The AFLW Fantasy clock is about to strike midnight, who will be in your side for the final push?

36 quarters, nine games, 16 on-field players, three trades - this is all that separates AFLW Fantasy coaches from the end of the season for 2025 and, if the last few rounds are anything to go by, a minor catastrophe waiting in the wings. In Round 10 it was Courtney Hodder as the popular option who was a late out, and Round 11 saw the mercurial Ella Roberts pulled at the 11th hour, scuppering the midfields of a number of coaches striving for a top-100 finish. After lightning has struck twice now for Fantasy coaches (as it did for the AFLW generally on the weekend), will there be a third bolt of chaos hit our sides this weekend? 

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With a view to maximising points on field this week, coaches will need to weigh up a few key issues. First and foremost, what to do about Zarlie Goldsworthy. The Greater Western Sydney mid-forward was pulled from the game in the third quarter with an ankle complaint and was seen in a moon boot after the game, yet is now a test to play against Port Adelaide on the weekend. The second is considering whether to bring in a bench option who could be looped with your D5 or F5, such as Caitlin Gould (v Fremantle) or Rebecca Privitelli (v Essendon). Finally, making sure to have your team set up to take any pre-Ebony Marinoff loophole, with AFLW Fantasy’s 2025 best scorer playing in the final game of the round, whilst not banking on 100% game time for North Melbourne’s star mid duo with the minor premiership already in the books. 

Finally, with this being the ultimate edition of the AFLW Fantasy Fix for 2025, we wanted to thank anyone who has read these articles throughout the year, and sincerely hope that they’ve given you the extra help needed for Fantasy success this season!

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Top 5 Price Rises

1.    Madeleine Guerin (MID, $790,000): +$219,000
2.    Airlie Runnalls (MID, $965,000): +$173,000
3.    Charlotte Mullins (FWD, $966,000): +$164,000
4.    Niamh McLaughlin (DEF, $1,006,000): +$162,000
5.    Yasmin Duursma (DEF, $669,000): +$150,000

Top 5 Price Falls

1.    Niamh Kelly (MID, $522,000): -$189,000
2.    Zarlie Goldsworthy (FWD, $941,000): -$147,000
3.    Caitlin Gould (FWD, $487,000): -$142,000
4.    Jenna Richardson (DEF, $548,000): -$140,000
5.    Madison Newman (MID, $859,000): -$131,000

Top Targets

Yasmin Duursma (DEF, $669,000, avg 64.5)
In a dour round for Fantasy defender scoring, Yasmin Duursma stood tall amongst the pack. The Carlton winger had a fantastic game on a stormy Sunday afternoon, sticking 11 tackles (2nd highest on the day) and taking six marks. The Blues’ ability to spread and kick on the diagonal this season has made life vastly better for their wings, best highlighted by Dayna Finn who is pushing for an All-Australian spot. Duursma also managed to start the season brightly before a collarbone issue stopped her in her tracks. Now back to full fitness and playing in a cross-country must-win game against West Coast, Duursma presents as a unique defender option under $700k that could match it with the best Fantasy players. 

Charlie Rowbottom (MID, $1,316,000, avg 99.8)
Rowbottom’s last few weeks have reminded Fantasy coaches why so many of us were willing to pay top dollar for her at the start of the 2025 season. Her 36-disposal effort against Collingwood, along with eight tackles for good measure, was a shining light for Gold Coast and helped it to a sizeable clearance advantage. There aren’t many players that can score massive Fantasy numbers like the big five mids this year, but Rowbottom’s ceiling scores of 147 (2025) and 160 (2024) shows she is one of the few who can. Richmond has had a turnaround of form late in the season, but still allowed some big scores for Bowers (126) and Gab Newton (129) last week. If you’re needing a miracle to win your grand final this week and want to bet on a more unique midfield choice, Rowbottom could be the move. 

Matilda Scholz (RUC, $1,259,000, avg 95.8)
Port Adelaide is arguably one of the best sides in the competition at the moment, after some dominant wins over top-eight sides Hawthorn and Adelaide. Scholz has played a major part in both match ups, dominating both the hit out and clearance battles to set the Port midfield alight. Coming up against the Giants this week and Eilish O’Dowd - who plays more like a midfielder - Scholz is likely to once again control the skies as the Power make one last effort to qualify for finals. The key to Scholz’s scoring this week will be her impact forward: when Scholz has kicked one goal or more this season, she has scored over 120 Fantasy points. The Giants struggled to contain the towering talls of the Carlton forward line, easily matched by the Power’s dynamic duo of Tahau and Houghton, and may struggle further when Scholz rests forward throughout the match. With the firepower she has, it would be a bold move to bet against Scholz this week. 

Jasmin Stewart (FWD, $487,000, avg 40.8)
Whilst ordinarily not the most prominent name in Fantasy circles, Jasmin Stewart had an incredible second quarter to put her squarely in the spotlight. Thrown into the midfield for a second successive week, Stewart took control against the Crows with a nine-disposal quarter, resulting in one goal herself, one goal assist and two clearances. Coming up against the 16th-placed Giants, Stewart could easily match her 77-point effort - a bargain for someone priced at $487k. The Power thankfully plays early enough in the round that you could play her as your forward emergency and see if you want to take that score or trade in a different forward with your remaining trades. One to consider if you need to find the cash for an upgrade elsewhere.

