EBONY Marinoff failing to score over 100: has an era of AFLW Fantasy dominance ended?
You would be forgiven for doing a double take when looking at the stats after Adelaide's round seven clash against Fremantle as Marinoff's AFLW Fantasy Score read 94. That sub-100 score broke a truly inordinate streak of 34 straight home and away games of triple-figure Fantasy dominance. It had been 1,092 days, stretching all the way back to round five, 2023 against Gold Coast, since Fantasy coaches had been forced to reckon with the possibility that 'Noffy' is a mere mortal. During that time, she has amassed 4,538 Fantasy points (133.5 avg), 973 disposals, and 387 tackles. Unfortunately, as the AFLW has progressed from stoppage and tackle dominant gameplay into one where the ball is controlled with kick-mark transition football, so too has the nature of Fantasy scoring begun to shift away from those players who rely on scoring more from stoppages.
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Round seven was not all doom and gloom, however, with a handful of popularly owned players rocketing back into form. Matilda Scholz dominated an Alice Edmonds-less Western Bulldogs en route to her first triple-digit score (110) since round three against Greater Western Sydney. A pair of 2025 premium defenders in Serene Watson (102) and Tilly Lucas-Rodd (101) had their best scores of the season, with Watson's switch back into a high-marking defensive 50 role giving hope to coaches who had persisted through a frustratingly long, lean scoring run. Bonnie Toogood (101) also looked well and truly back in form, presenting as an ideal forward trade in target with her 100 per cent time on ground, six marks, and seven tackles. The Essendon captain, alongside Watson and Lucas-Rodd, will be an excellent trade target in the coming fortnight as the final five-week push up the Fantasy rankings starts in round eight.
Coaches will also need to be thinking about their final bits of cash generation, and two round seven debutants present as the best options in Carlton's Tayla McMillan (80 Fantasy points) and Gold Coast's Rhianna Ingram (53 Fantasy points), who both have breakevens below 10, and stand to make coaches over $100k in the next fortnight. That money could prove vital for ensuring that coaches have the money to make their final upgrades of the season.
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Top five price rises
1. Jenna Bruton (FWD, $645,000): +$140,000
2. Tayla McMillan (MID, $340,000): +$140,000
3. Heidi Woodley (FWD, $622,000): +$134,000
4. Jesse Tawhiao-Wardlaw (FWD, $561,000): +$125,000
5. Heidi Talbot (MID, $321,000): +$119,000
Top five price falls
1. Tahlia Randall (FWD, $565,000): -$123,000
2. Poppy Boltz (FWD, $340,000): -$118,000
3. Mikayla Bowen (MID/FWD, $1,018,000): -$100,000
4. Brittany Bonnici (MID, $668,000): -$99,000
5. Shelley Heath (MID, $541,000): -$98,000
Top targets
Tayla McMillan (CAR, MID, $340,000) - 80 Fantasy points
A stunning debut by McMillan saw her collect 14 disposals, six marks, five tackles and a goal, and re-ignite Fantasy coaches' ability to generate cash. This late in the season, there are few opportunities to keep the team value rising, so McMillan's breakeven of -2 is a real opportunity. Even with a tougher match-up this Thursday against Hawthorn, McMillan is worth grabbing to help ensure you can reach those final upgrades come season's end.
Mim Strom (FRE, RUC, $735,000) - 73 Fantasy points
Ever since her unfortunate early-game injury against Richmond in round four, this week has been the target for Fantasy coaches to bring in Strom. She has finished as the top averaging ruck in back-to-back seasons prior to this year, and is tantalisingly cheap at just $735,000. Her recent scores upon return have been fairly conservative compared to her elite best, but favourable match-ups against West Coast and St Kilda in her next three matches should turn that around. Her injured score of 33 leaves her price cycle this week, so if you are ever going to make this trade for cash purposes, now is the time to do it.
Aishling Moloney (GEE, FWD, $793,000) - 78 Fantasy points
Geelong has hit a strong vein of form this season, and Moloney is flourishing up forward as a result. With more inside 50s and a greater spread of scoring across the team, Moloney is finding more space and scoring well – her last three games have her as the fourth highest averaging forward in that same stretch. Geelong has a cruisy run home from here, facing Richmond, the Giants and Eagles in their next three games. Moloney (and Jacqueline Parry) could both come home with some monster scores to finish the year.
Olivia Purcell (MEL, MID, $1,094,000) - 69 Fantasy points
Now that Melbourne has the difficult North Melbourne match-up behind it, its fixture opens up. No team has a more favourable run home for midfielders, which both Purcell and Tyla Hanks appear set to take advantage of. Ignoring the most recent game against North, Purcell has had a fantastic season, featuring five tons in her other six games. At the slightly cheaper price than Hanks, Purcell is a great target this week for those targeting the high-priced midfielders.
