ROUND one is in the bag and whether it was successful or not, there’s still a long way to go.
Last year’s overall winner Chris posted during the week an important message for all Fantasy coaches to be aware of.
“The important thing to note for those after round one, this time last year I had Connor Budarick, I was 20,000. I didn’t win the car in round one nor did I lose it. Don’t be discouraged by a low score, make sure you put yourself in the position to pivot and go hard.”
Wise words from the former winner.
With round two kicking off tonight and with Greater Western Sydney and Gold Coast players on the bye, only our best 18 on field scores will count towards our overall total this week, and for the following bye rounds.
Make sure you are set to go and have fixed up any of those silly mistakes you feel you might have made or missed last week.
Trap or treat?
Here are some of the traps to avoid and some treats worth considering for the round ahead.
Jack Steele (MID, $1,064,000) – TRAP
It’s a lonely place if you are one of the few owners of Steele and after he only had 77 last week, it’s time to jump off that island. The Saints don’t look improving anytime soon and neither does Steele.
Tim English (RUCK, $1,043,000) – TRAP
The match-up against Xerri was always going to be hard, but 73 points is far from acceptable from a player worth over a million dollars. Make the switch now before it’s too late.
Tom Powell (MID, $840,000) – TREAT
I’m the first to admit … I was a sceptic, but Powell is the real deal. He scored 124 last week and featured heavily in the Kangaroos’ midfield rotations. He’s in four per cent of teams and rising.
Mitch Knevitt (MID, $481,000) – TREAT
Geelong is hard to read, but Knevitt backed up his pre-season form with 103. He attended over half of the team’s CBAs and laid an impressive 11 tackles. Knevitt is only in six per cent of teams.
Tim English and Tristan Xerri contest the ruck during the round one match between the Western Bulldogs and North Melbourne at Marvel Stadium in round one, 2025. Picture: Getty Images
Most traded in
- Sam De Koning (DEF, $621,000)
- Xavier Lindsay (MID, $363,000)
- Levi Ashcroft (MID, $371,000)
- Joel Freijah (DEF, $660,000)
- Max Hall (MID/FWD, $280,000)
Josh Dunkley and Levi Ashcroft celebrate winning the match between Sydney and Brisbane at the SCG in round one, 2025. Picture: Getty Images
The trade plan this week is simple – fix what you got wrong in round one.
If you missed some of those players listed above, then this is your week to right your wrongs. Sam De Koning (DEF, $621,000) has moved into the midfield for the Cats where he attended 28 of the centre bounces (CBAs) and scored 124. Although this role isn’t locked in stone and his opponents will only get harder, he has a breakeven of 10 and set to make some serious cash.
Most traded out
- Harry Perryman (DEF, $758,000)
- Sam Taylor (DEF, $611,000)
- Hugo Garcia (MID/FWD, $435,000)
- Lachie Ash (DEF, $844,000)
- James Leake (DEF, $248,000)
The coaches who played the ‘breakeven/cash game’ in round one with the Giants defenders appear to be moving them on this week. The jury is still out whether or not the Sam Taylor (DEF, $611,000) and Lachie Ash (DEF, $844,000) move was successful or not, but what can’t be argued is the fact they went up a combined total of $133k.
Sam Taylor celebrates with fans after the match between Melbourne and Greater Western Sydney at the MCG in round one, 2025. Picture: AFL Photos
Draft: One-week wonders
A strategy in Draft is to find one-week streaming options. This means finding a player who has low ownership (most likely on the waiver wire) and is an option for a one-week play. You may require a player like this to fill any holes in your team while you wait for an injured player to return or for one of your players to gain dual-position status.
Here are some players with low ownership that might be worth a punt on for this week.
Jake Bowey (DEF) v North Melbourne
Bowey featured on this list last week and backed up his 95 in the AAMI Community Series with 87. His match-up only gets easier this week.
Ned Long (MID) v Footscray
For those running with a deep draft, Long finds himself in just two per cent of leagues and is coming off a nice 90. Great match-up for a guy who is getting midfield time.
Harry Jones (FWD) v Adelaide
With Ridley out for the week, Jones is every chance to slide down back again for some of those easy marks. He had 72 last week and should improve on that.
Harrison Jones looks for an option during the match betwee Hawthorn and Essendon at the MCG in round one, 2025. Picture: AFL Photos
Draft: Unique captains
In Draft, every player is unique so it’s important to think outside the box when it comes to finding a captain. Here are some options to consider if you’re a lucky owner.
Darcy Cameron v Footscray @ the MCG, Friday 7.40pm AEDT
Tim English is an easy ruckman to score against. Xerri had 129 against him last week and out of the last eight rucks to play against English, six have hit 100-plus. Cameron had 117 against him last year.
Max Holmes v St Kilda @ Marvel Stadium, Saturday 7.35pm AEDT
Adelaide midfielders scored with ease against the Saints last week with Dawson 126, Soligo 125, and Rankine 107 all featuring in the top scores. Holmes will also be a handful on Saturday night.
Lachie Neale v West Coast @ the Gabba, Sunday 1.10pm AEST
West Coast is Neale’s second favourite team to score Fantasy points against with 133, 127, 113, 110 and 126 coming in his last five games. He’ll bounce back after being tagged to 37 last weekend.
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 when The Traders go live at 6.15pm AEDT 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.
