MY GOODNESS… The AFLW Fantasy goat Ebony Marinoff put on an absolute clinic on Saturday, racking up the biggest score of the season with 169 Fantasy points against Richmond.
Marinoff's massive score came from 39 disposals, four marks, 13 tackles and a goal, in an incredible best-on-ground display. It's a welcome sight after a season that has seen fewer ceiling scores than previous – to this point last year, we had already seen six players with a score over 155. Marinoff was either captained or vice-captained by 74 per cent of teams, leading to a massive round of scoring for Fantasy coaches. This week's top score by coach Adam S was a 2,216 – the highest we have ever seen in AFLW Fantasy!
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Marinoff wasn't the only player throwing up a big score either – 22 players broke the ton this round, many of whom were fairly highly owned. Geelong forwards cashed in against the Greater Western Sydney backline, with Jackie Parry (130), Aishling Moloney (119) and Mikayla Bowen (108) among the six Cats to score over 100 this week. Similarly, most popular defenders put their best foot forward in round nine, with Daisy D'Arcy (111) putting together a season best, Maddy Gay (91) excelling in the midfield, Zippy Fish (93) returning to form and popular trade-in Erika O'Shea (93) rewarding coaches that backed her in.
With only three rounds to go, paying attention to a player's upcoming fixture is going to be crucial to keep these great team scores rolling. So, let's dive in on a few players that look set for a big end to the 2026 season.
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Top five price rises
1. Sarah Hartwig (FWD, $650,000): +$115,000
2. Jackie Parry (FWD, $796,000): +$111,000
3. Ebony Marinoff (MID, $1,231,000): +$106,000
4. Piper Window (MID, $485,000): +$103,000
5. Yasmin Duursma (MID, $476,000): +$100,000
Top five price falls
1. Imogen Barnett (RUC, $515,000): -$144,000
2. Zarlie Goldsworthy (MID, $735,000): -$116,000
3. Caitlin Greiser (FWD, $469,000): -$113,000
4. Ruby Schleicher (MID, $493,000): -$109,000
5. Ella Roberts (MID, $1,079,000): -$105,000
Top targets
Aine McDonagh (HAW, FWD, $734,000) - 105 Fantasy points
Parry and Moloney absolutely feasted last weekend against a leaky GWS defence, and now it is McDonagh's turn. McDonagh is in fantastic form at the moment, coming off a three-goal performance that saw her return to sole leader of the League's leading goalkicker race. Not only has McDonagh been kicking regular bags of goals this year, she finds a way to impact up the ground with her tackling pressure and marking ability. She should dominate against the Giants this weekend, before further promising match-ups against the Bombers and the Eagles to end the season.
Chloe Molloy (SYD, FWD, $742,000) - 90 Fantasy points
The Swans have just navigated the toughest part of their fixture for 2026, and now turn for home with three winnable matches ahead of them – Collingwood, West Coast and Fremantle. Sitting in seventh on the ladder, with finals on the line, I am backing Molloy to finish the year with a bang to lock them into their first finals series since 2023. Molloy is uniquely owned in the upper ranks, with just 18 per cent of the top one per cent of coaches fielding her, and able to match it with the best forwards in the game. Coming off three goals and 19 touches against Carlton, Molloy is in great form and could be a more than handy trade-in this week.
Kiara Bowers (FRE, MID, $1,207,000) - 125 Fantasy points
Bowers has criminally low ownership for the second highest averaging player in the game. The veteran has shown no signs of slowing down, and has been one of the best captaincy options week to week, scoring over 115 in six games this season already. After being the highest scoring Fantasy player in the traditionally difficult match-up against North Melbourne, Bowers now faces a struggling St Kilda team that is going into the last three rounds with an interim coach. Her price makes her a difficult option to reach, but for those that can afford her, there are few players more reliable than the Fremantle tackling machine.
Maddison Gay (ESS, DEF, $844,000) - 91 Fantasy points
Traditionally one of the best intercepting defenders in the game, the Bombers have redeployed Gay as a midfielder in recent weeks. Gay held her own against a formidable Western Bulldogs midfield unit, collecting 21 touches, three tackles and seven marks in a defensive midfield role and helping the Bombers breakeven at centre clearance. The Bombers face the difficult North match-up this week, but there are a couple factors here that make me think Gay will be fine: first, midfielders have started to score against North in recent rounds, and second, Gay can always rotate back behind the ball to intercept if she isn't impacting up field. This is the last week to jump on Gay before the 54 (from her return game against West Coast) leaves her price cycle, leaving her with a 68 breakeven. It's a handy time to jump on board if you haven't got her!
