Nine down, 15 to go!

Last round was a sharp reminder that chaos can unfold quickly for AFL Fantasy coaches. Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera’s late withdrawal caused some to pivot their trade plans and made us all double-check our emergency cover. Salt was further rubbed into the wounds when Sam Grlj was ‘managed’ at the last minute, leaving a few coaches with a dreaded doughnut. Those unexcused absences can ruin your weekend, but it’s important to shrug it off quickly and look ahead. Despite the chaos, the focus remains the same for coaches – trading fattened cash cows out and replacing them with premium scorers. With upgrade season well and truly underway, nailing the right trade targets will be the difference between climbing the rankings or falling behind the pack.

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

Cash Cow King – Round 9

We were forced until late in the round, but four of our mainstream rooks stood up during Sunday’s games to boost our team total. No one scored better than Milan Murdock as the mature-aged Eagle continued the stellar start to his career, while his teammate Josh Lindsay was the best DEF cash cow in Round 9. A pair of Adelaide Crows in Lachlan McAndrew and Brayden Cook earned yet another nomination as coaches continue to trust them on field.

All four of this week’s nominees came from the Sunday slate of games, as these mainstream rookies helped boost our team total late in the round!

Who gets your vote as the most important cash cow in Round 9? 🤔 #AFLFantasy

— SportsbyFry (@sportsbyfry) May 12, 2026

Defenders

Let ’em grow

It took way longer than I would have liked, but Josh Lindsay ($617K, 84, BE 40) has finally moved himself to the top of the DEF rookies power rankings. He has made the most of a very fantasy-friendly fixture with a last-three average of 80.3 and the points should flow once again this weekend against GWS. He’s my favourite choice for D6 if you’re only rocking one rook down back – with Jai Serong ($642K, DNP, BE 64) the next best option for coaches playing two rookies. If he comes back into Sydney’s side this week, the Magpies should give up enough points for Serong to thrive.

If he is forced to miss another week, then coaches may have their depth tested in Round 10. Some will consider bringing Tom Blamires ($582K, 62, BE 55) off the bench, however he’s still best suited to a role as D7-D8. You could probably squeeze a few more dollars out of the Roos youngster and he should find a way to hit the 60-point threshold against Adelaide. Michael Sellwood ($511K, 74, BE 38) is another one who may be considered, with the Dogs defender helping himself to yet another strong score. I don’t know if he’s been reading this article and taking the slights personally, but Sellwood has proved me well and truly wrong by making $281K to date and averaging a respectable 55.7 points.

Let ’em go

Of course, a lot of us less fortunate coaches have other defensive rookies that we are relying on. I was forced to accept Jacob Farrow’s ($606K, 43, BE 85) score after Wanganeen-Milera was ruled out, and following that dud effort, Farrow now finds himself as the most traded out rookie. Lachie Jaques ($586K, DNP, BE 70) and Sam Grlj ($560K, DNP, BE 70) find themselves at the top of the chopping block as well after their ‘no shows’ last weekend. Spare a thought for those who were hoping that Grlj could be their cover for Nas! In terms of rookie replacements, almost 7,500 coaches pulled the trigger on Bodie Ryan ($230K, 23, BE 28) last round, hoping that he could be the DEF downgrade we all covet. Fingers crossed he gets another chance to show his wares and he doesn’t become a dreaded dead rookie on our benches.

Midfielders

Let ’em grow

A week is a long time in fantasy footy. Fresh off a stellar match against the Eagles, over 17% of the competition thought it was a great idea to trade into Sam Cumming ($423K, 29, BE 27). A stat line of eight disposals, one mark and zero tackles wasn’t what we thought we were paying up for, with Cumming registering a measly 29 points against the Crows. Surely, he responds with a much better effort against the Saints, right? His teammate Patrick Retschko ($461K, 71, BE 9) didn’t have the same scoring issues vs. Adelaide and there are even some coaches contemplating putting him on field if he maintains this pace. I think that’s a risky move, with a duo from the West the only rookies that seem like safe plays at M7 and M8.

I hate that I keep coupling Milan Murdock ($640K, 92, BE 44) and Willem Duursma ($747K, 72, BE 75) together, but the Eagles’ cash cows just keep getting it done! With Murdock poised to add FWD status in a few rounds, no one is looking to trade him out at the moment and similar could be said for Jagga Smith ($667K, 81, BE 52). I was forced to offload the Blues’ ball magnet last week to facilitate another upgrade and in fact, there have been 24,418 coaches who traded him out in the last three weeks. If you’ve held Jagga through that stretch, you may as well continue to do so and see A) if he adds forward status and B) how Calton interim coach Josh Fraser deploys him.

Let ’em go

Halfway through the GWS/Essendon clash, the coaches who rolled the dice on Dyson Sharp ($388K, 56, BE 15) as a trade target were chuffed with what they saw. That joy was short-lived, with the Dons draftee dislocating his shoulder in the third quarter and Sharp now faces a 5-6 week stint on the sidelines. With a lack of viable downgrade choices, it’s possible that some coaches will leave Sharp sitting on their MID bench until a better rookie emerges. He could be sitting next to Angus Anderson ($492K, 60, BE 47) on the bench piece, with no one in a rush to flick Anderson out just yet. He has scored 60 or more in four of his five outings and hopefully, he still has a bit of growth left in him.

