THE PRE-SEASON is drawing to a close, the start of the AFLW season is on the horizon; now is the perfect time to make an AFLW Fantasy team for 2026.

Since the AFLW Fantasy game opened, my team has cycled through any number of structures and players, particularly with the big changes to the format this year, namely the bigger squads (21 increased to 29) and the dual-position player (DPP) addition.

AFLW FANTASY Pick your team now

Even now that we have seen one week's worth of official practice matches, and with the first lockout coming EXTREMELY soon (Carlton v St Kilda on Sunday, August 9 at 4.35pm AEST), my team is still in a state of flux. This is in part because the bigger squads provide more options to consider, but also because there are not many players that I am considering picking from Carlton or St Kilda, so I have nearly a completely open squad to tinker in before the bulk of the AFLW teams start to lock out next week.

This article breaks my team into four categories, based on how likely they are to be in my final team:

1. The Locks: Players who haven't left the squad and will not leave short of something extreme;
2. The Highly Likelys: Marginally less confident, but on the whole, they have been consistently in my draft squads, and have very few flags or question marks;
3. The Probables: Players with great upside but come with more risk, be it because of role, health, or price; and
4. The Possibles: The players who have most consistently changed, and who will almost certainly not be the same in a week.

This should hopefully closely mirror the process you use when building out an AFLW squad!

Listen to the AFLW Fantasy Podcast with Free Kick at Apple Podcasts and Spotify. 

The Locks

Ebony Marinoff (MID, ADE, $1,372,000), Alyce Parker (MID, GWS, $848,000), Lauren Young (FWD, PTA, $389,000), Sunny Lappin (MID, GCS, $285,000), Chloe Bown (MID, ADE, $280,000)

Another AFLW season, another year of Marinoff sitting in my Fantasy side at M1. A stellar 152-point effort in the Crows' practice match gave me the confidence to push aside any concerns about a new coach (for the first time in Noffy's career) pulling down her scoring potential. Parker has previously been a premium scorer, and is only so cheap this year after an injury in the second quarter of round one last year. I expect to see another average in the 90s. I do not anticipate trading Parker out this season.

Young, widely considered one of the most talented underage talents in the history of the AFLW, has finally had a healthy off-season, and looks set to break out. Eighteen disposals, nine marks, and 87 Fantasy points in the praccy did enough to sell me on locking in the Port young gun, particularly after the Power showed a more Fantasy-friendly game style in the pre-season.

Rounding out the locks are two top-five picks in the 2025 Telstra AFLW Draft: Adelaide's Bown and Gold Coast's Lappin. Both look to be debuting in round one off the back of stellar draft year campaigns, and Bown in particular will be given the opportunity to take up a spot in the high scoring Crows half-forward line with a number of players missing there this season. Starting one of these two on field is a must, and starting two is also viable.

The Highly Likelys

Jasmine Garner (MID, NTH, $1,246,000), Ella Roberts (MID, WCE, $1,090,000), Matilda Scholz (RUC, PTA, $1,021,000), Maddison Gay (DEF, ESS, $796,000), Charlotte Thomas (WCE, DEF, $702,000), Havana Harris (FWD, GCS, $646,000), Teah Charlton (MID/FWD, ADE, $590,000), Chantel Emonson (DEF, GEE, $470,000)

Looking for a dose of value across all lines and prices is a must in AFLW Fantasy, even in the $1 million plus range. That is why I like picking both Garner and Scholz this season. Garner is priced at 116, but remove her injured 51 in round three last year (in 27 per cent time on ground), and her average jumps up to 121. Scholz could still present value as she (a) is only 21 years old and will likely continue to naturally improve (averaging over 100 in the final six weeks last year) and (b) if Port looks to incorporate more marks into its gameplan this year. 

On breakouts and natural improvement, Roberts and Harris are both being picked as I see them having another level to go to this year. Roberts is a Garner-ish type of player, and has that type of scoring potential, and with the bigger squads this year, I will look to pick Roberts until she has that kind of breakout. Harris has only just completed her second pre-season, but after she led the Suns for points in their practice match (105 points, 26 disposals, nine marks, three tackles), it is easy to see why her teammates think that she has unicorn levels of athleticism and potential. 

