18 down, 6 to go!

As I poured myself another glass of red wine (fk it, I’m on holidays) and started writing this article ahead of Round 19, I found myself reflecting on my fantasy season so far. I’m currently ranked 853rd overall. I’m not going to win a Hilux, but it’s still a position I’m proud of because I don’t tend to spend much time inside the top 1,000. One change that I’ve made has been aggressively trying to maximise on field points, which means I’ve missed out on some crucial cash generation pieces.

I’m sure I’m not the only one who gets to the end of the season and finds that I have rookies I planned on trading out, but never got the chance to put their price rise to good use. I vehemently preach the importance of rookies and the role they play in building a successful fantasy side, but with three-quarters of the season now behind us, it’s time to shift the focus away from the cash cows. Yes, it’s still ideal to have a green dot on every line, especially with injuries piling up. However, the finish line is in sight. From here on out, every trade should answer one question: does it put more points on my field this week?

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

Cash Cow King – Round 18

We are used to seeing Eagles star Willem Duursma and Adelaide duo Brayden Cook and Lachlan McAndrew among the best rookie scorers from the previous round. However, Melbourne mid-season recruit Joel Fitzgerald topped all of them with the lone triple-figure score from Round 18. There were some that benefitted from Fitz’s outing by having him on field, and we’re optimistic that he can run it big with another healthy score against the Roos in the upcoming fixture.

A mid-season phenom and 2026 rookie staples delivered the best scores last weekend to earn yet another set of nominations for the CCK award!

Who gets your vote as the most important cash cow in Round 17? 🤔 #AFLFantasy

— SportsbyFry (@sportsbyfry) July 15, 2026

Back ‘Em In

Stick With ‘Em

There are a few more established rookies that coaches may still be trusting on field – namely Rising Star contenders Jagga Smith ($745K, 78, BE 66) and Willem Duursma ($724K, 91, BE 84). We know what we’re getting from Jagga at F6, scoring 78 points in his last game with an average of 78.3 points from 17 games this season. Owners probably have bigger fish to fry at the trade table this week, so you could get away with leaving him on field. As I’ve been saying for weeks though, moving him to a premium is ideal. Duursma falls into the same category, despite producing his best score in months against the Bulldogs. It’s no coincidence that his uptick in scoring coincided with his highest CBA tally in weeks. Given how much his role fluctuates under Mini McQualter, I’d still be worried about playing him at M8 from week to week.

Bench pieces such as Leo Lombard ($564K, 75, BE 42) and Dyson Sharp ($545K, 68, BE 31) may find themselves promoted for coaches who have been hit hard by injuries. Lombard has seen his ownership slowly decline every week of the fantasy season, and yet, the Gold Coast youngster has played a handy role for those who stuck with him. He has outscored Christian Petracca in his last three and there’s a world where he (or Sharp) can remain at F7 to provide you with a green dot for the rest of the season. Riley Hamilton ($271K, 59, BE 0) is the latest forward that coaches are buying into as bench cover, although I’m not convinced he’ll produce helpful scores from here on out. The same applies for Noah Mraz ($329K, 46, BE -6) and Kye Annand ($374K, 44, BE 29), with the 46 points Mraz scored last round much closer to his expected output. The trio are fine to keep as emergencies for now.

Cash ‘Em Out

The usual suspects can be found attached to this “Cash ‘Em Out” section. Tigers duo Patrick Retschko ($616K, 64, BE 57) and Sam Cumming ($570K, 65, BE 52) are effectively done making money and I’m sure 80%-90% of the coaches reading this have also ditched Jai Serong ($699K, 56, BE 95) and Milan Murdock ($585K, 62, BE 82) too. I gave Jacob Farrow ($714K, 52, BE 78) a longer leash while Archie Roberts was out of the side, but that, combined with a tough matchup against Brisbane has seen his cash generation halt. If you’ve got the opportunity, I’d be looking to offload the talented Bomber this week. Jack Ison ($422K, 42, BE 36) isn’t as pressing as a trade concern, but the master of the 40-point score can also be moved on if need be.

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.

Dan Annable, Lions – 129 points, 32 disposals, 8 marks, 6 tackles
Jay Polkinghorne, Cats – 125 points, 19 disposals, 10 marks, 5 tackles, 5.3 in front of goal
Jack Carroll, Saints – 115 points, 24 disposals, 11 marks
Jevan Phillipou, Swans – 110 points, 23 disposals, 10 marks, 1.1 in front of goal
Jack Watkins, Power – 95 points, 27 disposals
Luker Kentfield, Demons – 88 points, 13 disposals, 8 tackles, 8 hitouts, 2.1 in front of goal
Lachie Jaques, Bulldogs – 87 points, 26 disposals, 5 marks
Cameron Nairn, Hawks – 84 points, 23 disposals, 5 marks
Lachlan Carmichael, Bulldogs – 83 points, 21 disposals, 6 marks
Charlie Banfield, Saints – 78 points, 22 disposals, 6 marks
Mitch Podhajski, Magpies – 72 points, 12 disposals, 6 marks, 2 goals
Bodie Ryan, Hawks – 70 points, 22 disposals
Jaxon Artemis, Bombers – 63 points, 19 disposals, 1 goal
Tom Burton, Tigers – 59 points, 16 disposals, 1 goal
Sid Draper, Crows – 48 points, 13 disposals, 1 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.

Best 230k loop rookie for def mid & fwd

— Thilina Guruge (@UncleFagan) July 14, 2026

Obviously, the fixture hasn’t been locked in for Round 23 and Round 24 yet, so we can only unpack the next month for loophole purposes. Richmond and GWS are by FAR the best teams to target in the upcoming four rounds, with a pair of Saturday night games and a pair of Sunday games in this stretch. Carlton and Port are also decent. So, to answer your question:

DEF – Finnegan Davis (GWS
MID – Josh Smillie (RICH) or Harry Charleson (CAR – DEF/MID)
RUC – Patrick Carr (RICH)
FWD – Nathan Wardius (GWS)

Which rookies would you put on the ground in the 22 if you needed to do so?

— Digga (@DiggaKal) July 14, 2026

Obviously, it depends on which cash cows you still have in your squad and at the risk of sounding like an ass, as few as possible. If you’re left starting multiple rooks though, then the likes of Joel Fitzgerald and Hugo Hall-Kahan should be able to battle their way to 60-70 points this week and help out a huge number of coaches.

How do we prioritise which rookies we sell at this time of year? (If we ever get past forced trades). Fitz, Francou, Addinsall and Gallop all still making cash but no point having cash up rooks in R24. THIS guy

— . (@Brett_Muller) July 14, 2026

Honestly, the rookies with the most cash on their heads can be the ones you cull first. For example, it might feel a bit taboo to trade out Fitzgerald given his performances thus far, but if you have Francou sitting alongside him at M10, then you may as well put that cash to good use and try to turn it into points on field.

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)
Jaxon Artemis (Bombers, $230K)
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)
Tyan Prindable (Magpies, $230K)
Luke Beecken (Lions, $230K)
Ollie Greeves (Hawks, $230K)
Ben Camporeale (Blues, $230K)

RUCKMEN

Aidan Schubert (Hawks, $262K)
Kayle Gerreyn (Bombers, $230K)
Harrison Coe (Magpies, $230K)
Caleb May (Bulldogs, $230K)

FORWARDS

Sid Draper (Crows, $307K)
Jesse Dattoli (Swans, $273K)
Finlay Macrae (Eagles, $293K)
Mitchell Marsh (Crows, $266K)
Jay Polkinghorne (Cats, $230K)

Fry

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