Lucy Wales (HAW, RUC, $950,000) - 95 Fantasy points
Fun fact – Wales averages 113.75 when she is the more experienced ruck on the field (against Melbourne's Jacinta Hose, Port Adelaide's Matilda Scholz, Collingwood's Josephine Bamford and Geelong's Piper Dunlop), and 88.2 when she isn't. This is fantastic news for anyone with Wales coming into the final three rounds, as the Hawks have a fantastic run against young rucks upcoming. The leading contender for All-Australian ruck is the highest averaging ruck so far this season, and could finish the season with an absolute bang. Is a late-season ruck trade worth it?
Sell
Alyce Parker (GWS, MID, $997,000) - 69 Fantasy points
An incredibly harsh entry, given the form she has shown lately, but with most midfielders performing recently, it's worth a discussion here. Parker was very quiet against Geelong, well below her average for both disposals and tackles. The Giants' easy mid-season fixture is well and truly over, and they now face an uphill battle for the rest of the year against the Hawks, Blues and Suns. Parker is still well-priced and easy to take across to more reliable options, though certainly a luxury option.
Matilda Scholz (PA, RUC, $861,000) - 82 Fantasy points
Scholz has struggled to impact like she did early in the season, scoring just 82 Fantasy points against the Eagles' young ruck line-up. The ruck match-ups to come are somewhat favourable, but with low mark and tackle numbers in recent weeks, she may struggle to match the high ceiling scores that Wales and Mim Strom can offer up.
Serene Watson (STK, DEF, $697,000) - 55 Fantasy points
With the exit of coach Nick Dal Santo and a club review soon to take place, St Kilda's new interim coach Matthew Brewer has three weeks in charge of the playing group. Three weeks to assess the playing group, and provide insights to list managers who will be keen to figure out who is worth holding onto. As captain of the team and a known quality player, Watson is likely to take a back seat role as younger players are given their shot at kick-ins and backline distributor roles. Even if she does keep her prominent role, the yo-yo scoring of Watson's 2026 campaign is a big risk coming into the final three rounds as Fantasy coaches try to eek the most out of their team value.
Ella Roberts (WCE, MID, $1,079,000) - 82 Fantasy points
The tags are back for Roberts, after an outstanding patch of form mid-season. Shineah Goody and Jessica Low have worked hard to try to clamp the superstar in recent weeks, limiting her to back-to-back scores under 100 despite arguably being best on ground in both matches. The Eagles are fighting for their finals spot, coming up against Geelong, Sydney and Hawthorn – all of whom are currently in the top eight and are known taggers, highly likely to give attention to Roberts to lock away their finals spot. Roberts has been incredible most of the season, but is it worth risking your Fantasy team on a tag risk with so few weeks to go this season?
Top rookie targets (under $350,000)
With only three rounds to go, it is unlikely that many of the below rookies are going to have much time to earn cash and contribute to an upgrade before the season ends. These options represent the best coverage left for those concerned about a poorly timed late out. If you are confident with the rest of your squad, you may be better off going down to a basement-priced rookie and maximising the amount you can spend on field.
Defenders:
1. Mizuki Brothwell (WBD, $281,000)
2. Jorja Livingstone (MEL, $255,000)
3. Jasmine Ferguson (NM, $310,000)
Midfielders:
1. Alice Tentye (ADE, $299,000)
2. Brooke Vickers (CAR, $348,000)
3. Monique Bessen (FRE, $217,000)
Rucks:
1. Maddie Quinn (SYD, $331,000)
2. Emmelie Fiedler (STK, $343,000)
Forwards:
1. Imogen Trengove (COLL, $269,000)
2. Sarah Grunden (SYD, $246,000)
3. Holly Cooper (SYD, $324,000)
Captains
North Melbourne pair Jas Garner and Ash Riddell's recent struggles and their history of poor scoring against Essendon sees them missing the top captaincy options for yet another week, but there are a few great options speckled about. Friday night will see the Demons face up against Richmond, which has leaked points to midfielders this season – I prefer Tyla Hanks as a VC option here, given her elite ceiling this season. Saturday starts with an incredible match-up, with midfield bulls Charlie Rowbottom and Ebony Marinoff facing off. The tackle count in this game could be massive, and it is hard to pass up Marinoff after the highest scoring Fantasy game of 2026. And then Sunday's matches have a few one-sided match-ups, with premier rucks Mim Strom and Lucy Wales lining up against fairly inexperienced opponents. Few Fantasy coaches will be making a choice here, but if you are making a ruck trade, both can be trusted with the captaincy this round.
No.1: Ebony Marinoff (v Gold Coast, Saturday 1.05pm AEDT)
No.2: Charlie Rowbottom (v Adelaide, Saturday 1.05pm AEDT)
No.3: Mim Strom (v STK, Sunday 5.05pm AEDT)
No.4: Tyla Hanks (v RIC, Friday 7.15pm AEDT)
No.5: Lucy Wales (v GWS, Sunday 2.35pm AEDT)
Other options to consider: Kiara Bowers (v St Kilda), Jasmine Garner (v Essendon), Ash Riddell (v Essendon), Olivia Purcell (v Richmond)
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