lalor ($507K, 4, BE 97) in our teams for the early portion of the fantasy campaign and it is a bummer to see his rookie campaign end with another hamstring injury. Hugh Jackson is the only other relevant cash cow who was affected by the vests, with the Port youngster starting as the sub for the third time in five games this season. It’s probably a good time to jump off if he’s still stuck at M9-M10.

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.

can you rank
stevens
may
shanahan
rowston
steele
hastie

— fantasy491 (@Fantasyking2025) July 8, 2025

Yes, I can. Before I do though, it’s worth pointing out that at this point of the season targeting Stevens if he earns a gig is a much wiser play than paying up for someone like Rowston. Rowston does come with additional job security, but it wouldn’t shock us if he were named as the sub against Geelong and his cash-gen stalls. I prefer to go for the cheaper option at this time of year as it’s unlikely that they’ll be traded out again over the final seven rounds. With that said, I’d rank them:

Stevens, Shanahan, May, Steele, Hastie, Rowston

Hi @sportsbyfry thoughts on Hotton please? Assuming he plays this week and isn’t the sub can we get him now given the good match up vs Essendon or is it safer to wait for a week? Cheers

— Olivier Calvi (@oliviercalvi06) July 8, 2025

I spoke about Hotton last week, and there isn’t a lot that has changed in the past seven days. Yes, he continues to produce in the VFL and a debut is on the cards before their season concludes. However, given his lengthy injury layoff, all signs point to the Tigers taking a somewhat cautious approach with the star in the making – likely by starting him in the green vest, or keeping his TOG low early on. If he does get picked to play Essendon this week, I’d want to watch him first before investing.

What to do with bench player rookies who haven’t increased in price? Leake, Busslinger, Alger, West? T.Mac last rookie playing

— Daniel Payne (@danielpayne_Mp3) July 8, 2025

It’s annoying to have a lot of dead, red dot rookies at this point of the season – although, not all of them are created equally. I wouldn’t look at moving on from players like Leake and Busslinger, as they are still a chance to at least play and make some bucks. Injured guys like West and Alger are the ones I’d look at moving on from, especially if there isn’t a lot of cash generation going on at your other bench spots. Designating a trade or two this week to help fix your bench pieces is wise if you’re happy with the rest of your on-field players.

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)
James Barrat (Saints, $247K)
Ben Jepson (Suns, $230K)

MIDFIELDERS

Luke Urquart (Kangaroos, $230K)
Josh Smillie (Tigers, $322K)
Cody Anderson (Hawks, $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)

FORWARDS

Zac Banch (Kangaroos, $230K)
Liam McMahon (Bombers, $230K)
Taj Hotton (Tigers, $307K)

Fry

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