Six down, 18 to go!

How are we only a quarter of the way through the season? It feels like we have had enough injury carnage and chaos to last an entire fantasy campaign through the first six rounds and the patience for some coaches is well and truly being tested. But if you’ve made it this far without throwing in the towel, then it’s important to keep fighting the good fight. With our popular cash cows nearly maxed out in price, upgrade season is here. Some of us are more cash-strapped than others, but a hot start from the rookie class of 2026 has left most coaches with multiple $500K+ players on our benches. Giving them the flick to appealing downgrade options and bringing in the big guns is a surefire tactic to ensure success as we keep building into the season.

Rookies/cash cows are typically defined as players priced at $400,000 or lower to commence the season

Cash Cow King – Round 6

I didn’t expect Phoenix Gothard to step up as our top-scoring rookie last round, but his 99 points on Friday night came at an opportune time for his owners! The forward line was also boosted by Brayden Cook score, while the usual West Coast suspects in Milan Murdock and Willem Duursma kept themselves firmly in the mix. If voters side with Duurs this week, he could steal pole position from Lachlan McAndrew in the CCK award race.

An unlikely hero stood up as the best scoring rookie last round, while a West Coast duo continue to find themselves amongst the weekly nominees!

Who gets your vote as the most important cash cow in Round 6? 🤔 #AFLFantasy

— SportsbyFry (@sportsbyfry) April 21, 2026

Defenders

Let ’em grow

We got an important reminder last weekend from our favourite defensive rookies. While their start to the 2026 fantasy campaign has been unreal, we can’t keep relying on them to score 70+ on a weekly basis. Mainstream duo Jai Serong ($598K, 59, BE 35) and Sam Grlj ($568K, 57, BE 48) are being moved on by almost 5,000 coaches and some of our other favourites won’t be too far behind them. Tom Blamires ($549K, 72, BE 29) produced the highest score from the cash cows down back, but it took a 39-point third quarter for him to resurrect what was shaping up to be a poor score. Jacob Farrow’s ($579K, 58, BE 13) absolute tear came to a bit of a halt and Josh Lindsay ($493K, 62, BE 24) was his usual self with another low 60. I’m sure there will be one or two of these players who survive until the mid-season byes. However, it’s important to start planning your exit strategy before they start bleeding cash.

Let ’em go

Following a sub-50-point effort, Lachie Jaques ($585K, 46, BE 47) is the DEF rookie seemingly in the gun for most coaches this round. After his rest in Round 5, Jaques laid an egg against the Cats and continued his alarming trend of decreasing scores. A matchup with Sydney on Thursday night doesn’t give me a ton of confidence that Jaques will bounce back with a ripper, and as I mentioned before, all of these rookies need to be axed sooner or later. A decent showing from Michael Sellwood ($437K, 62, BE 18) has seen him enter the ‘later’ category, while Lachlan Blakiston ($439K, 39, BE 49) is one of the rare rookies who sits in the ‘get him out of your team ASAP’ category. And no before you ask, William Edwards ($230K, DNP, BE 23) isn’t worth rolling the dice on as a debutant for the Swans.

Midfielders

Let ’em grow

Western Derby 62 didn’t unfold the way that Willem Duursma ($664K, 85, BE 38) and Milan Murdock ($483K, 86, BE -24) wanted on Sunday arvo. Fantasy owners of the Eagles’ pair weren’t mad at all after they both managed to record 80+ scores and maintain their reputation as starting MID options. You probably have a DEF eligible player sitting in one of your on-field spots if you’re playing more than two rooks, although anyone who fielded Angus Anderson ($365K, 78, BE -30) over the last fortnight wouldn’t have been disappointed with his output. Both he and Round 6 debutant Patrick Retschko ($262K, 65, BE -5) are among the most popular trade targets this week and I’m optimistic that they can become solid bench pieces who help us generate more cash as we commence upgrade season.

Let ’em go

If Anderson or Reteschko are coming in, someone has to go out. For over 6,500 coaches, that player is Jagga Smith ($599K, 64, BE 55) with the highly-touted Blue slowing up over the last few weeks. He still saw a healthy number of CBA’s on the weekend, but his season low 64% TOG makes me think Carlton could look to rest the ball magnet as he builds into his AFL career following an ACL tear in 2025. It might be jumping at shadows, but Jagga has effectively done his job as a cash cow and he can go.

Jack Carroll ($520K, 52, BE 39) might be hanging around for some coaches, although his days are numbered as well. Only one of his five scores this fantasy season has surpassed 60 points and DEF/MID status makes it easy to swing him around and chase your preferred upgrade. Another rookie who owns the same positional flexibility is Charlie Edwards ($258K, 60, BE -2), who stepped into the Crows lineup last round to make his AFL debut. Personally, I think he’s a placeholder for Jordan Dawson so it’s wise to ignore him.