Rucks

Let ’em grow

The more I think about it, the more I realise that Lachlan McAndrew ($752K, 86, BE 74) may be our final on-field rookie for 2026. He is still boasting a healthy average and the R2 for over 50% of the fantasy community just keeps churning out fieldable scores. It would be a luxury to have two bona fide guns in the two starting ruck slots, but as Brodie Grundy owners found out last weekend, you don’t get points based on reputation. Oscar Steene ($408K, 51, BE 31), Cooper Duff-Tytler ($405K, 52, BE 24) or Lachlan Smith ($285K, 38, BE 8) are the bench options who are still generating cash, with Steene the preferred R3 option.

Forwards

Let ’em grow

After crying out for reliable rookies in the forward line for weeks, there were a handful who stood out in Round 9 as decent scorers. Brayden Cook ($669K, 83, BE 45) was once again at the top of the pecking order and he remains the preferred play at F6. Some may consider plugging Sullivan Robey ($426K, 79, BE 9) into that spot after his season-high 79 points that included 41% of the CBA’s. Leaving him on the bench is still the preferred course of action, but thanks to Essendon’s upcoming schedule, there is a world where Robey maintains his hot form. Speaking of form, Leo Lombard ($458K, 68, BE 24) has refound his mojo and helped make a few extra dollars for those coaches who opted not to trade.

Since back-to-back 30-point efforts, the Gold Coast talent has recorded scores of 56, 63 and 68 – which won’t blow your away, but it has helped reignite another phase of cash generation. Toby Murray ($370K, 69, BE -9) is another rookie in our FWD line who is making money at a rapid rate, with the Adelaide tall boasting the highest price rise this round. There are still some coaches looking to trade him in, while others are considering saving close to $100K and acquiring Paddy Cross ($274K, 70, BE -3) instead. I’m worried that Cross just benefited from the ‘West Coast bump’ and he is cheap enough to wait another week and find out if he’s the real deal.

Let ’em go

The time has well and truly come to offload Phoenix Gothard ($543K, 37, BE 81). Following his 99-point game against the Swans back in Round 6, owners were looking to move pieces around in their forward lines so that Gothard could find a place on field. Alas, he has responded with a three-round average of 39 and is starting to bleed cash. You can net a cool $117K by swapping him for Robey, or $173K if Murray is your preferred downgrade option. You could then use that cash to upgrade the likes of Jack Watkins ($436K, 65, BE 47), who may still be hanging around for coaches on your MID or FWD bench. He’s not exactly a trade priority, but Watkins is a player you should move on from sooner rather than later.

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.

Jack Ough, Giants – 124 points, 35 disposals, 6 marks, 7 tackles
Angus Hastie, Saints – 123 points, 31 disposals, 7 marks
Thomas Anastasopoulos, Power – 114 points, 22 disposals, 11 marks, 3.1 in front of goal
Alex Dodson, Saints – 103 points, 15 disposals, 51 hitouts
Jakob Ryan, Magpies – 98 points, 24 disposals, 7 marks
Wade Derksen, Blues – 91 points, 14 disposals, 6 marks, 5.2 in front of goal
Sam Swadling, Magpies – 91 points, 33 disposals
Kayle Gerreyn, Bombers – 91 points, 21 disposals, 11 marks, 1 goal
Lachy Dovaston, Kangaroos – 70 points, 15 disposals, 1.3 in front of goal
Charlie Edwards, Crows – 69 points, 18 disposals, 5 tackles

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.

Thoughts on Ports new debutant?

— Treloar N’ Trauma (@treloarntrauma) May 12, 2026

He’s one worth monitoring, but I don’t advise jumping on straight away. He is fresh off a stellar SANFL game (stats above), although he has registered scores of 73, 61 and 57 in his other three full matches. As a proud owner of the Round 12 bye, his presence won’t help you too much when the other on-field FWD’s rest either – so my advice is to avoid Anastasopoulos until he forces our hand.

Hi Fry, Robey and Murray seem like the obvious ones but what do you think of Edwards from the Swans (job security concerns with McCartin returning), Cross from Demons or Perez and Ryan from Hawks (they are the 2 I’m looking at due to Barrass injury)? Thanks 🙏🏼

— Olivier Calvi (@oliviercalvi06) May 11, 2026

It’s another week of tough sledding when trying to find a reliable rookie. As you pointed out, Robey and Murray (in that order) are the best choices, but they aren’t that cheap anymore. There are viable scoring concerns surrounding the other three, but if I HAD to invest in one this week, I’d target Cross, then Ryan (over Perez) and then Edwards.

Need Farrow off my bench
Which def rookies as I can’t DPP and weirdly only seem to be FWD rooks available

— grover (@KingGrover1974) May 11, 2026

Let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater and trade Farrow because of his one poor score. It’s fine to give him the flick to help pull off another trade, but there aren’t any defensive rookies that I’d look to bring in right now (no offence Bodie Ryan). Personally, as someone who also has Farrow sitting at D7 I’m willing to take a bit of a hit from a cash gen standpoint as he will be a rookie I can somewhat trust on field during the bye rounds.

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)
Ollie Greeves (Hawks, $230K)
Ben Camporeale (Blues, $230K)
Sam Swadling (Magpies, $230K)

RUCKMEN

Aidan Schubert (Hawks, $262K)
Kayle Gerreyn (Bombers, $230K)

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 🤙