Sell
Ash Woodland (PTA, MID, $654,000) - 33 Fantasy points
She's been hot and cold all season, but this weekend's Fantasy score reached a new low for 2026. Woodland's 33-point game against the Western Bulldogs included season lows for tackles, clearances and centre bounce attendances. With midfield spots at a premium coming into the pointy end of the season, it is time to bite the bullet and jump off – despite the low price.
Laura Gardiner (SYD, MID, $850,000) - 79 Fantasy points
The dynamic of the Sydney midfield continues to move away from the Gardiner-focus of 2025. It may have been a low scoring Fantasy game for every player in the Brisbane v Sydney match, but Gardiner has now only scored over 80 Fantasy points once in her last four games. She has to be moved on, before she loses even further value – her breakeven is still up at 95.
Charlie Thomas (WCE, DEF, $590,000) - 65 Fantasy points
This is the second week in a row that Thomas has commanded a spot in the 'Sell' section. Coaches should not be fooled by the passable 65-point score against Essendon, as scratching below the surface will show that the West Coast captain spent a large portion of both the second and third quarters sitting deep inside forward 50, and scraped her way to a passable score with an unusually high six kick-ins in the 4th quarter (thanks to a woefully inaccurate Essendon comeback attempt). Thomas' role has now included forward time in nearly half her games this season, and given the volume of defender trade in targets (listen to this week's episode of Free Kick for more on those), now is the time to trade out Thomas.
Madison Prespakis (ESS, MID, $1,072,000) - 84 Fantasy points
It is undeniably true that Prespakis has re-proven her Fantasy bona fides in 2026, exceeding all expectations with an average score of 102.9. Owners should now be looking to make the proactive move to trade her out given the upcoming match-ups are possibly the worst imaginable for a midfielder of Prespakis' impact and quality. Round eight against GWS means the dreaded Grace Kos tag is incoming. Round nine against the Western Bulldogs is the second hardest match-up for midfielders, with their game style conducive to low scoring scrappy football and a platoon of midfielders tasked with limiting the impact of their opposition's best clearance players. Finally, round 10 is up against North Melbourne, capable of turning any premium midfielder into an overpriced rookie scorer. It might seem too aggressive, but flipping Prespakis for another midfielder is prudent choice this week.
Top rookie targets (under $350,000)
A rare opportunity to make bench cash late in the season has popped up, with both Tayla McMillan and Heidi Talbot posting great scores in round seven. The immediate $100k cash rises shows the upside of jumping on new debutants with a good match-up, and both are worthy targets this week for those looking at a midfield downgrade.
Defenders:
Rhianna Ingram (GC, $278,000)
Laela Ebert (MEL, $341,000)
Amelia Borg (PA, $208,000)
Midfielders:
Tayla McMillan (CAR, $340,000)
Heidi Talbot (GC, $321,000)
Piper Window (PA, $271,000)
Rucks:
Keeley Hardingham (WBD, $290,000)
Jacinta Hose (MEL, $200,000)
Forwards:
Rania Crozier (BL, $206,000)
Georgia Clark (GWS, $298,000)
Captains
The Captaincy Corner has been well and truly rocked by failure of Marinoff to make it over 100 points last week, so picking the ideal captaincy structure is genuinely difficult this week. Port Adelade still presents as a good match-up for Marinoff and her penchant for tackling and clearance work, so keeping one of the VC or C on her is still a must. However, the choice between using the VC into one of the North Midfielders (Ash Riddell is the pick this week with Jas Garner likely seeing Tanya Kennedy attention), or the Western Derby duo of Kiara Bowers and Ella Roberts, or going with a Charlie Rowbottom or a Geelong midfielder as the VC into a Marinoff C is still a difficult one to pick. Given the volume of options playing after Marinoff with high ceilings, the vice-captaincy strategy feels better. Importantly to note, the trend in lower ceiling scores should see coaches looking at a VC line between 115 and 120, instead of the 125 mark of previous seasons.
No.1: Ebony Marinoff (v Port Adelaide, Saturday 7.15pm AEST)
No.2: Ash Riddell (v Sydney, Sunday 1.05pm AEST)
No.3: Kiara Bowers (v West Coast, Sunday 5.05pm AEST)
No.4: Charlie Rowbottom (v Brisbane, Saturday 5.05pm AEST)
No.5: Ella Roberts (v Fremantle, Sunday 5.05pm AEST)
Other options to consider: Jasmine Garner (v Sydney), Olivia Purcell (v Collingwood), Tyla Hanks (v Collingwood), Nina Morrison (v Richmond), Matilda Scholz (v Adelaide), Georgie Prespakis (v Richmond)
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