THEY are our highest scorers, our captain choices, the code's most recognisable players, and the key to a successful AFLW Fantasy season.
However, with great power comes great responsibility, and the strategy behind the six midfielders we pick for our AFLW Fantasy sides will almost certainly tie us in knots.
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Coaches need to look for the best way to balance the points on field in the line with the most 100+ averaging players, and generating cash, given this positional group includes the most rookie-priced players.
Join me as I attempt to pick apart the threads of this most puzzling position, get ahead of those knots, and hopefully stave off a number of incoming headaches.
Premium options
Ebony Marinoff (Adelaide, $1,664,000)
If you played Fantasy last year, it was hard to escape the dominant presence that was Ebony Marinoff. With an insane 128 average, which included only one score below 100, seven scores over 120 and a high of 174, she is Fantasy royalty. Noffy just has the complete Fantasy game: she hates to handpass (she has three kicks for every handpass), she loves a tackle (averaging 10.4 for the season), gets around the marking game in transition, and has as an incredibly damaging midfield companion in Anne Hatchard, who consistently draws opposing teams' tagging attention. With a great run to start the year, and the need to pick straight-up captains for the first month of the season (ie. no VC loop), Marinoff is a lock for me.
Jasmine Garner (North Melbourne, $1,645,000)
Long considered a better footballer than Fantasy player, 2023 was the year we saw Jasmine Garner become a Fantasy uber premium. Much like Marinoff, Garner clearly prefers kicking to handballing, and is not averse to laying a tackle, but her elite ability to hit the scoreboard is what pushed her average up to 127 points per game. The only slight concern about Garner is that she's a clear tag target (she's won the AFLW Coaches' Award two years running). This fear should be offset by the fact that her scoring is insulated by (a) North Melbourne's truly elite midfield structures, (b) her size and ability to bully her way onto the ball, and (c) even when pushed forward to drop said tags, she can kick a swag of goals. A worthwhile M1 pick in 2024.
Laura Gardiner (Sydney, $1,497,000)
In my ruck article, I wrote that Ally Morphett was arguably the biggest breakout in 2023. Forgive my creative license there, because there is no argument about who won the breakout award, it was undoubtedly Laura Gardiner. Last year, Gardiner became a Fantasy uber premium, finished second in the AFLW Coaches' Award (also becoming the first ever player to poll five-plus votes in every game) and donned her first All-Australian blazer. In 2024, Gardiner may need to contend with some additional opposition attention and extra midfield rotations at Sydney, given she herself said in an interview with Free Kick that the third-year trio of Montana Ham, Sofia Hurley and Cynthia Hamilton had all been rolling through the mids in the pre-season. It pains me to say, as I am one of Gardiner's biggest stans, but I won't be starting her in my side this year.
Charlie Rowbottom (Gold Coast, $1,463,000)
Rowbottom is a midfield bully, plain and simple (just ask Daisy Walker). She's another mid premium who is equally able to get 30 disposals or 12+ tackles in a game, and quite often it's both. Even after a career-high average of 113, the fourth-year Sun has a few things pointing in her favour for another jump in 2024. Firstly, the Suns' stellar run to start the season, with their first three opponents all being some of the easiest for midfield scoring (and no dedicated taggers). Secondly, with the departure of Ali Drennan to the Eagles, there are no experienced mids at the Suns to step in to fill Drennan's shoes, further increasing the likelihood that the CBA rotation will not shift in 2024, and we may even see higher time on ground for Rowbottom.
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Top five midfielders
1. Ebony Marinoff
2. Jas Garner
3. Charlie Rowbottom
4. Laura Gardiner
5. Monique Conti
Under the blanket: Ash Riddell (North Melbourne, $1,503,000), Anne Hatchard (Adelaide, 1,366,000), Georgie Prespakis (Geelong, $1,292,000), Alyce Parker (Greater Western Sydney, $1,248,000)
I see there being two very distinct tiers among the top five mids this year, being the 125-plus tier with only Noffy and Garner, and then a 110-115 tier where you'd have reasonable argument to include six or seven players. The one player that isn't currently in my top five which people might have expected is Ash Riddell (North Melbourne, $1,503,000), who I championed all last pre-season, as I believe that Mia King is a player that may draw away some points from Riddell as she continues her rise. Mon Conti (Richmond, $1,379,000) also jumps into my top five as I am predicting a scoring bump for her on the back of a greater prominence of a midfield personnel grouping which the Tigers rolled out in round 10 last year and saw her score 124 points vs the Pies.
