EARLY bye no more.
The rescheduling of Brisbane's clash against Geelong to round three has given AFL Fantasy coaches more to think about.
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While Levi Ashcroft (MID, $328,000) and Bailey Smith (MID/FWD, $598,000) were locked into most Fantasy Classic teams, the removal of the early bye round for the Cats and Lions has presented other opportunities.
With Collingwood and Sydney on the bye in that week, and some Pies and Swans presenting as better value options, coaches generally avoided paying up for Lions and Cats as to not overload.
But there could be some tweaks for coaches now that Brisbane and Geelong are playing.
Last year's Fantasy Classic champion Chris Burnham incredibly started 11 players who had an early bye, but his maximum number of players missing in a single position on a bye was two.
Following that rule, coaches may have previously been avoiding Dayne Zorko ($1,131,000) due to owning Harry Perryman (DEF, $759,000) and Matt Roberts (DEF, $780,000), but the Lions are now playing in round three when the other two are not.
Will Ashcroft (MID, $843,000) has been tipped to have a big year, while Lachie Neale (MID, $1,038,000) and Josh Dunkley (MID, $1,102,000) are proven Fantasy stars.
Some coaches, such as Fantasy Freako, like the look of Sam De Koning (DEF, $564,000) even more now that the Cats ruck doesn't have an early bye.
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Could Max Holmes (DEF/MID, $969,000) reach another level after his breakout 2024, or is Tom Stewart (DEF, $899,000) an under-priced option?
The early byes look relatively straightforward to navigate in 2025 with just six teams missing games early in the year, giving coaches plenty of options.
