18 down, six to go!

Every fantasy season, there are a few rounds of absolute carnage on the injury front. Last weekend was one such round. 16.7% of the coaches inside the top 10,000 are currently facing four forced trades with Nic Martin, Connor Rozee, Tristan Xerri and Jason Horne-Francis all poised to miss Round 19 – with a pair of these premiums done for the rest of the year. Two trades will help patch some of the holes, but yet again, our depth is going to be tested to cover the absence of proven fantasy guns. Hopefully a few of the green dots on our bench can help us avoid a total meltdown, with plenty left to play for over the final six weeks of the 2025 fantasy season.

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 18

The late-season charge for the CCK crown continued for Dan Curtin as the ascending Crow chalked up his second 110+ score in the last three rounds! He stood head and shoulders above his cash cow peers last weekend, with Jack Hutchinson the next closest with 92 points. Familiar faces such as Luke Trainor and Harvey Langford earned a nomination for their efforts, while Cooper Harvey continued to impress by snagging four goals on Sunday.

*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 18?

• Daniel Curtin (114)
• Luke Trainor (76)
• Jack Hutchinson (92)
• Harvey Langford (89)
• Cooper Harvey (86)

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Round 18 Power Rankings

After 18 weeks of action, these are the top 10 cash cow performers in season 2025!

Power Ranking 2025 #AFLFantasy Cash Cows Round 18 💰🐮

1. Daniel Curtin ⬆️ 1
2. Max Hall ⬆️ 1
3. Tom McCarthy ⬇️ 2
4. Clay Hall ⬆️ 6
5. Levi Ashcroft ⬇️ 1
6. Harry Rowston ⬆️ 1
7. Kai Lohmann ⬆️ 1
8. Archer May (NR)
9. Elijah Hewett ⬇️ 4
10. Mani Liddy (NR) pic.twitter.com/l7UD3qledg

— SportsbyFry (@sportsbyfry) July 15, 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. Hopefully, this will act as an easy guide to help coaches get the best 22 scorers on-field each round!

DEFENCE

Everyone’s favourite rookie loop option Tom McCarthy ($564K, 72, BE 13) will likely find his way onto the ground for the 41% of fantasy coaches who own him this weekend. A matchup against the Tigers, coupled with an average of 86 in his four AFL games to date indicates that McCarthy can be a saviour to cover the injured Conor Rozee. His 72-point effort against Port Adelaide was his worst fantasy return to date and yet, there’s optimism that he can flirt with a triple-figure score in Round 19 as Richmond comes to town. While fielding T-Mac is a straightforward choice to bring onto the ground, there isn’t a lot of hope for the remaining DEF rookies. St Kilda pair Angus Hastie ($330K, 39, BE 12) and Alix Tauru ($418K, 49, BE 23) have been handy sources of cash gen in recent times, but playing them in our starting 22 is a dice roll.

The same could be said for Angus Clarke ($488K, 30, BE 54) who saw his cash generation stall on the back of a 30-point game vs. the Tigers last weekend. Since his epic debut in Round 11, Clarke has averaged just 50.2 points in half a dozen matches – making him a rookie that coaches should offload if they have the luxury to do so. Wil Dawson ($328K, 48, BE 5) keeps producing scores around the 50-point mark and I’m not expecting him to turn on the jets against Sydney with an epic score. Keep half an eye on Brisbane’s 2024 mid-season recruit Luke Beecken ($230K, DNP, BE 25) as a potential debutant. Noah Answerth’s Achilles injury creates room in the Lions’ backline and Beecken (91.5 AVG from 13 VFL games in 2025) has proved he can put fantasy points on the board at the state league level.

MIDFIELD

If you have Connor Rozee in your midfield mix, then perhaps Harry Rowston ($445K, 58, BE 11) can be promoted from the bench to ease the pain. It’s worth acknowledging that the return of Cogs may impact Rowston this weekend, but he’s hardly put a foot wrong since re-entering GWS’ senior team before their mid-season bye. He is coming off consecutive scores in the 50’s, however, desperate times call for desperate measures. Perhaps looping Rowston on Thursday night against the Bombers is the play – with a lot of coaches poised to use Zak Johnson ($505K, 41, BE 51) in a similar way. Despite starting in the sub-vest last weekend, Nic Martin’s ACL tear meant that Johnson entered action much quicker than most of us expected. It’s possible he’ll face a similar fluro fate on Thursday, but being the first game of the round means we’ll have time to pivot if Johnson is the starting sub again.