Under-priced premium plays
Ella Roberts (West Coast, $1,081,000)
Roberts should be a very familiar sight for seasoned Fantasy coaches, but 2024 will see her in the unfamiliar land of the midfield of AFLW Fantasy teams. Named by new coach Daisy Pearce as a midfielder, Roberts will hopefully be able to reprise the scoring she managed as a 50 per cent-plus CBA mid at the end of the 2023 season, where she averaged 105. She's been locked into my team since the game opened.
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Zarlie Goldsworthy (Greater Western Sydney, $1,175,000)
Goldsworthy had one of the most enjoyable games to watch for Fantasy coaches last season, as her 168 vs Carlton in round eight represented possibly the most complete stat line in Fantasy history: 24 disposals (18 kicks), seven marks, 12 tackles, and five goals. Remove an uncharacteristic 26 in round one, Goldy's adjusted average shoots up from 90 to 98. The question for 2024 is whether she can solidify a more consistent midfield role, thereby removing the risk of the stray 70, and push her average into the low 100s. With GWS though, consistent roles are awfully difficult to find, so be wary as we go to pick this high risk/high reward option.
Georgia Nanscawen (Essendon, $1,059,000)
Nanscawen is only priced at 80, but averaged 101 in her final five games of 2023. If she can score that for an entire season, she looks to be more than enough value to start. What's difficult to determine is whether that late-season boost came from the injury departure of Steph Cain, or as a result of GNans being more comfortable in her first full season as a mid (and off an ACL recovery). With Essendon being another team with a great early run of opponents, I will not argue too strongly against anyone picking Nanscawen, or her more heralded midfield companion Madison Prespakis (Essendon, $1,247,000).
Also consider: Ally Anderson (Brisbane, $1,273,000), Madison Prespakis (Essendon, $1,247,000), Georgie Prespakis (Geelong, $1,292,000), Emma Swanson (West Coast, $1,200,000), Isabelle Pritchard (Western Bulldogs, $963,000)
Mid-priced madness
Sofia Hurley (Sydney, $916,000) & Montana Ham (Sydney, $620,000)
Outside of Laura Gardiner, the midfield at Sydney has a whole stack of moving parts. Chloe Molloy (Sydney, $1,048,000), who is a centre bounce player who then drifts forward and Tanya Kennedy (Sydney, $704,000) as the defensive stopper are the two next most 'consistent' mids. Where I do like the value at Sydney is in both Sofia Hurley and Montana Ham. Both were top 10 draft picks, and in the case of Hurley, had a serious boost in her scoring in the final rounds and finals of 2023, scoring 100-plus three times and averaging nearly 10 tackles per game. For Ham, it's very much a case of seeing whether the former No.1 pick can stay healthy and get a role in the midfield, after 2023 saw her often injured and playing predominantly as a forward. I prefer Hurley but recognise that she is a boatload more expensive, so I can understand picking Ham if we see the right role in the pre-season.
Dana East (Fremantle, $673,000), Hayley Miller (Fremantle, $789,000) & Megan Kauffman (Fremantle, $769,000)
Both Kiara Bowers and Ange Stannett are missing in 2024 – who is going to step into their scoring roles? Miller has the highest averaging season across the options, but was played forward for most of 2023, and lost her captaincy to Stannett (notwithstanding her ACL injury). Kauffman most resembles the two missing Dockers as a stocky high tackling in and under mid, but again struggled to convince Lisa Webb to give her consistent midfield minutes. Finally, East is the sole remaining option who played only as a midfielder in 2023. She is also the youngest and most unproven, but definitely looked to be breaking out just as last season ended (20 disposal per game in the last three games vs 14 for the season). With the already changeable Dockers looking to fill two massive gaps, this is the most important midfield rotation to watch in the pre-season.
