IT IS Grand Final week for AFLW Fantasy for those finishing top two in their leagues! The ultimate glory for Fantasy coaches is on the doorstep, who will get you across the line?

As we enter the final week of AFLW Fantasy for 2024, the stakes have never been higher. After a grueling season where Fantasy coaches navigated 'double game weeks' for the first time, the battle for our league premierships (or the highest rank) comes down to this final round.

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We now have a final three trades to decide on, with a bevy of unique options that might give Fantasy coaches the edge in Week 10. Listen to the Free Kick podcast this week, it's a bumper episode chock full of potential targets (and potential disasters) that could help you win your Grand Final and bragging rights for months to come.

On behalf of the Free Kick team, we would love to thank everyone who has been involved in AFLW Fantasy in 2024. It has been an incredible season of Fantasy footy, and we cannot believe how high quality the competition has been. Looking forward to chatting with you legends again in 2025!

Listen to the AFLW Fantasy Podcast with Free Kick at Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Top 5 Price Rises

Sarah Lakay (RUC, $598,000): +$154,000
Jo Miler (MID, $447,000): +$147,000
Aisling Moloney (FWD, $1,073,000): +$143,000
Shannon Campbell (DEF, $507,000): +$133,000
Kate Surman (FWD, $632,000): +$133,000

Top 5 Price Falls

Julia Crockett-Grills (MID, $744,000): -$188,000
Amy McDonald (MID, $555,000): -$155,000
Mackenzie Eardley (DEF, $431,000): -$149,000
Kim Rennie (RUC, $716,000): -$132,000
Jess Hosking (DEF, $519,000): -$118,000

Treat

Jenna Richardson (DEF, $823,000)
Richardson is one of the Hawks' most consistent performers, registering at least five marks and 55 Fantasy points in every match since Week 3. With the Hawks facing a strong Richmond side looking to lock down a home elimination final, Richardson will be a crucial cog this weekend and is likely to feature heavily. If you're looking for a cheaper premium defender, Richardson is a unique play that could give you a bump up the ranks.

Georgia Nanscawen (MID, $1,139,000)
She may not have broken 100 since Week 1, but Nanscawen has been threatening a big game lately with a run of 90+ scores and this week she faces the Blues - a team that gives up plenty of points to midfielders. Last year she finished with 106 with a low 74 per cent time on ground. Could she go one better here as the Bombers attempt to cement a place in the 2024 finals?

Cynthia Hamilton (FWD, $825,000)
In recent weeks, we have seen fast key forwards get off the chain against West Coast with Aine McDonagh (100) and Aisling Moloney (115) both capitalising on their speed to get out behind defenders. The Swans boast plenty of speed up front but Cynthia Hamilton seems best placed to rack up the points this weekend, having already shown a pretty decent ceiling in 2024. Hamilton might get the kind of score needed to get over the line in your AFLW Fantasy Grand Final!

Trap

Madison Newman (DEF, $844,000)
Fantasy coaches may be surprised to see Newman this cheap, after a very strong 2024 season that has highlighted her ability to pop with a 100+ score on multiple occasions. However, I wouldn't recommend jumping on board - her recent form is far from inspiring and Geelong has been tough to score against for defenders this year. Look elsewhere for a premium defender option.

Ali Drennan (MID, $981,000)
Drennan's Fantasy scoring this season has been a yo-yo, with low scores of 34 and 43 followed by 134- and 97-point efforts. At her price, there is a huge temptation for coaches without the cash to reach for an uber premium to bring her in and hope for a high score. But the Swans can be quite restrictive and Drennan is overdue for a down score. Avoid!

Aisling Moloney (FWD, $1,073,000)
Moloney has had an incredible season, with little doubt she will be in the discussion for All-Australian honours for 2024. But the Crows are a serious test this Friday, and after a mammoth six-goal game against the Eagles (and a record goalkicking season to boot), Adelaide will be preparing deeply on how to stop her. Moloney has managed well against tough opponents this year, but for the $1m price tag, you may not get the return you are hoping for here.

