WHEN crafting any starting any Fantasy side, we all search for value, and so often that value comes from players who have left one club for another in the off-season.  

The greener pastures of a new team so frequently offer up new roles, new gameplans, and new teammates, leading to the glorious scoring increase that we are all searching for.

AFLW FANTASY Pick your team now

Join me as I have a look at some of the best options AFLW Fantasy in 2026 among those players who will don new colours this season.

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Defenders

THE BEST

Tilly Lucas-Rodd (Greater Western Sydney, $880,000)
Lucas-Rodd has been a premium defender two years running at Hawthorn, but has traded in the brown and gold of the Hawks for the orange and charcoal of Greater Western Sydney. It would be fair to ask how a player who averaged 82 in 2025 could be in line for an increase after joining a new football club. It comes down to the Giants' leaky defence, and the prospect for more kick-ins. On the proviso that Lucas-Rodd replaces Emily Pease as the key kick-in taker this season, it will nearly double their chance to take advantage of the cheapest +3 out of the goalsquare (52 kick-ins for Hawthorn v 90 for the Giants). It is no guarantee to pay off, as the Hawks played a very different gameplan than Cam Bernasconi's side, but Lucas-Rodd could easily put 5+ points on their average and cement themselves as D1.

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Georgia Stubs (Richmond, $200,000) couldn't break into the North Melbourne side, but secured a trade to Richmond, which is in dire need of pacy half-back midfielders. She will be a popular rookie pick if she can lock away a spot in the Tigers' best 21. Nicola Stevens (Geelong, $426,000) and Zoe Prowse (Essendon, $400,000) may be at the opposite ends of their careers, but they are alike in their being traded to teams in dire need of medium-tall defenders with composed foot skills and a great overhead mark. While both have the potential to put together 70+ scores off the back of marks, neither feel likely to break into the 60s this season.

Midfielders

THE BEST (PART ONE)

Claudia Whitfort (Carlton, $637,000)
Whitfort is no stranger to this list, as she alongside (alongside Lucas-Rodd), is joining her fourth AFLW club this season. There are no questions to be asked of Whitfort's potential value after multiple seasons scoring 80+, but in 2025, Whitfort averaged only 59.4 after pre-season hamstring and calf issues and a season-ending hamstring tear in round seven. The big question marks for Whitfort come from her injury history and the crowded state of the Blues' midfield. The injury issue has already reared its head this pre-season, with a minor calf complaint causing Whitfort to miss the two pre-season match simulations. As for the midfield rotation, the recent talk of Brooke Boileau training in the forward line, and the sad news of Maddy Guerin's ACL injury, may give use hope of a permanent midfield role for Whitfort.

THE BEST (PART TWO)

Anne Hatchard (Gold Coast, $869,000)
Out goes Whitfort, in comes Hatchard. It was too difficult to pick just one midfielder who swapped clubs for 2026, and that's because both are priced 20+ points below their best. Hatchard has two seasons over 100-plus, including a career-high in 2023 (105.5), but starts a season priced in the 80s. The hope is that for 2026 Hatchard will be free from the predominantly forward role that neutered her scoring late in her Adelaide tenure, and return to the midfield full-time. 'Hatchy' comes to the Suns who are in desperate need of a second midfield star to pair with Charlie Rowbottom, and stars don't come much bigger than Anne Hatchard (be it in Fantasy or real football).

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To keep the chain going, Grace Egan (Adelaide, $749,000) will be the top pick to slot right into the Hatchard-sized hole at Adelaide. In all likelihood, Egan will stay in the 60s for Fantasy scoring, but I won't discount the chance she finds her form of 2023 and averages 80+. Filling Egan's spot at Richmond is ex-Docker Dana East (Richmond, $590,000), although she hasn't surpassed 60 points per game in any season of her career (albeit with all five seasons having an average between 50 and 58). Brooke Boileau (Carlton, $568,000) could not find a spot in the Crows' midfield in her first two seasons, but her choice to join Carlton means she will be playing at least some time forward again as the Blues struggle to fit all their midfielders into the CBA roles. Mikala Cann (Western Bulldogs, $706,000) fits the Bulldogs' defensive mindset perfectly, but probably sits behind a handful of other midfielders for spots inside to start the year. 