Ellie McKenzie (Richmond, $649,000)
Injury cut short Ellie McKenzie's season after only one game, a 61 vs the eventual premier Brisbane. Coming into the year with a heavy discount thanks to that injury, the former No.1 pick is looking to lock down a 100 per cent midfield role. With a priced-at figure of 50, a season average of 75 is acceptable as a target for a player who is still yet to 'break out' as a Fantasy scorer but possesses as much natural talent as you could ever ask for. Reports are that she's one of the best pre-season performers for the Tigers, so don't be shocked if she manages to break out.
Also consider: Tarni White (Collingwood, $668,000), Jasmine Fleming (Hawthorn, $767,000), Maddy Brancatisano (Gold Coast, $699,000), Ally Dallaway (Richmond, $641,000), Tyanna Smith (St Kilda, $963,000)
Rookie radar
Shineah Goody (Port Adelaide, $300,000) & Piper Window (Port Adelaide, $348,000)
Port Adelaide has been gifted a duo of elite junior scorers via the draft and pre-season selection period. Both Window and Goody have averaged more than 95 in the SANFLW before they turned 18, and Window won the comp's B&F in 2023. With Port looking to build an engine room which can match the talents of Abby Dowrick, both Goody and Window look like locks for best 21 spots as the season starts. They're fully locked into my side.
Maddy Guerin (Carlton, $361,000)
Sadly cruelled by two ACL recoveries in recent years, the experienced Guerin is now a tantalising option for our starting Fantasy teams. With a high-tackling game, and a ceiling of 98, she will be a popular pick for sure. The only flag is her time on ground, which may be low to start the year, as the Blues look to ensure that Guerin can avoid injury. Also on the Blues are two other potential midfield rookie options in draftees Lila Keck (Carlton, $396,000) and Meg Robertson (Carlton, $300,000), both of whom look poised for early-season debuts.
Brooke Boileau (Adelaide, $336,000)
Saying that an Adelaide midfield draftee is a rookie watch is pretty bold, given that the Crows have one of the most dominant and settled midfield rotations. This should tell you a bit about Boileau though, who averaged 105 points, 23 disposals (with 19.8 kicks) and 7.2 tackles in her five SANFLW games in 2024. If Boileau can crack into the 21 of the perennially top-two Adelaide, this 170cm mid could break out fast, given she's already got 35 games of experience at the SANFLW level.
Charli Wicksteed (Richmond, $383,000)
Wicksteed was a mature-age rookie in 2023, who struggled to get good time on ground, but had great points per minute numbers when she did play. She looked good in the Tigers' match simulation, so at her price tag, is a name to watch for the rest of the pre-season, alongside her teammate Charley Ryan (Richmond, $300,000), another mature-age rookie who looks good to break into the ranks of Richmond's best 21.
Also consider: Isabel Bacon (Richmond, $300,000), Amy Gaylor (Essendon, $300,000), Jessica Rentsch (West Coast, $416,000), Kaitlyn Srhoj (Greater Western Syndey, $412,000), Brooke Barwick (Western Bulldogs, $408,0000), Laura Stone (Hawthorn, $300,000), Charlotte Simpson (St Kilda, $300,000), Mikayla Williamson (Hawhtorn, $356,000), Hayley Bullas (Sydney, $339,000)
Liam's midfielders
Like more than 60 per cent of coaches at the moment, I cannot resist picking Ebony Marinoff to lead my midfield this season. I've also gone with a premium-heavy on-field five players, with the incredible opening-season runs of Rowbottom and Madison Prespakis too tempting to pass up. Ella Roberts is my quasi-mid-priced option at M4 because I believe that her Fantasy scoring will be very close to the levels at the back end of last year. To round out the mids, I've got the two Port rookie superstars of Goody and Window, who I see as being such adept scorers that they supplant the need to select a player in the $500k-$800k price range. Rounding out the mids is Maddy Guerin in my utility.
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