BLINK and you'll miss it – we have arrived at the end of the AFLW pre-season, the first bounce of the season is almost upon us, and the time has come to put together an AFLW Fantasy side!
Worried that you aren't going to be ready first lockout in a few days because you haven't completed the Fantasy equivalent of a full six-week training block before the first bounce like the players? Well, don't worry! We've got you covered.
>> Win a $70K Toyota in AFLW Fantasy! Sign up NOW
Below, you will find everything you need to set your Fantasy team up for success in 2025: giving you a sense of which players to build your team around, what information you should watch out for this week, and when to be ready for the first lockout on Thursday at 7.15pm AEST.
Listen to the AFLW Fantasy Podcast with Free Kick at Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Defender locks
Jessica Rentsch (West Coast, DEF, $314,000)
The No.2 pick in the 2023 Telstra AFLW Draft played eight games across half-back and has moved and into the Eagles' midfield this pre-season. Against the Western Bulldogs in last weekend's practice match, Rentsch had 17 touches, 70 Fantasy points, and led the team in contested possessions with 10, clearances with five, and in rebound 50s with four. Fellow midfielder and co-captain Bella Lewis will return to the midfield following her absence against the Bulldogs, so Rentsch will need to have shown coach Daisy Pearce that she merits a spot in the midfield longer term. Given the quality of her performance, her price, and the limited number of cheap defensive options, the planets have aligned for this young Eagle to be a virtual lock in our squads, be it on field, or on the bench.
Bre Koenen (Brisbane Lions, DEF, $738,000)
Was Koenen, Brisbane's captain, on my Fantasy radar before the practice matches? Not really. However, that should not be a comment on her Fantasy scoring ability, just that Brisbane had not given the wider community much indication that Koenen would be spending a majority of her time in the midfield – something we've previously only seen in the AFLW finals. But 21 disposals, six marks, nine tackles, and 108 Fantasy points is about as complete a statline as you will see for an AFLW Fantasy defender.
Midfield locks
Zippy Fish (Sydney, MID, $404,000)
Fish should be the No.1 picked rookie player in everyone's side. As the No.5 pick in the 2024 Telstra AFLW Draft, Sydney has given Fish the plum role of ball-controlling half-back to start the season. In the pre-season, Fish showed that she is well and truly up to the task of being the Swans' main ball user out of defensive 50. Scoring 77 against Brisbane in the practice match was an excellent way to kick things off; you will be swimming upstream if you don't pick this young star in your AFLW Fantasy side.
Georgie Prespakis (Geelong, MID, $948,000)
The injuries that plagued Prespakis' 2024 appear to be well and truly in the rearview mirror given that training reports of a dominant pre-season were backed up by a best-on effort against Gold Coast that netted her the best score across all the practice matches (152). The 73.2 average sitting next to her name in the AFLW Fantasy platform far undervalues what I expect Prespakis to score this year, with a return to the 100-plus range well and truly on the cards.
>> Win a $70K Toyota in AFLW Fantasy! Sign up NOW
Ebony Marinoff (Adelaide, MID, $1,878,000)
'Noffy' is the first name you see when creating your AFLW Fantasy side for the first time, and to be quite honest, she is unlikely to ever leave the spot of most thought about AFLW Fantasy option this year. I will be locking Marinoff into my side this season for two reasons: she is comfortably the highest scoring player based on last year's averages (but also, the most dominant in AFLW history), sitting 30 points per game ahead of the next wave of premium midfielders; and because it saves the stress of swapping who to pick as captain each week. Lock, lock, lockety lock.
Ruck lock
Piper Dunlop (Geelong, RUC, $300,000)
Picking a ruck to go on field has been one of the pre-season's biggest challenges. Thankfully, Geelong seems to have gifted us a perfect cheap rookie to sit as our bench ruck. Dunlop was selected at pick No.37 in the 2024 Telstra AFLW Draft, as a basketball convert who had played seven games for the Cats' VFLW side in 2024 (averaging 66 Fantasy points, 26.7 hitouts, 9.6 disposals, and 3.9 tackles per game). Dunlop did not look out of place in the practice match, scoring 61 Fantasy points, and comfortably handling Gold Coast's makeshift ruck line with Lauren Bella missing. Add in the fact that Dunlop spent far more time rucking than Kate Darby, I think that this option is now a lock.
Forward locks
Bonnie Toogood (Essendon, FWD, $501,000)
To justify spending over 10 per cent of the $15.5 million on Marinoff, you need to have some options who are VERY cheap who could get close to the top of their line. In steps Toogood, who after a torrid run of in-game injuries in 2024, comes into this season with only a 37.8 average attached to her. That sits close to 30 points below what I expect Toogood (conservatively) to average this season, which is extraordinarily good value, particularly for the lowest scoring line in AFLW Fantasy. If Fish was my first selected rookie, Marinoff my first selected premium, Toogood is my first selected mid-priced option this season!
Ange Stannett (Fremantle, FWD, $766,000)
Picking a second forward lock was difficult, as so many of the options currently sitting in coaches' squad come with some degree of risk, usually from some combination of questions about their role, their own health, limited time on ground during the practice matches, or the potential return of teammates from injury. On that basis, I have gone with Stannett, who while not immune from those concerns, has a few things going in her favour that other options do not. First and foremost, after missing all of 2024 with an ACL injury, her price this year is discounted from the average in the last season she played (73.9), which is comfortably within the top handful of averages in this forward crop. Secondly, even after a lacklustre practice match performance (46 points), I back Fremantle's coaching staff to give Stannett a MID/FWD role to allow her to best succeed as the team's captain.
What to stay on top of?
Now that you have the skeleton of an AFLW Fantasy team, it is important to remind you of some of the key events to come in the coming days which will further shape the squad you select, and ultimately lock in, this weekend.
Injury list
Make sure you drop by the AFLW's dedicated injury list page after 5pm AEST on Tuesday to see the first official announcement of the injury lists of all 18 AFLW clubs. This will help you confirm that none of your options look set to miss round one.
Team announcements
Across the back end of this week, the team line-ups for the round's games will be announced and then confirmed. Here are the important times to keep in mind:
Wednesday, 6.20pm AEST: Confirmed squads announced for Thursday's games (Collingwood v Carlton and West Coast v Gold Coast)
Thursday, 6.20pm AEST: Confirmed squads announced for the games on Friday and Saturday. Extended squads announced for the Sunday games
Friday, 5pm AEST: Squads trimmed and confirmed for the Sunday games.
>> Win a $70K Toyota in AFLW Fantasy! Sign up NOW
Lockout
As the AFLW games start across the weekend, players from those teams will be locked, be that in your AFLW Fantasy squad or out of it. Make sure you are happy with your selections from each game before those lockouts start to happen. Check out the full round one fixture here.
Get expert advice from Free Kick 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.
