Last year we celebrated as the AFLW launched their own fantasy footy platform, spreading the game to tens of thousands of fans. Ahead of the second official season, and with the fixture announced, my mind has sprung into AFLW mode again. Maybe it’s just my desire for another hat? We expect AFLW Fantasy to launch in mid-July.

The most influential factor on a player’s relevancy is their position. In AFLW this is even more important as in the inaugural season there were no dual-position players. In the AFLM game, we get added flexibility with some players able to be selected in a secondary position. This luxury did not make it into the AFLW version meaning that there aren’t as many creative options. This ensures that certain positions become a lot more relevant to think about.

I’ve decided to run the same code that successfully predicted nearly all dual-position (DPP) players in AFLM this season. This can give us an insight into the positions that our AFLW players might receive. It’s not perfect, and the platform has taken some oddly creative positions in the past.

Defenders

The defensive line will remain very similar to 2023. The biggest loss is Ange Stannett (set to be FWD) who will miss the entire season with an ACL. Looking across the rest of the top 2023 Fantasy defenders, all the familiar names of Charlotte Thomas, Emma Kearney, Eilish Sheerin & Ella Heads will hold DEF status. We saw Eilish Sheerin finish the year in the midfield which is exciting.

Players likely to lose DEF status include Breanna Koenen (FWD), Hannah Priest (MID) & Amy Smith (FWD). Smith is a particularly weird case as she was classified a MID/FWD in 2022 (Season 7) yet was randomly given DEF status last year. These are important things to look out for, we could get another mistake which helps our teams.

Avg 2023 2024
Charlotte Thomas 72.7 DEF DEF
Emma Kearney 72.2 DEF DEF
Eilish Sheerin 71.4 DEF DEF
Ella Heads 68.4 DEF DEF
Elisabeth Georgostathis 68.4 MID DEF
Gabrielle Newton 66.5 FWD DEF
Emma O'Driscoll 65.8 DEF DEF
Tarni Evans 65.6 DEF DEF
Madison Newman 64.2 MID DEF
Rebecca Webster 63.2 MID DEF

Midfielders

Similarly, the top line midfielders continue to dominate in AFLW Fantasy, and they will in the future. Ebony Marinoff, Jasmine Garner & Charlie Rowbottom highlight the top of the list, but in 2023 they were joined by Laura Gardiner who averaged a whopping 114.9 from 12 games. She loses FWD status and will be a midfielder in 2024.

Avg 2023 2024
Ebony Marinoff 126.5 MID MID
Jasmine Garner 123.5 MID MID
Laura Gardiner 114.9 FWD MID
Charlie Rowbottom 113.1 MID MID
Kiara Bowers 111.8 MID MID
Ash Riddell 110.6 MID MID
Monique Conti 106.5 MID MID
Anne Hatchard 105.5 MID MID
Ellie Blackburn 100.0 MID MID
Madison Prespakis 96.5 MID MID

Ella Roberts was an elite starting pick in 2023 as a FWD. She played enough midfield time to be relevant but also hit the scoreboard, albeit inaccurately. On paper she seemed a lock to keep her FWD status. However with the midseason coach change, she was given more midfield time in the second half of the year. Unfortunately, according to the classifications, she is now a MID only (not even MID/FWD) meaning I can’t expect her to be dominating our FWD lines again.

Ella Roberts - Centre Bounce Attendances
R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 R9 R10
CBAs 2 9 4 2 2 2 9 0 7 18
CBA % 20.0% 40.9% 21.1% 18.2% 14.3% 16.7% 56.2% 0.0% 50.0% 90.0%

Rucks

There’s only one major change in the rucks this season, with Sabrina Frederick rightfully switching from FWD to RUC. The rest of the premium options are still there, and coaches may be keen to start revelation Ally Morphett who missed a few games with injury. Value options in the ruck will always present though… just take a look at Matilda Scholz!

Avg 2023 2024
Ally Morphett 87.9 RUC RUC
Breann Moody 83.6 RUC RUC
Alice Edmonds 80.6 RUC RUC
Mim Strom 79.3 RUC RUC
Sabrina Frederick 78.8 FWD RUC
Matilda Scholz 75.6 RUC RUC
Jessica Good 71.0 RUC RUC
Stephanie Wales 70.0 RUC RUC
Gabrielle Seymour 65.9 RUC RUC
Tahlia Hickie 65.4 RUC RUC

Forwards

The forwards are always the most important position - and probably why you’re still reading at this point. There are a lot of changes, losing Laura Gardiner, Nina Morrison, Ella Roberts & Lucy Single to the midfield. It’s always a challenge, but we have to find new midfield time!

Zarlie Goldsworthy was the breakout star of the competition in 2024 and proved to be the key to AFLW Fantasy success as a FWD. For her season in totality, Champion Data has classified her as a midfielder/forward. At this stage, there is no DPP in AFLW Fantasy, meaning that she can only get one of these. Her splits must be fairly even with at least 35% time spent as a MID and as a FWD - which one is the primary we will not know. My guess is FWD!

Zarlie Goldsworthy - Centre Bounce Attendances
R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 R9 R10
CBAs 6 13 6 9 3 4 8 9 9 4
CBA % 33.3% 59.1% 37.5% 36.0% 37.5% 33.3% 50.0% 50.0% 75.0% 20.0%

There are several other premium FWDs in a similar position to Goldsworthy, including Chloe Molloy, Paxy Paxman & Keeley Skepper. We will only find out once the game opens which one is their main position.

Avg 2023 2024
Bonnie Toogood 102.2 FWD FWD
Zarlie Goldsworthy 90.7 FWD MID/FWD
Kate Hore 84.5 FWD FWD
Chloe Molloy 80.0 FWD MID/FWD
Gemma Houghton 77.5 FWD FWD
Mikala Cann 74.0 MID MID/FWD
Kate Dempsey 73.9 MID MID/FWD
Angelique Stannett 73.9 DEF FWD
Paxy Paxman 71.6 FWD MID/FWD
Katie Brennan 71.6 FWD FWD

All expected changes from last season (not adjusted for list changes yet)

Stats By Jaiden