Sell

Laura Stone (FWD, $727,000, avg 57.3) & Aine McDonagh (FWD, $850,000, avg 61.5)
Hawthorn forwards, with Stone and McDonagh among them, have been among the competition’s hottest targets in the last month, given their matchups against some of the easiest of opponents for scoring. That run comes to a screeching halt this weekend, with a Friday night tilt against the minor premiers, North Melbourne. The Kangaroos have allowed only one forward to score more than 55 in the last month (Eloise Jones’ 82-point score on the back of three goals), and have shown nothing to suggest that their impenetrable defence will falter. Both Stone and McDonagh should be considered as top priority trades, after any injured players, in search of a forward with a better match up. 

Brittany Bonnici (MID, $1,262,000, avg 101.7)
Gold Coast’s match against Collingwood had been circled on the fixture by Fantasy coaches keen on some value options. Bonnici was probably slightly below expectations (95 points) against the Suns, in large part due to a tag from Lucy Single, but was serviceable for those running with a cheaper midfield. Sadly, Bonnici’s Pies will be playing off against a red-hot Brisbane outfit that has consistently smothered its opponent’s best midfielders. With scores of 61 vs North and 73 vs the Western Bulldogs - both in the upper echelon for restricting midfield scoring - Bonnici has shown she’s not been able to put up her ceiling scores in the danger games. With a number of midfield targets around Bonnici’s price (plus or minus $100k) with far better scoring prospects, we would advise risking your final week of scoring on the chance the Pies’ mid will be able to put up 100+ this Round.  

Brit Gutknecht (DEF, $710,000, avg 62.8)
Unfortunately for any owners of Gutknecht, the weather gods literally and figuratively drowned any chances of a half-decent score in a difficult game vs Geelong when they dropped a year’s worth of rain on Ballarat in Round 11. To have a near-premium defender only score 39 points is very disappointing, and that disappointment looks set to continue with a game against St Kilda in Round 12. The Saints have been a tough match up for defenders in 2025 (ask any owners of Charlie Thomas in Round 3), and outside of a 77 in Round 10, Gutknecht hasn’t scored about 55 since Round 7. In our view, that reads like a recipe for disaster and she should be traded out by any remaining owners.  

Zarlie Goldsworthy (FWD, $941,000, avg 88.5)
Choosing whether to trade out Goldsworthy could be both one of the easiest decisions in Round 12, and the most difficult. Seen in a hoodie and moon boot mid-way through the third quarter of the Giants’ game against Carlton, all signs were pointing towards an injury-induced early start to the offseason for Goldsworthy. However, GWS’ injury report has her listed as a test, and given her hard-headed approach to playing football, it wouldn’t be a complete shock if Zarlie were to force her way into the 21 this weekend (in spite of any injury niggles). If she isn’t selected, it is a very easy choice to trade, but it gets substantially more difficult if she is named to play in Round 12. Will she be fully fit and able to run out the game? Will she be moved out of the midfield and pushed into the forward line? With this many questions surrounding her, any coaches struggling to choose a player who looks set to underperform their price, Goldsworthy presents as a trade-out option. 

Top Rookies

With AFLW Fantasy entering its last round, now is not the time to be saving money. Make sure you prioritise getting the best player you can on the field. For those concerned about the bevy of late outs recently, Jasmin Stewart (FWD, $487k) and Caitlin Gould (FWD, $487k) are two options with fantastic potential. Elli Symonds (RUC, $478k) and Lara Hausseger (DEF, $431k) are also options I like this week. But you may be best served by the following players under $400k:

1.    Ariana Hetherington (FWD, $395k)
2.    Meghan McDonald (DEF, $342k)
3.    Liz McGrath (RUC, $377k)
4.    Brooke Vickers (MID, $392k)
5.    Sienna McMullen (DEF, $302k)

Captains 

On this week’s episode of Free Kick, we had a very long chat about captaincy options this round. First and foremost, Ebony Marinoff is the best option for the weekend - good matchup, excellent form, final game of the round. This also means that there is a full competition of other options for the vice-captaincy. The North Melbourne duo of Garner and Riddell have a solid enough match up vs Hawthorn, but some questions remain about the likelihood they’re asked to play full time on ground this week, having already wrapped up the minor premiership. Laura Gardiner has Essendon, which has been able to limit exceptionally high-scoring midfielders, but has also seemingly checked out on the season, and Sydney must win its match up. Kiara Bowers is in solid form, but plays at the same time as Marinoff, so should only be a captaincy option if, going into the final game of the round, you are looking to make up substantial ground in the overall rankings, and Marinoff & Bowers are your only two remaining players. 

1: Ebony Marinoff (vs Fremantle)
2: Laura Gardiner (vs Essendon)*
3: Ash Riddell (vs Hawthorn)*
4: Kiara Bowers (vs Adelaide)
5: Jasmine Garner (vs Hawthorn)*

* = VC Option

Other options to consider: Matilda Scholz (vs GWS)*, Mon Conti (vs Gold Coast)*, Charlie Rowbottom (vs Richmond)*, Gabby Newton (vs Adelaide), Abbie Dowrick (vs GWS)*, 

Reminder as well to make sure that you have a non-playing option to use as your VC loophole - there were a number of coaches caught out by the late inclusions of Annabel Johnson and Brooke Vickers last week. Here are the best $300k VC looping trade targets, as they play during or after the Saturday night game:

DEF: Holly Egan (Fremantle), plays final game Sunday
MID: Madison Ibrahim (Melbourne), plays on Saturday night
RUC: Jacinta Hose (Melbourne), plays on Saturday night
FWD: Georgia McKee (Adelaide), playing final game Sunday 

Get expert advice from Free Kick during the pre-season in the Fantasy Hub. Follow AFL Fantasy on Twitter and Instagram and 'like' the Facebook page to join in the conversation.

Get expert advice from Free Kick during the pre-season in the Fantasy Hub. Follow AFL Fantasy on X and Instagram and 'like' the Facebook page to join in the conversation.