Seven down, 17 to go!

Just a casual reminder for fantasy coaches – there are still 17 rounds of fantasy footy left in 2025, with almost 40 trades still up our sleeves. Those who opted to chase the cheapies last week in the form of James Tunstill and Campbell Gray are now (likely) left with an uninspiring brown/red dot on their bench who won’t contribute a great deal moving forward. While we are all rushing to trade Lachie Whitfield, Nick Daicos, Christian Petracca, or whichever other premium you love into our teams, it’s still important to keep a long-term view and not completely butcher our squads in the process. Yes, the lack of downgrade options priced under $300K is alarming, but that doesn’t mean we should chase players who come with plenty of red flags.

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 7

A pair of Melbourne rookies started Round 7 with a BANG as both Xavier Lindsay and Harvey Langford put forth fieldable scores against the Tigers. Lindsay will likely dominate the votes this week, but his partner in crime in Langford and a Sydney duo deserve their fair share of recognition as well. The ever-reliable Riley Bice and Caiden Cleary mirrored each other in terms of production, with promising 80+ outings, while Zach Reid earned his third nomination of the season thanks to his efforts on Anzac Day.

*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 7?

• Xavier Lindsay (98)
• Harvey Langford (74)
• Zach Reid (74)
• Caiden Cleary (82)
• Riley Bice (82)

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Round 7 Power Rankings

After 7 weeks of action, these are the top 10 cash cow performers in season 2025!

Power Ranking 2025 #AFLFantasy Cash Cows Round 7 💰🐮

1. Riley Bice ↔️
2. Levi Ashcroft ⬆️ 1
3. Harvey Langford ⬆️ 1
4. Sam Davidson ⬇️ 1
5. Zach Reid ⬆️ 1
6. Xavier Lindsay (NR)
7. Caiden Cleary ⬆️ 3
8. Luke Trainor ⬆️ 1
9. Connor O’Sullivan ⬇️ 4
10. Jaxon Prior ⬇️ 2 pic.twitter.com/a1ma72ghmy

— SportsbyFry (@sportsbyfry) April 29, 2025

Making Moves

Let ’em grow

The majority of our starting rookie picks are reaching their peak value and coaches are looking to follow a traditional “one up, one down” philosophy with their trades over the coming rounds. We won’t be moving on from Riley Bice ($653K, 82, BE 31) anytime soon as the mature aged Swan continues to produce, but some of his defensive peers are well and truly on the block. 70’s from Zach Reid ($546K, 74, BE 36) and Luke Trainor ($529K, 73, BE 54) in Round 7 will lead to some giving the young talls another life at D6 – however, there’s nothing wrong with culling them to ensure you have enough cash for a coveted upgrade. You could look to flick one of them to Dogs debutant Jedd Busslinger ($246K, 42, BE 13), who started with a flurry scoring 25 points in the first quarter, only to struggle throughout the rest of the contest vs. GWS. If Busslinger manages to hold his place in Bevo’s team, then I fully expect him to remain the No. 1 option at the trade table for coaches.

He could take up residence on our DEF bench next to Matt Carroll ($367K, 57, BE 3) after he produced another solid 50 to keep his cash gen ticking over. His teammate Will White ($416K, 48, BE 11) also owns one of the lowest breakevens heading into Round 8, firing four shots at goal from nine disposals to surpass the $400K mark. I’d feel much better about my team if Caiden Cleary ($457K, 82, BE 10) were sitting in his place at F7-F8, with a solid bounce-back performance reinstalling our faith in Cleary as a money maker. There’s a world where you can play Cleary at F6 given his recent form, although most of his owners will be content with him sitting on the pine – perhaps next to Conor Stone ($441K, 65, BE 25). The Giants FWD/DEF has produced back-to-back 60’s after seemingly topping out in value and as he maintains his price rise, coaches will likely give him another life.

There was more support to keep Stone after he added DPP a few weeks ago, with Levi Ashcroft ($658K, 65, BE 61) perhaps the most important cash cow to add another position in Round 6. Over 2,500 coaches are opting to chop the talented Lion this week now that he has climbed a significant $330K in price since the start of the season. Personally, I’m giving Levi a chance to flourish against North (Rd. 9) and Melbourne (Rd. 10) before I entertain the idea of moving him on, but I do understand the reasoning behind coaches pulling the trigger if it helps them land a big fish in the midfield. I’ll happily leave him sitting at M7-M8 for now, with Xavier Lindsay ($528K, 98, BE 26) or Harvey Langford ($503K, 74, BE 20) potentially holding down the other spot for coaches. The Dees duo excelled against Richmond last week and I imagine they’ll maintain their positive scoring ways this week as they face a trip West to clash with the Eagles.

Watch this space

One of the worst feelings in fantasy is trading out a rookie who goes on to make another notable price jump. I find myself in this position after moving on from Corey Warner ($483K, 74, BE 42) last round – only for Sydney’s young gun to jump another $19K and produce a near season-high in points. It’s very possible that Warner will score a 40-50 against the Giants and I’ll feel somewhat justified. The same could be said for mainstream MID/FWD options such as Max Hall ($517K, 67, BE 49) and Murphy Reid ($517K, 36, BE 59) and moving them on to help with another upgrade is a fine route to go down now that they’ve surpassed the $500K threshold.