Recent debutants George Stevens ($310K, 21, BE 10) and Roan Steele ($301K, 35, BE 5) didn’t blow us away with their production last round and as a result, they could even find themselves out of the team entirely. I’ve still got some confidence in Stevens – providing he can avoid being subbed off in Geelong’s clash with the Saints. Popular Port Adelaide rookie duo Hugh Jackson ($341K, 37, BE 31) and Mani Liddy ($424K, 74, BE -3), find themselves moving in opposite directions with Liddy excelling after being recalled. Currently owning the third-lowest breakeven in the game, there’s a world where you can slot Liddy onto the ground in Rozee’s (or maybe JHF’s) place on your field and hope that he churns out another 70-point effort this weekend. Speaking of 70-point efforts, Clay Hall ($484K, 73, BE 12) continues to produce for the small number of coaches who invested in the Eagles’ budding MID. Another score in the 70’s has Hall turning heads and there’s a chance he pops yet again vs. Richmond on Saturday night.

RUCK

It’s a shame that we don’t have a somewhat reliable R3 to turn to this weekend with Tristan Xerri on the shelf. Of all the RUC’s priced under $400K, there were only three that took to the field last weekend and none of them really stood out with their fantasy scores. Lachlan Blakiston ($271K, 59, BE 0), Max Heath ($251K, 49, BE 8) and Finnbar Maley ($329K, 11, BE 32) aren’t legitimate on-field options who can cover Xerri’s absence and unless we see a left of field recall for Harry Boyd ($268K, DNP, BE -4) or Nic Madden ($382K, DNP, BE 0) moving on from Xerri is priority number one.

FORWARD

The most common combo of trade-outs this week includes Xerri and Martin, with coaches shopping in unique areas in the FWD line to afford the best possible ruckman. The recent production from Daniel Curtin ($737K, 114, BE 45) and Max Hall ($648K, 73, BE 25) has them emerging as players we can buy back into, with Curtin’s average of 83.6 in his last seven games particularly noteworthy. Brisbane small forward Kai Lohmann ($519K, 61, BE 39) could also come off the bench to aid some coaches at F6 with so much uncertainty around the top-line forward options. His numbers won’t blow you away, but he’s put early-season injury woes behind him to re-establish himself as a 60-point scorer. Archer May ($420K, 65, BE 1) could be used in a similar way after he produced another decent score last round. An injury to Nate Caddy only further solidifies his importance for the Bombers in front of goal and an average of 67.7 in his last three gives us optimism that he can fill a forward line void if need be.

Over the last fortnight, coaches may have bought into one of Jobe Shanahan ($361K, 53, BE 1), Cooper Harvey ($405K, 86, BE -5) or Taj Hotton ($326K, 54, BE 18), with Boomer’s son stepping up in a big way last time out vs. Melbourne. Kicking 4.2 against the Demons should see Harvey string a few more games together and if he can have another impact in front of goal, then there’s no reason why he can’t produce another 70+ score. The moment has probably passed where we considered Tyrell Dewar ($527K, 59, BE 8) for our fantasy sides, but the versatile Eagle did spend the bulk of his game time in defence yet again vs. Port Adelaide. If he finds himself in the back-6 against Richmond, there’s a world where he helps himself to another strong score so I’m not completely ruling him out as an option for coaches who are severly cash strapped.

Sub status

Subbed On – Zak Johnson, Isaiah Dudley, Riley Bice

Subbed Off – Orazio Fantasia, Cooper Hynes, George Stevens, Xavier Lindsay, Finnbar Maley, Malakai Champion

The fall from grace continued for Riley Bice ($494K, 25, BE 90) last weekend as he found himself in the starting sub vest yet again. Since his 93-point effort in Round 13, Bice has started in the sub vest twice and was dropped for the other two games – a dramatic turn of events for a player we once deemed to be the most important cash cow.

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.

Who to play this week at M8 from Rowston or Z Johnson?

— Rangimaboi (@Embee43) July 15, 2025

I think we back in Rowston over Johnson – purely because there’s a chance Johnson rocks the sub vest again. The beauty of this game being on Thursday night means we’ll have plenty of time to tweak our lineup if neccesary. If they’re both out of the vest, I’d still lean Rowston over Johnson.

Which 🔴 rooks are closest to a game this week to plug the bullet holes the forced trades have left?

Busslinger/wilson/boyd/west/hayes?

— Brendan (@aflbsmith) July 15, 2025

Honestly, none of them. I’ve highlighted Beecken as a potential debutant and Taj Hotton got his chance last weekend after some stellar form in the two’s. I haven’t completely given up on Busslinger, but I can’t see the Dogs recalling him this week and unfortunately, the other red dot rooks you’ve highlighted are even further in the pecking order if you ask me. Hoepfully I’m wrong!

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

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)

Fry

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