Speaking of debutants, we learned that Billy Cootee ($230K, DNP, BE 23) and Sam Cumming ($326K, DNP, BE 33) are going to get their first taste of senior footy this weekend for the Swans and Tigers, respectively. I want to see where he slots into Sydney’s AFL lineup before launching, but Richmond’s rook is a different proposition. The No. 7 pick in last year’s draft lit it up last weekend against the U18 Academy, taking home the medal as best-on-ground and there are some coaches who will trade Cumming in straight away. I usually advise coaches to wait on inflated rookies until we get a glimpse, but Cumming should get a sustained run and as long as you can sit him at M9 or M10 while we watch his output for a round or two, it’s a trade that makes sense.

Rucks

Let ’em grow

For the first time, perhaps all season, Lachlan McAndrew ($711K, 65, BE 48) wasn’t the top-scoring rookie ruck! In fact, he wasn’t even second, with both Mitch Edwards ($370K, 68, BE 2) and Oscar Steene ($347K, 72, BE 3) outpacing him in Round 6 with their impressive scores. Both Edwards and Steene have established themselves as trustworthy R3 options and hopefully they can keep climbing gradually in price while providing us with a strong emergency score. I don’t think Cooper Duff-Tytler ($370K, 40, BE 42) has the same upside, but he is an ok option to leave on your ruck bench. Louis Emmett ($270K, 60, BE 2) also scored at a decent clip against the Cats, however, we know that his teammate Lachlan Smith ($230K, DNP, BE 23) is set to make his AFL debut this weekend. That doesn’t bode well for Emmett’s job security and the best plan of action is to steer clear of both of the Bulldogs prospects currently.

Of course, I have to mention the notorious Zane Zakostelsky ($325K, 36, BE 12) in this segment. His presence on Sunday caused a lot of headaches for the fantasy community and it turns out, the best plan of attack was to just do nothing! Those who saw the news that he was a late inclusion for Brisbane likely moved their captain badge to another player and missed out on Daicos’ 128 as a VC – only for ZZ to record 31% game time and not count as an on-field player after all. Remind me why we play this game again?

Forwards

Let ’em grow

Our depth in the forawrd line was tested last weekend and thankfully, there were a few cash cows who stepped up in a time of need. Phoenix Gothard ($563K, 99, BE 9) was the standout cash cow with his 99 points and he is the one rookie that most of us completely missed on this season. Averaging 70+ on the season now, most of his owners will leave him sitting at F6 for the foreseeable future – along with Adelaide wingman Brayden Cook ($574K, 80, BE 36). Cookie has had some scoring lulls through the first six rounds of the season, although he still looms as a safe F6 play until you have the necessary funds to fix that spot. Todd Marshall ($517K, 78, BE 15) is yet another rookie option who could be plugged into that slot with confidence, although I’d advise against chasing Sullivan Robey ($343K, 64, BE 9) for an on-field option. The talented Bomber has some money to make, but I view him as more of a low 50’s type of scorer and he is best suited for your bench.

Let ’em go

It will be hard to trust Lachy Dovaston ($344K, 24, BE 37) and Leo Lombard ($406K, 31, BE 48) again this season, after the FWD eligible ‘cash cows’ combined to score 55 points last round. FIFTY FIVE. COMBINED!! There were some coaches who were forced to field both of them and their Round 6 efforts made it clear that not only do they need to be benched, they need to be cut from our teams entirely if you have the chance to do so. Less popular options such as Oliver Hannaford ($305K, 43, BE 1), Talor Byrne (297K, 50, BE 9) and Cooper Hynes ($377K, 62, BE 8) generated a touch of interest, although I’d rather use my dollars elsewhere. Hynes intrigues me if he gets an uptick in midfield minutes, although he isn’t a great investment at almost $400K.

Reserves Report

Here is a list of the most noteworthy fantasy scores we saw from potential cash cows in the reserves around the country over the weekend

Reece Torrent, Lions – 156 points, 30 disposals, 8 marks, 9 tackles, 2 goals
Jayden Nguyen, Bombers – 127 points, 23 disposals, 6 marks, 6 tackles, 3.3 in front of goal
Luke Beecken, Lions – 123 points, 23 disposals, 15 marks, 1 goal
Ben Camporeale, Blues – 103 points, 29 disposals, 5 tackles, 0.5 in front of goal
Jack Dalton, Hawks – 100 points, 24 disposals, 6 marks, 5 tackles
Sam Swadling, Magpies – 94 points, 29 disposals
Dyson Sharp, Bombers – 88 points, 23 disposals, 5 marks, 4 tackles
Aidan Schubert – 84 points, 14 disposals, 5 marks, 3.5 in front of goal
Lachlan Carmichael, Bulldogs – 82 points, 23 disposals, 6 marks
Jack Watkins, Power – 78 points, 22 disposals, 6 tackles
Dylan Patterson, Suns – 78 points, 25 disposals
Sid Draper, Crows – 75 points, 21 disposals, 1.1 in front of goal

Q & A

The weekly Q&A section aims to address the biggest rookie/cash cow issues that we are facing. 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 questions below.