Trade

Gabby O'Sullivan (FWD, $649,000)
O'Sullivan has been a frustrating own for coaches in the second half of the season – with her midfield role dwindling, and what appear to be a stack of little niggles. If she had been playing against the Bulldogs earlier in the season, I would have more confidence in her scoring, but that confidence is gone. With a last three average below 50, coaches looking to find a leg up may search for an upgrade or sideways trade this week.

Ella Heads (DEF, $830,000)
With a last three average of 68, and all of her last five scores being between 62 and 76, trading out Ella Heads may be a bit of a risk. However, now that her value has rebounded from her low point (a 33 in week 4 vs. GWS), now is the time to capitalise and upgrade to someone capable of a ceiling score. The big red flag this week is a match-up against West Coast, which has not allowed many big scores to defenders this season. In the last month, here has how much the Eagles have limited key defensive distributors like Heads: Tilly Lucas-Rodd scored 30 points below her average, Emma O'Driscoll scored eight below her average, and Rebecca Webster scored 11 below her average.

Georgie Prespakis (MID, $956,000)
Ten per cent of top 1000 coaches still have Georgie Prespakis in their midfields, likely as a holdover from her return to Geelong in their DGW. She's definitely improving from her low points of the season (39 in Week 2 and 46 in Week 6), but this week's fixture is concerning. Geelong faces off on Thursday night against an Adelaide team that desperately need a win to lock in a spot in the top four, and to regain their currently slipping form. That recipe smells like danger for Prespakis, and Geelong more generally, which comes into this bad match-up for mids with an extremely lengthy injury list. Definitely one to trade for those coaches who aren't nursing injuries in other lines.

Ash Riddell (MID, $1,207,000)
Trading out the third-highest averaging player in an easy match-up, surely you must think we are mad?! There is some method to the madness, however, and a topic that got a heap of discussion on this week's Free Kick podcast. Riddell has been managing some type of ankle/foot/toe issue (even if the official injury report doesn't indicate as much), and North's sole concern this week is winning vs the cellar dweller Suns without needing to worry about running up the score. She might not be rested for the entire game, but I will not be surprised if Riddell has low time on ground in the second half if the result is a foregone conclusion. There is also some precedent here; North Melbourne made some last-minute changes in it final round fixture in 2023, which included resting Mia King, as it looked to gear up for the finals. She probably won't have an atrocious score but could seriously struggle to get over 100.

Top Rookies

In a change up for the final week of the season, we are giving you two sets of top rookies. The first is the top options below $400k to trade in this week if you're looking for coverage if one of your on-field players is a late out (particularly important with our Defender injury issues). The second list is the top rookie targets for those looking to trade for someone who is guaranteed not to player, to allow coaches to use the Vice-Captaincy loophole with a Friday night player while also maximising the cash made from any downgrade.

Coverage rookies

Kelli Gibson (FWD, $369,000)
Amber Clarke (FWD, $377,000)
Kaylee Kimber (DEF, $369,000)
Emily Gough (MID, $346,000)
Fleur Davies (RUC, $309,000)

Loophole Rookies

Beth Pinchin (DEF, $300,000)
Lauren Young (MID, $300,000)
Jorja Borg (RUC, $306,000)
Shelby Knoll (FWD, $300,000) 

Captains' Corner

The captain strategy this week is going to be a bit different than previous weeks of the season. Marinoff is yet again the top candidate, and plays in the first game of the week. If coaches are able to, using the VC loophole (placing the VC on Marinoff, and putting the C on an on-field player who is not playing) is the play. The change in this week's strategy comes in thinking about kind of score Marinoff scores to consider putting the C on another player. If coaches are chasing league wins where they are looking like losing, or where they need a last-ditch effort to make their target rank, then only a score over 130 will be high enough to consider not captaining Noffy.  

No.1: Ebony Marinoff* (vs. Geelong)
No.2: Ally Anderson (vs. St Kilda)
No.3: Aisling McCarthy (vs. Western Bulldogs)
No.4: Mim Strom (vs. Western Bulldogs)
No.5: Alyce Parker* (vs. Port Adelaide)

Other options to consider: Jasmine Garner (vs. Gold Coast), Anne Hatchard (vs. St Kilda), Georgia Nanscawen (vs. Carlton), Matilda Scholz (vs. GWS), Madison Prespakis (vs. Carlton)

* Able to used as a VC

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