AFL FANTASY starts tonight! That's right, even though Opening Round kicked off last weekend, AFL Fantasy kicks off tonight.

If you haven't made a team to put yourself in the running to win the Toyota Tundra Platinum or thousands of dollars' worth of Crypto ... then it's time to get cracking.

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To get you started, Calvin is here to get you Fantasy ready for the big round ahead with all the rookies and 'must-haves' across all the positions.

Build your team around...

If you're late to Fantasy ... never fear, because earlier this week, Roy released some players that he believes are essential starting picks for your AFL Fantasy Classic team. You never know, these starting picks could set you up to be driving away in a shiny new Toyota Tundra Platinum.

DEFENDERS

Caleb Windsor (DEF, $565,000)
Off the back of the departures of Clayton Oliver and Christian Petracca, we could be looking at the breakout player of 2026. The role was there for Windsor in his shortened practice game as he attended the equal-most of Melbourne's centre bounces.

Lachie Blakiston (DEF, $399,000)
At 27 years old and 203cm, this big man has stepped up this pre-season and filled the void left by Sam Draper and the injured Nick Bryan. Blakiston scored 86 in his AAMI Community Series game and won't break a sweat to score above his breakeven of just 38.

MIDFIELDERS

Zak Butters (MID, $1,074,000)
Some 54 per cent of Fantasy coaches are locked and loaded with Butters in their midfield and after his score of 152 in his practice game, it's not hard to see why. He opens his account with the Kangaroos this Sunday, followed by Essendon, West Coast and Richmond.

Tanner Bruhn (MID, $517,000)
In Opening Round we got a 'free look' at what Bruhn's role could be this year and we saw enough. In Geelong's 56-point loss to the Suns, Bruhn was one of the Cats' best, finding the ball 31 times for his score of 98. He now has a breakeven of -31.

RUCKS

Lachlan McAndrew (RUC, $286,000)
McAndrew is set to ruck solo on Saturday night against Collingwood and for now, that is enough. There is talk of Reilly O'Brien featuring at some point this year, so fingers crossed McAndrew comes out firing and locks in his position for good.

FORWARDS

Sam Flanders (FWD, $716,000)
Sitting in 61 per cent of teams, Flanders has been one of the easiest picks this pre-season and rightfully so. After a slow start, he scored 100 in his Opening Round clash and attended 75 per cent of the team's CBAs. An easy pick in January and an easy pick now.

Connor Budarick (FWD, $506,000)
One of the biggest rises in ownership over the last week is that of Connor Budarick. Even though his name has been mentioned this pre-season, not many thought he'd come out in Opening Round and score 94. It's now a gift for our forward lines.

Warnie's rookie rankings

A wise man once said: "Rookies dictate the structure of your team." Based on this superior advice, it's very important to have the right rookies in the right positions.

Here are Warnie's updated rookie rankings.

DEFENDERS

1. Josh Lindsay (DEF, $278,000) – yet to be named
2. Lachie Jaques (DEF, $230,000) – scored 76 in OR
3. Jai Serong (DEF, $274,000) – scored 72 in OR
4. Sam Grlj (DEF/MID, $322,000) – named to play tonight
5. Michael Sellwood (DEF, $230,000) – scored 61 in OR

MIDFIELDERS

1. Jagga Smith (MID, $230,000) – scored 82 in OR
2. Jack Carroll (MID, $332,000) – scored 78 in OR
3. Tom Blamires (MID, $230,000) – will debut Sunday
4. Dyson Sharp (MID, $302,000) – will debut Friday night
5. Willem Duursma (MID, $350,000) – yet to be named

RUCKS

1. Lachlan McAndrew (RUC, $286,000) – will play Saturday
2. Zane Zakostelsky (DEF/RUC, $230,000) – scored 54 in OR

FORWARDS

1. Deven Robertson (FWD, $232,000) – yet to be named
2. Leo Lombard (FWD, $230,000) – scored 75 in OR
3. Lachy Dovaston (FWD, $290,000) – will debut Sunday
4. Latrelle Pickett (FWD, $306,000) – yet to be named
5. Brayden Cook (MID/FWD, $344,000) – yet to be named

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

Opening Round breakevens

Players from Opening Round, who play again this week, will get a 'double price rise' at the conclusion of round one. This is a game changer, as some players who were not on the radar are now options, based on the amount of money they will make on top of their initial starting price.

A breakeven is the score a player needs to maintain their price, and all of the players mentioned below will certainly do that.

Let's have a look at some players that are set to rise massively in price at the conclusion of round one. However, keep in mind these players also have an early bye and will play one less game than those who don't.

Jagga Smith (MID, $230,000): breakeven -77

After a score of 82, Smith now has the lowest breakeven in the game. A score of around 80 would see Smith's price escalate over $350,000 when lockout lifts. He is the most-owned player in the game and a Fantasy star of the future.

Dan Houston (DEF, $701,000): breakeven -31

Is this the Sam Taylor pick of 2025? It certainly feels that way, but after Houston scored 120 in Opening Round, his ownership has now risen to 17 per cent. He could be worth the risk, and could be valued around $790,000 in a matter of days.

Joe Fonti (DEF, $521,000): breakeven -17

Fonti's name has started circulated around the Fantasy community after he scored an impressive 90 in his opening game. He looked great with 22 disposals and nine marks but at some point, we need to draw a line. Sorry, but we have better options round this price.

Josh Daicos (DEF, $988,000): breakeven 17

The second-highest scorer from last weekend was Josh Daicos with a huge 141. This drops his breakeven massively and very soon, he'll be worth well over a million dollars and for some coaches, too expensive. If you like what Josh can do – now is the time to launch!

Live Teams Show

The Traders will be live tonight to cover all the important ins and outs as teams are announced. They break down the popular trades, discuss captains and answer all your burning questions. Watch the Live Teams Show every Thursday night via AFL.com.au and the AFL Live Official App and ask your questions in the comments.

Calvin's best captains

Your captain scores you double points and as always, we need all the points we can get. Make sure you tune in tonight when the Traders go live at 6:15pm on AFL.com.au or via the AFL Live Official App to see who Calvin has in his top five and who the Traders are locking in as their captain options for the round ahead.

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.