THERE will be a new experience for AFL Fantasy Draft players next season as the platform undertakes a full rebuild.
Drawing inspiration from some of the world's best Fantasy products, the team at Fantasy HQ have been working hard behind the scenes to deliver a new website and app. The 'from the ground up' rebuild will see everything from the draft day experience to customisable settings that is sure to make your Fantasy season as enjoyable as it can be.
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Feedback from draft players who have shared features of their online and offline draft leagues has guided the rebuild and what can be achieved in coming seasons.
One of the big visual changes will be what you see on draft day. The draft board will allow coaches to follow every pick as the draft unfolds with an interface that includes every pick, draft lists, teams and league chat in a user-friendly setup.
Players familiar with Sleeper, a US-based platform for other sports, will enjoy the aesthetic and functionality that will take draft day to another level.
Multiple pre-draft lists can be created and used across all your draft leagues.
Commissioners have a big job in getting their league organised. They are in charge of not only recruiting members but applying settings. The customisation and flexibility have increased significantly over the last few seasons, but more are set to be added.
- Flex position – Leagues can add a flexible (or utility) position to their team structure which allows coaches to select a player from any position. For example, you may choose to have a number of defenders, midfielders, rucks and forwards but open up extra spots which can be filled with players with any position status.
- Split lockout – Outside of the lockout times of choice for leagues, captains and vice-captains can be locked at separate times. Maybe your league chooses to lock captains at the first game so there is no loopholing?
- Injury replacement – If a player has been drafted but is out long-term, rather than dropping them to free agents, they can be placed in a reserve bench place and a free agent can be selected in their place without another coach grabbing your injured gun.
- Assign commissioners – Leagues can appoint more than one commissioner.
- Pre-draft pick trading/keeper player trading – The ability to change picks between league members and swap players is a key change for keeper leagues for more off-season (and in-season) fun.
Commissioners will be able to control the commencement of drafts and can pause and resume the draft if needed. They will also be able to make further adjustments to picks during the draft. The league boss can adjust trade deadline times and choose how emergencies work.
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In preparation for drafting, mock drafts will be added to familiarise yourself with the platform and practice from your pick position. This is set to evolve from drafting versus the CPU to a draft lobby so you can take on other coaches.
Custom scoring is a much-loved setting commissioners can curate for their league's scoring system. Models are being developed, one aptly named 'Impact', that produce a scoring system preset that sees the top players being those who have greater impact on games than the traditional Fantasy scoring.
With the help of stat-whiz Jaiden Popowski, there will be big improvements to projected scores, head-to-head match-up probability and a league-specific match centre.
A range of further updates to Fantasy Draft will be coming this pre-season including more league history and other settings that will make coaches' experiences unlike what they've seen in AFL Fantasy ever before.
Stay tuned as more features are revealed ahead of the expected launch of Fantasy Draft in February.
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