Who goes this week Grlj, Jaques or Jagga?

& Anderson in (like everything about him other then his low cba’s) or save $ on Retschko?

— jf (@jf4621414682010) April 21, 2026

Hopefully this question covers all angles in terms of rookie trade ins/outs this round. Personally, I’m looking to pull the trigger on Jagga first, mainly because I own the Eagles duo in Murdock and Duursma as on-field options and partially due to Smith’s role change in the last few weeks. Jaques goes ahead of Grlj too thanks to a tougher run – although it’s close between the pair.

In terms of a trade in option, I’ve flip-flopped this week but I’ve landed on Retschko and the extra $$$ right now. Again, that is partially due to the fact that I have a team almost full of green dots and a bench full of $500K+ players, so I need the extra cash for an on-field upgrade. Anderson will seemingly welcome back Sidebottom and De Goey this week and while he should be able to maintain his decent scoring rate, I think he and Retschko will produce similar scores from here on out.

Not a question, but glad I held Murdoch like you said.😀

— Jon (@welshaustralia1) April 21, 2026

This one hits close to home. After getting greedy at F6, I had to use Zane Zakostelsky to loop Nick Daicos as my VC – and we all know how that went on Sunday! With no other option, I took the C off of ZZ and threw it on Milan Murdock, hoping that he could scrape to a reasonable score. 86 from your captain isn’t the end of the world and he will hold a special place in my heart forever after he (sort of) helped me avoid a total disaster.

Taking matchups into consideration, what’s your on field ranking? 😅 can only play 5!
Jagga, Serong, Jacques, Farrow, Grlj, Blamires, Carroll, Lindsey, Murdoch & Anderson

— Brody (@BeerowD) April 21, 2026

I did pretty well with the rookie roulette picks last round – which means I’ll naturally get all of these wrong. However, here’s how I’d structure up if it was my team:

Play – Farrow, Murdock, Lindsay, Serong, Grlj
Bench – Jagga, Anderson, Jaques, Blamires, Carroll

Sid Draper

— Cummo (@dc_manintheknow) April 21, 2026

I haven’t given up all hope, but man, I’m close. Entering the 2025 draft, he was perhaps my favourite prospect and I overpaid in a lot of keeper leagues to make sure I had Sid’s stock. But the bloke just can’t seem to stay on the park! Granted, he has only been on an AFL list for a tick over 500 days and hopefully this is the rocket he needs to launch his AFL Fantasy career back into relevance. However, if he does end up cracking the Crows’ rotation in the coming months, I’m not convinced he’ll get enough TOG to put up decent numbers. Here’s hoping he can find his mojo this season and shape up as an underpriced, third-year breakout type in 2027.

Remember the Name

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

DEFENDERS

Dylan Patterson (Suns, $334K)
Oskar Taylor (Giants, $294K)
Lachlan Carmichael (Bulldogs, $270K)
Cooper Simpson (Dockers, $340K)
Matt Whitlock (Kangaroos, $230K)
Harrison Ramm (Power, $268K)

MIDFIELDERS

Harry DeMattia (Magpies, $230K)
Josh Smillie (Tigers, $230K)
Luke Urquart (Kangaroos, $230K)
Adam Sweid (Dockers, $254K)
Harry Kyle (Swans, $298K)
Tyan Prindable (Magpies, $230K)
Luke Beecken (Lions, $230K)
Sam Cumming (Tigers, $326K)
Ollie Greeves (Hawks, $230K)
Ben Camporeale (Blues, $230K)
Sam Swadling (Magpies, $230K)

RUCKMEN

Aidan Schubert (Hawks, $262K)
Kayle Gerreyn (Bombers, $230K)
Max Heath (Demons, $376K)

FORWARDS

Sid Draper (Crows, $307K)
Jesse Dattoli (Swans, $273K)
Finlay Macrae (Eagles, $293K)
Mitchell Marsh (Crows, $266K)
Charlie Banfield (Saints, $230K)
Harvey Harrison (Magpies, $300K)
Jay Polkinghorne (Cats, $230K)

Fry

Australian coffee/burrito enthusiast and the frustrated owner of 16 fantasy teams. Writer for SportsbyFry and DT Talk 🤙