WITH the start of the season less than three weeks away, AFL Fantasy teams are beginning to take shape.

Since the start of February, The Traders have been previewing every position to help you pick your team.

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With the rookies set for round one places starting to come to the fore, it is time to start building your side for 2025.

From premiums to bargains to cash cows, to all the options in the forward line, The Traders have dissected it all.

Defenders

ALL GOOD coaches know defence is the best form of attack!

Talking about attack, the defenders are inundated with attacking punch this year led by the dynamic trio of half-backs Harry Sheezel (DEF, $1,151,000), Lachie Whitfield (DEF, $1,146,000) and Dayne Zorko (DEF, $1,131,000) who had monster years averaging 112, 112 and 110 respectively.

Read Roy's full preview and see an early version of his Classic defence, plus check out Warnie's Draft rankings.

Midfielders

EVEN with the rise of the defenders in AFL Fantasy, the engine room is still the place to find the most points. This is the place where we have 17 midfielders available this season who averaged 100-plus and 19 worth over $1 million.

We can't pick all the best players though, so managing your $17.8 million salary cap in Classic means you'll need an even spread of some highly-priced premiums, value players and some rookies on your field.

Read Calvin's full preview and see an early version of his Classic midfield, plus check out Warnie's Draft rankings.

Rucks

FIVE rucks averaged triple figures last season and this year there could be even more. The rucks have certainly stepped up their Fantasy game over the last few years, scoring across all stat lines and not just relying on hitouts alone.

Even though the rucks are three of the top four most expensive players in the game, we also have plenty of cheaper options who are approaching their prime and ready to take their game to a whole new level.

Read Calvin's full preview and see an early version of his Classic ruck line, plus check out Warnie's Draft rankings.

Forwards

LAST year, the forward line caused nothing but headaches from start to finish! This pre-season (dare I say it) has been fun given the range of viable strategies available to us, so hopefully the Fantasy Gods continue to smile upon us.

This year, Dylan Moore (FWD, $944,000) is the most expensive forward to start the year after the Hawks pocket rocket averaged a respectable 92 for the year. Unfortunately for his ownership stocks, we are inundated with so much value that we will be shopping elsewhere to start the season. 

Read Roy's full preview and see an early version of his Classic forward line, plus check out Warnie's Draft rankings.