THE MOST eager and usually the most obsessed Fantasy coaches have already started picking their AFL Fantasy teams. So, who are the trending players so far this year?

Last year it was Bailey Smith ... and this year the tile of "Mr Popular" belongs to North Melbourne's Harry Sheezel. He sits in 60 per cent of teams and is the most selected player to date.

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Fantasy coaches who have started picking their team are usually the die-hard fanatics of the game. These coaches know their stuff and usually their early predictions are right on the mark.

Looking into their minds and their train of thought can certainly set you up for a successful season ahead.

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DEFENDERS

Most coaches are happy to pay-up for some of the best premiums in the game without going overboard with how many they have. Being selective is super-important and the players they are targeting early will not surprise you at all.

Connor Rozee and Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera headline the list of premiums that coaches are picking from the start along with some discounted players like Nic Newman and Keidean Coleman. After missing 2025, they are now cheaper than ever and priced at averages of 72 and 53, respectively.

MIDFIELDERS

It's always tricky this time of the year to select the rookies that we think might be playing round one. Even though most of the rookies we are selecting at this stage can be seen as 'placeholders', Fantasy coaches always have their finger on the pulse, trying to predict which rookies might feature in the early rounds, and which rookies might even produce us some scores worthy to have them on the field.

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Carlton's top recruit from 2025, Jagga Smith, is set to return from injury. Drafted with pick No.3, Smith was a prolific scorer as a junior and is back ready to go. Smith is in 57 per cent of teams and to be honest, that's far too low!

Dyson Sharp has also been heavily selected and rightfully so. He'll slot right into Essendon's best 22 and should be a walk-up inclusion for their side for round one.

Even though Willem Duursma is the most expensive of all the rookies are being drafted with pick No.1, Fantasy coaches are happy to launch in, knowing that Duursma should be getting games from the word go.

RUCKS

This will be one of the most debated positions in 2026 and so far, coaches are showing how undecided they are.

The 'set-and-forget' options appear to be Tristan Xerri and Tim English and behind them we have some question marks? Will Cooper Duff-Tytler and Liam Reidy make the cut at their new clubs and is Sam Draper ready to fire after an Achilles injury ended his 2025 campaign in round six last year?

FORWARDS

It's the core of the game – find value.

Fantasy coaches have wasted no time, targeting those players who are 'under-priced' and present as value in the Classic format. With the $18.3 million dollars in our salary cap, we need value players to stretch every dollar as far as it can go.

Sam Flanders is the definition of value. Priced at an average of just 68, Flanders could be the man to challenge Sheezel's title as Mr Popular as the pre-season unfolds.

West Coast's new recruit Deven Robertson also presents as value if he's able to crack their best 22, alongside St Kilda's Mattaes Phillipou who has hit the ground running this pre-season. At this stage last year, he was $656,000 and is now sitting in just over a quarter of Classic teams.

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