THE AFLW season is only a few weeks away and now is the time to the talk about the jewel in the crown of the AFLW Fantasy format: the midfield.
All of the highest scores and scorers for 2025 Fantasy came from the midfield, and 2026 doesn't appear to be any different.
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What presents the biggest issue this season is how to balance the high price of the best scorers with the need to pick three more midfielders in our starting side than previous seasons.
Will it be by maximising the volume of 100+ scorers paired with two or three midfield rookies on field? Could it be anchored by one or two uber premiums and then filled with a glut of high potential but high-risk mid-pricers? Only time will tell!
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Projected top eight
Here are the eight midfielders that I believe will be the highest averaging options for 2026 listed with their prices and their 2025 average.
- Ebony Marinoff (ADE, $1,372,000) 127.8 average
- Laura Gardiner (SYD, $1,380,000) – 128.6 average
- Jasmine Garner (NTH, $1,246,000) – 116.1 average
- Ash Riddell (NTH, $1,297,000) – 120.9 average
- Kiara Bowers (FRE, $1,210,000) – 112.8 average
- Ella Roberts (WCE, $1,090,000) – 101.5 average
- Charlie Rowbottom (GCS, $1,076,000) – 100.3 average
- Gabby Newton (FRE, $1,060,000) – 98.8 average
Under the blanket: Monique Conti (RIC, $1,058,000, 98.6 avg), Georgia Nanscawen (ESS, $1,097,000, 102.3 avg), Olivia Purcell (MEL, $956,000, 99.0 avg), Britt Bonnici (COL, $1,092,000, 101.7 avg)
On the midfielders episode of the Official AFLW Fantasy Podcast, Jono named his top eight midfielders, which differs slightly from my rankings: 1. Marinoff, 2. Gardiner, 3. Garner, 4. Riddell, 5. Bowers, 6. Rowbottom, 7. Conti, and 8. Nanscawen.
Tier one – The uber 120-plus
Ebony Marinoff and Laura Gardiner
Only two midfielders battled for the honour of highest scoring player in 2025, with Gardiner pipping Marinoff to the post. Both have the all-round game to accumulate points effortlessly, with Gardiner's higher-possession style proving to be the slightly better option that Marinoff's tackle-dominant preference in the new area of AFLW game play. Both project to be 125-plus scorers in 2026, but there are a few question marks. The Crows and Swans both have new coaches for 2026, and team gameplan has a massive impact on maximum scoring potential. Remains to be seen if 150-plus scores can be facilitated (or hopefully encouraged) by Adelaide's Ryan Davis and Sydney's Colin O’Riordan.
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Tier two – The elite 110-plus
Jasmine Garner and Ash Riddell
This tier is also only made up of two players, but where the last was defined by the lack of coaching stability, Noth Melbourne's Garner and Riddell are coming into their fourth season of a near identical coaching and midfield setup. Riddell was the superior performer in the 2025 H&A season, but when you factor both players' three-game stretch in the finals, both come out with an average of 116. Garner's average was also dragged down by a 51-point effort against Fremantle, scored in 27 per cent time on ground (TOG) before succumbing to a nasty ankle injury. When removed, Garner averaged a 120. There are few questions to be asked of this duo, both feel incredibly safe picks for 2026.
Tier three – More than 100
Kiara Bowers, Ella Roberts, Charlie Rowbottom, and Gabby Newton
Kiara Bowers was conspicuously missing from the first two tiers, but the new HTB and ruck rules neutered her high stoppage dependent game style. She averaged only 106 in her final five games last season, which while comfortably still among the AFLW’s best, was only the third highest for Fremantle. Ella Roberts has all the potential in the world, and a 140-plus ceiling, even when she was the target of opposition attention every single game. Charlie Rowbottom was down from her best last season, but maintained the same share of Gold Coast's Fantasy points as she did in her best season (2023). If the Suns improve in 2026, she likely rises with them. Newton's shift from utility to MID/FWD to full-time mid at Fremantle has seen her go from a high 80s to a high 90s averaging option. Her next level, as a 100-plus type scorer, may have already started, in her final eight games last season, the high-tackling, high-marking Docker averaged 110 points per game. With an easier fixture for 2026, big times await.
Under-priced premiums
Alyce Parker (GWS, $848,000)
Parker is a stalwart of AFLW Fantasy, cruelly brought down by a knee injury early in the Giants' first fixture last year. The last three seasons she played in their entirely she has averaged 93, 96.4, and 91.6 at 1.32 points per minute. With an injury discount leaving Parker priced at only 79, she represents too great a value option to pass up for 2026.