Charlton has been in my side for most of the pre-season, and she all but locked herself in after spending the entirety of the practice match playing as an inside midfielder. Adelaide is missing three of the main CBA/half-forwards this season (Anne Hatchard, Danielle Paredes nee Ponter, and Chelsea Randall), and Charlton was the most obvious option to replace them and become Noffy's main offsider.

In defence, Gay is an uber-premium with a slight injury discount after only playing twice last year, and Thomas has previously been a top-six defender, and looks set to spend some time in the midfield. Emonson (priced at 43) has an even bigger injury discount than Gay, the Cat averaged 55 in 2024 and 61 in 2023 but missed all of 2025. While she doesn't have the ceiling of the other two defenders, she will be one of the Cats' main kick-in takers this year and adds a precision kick to a backline which sorely missed one in 2025.

The Probables

Mikayla Bowen (MID/FWD, GEE, $980,000), Claudia Whitfort (MID, CAR, $632,000), Daisy D’Arcy (DEF, GCS, $573,000), Lucille Cronin (DEF, COL, $545,000), Keeley Skepper (FWD, WCE, $357,000), Ella Slocombe (FWD, WCE, $328,000), Zoe Wakfer (DEF, WCE, $280,000), Georja Davies (RUC, GCS, $260,000), Lily Quigley (MID, GCS, $200,000)

This is where things start to get a more difficult, with fewer expensive players, substantially greater risk that role shifts do not eventuate, and a stack of potential alternatives.

Bowen was not in my side before the practice matches, I found it hard to see how she would have upside this season. That all changed when she spent the entire game against Brisbane as a CBA midfielder, scored 144, and looked like the best Geelong midfielder (albeit missing Georgie Prespakis). That new role might unlock the extra 5-10 points needed to make her a good pick. Also playing a new role was Cronin, stepping into the midfield, and looked damn good doing it; her disposal was markedly cleaner than her fellow inside midfielders.

The one player I am picking from the early R1 St Kilda vs Carlton game is Whitfort. After getting through the official practice match and last weekend's match simulations without injury, her massively discounted price is too much to pass up, even if it hampers my flexibility and her injury history is an inescapable concern. D'Arcy's injury discount and talent are also a tantalising combination, even if I don't have the same confidence in her role in the Suns backline to the begin 2026. She is the first player named so far that I've actively toyed with swapping in the last week, with Heads the most likely replacement. 

It has been a nightmare trying to find sub-$300k forwards this year, so right now all the best "rookies" are over that mark. Thank you to the West Coast list management team for bringing in ex-Blue Skepper, and ex-Kangaroo Slocombe across to Perth. Skepper has previously been a 60-plus averaging wing/half-forward, and Slocombe has impressed her teammates already, meaning both look to have enough scoring potential and job security to hold down spots in my Fantasy team.

Also at West Coast was the surprise scorer of the practice matches, Wakfer, whose 90 against Collingwood was 50 per cent better than her next highest score in an AFLW game, and shot her right into contention for my D7 (which had been sorely lacking any standout candidates). Georja Davies is currently my bench ruck because (a) she is an A-grade athlete (long regarded as the most gifted Davies sister), (b) showed great scoring at U18 level (averaged 91 across her two seasons) and (c) I believe will she is the only rookie ruck who will still be playing by round six, or least the only one getting good game time, while she plies her trade as an intercepting defender and back-up ruck. Quigley came from the clouds, having only joined the Suns list during the pre-season draft. However, scoring an 82 (including two very nice goals), and having what could amount to the most impressive sequence of running bounces for the entire year, will rocket any player into contention. It helps that Quigley is a high-level multi-sport athlete, who spent the start of 2026 at the Brisbane Academy (averaging 88 points per game as well).