Rucks

THE BEST

Lauren Bella (Carlton, $347,000)
The former League leader for hitouts fell well and truly out of favour on the Gold Coast in 2025, so has followed Whitfort to Ikon Park this off-season. The Blues need to replace Breann Harrington's spot in their best 21, and if they are looking to continue their strategy of playing two rucks, pairing Bella with Jess Good would make sense. If she can attend around 40 per cent of the Blues' ruck contests this year, Bella will be able to increase her average by 10-15 points from 2025, and present as a solid R2 option.  

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Ariana Hetherington (Collingwood, $363,000) had a one year stop over at North Melbourne and has moved to the Pies as they search to find forward targets. It is hard to see her surpassing Imogen Barnett and Sabrina Frederick for much time in the ruck, but has the defensive intensity to score well if she does. To complete the ruck merry-go-round, seeing Bella arrive at Blues, the Kangaroos poached Maddison Torpey (North Melbourne, $282,000) to sit on their list as understudy to Kim Rennie and Emma King.

Forwards

THE BEST

Eden Zanker (Fremantle, $714,000)
The arrival of ex-Demon Zanker sees Fremantle gain a talismanic key forward, and could see Zanker push into the Toogood/Gould/Moloney tier of premium key forward. As a former League leading goalkicker, Zanker has elite goal sense, but has not had many seasons where she has been the key marking target inside forward 50, often playing second fiddle to Tayla Harris and Kate Hore. With Fremantle desperately needing an Aine Tighe replacement (who had previously averaged 70), in steps Zanker to hopefully do a lot of the same things, including pinch hit in the ruck and midfield. The signs are there for five to 10 points of value on top of Zanker's average of 66 in 2025.

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West Coast added THREE rookie-priced forward options in the off-season - Keeley Skepper (West Coast, $357,000), Lily Paterson (West Coast, $356,000) and Ella Slocombe (West Coast, $ 328,000). Skepper currently stands out as the best Fantasy option. She is markedly more experienced than the other two (38 career games v Paterson's six and Slocombe's one) and has comfortably the best pedigree, as she averaged 69.6 in 2023 and 52.9 in 2024. Ellie Hampson (Port Adelaide, $442,000) left Brisbane to join Port Adelaide, but it is currently difficult predict where she will sit in the mid-forward group at Alberton among the likes of Woodland, Window, and Lamb. In her stead steps Lily-Rose Williamson (Brisbane, $548,000), who showed Fantasy scoring potential as an injury replacement Pie last season, averaging 69.5 points when she attended more than 50 per cent CBAs (vs her season average if 51.1).

The 2025 Trade Period was the season of the key forward move - in addition to Zanker, there were three other tall forwards who shifted teams. Taylor Smith (Sydney, $548,000) will be a boon to the Swans' forward structure, but even when she tied for the League's leading goalkicker award, Smith only managed to score 44.8 points per game. Mia Austin (Melbourne, $362,000) will have the tough task of trying to fill the void left by Zanker at the Dees. Blessed with natural talent, Austin has never shown much of a Fantasy game. Jac Dupuy (Hawthorn, $578,000) gives the Hawks a forward marking target that's not Aine McDonagh (a desperate need). Dupuy will likely benefit from better service inside forward 50 than in her final Gold Coast season, but may not get exactly the same role which saw her score 66 points per game in 2023. Finally, joining Dupuy at Hawthorn (albeit not as a key forward) is Niamh Martin (Hawthorn, $336,000) who missed the entire 2025 season for personal reasons. Martin hasn't been a proven scorer so far in her career, but as the cheapest forward in this large bunch thanks to her missed-season discount, she needs to do the least to make some cash on our benches.

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