Anne Hatchard (Gold Coast, $869,000)
It isn't often that a player in their prime, with two seasons over 100-plus, starts a season priced in the 80s. This is just one of those times however, with Hatchard presenting as a fascinating option for 2026. Off a high in 2023 (105.5), Hatchard's average has dropped each season to a low of 81.6, which has coincided with a major dip her in centre bounce midfield role. Still capable of scoring above 130, 'Hatchy' comes to the Suns who are in desperate need of a second midfield star to pair with Charlie Rowbottom, so if the pre-season shows that she has avoided much time in the forward 50, Hatchard ought be a popular selection.
Others to consider: Georgie Prespakis (Geelong, $1,003,000), Kate Hore (Melbourne, $996,000), Tyla Hanks (Melbourne, $978,000), Ally Anderson (Brisbane, $940,000), Ellie McKenzie (Richmond, $940,000), Abby Dowrick (Port Adelaide, $938,000), Maddy Prespakis (Essendon, $926,000)
Mid-priced madness
Claudia Whitfort (Carlton, $637,000)
After just discussing Hatchard, it seems fitting to discuss the player who left the Suns to give 'Hatchy' a spot to fill. Whitfort left for Carlton in the off-season, and will be under-priced this year due multiple seasons of injury-affected averages. In 2025, Whitfort only averaged 59.4 after pre-season hamstring and calf issues and a season-ending hamstring tear in round seven. Poor scores in round two (37 while hampered) and round seven (30 from 16 per cent TOG) leaves her incredibly cheap. The big question marks for Whitfort come from (a) her injury history and (b) the crowded state of the Blues midfield. The injury question has already been asked this season, with a minor calf complaint meaning she missed the first two pre-season match simulations. As for the midfield rotation, all eyes on the practice match against the Suns on Saturday.
Sarah Goodwin (Adelaide, $738,000)
Now that Hatchard has left the Crows, and with Danielle Ponter missing the season (pregnancy), there is a gaping hole left in the Adelaide midfield. In steps Sarah Goodwin to make her mark in 2026. The ex-defender took a few weeks to make the move into the midfield which had been so actively hinted at in the 2025 pre-season. Once she did, what become evident was Goodwin's tackling prowess, which in turn led to some exceptional ceiling scores for her price bracket. Priced at only 68, Goodwin's high scores of 117 and 116 are among the very best, and therefore, a potential huge boon for Fantasy coaches.
Others to consider: Bri Davey (Collingwood, $591,000), Piper Window (Port Adelaide, $509,000), Grace Egan (Adelaide, $544,000), Mattea Breed (Collingwood $529,00)
Rookie radar
Every side will want a player close to $200,000 on their benches, but there are a few great options you may want to consider fielding in your last midfield spot this season.
Ava Usher (Gold Goast, $270,000)
The No.7 pick of the 2025 Telstra AFLW Draft was mentioned by Lily Mithen as the young Sun most likely to make her start in the midfield this season, so Fantasy coaches should be thinking about picking her for their starting sides. She is not a complete slam dunk, however, as Usher missed most of her final junior season with multiple injuries, so watching in the season is a must.
Chloe Bown (Adelaide $280,000)
Bown was taken with pick No.5 by Adelaide. Bown was the premiere Fantasy talent in the draft after she won the Talent League B&F averaging 29.2 disposals, and 125 points, and had a 110 average at the championships. The biggest question on Bown is her game time, but she played midfield in the match sim against Freo, with coach Ryan Davis saying that she played "a terrific game, very clean, and her contest and aerial work were a highlight". She looks like the top rookie midfielder to have start on field in round one.
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Sunny Lappin (Gold Coast, $285,000)
To round out these top rookie picks is another Sun. Lappin was the biggest riser of the 2025 draft process, going from a projected middle-round pick to a top-five lock. Lappin is a 170cm midfielder/utility, so will likely find an immediate spot in the best 21 of the Suns, plus she boasts an extremely solid 107 average at the 2025 U18s plus a 91 average with the Suns Academy in the Talent League.
Others to consider: Kiera Yerbury (GWS, $290,000), Mia Russo (West Coast, $205,000), Maggie Johnstone (Essendon, $255,000), Juliet Kelly (Adelaide, $200,000)
Liam's midfielders
My midfield has been in a serious state of flux as I try and figure out the best structure in the new eight-player midfield. I'm confident that one of Marinoff or Gardiner will be in my M1 spot by the time round one rolls around. I am very bullish on the long-term uber elite prospects of Ella Roberts, so I am making use of the extra midfield spots to slot her into my side. Alyce Parker and Claudia Whitfort are both safe for the time being as their injury discounted prices can't be looked past, but both need to come into round one with a clean bill of health.
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