HAVE you ever wanted to be an AFL coach? Here's your chance!

Fantasy is back for 2026, where coaches manage a squad throughout the home and away rounds of the Toyota AFL Premiership Season with their team success based on players' actual on-field performances.

PLAY AFL FANTASY Pick your team NOW

Your Fantasy team will accumulate points from Champion Data's official statistics of games each round as you go head-to-head with your mates and people all over the world.

AFL Fantasy for 2026 is available now on web and mobile web, while it will be released to the Fantasy app next week.

Plus, 2026 sees the launch of a new platform with a stack of new features.

For every kick your player has, they'll get three points. In 2025, Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera had the highest average for kicks with 22.3 per game. A tackle gains you four points, helping make Jack Steele (8.7 per game) an option. Rucks keep their score ticking over with one point for each hitout, with Jarrod Witts (43.2 per game) leading that stat in 2025.

Finding players whose game gets stats from the key scoring categories is the key to Fantasy success.

You can follow the fortunes of your team live through the AFL Fantasy website and app as games are playing out in real time. The Match Centre on AFL.com.au and the AFL Live Official App provide up-to-date AFL Fantasy stats as games progress.

It’s a fun way to add to your enjoyment of watching the greatest game on Earth.

With Opening Round back again for 2026, Fantasy looks like it did the past two years and will be as fun and competitive as ever.

Fantasy Classic

The most popular game is AFL Fantasy Classic. You are given a budget of $18,300,000 to select a squad of 30 players. Last year's No.1 Fantasy player, Bailey Smith, will set you back $1,220,000 due to his 116.3 average. The cheapest players are draftees and many who are yet to play a game start at $230,000.

Your squad is made up of 22 on-field players who will score points each week. A bench of eight players, of which four are emergencies, can be used if one of your on-field players are out.

FANTASY LATEST Tips, strategy, draft, podcasts, more

The 30 players are made up of eight defenders, 10 midfielders, three rucks, eight forwards and one bench utility who can be chosen from any position.

To fit a team in under the salary cap, you'll need a mix of some of the cheaper players, discounted gems and premiums to make sure you're getting bang for your buck.

AFL Fantasy will again commence in round one in 2026, a week after Opening Round. Check out the full details, including how Fantasy will play out through the early-season byes, here.

What makes playing AFL Fantasy fun is playing in a league against your mates. You can set up a head-to-head league featuring between four and 20 of your friends or be involved in an open league with unlimited entrants, perfect for large workplaces.

The Andrew Dillon of your group is referred to as the commissioner. They can set your league up, send out invites and let the banter begin.

Listen to the AFL Fantasy Podcast with The Traders at Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Fantasy Draft

There are a number of reasons that many leagues are opting to make AFL Fantasy Draft their game of choice among their mates.

In Fantasy Draft, you play against your league mates by holding a draft prior to the season commencing to select your squads. Each coach will take it in turns to make a pick. As soon as a player has been selected, no one else can pick them up. Every team is unique.

So if you're keen on owning Wanganeen-Milera, the top-scoring defender in 2025, you'll need to get him before your league mates. But once you've got him, he's yours to keep! That is unless someone wants to facilitate a trade for him…

Draft day is one of the best days on the calendar. Get a crew together and lock in a date to hold your draft. You can host your draft from mid-February.

A significant amount of customisation is available for commissioners to choose from when setting up their league and there are plenty of new features. Advanced scoring is a popular feature where you can change the value of points from the traditional scoring system and include other statistics such as spoils, goal assists, contested disposals, effectiveness of disposals, clangers and a whole heap more.

Once your league is set up and you've joined, you can go ahead and compile your rankings in preparation for draft day.

Among plenty of features, Leagues can add a flexible (or utility) position to their team structure which allows coaches to select a player from any position. For example, you may choose to have a number of defenders, midfielders, rucks and forwards but open up extra spots which can be filled with players with any position status.

This year, dynasty leagues have been launched.

Unlike classic redraft and keeper leagues, dynasty gives you total squad retention year-on-year, mirroring the AFL's own list management. Forget starting from scratch each season – your players stay with you each season, meaning every draft pick, trade, and selection matters for the long haul.

Get expert advice from The Traders during the pre-season in the Fantasy Hub. Follow AFL Fantasy on X and Instagram and 'like' the Facebook page to join in the conversation.