Sam Lalor ($551K, 41, BE 56) belongs in this conversation too, with a 41-point effort seeing him stall in cash gen. He has only recorded one score over 70 so far this season and despite Lalor’s undeniable talent, if the Tigers cub is sitting on your bench, he may be the one who makes way to help you land a Chad Warner/Christian Petracca type. Down back, players such as Connor O’Sullivan ($555K, 70, BE 48) and Jaxon Prior ($536K, 55, BE 49) have been a great source of production with Karl Worner ($488K, 64, BE 19) an unpopular pick who fits the same mould. There is a world where you can give these players another chance if you have more pressing trade issues, but all of our rookies need to go at some point, right?

Let ’em go

After a subpar score on the weekend, now feels like the right time to pull the trigger on Sam Davidson ($626K, 51, BE 65). Doctor Davo is now priced at 61 points and after climbing almost $400K in price, he doesn’t have a lot of perceived growth left. It is much easier to get access to an on-field premium you have faith in my moving on from Davidson, with the rest of our cash cows in the “must-trade” basket checking in at uninspiring price points. The 40-point king himself Finn O’Sullivan ($397K, 41, BE 45) remains a thorn in the side for almost a third of the competition and he seems destined to hover around this price now until he either drops a surprise 60+ score, or he is given a week off from the senior team.

Daniel Curtin ($442K, 39, BE 64) and Christian Moraes ($452K, 49, BE 56) have a few more dollars on their head, however they are destined to lose value in the coming rounds. With a lack of viable downgrade options around, coaches may have to get creative when chasing replacements for these guys, but you’re still better served to move them on to one of the players listed in the money makers section – even if you don’t pocket a lot of coin as a result. Isaac Kako ($401K, 46, BE 38) is another frustrating rookie at this point in time and while a lot of readers may have moved him on already, there’s still merit in trading if he’s stuck at your M10/F8/UTL position.

Sub status

Subbed On – Sid Draper, Quinton Narkle, James Tunstill, Zane Duursma, Cooper Hynes, Tom Hanily

Subbed Off – Campbell Gray, Isaiah Dudley, Oliver Whiltshire, Hamish Davis

A friendly reminder that just because a rookie is picked, doesn’t mean they are the answer. The writing was on the wall that James Tunstill ($272K, 15, BE 20) was going to be Brisbane’s starting substitute, but that didn’t stop over 17,000 coaches from trading him into their team. Some (5,500+ coaches) went down the Campbell Gray ($236K, 30, BE 21) route instead, only to see him gather 5 touches before being subbed out. As we continue to scramble for downgrade options, think twice about the player you’re investing in to avoid getting stuck with a Tunstill, Gray, El-Hawli type.

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.

Hustwaite?

— Matthew M #WATheDreamState (@MattM_78) April 29, 2025

Tempting with the juicy fixture coming up, but no. We can’t get stuck shopping in these areas, even with the lack of cheap, trustworthy trade targets.

Easy question. Hard to answer

Who do we actually trade in if no new rooks are named with teams?

— Evolved (@Evolved_23) April 29, 2025

Well worded. The players priced under $300K aren’t filling us with confidence right now, so we’re going to have to get creative to keep our cash gen moving in the right direction. It feels taboo, but if you’re looking to offload a Zach Reid type this week, moving him to Matt Carroll or Caiden Cleary (via DPP) is a move to explore given their low breakevens and perceived job security. It doesn’t make as much money as trading in a James Tunstill or Campbell Gray type, however I have much more faith in Carroll/Cleary making another $100K-$150K from their current price compared to the cheaper alternatives.

Is Oscar McDonald’s job security any good?

— Nathan Langone (@LangoneNathan) April 29, 2025

Thursday night will tell us a lot, with the Dockers poised to welcome Luke Jackson back from injury. O-Mac has been playing second fiddle in the ruck for Freo and has done a decent job, but I can’t see Jackson, Darcy and McDonald all playing in the same outfit. So to answer your question, I don’t think so…

I have Reid/trainor as d6/7, Lindsay m8, lashcroft f6
Who to trade first?

— Gedav (@Gedav147022) April 29, 2025

The bench player probably goes first to help upgrade one of the other on-field rookies. For me, I’d be chopping Reid over Trainor and playing the Richmond rook at D6.

I’ll get Batman to ask my question pic.twitter.com/WYvWlWtuml

— Hawker (@HawkersHeroes) April 29, 2025

They’re around, their price just doesn’t start with a 2 unfortunately…

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)
Bo Allan (Eagles, $295K)
Alix Tauru (Saints, $313K)
James Barrat (Saints, $247K)
Ben Jepson (Suns, $230K)

MIDFIELDERS

Hugh Boxshall (Saints, $230K)
Luke Urquart (Kangaroos, $230K)
Josh Smillie (Tigers, $322K)
Caleb Mitchell (Swans, $230K)
Zak Johnson (Bombers, $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)
Nic Madden (Giants, $230K)

FORWARDS

Cooper Simpson (Dockers, $230K)
Cody Angove (Giants, $230K)
Ashton Moir (Blues, $230K)
Will Hayes (Magpies, $230K)
Ty Gallop (Lions, $230K)

Fry

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