Options to replace the Probables: Ella Heads (DEF, PTA, $701,000), Evie Cowcher (DEF, GEE, $250,000), Ellie Blackburn (MID/FWD, WBD, $746,000), Ash Richards (MID/FWD, STK, $716,000), Mia Austin (FWD, MEL, $362,000), Caitlin Gould (FWD, ADE, $569,000), Bonnie Toogood (FWD, ESS, $785,000)

The Possibles

Abbey Dowrick (MID, PTA, $938,000), Tarni White (DEF, COL, $869,000), Anne Hatchard (MID, GCS, $869,000), Charlotte Mullins (MID/FWD, BRL, $690,000), Emelia Yassir (FWD, RIC, $325,000), Charlotte Brewer (DEF, COL, $200,000), Mischa Barwin (MID/FWD, COL, $200,000)

Let's get right to the biggest controversy: neither of Laura Gardiner or Zippy Fish are in my starting side currently. Both have had injury interrupted pre-seasons: Gardiner has had a hip issue causing her to not play in any practice matches or match simulations and has only just reintegrated into training, and Fish has had a knee issue (of undisclosed variety/severity), that has seen her play her only pre-season minutes in the Australia v Ireland game, and those minutes were heavily managed, in the forward line, and wearing several hundred dollars-worth of strapping tape. There are also reasonable questions to be asked of what position they will play under new Sydney coach Colin O'Riordan. I may still start one or both, they have elite ceilings and a frighteningly high ownership percentage, but both currently are out.

In their place (albeit not exactly the same money wise) are Dowrick and White. Dowrick is in after I loved what I saw from Port and its new gameplan. However, she has been in and out of my team, with Gabby Newton and teammate Ash Woodland the most frequent replacements. White played elite football last season across the Magpies half-back line, but was sadly a midfielder in AFLW Fantasy, and therefore could not be picked. She presents as an extremely solid scoring option with an elite run of match-ups, but with some other options I like (primarily Serene Watson), I am not overly confident about her spot in my team.

Hatchard could be the value pick of 2026 if she returns to the same role in the midfield that meant she was a top five midfielder in previous seasons. My trepidation around locking her in are homed in the lacklustre state of the Suns' forward line, and their need for a Hatchard-type of player to solidify their structure ahead of the ball. Hatchard has been sacrificed for a cheaper mid (or MID/FWD) in many sides to allow me to pick Fish. On cheaper MID/FWDS, Mullins' spot in my squad has been a rollercoaster ride this pre-season, particularly when Ash Centra was a mainstay earlier in the cycle. Her trend of poor scoring starts to the year followed by elite end-of-season form in both '24 and '25 has caused me some angst, but I back Craig Starcevich to give Mullins the same type of freedom that sparked the sluggish start to Brisbane's 2025 campaign.

In terms of the rookies in their tier, none were in my side before the practice matches. Yassir wasn't even in there after the praccy, it wasn't until Ellie McKenzie broke her wrist against Ireland which made me believe in her chances to get the inside midfield role we saw her play against Fremantle a fortnight ago. Collingwood duo Brewer and Barwin did enough in the pre-season, with Brewer's 100 per cent time on ground being the best indicator of job security one could ask for when dabbling in speculative rookie areas. Barwin currently sits at utility as her MID/FWD flexibility could prove vital, but could easily make way for any number of rookie options

Options to replace The Possibles: Laura Gardiner (MID, SYD, $1,380,000), Zippy Fish (DEF, SYD, $878,000), Serene Watson (DEF, STK, $810,000), Gabby Newton (MID, FRE, $1,060,000), Ashleigh Woodland (MID, PTA, $849,000), Sierra Grieves (MID/FWD, RIC, $563,000), Ash Centra (MID/FWD, COL, $640,000), Lavinia Cox (DEF, HAW, $200,000), Elaine Grigg (FWD, WBD, $574,000), Paige Price (RUC, GCS, $200,000), Yasmeen Janschek (RUC, GWS, $200,000), Jacinta Hose (RUC, MEL, $200,000), Laura Elliot (DEF, HAW, $372,000), Kiera Yerbury (MID, GWS, $290,000), Ava Usher (MID, GCS, $270,000), Nalu Brothwell (FWD, ESS, $200,000), Emily Gough (FWD, ESS, $232,000)

There we go! That's the full squad of 29 players, with a small sum of $15,000 in remaining salary (which makes me pretty nervous).

Hopefully this was helpful in stepping through how my squad is currently being constructed, and which most spots are the most likely to change in the next week.

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.