THIS unprecedented season has thrown a few curveballs and the condensed fixture will see some adjustments to AFL Fantasy.

Rounds 10 and 11 will feature bye rounds, with more possibly to be announced. A series of modifications to help Fantasy coaches cater for these changes will be implemented in order to help field Classic and Draft teams.

Fantasy Classic

• Three (3) trades will be available, to use or lose, for every round for the remainder of the season.
• 2020 averages will be awarded to players on a bye and will be applied to those selected in their team’s 22 in the previous round.
• Once we have confirmation on timing of team announcements, a rolling lockout will be explored for rounds 9-12 (and may be continued when further fixtures are released). 

Fantasy Draft

• 2020 averages will be awarded to players on a bye and will be applied to those selected in their team’s 22 in the previous round.
• Once we have confirmation on timing of team announcements, a rolling lockout will be explored for rounds 9-12 (and may be continued when further fixtures are released).
• Leagues will have the timing of restricted free agents (RFAs) adjusted to ensure it occurs in the smaller window between rounds.

From Fantasy HQ

Whist we appreciate that using average player scores for teams with a bye as an imperfect solution, we believe it’s the best solution for the current climate. It has been a very trying season for all involved and we are working hard to continue to be flexible and adaptable as we learn more information by the day. We certainly appreciate the support we’ve received from the fans during this time because we know how tricky these circumstances are for you as well. At the end of the day, our goal is to continue to allow you to play the game that you love and enjoy watching games of footy with a little bit of additional substance in it! There has been a lot of work and thought going into this decision. This is the crux of why we have opted to allow average scores for players in teams that have a bye (please note that you will only get scores from the 22 players who were selected in the previous week). 

• We needed to find a solution that would suit both Classic and Draft. Going with a top 18 approach wouldn’t have helped Draft users and whilst we love that most Draft league do a great job at policing themselves and their movements, we wanted to allow the possibility for them to still have scoring players. Whilst there is a setting in Draft leagues to not play during the bye rounds, this was selected under the assumption that 6 teams would be missing each week for 3 weeks only. In our current situation, sometimes only 2 teams will be having a bye within a given round and we also don’t know what the fixture looks like beyond Round 12. With all this uncertainty we don’t want Draft leagues to be forgoing in more rounds and limit their chance to get a result this season.
• We set the precedent of using average scores in Round 3 when the Essendon and Melbourne match was postponed (and has since been labelled as a bye). Whilst the circumstances are different now, we still wanted to keep some consistency in our approach and reward users who had built a team under the provisions that they weren’t going to be losing their best players for any given week.
• We understand there is an argument around Fantasy sports being around actual performance and recognise that this is half the fun of playing. We also recognise that Fantasy sports and AFL Fantasy is around strategy and tactically building a side that is going to help you win at the end of the season. With fixture norms changing, and therefore the goalposts moving, those strategies and tactics can prove redundant. We want to continue to reward people who have been building a team under particular circumstances and not disadvantage them because those circumstances have changed.
• Whilst this option does open up the ability to manipulate scores, this is still going to be a calculated risk; and a risk that all users have access to on an even playing field. If you elect to bring in a certain player because you know you can lock in a certain score then you obviously still have to use on of your trades to do so and you will continue to have that player the following week. Whether that is the right or wrong move, time will tell, and this is a risk that we take every week when making our trades!

Again, we appreciate that this is an imperfect solution but feel it is the best one for AFL Fantasy under the current climate. We know that you’ll still be able to ride the rollercoaster that is season 2020 and cheer on your Fantasy players each week and at the end of the day, that is what is most important.