HAVE you ever wanted to be an AFL coach? Here's your chance!

Fantasy coaches manage a squad throughout the home and away rounds of the Toyota AFL Premiership Season with their team success based on players' actual on-field performances.

Your Fantasy team will accumulate points from Champion Data's official statistics of games each round as you go head-to-head with your mates and people all over the world.

AFL iD

When registering for AFL Fantasy, you'll be prompted to create a free AFL iD account. AFL iD will become your single login to access a range of AFL digital products and services, with additional features and benefits available in the near future. The sign-up process is fast and easy.

To play Fantasy in 2023, you will be required to create an AFL iD, verify via email and mobile (optional). You will then be able to link up with your 2022 Fantasy account. 

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Over time, unique features, benefits and promotions will be accessible through your AFL iD. AFL iD is also going to be rolled out across a range of future digital products such as AFL.com.au and Tipping.

More info is available on afl.com.au/aflid.

AFL Fantasy is initially available on web and mobile web only, with the apps to become available later in January.

For every kick your player has, they'll get three points. In 2022, Jack Sinclair had the highest average for kicks with 19.5 per game. A tackle gains you four points, helping make Rory Laird (8.1 per game) one of the competition's best Fantasy players. Rucks keep their score ticking over with one point for each hitout, with Jarrod Witts (37.9 per game) leading that stat in 2022. Brodie Grundy has joined Max Gawn at Melbourne, giving coaches plenty to ponder on that line in 2023.

Finding players whose game gets stats from the key scoring categories is the key to Fantasy success.

You can follow the fortunes of your team live through the AFL Fantasy website and app as games are playing out in real time. The Match Centre on AFL.com.au and the AFL Live Official App provide up-to-date AFL Fantasy stats as games progress.

It’s a fun way to add to your enjoyment of watching the greatest game on Earth.

Fantasy Classic

The most popular game is AFL Fantasy Classic. You are given a budget of $15,500,000 to select a squad of 30 players. Last year's No.1 Fantasy player, Laird, will set you back $1,066,000 due to his 120.4 average. The cheapest players are draftees and many who are yet to play a game start at $200,000.

Your squad is made up of 22 on-field players who will score points each week. A bench of eight players, of which four are emergencies, can be used if one of your on-field players are out.

The 30 players are made up of eight defenders, 10 midfielders, three rucks, eight forwards and one bench utility who can be chosen from any position.

To fit a team in under the salary cap, you’ll need a mix of some of the cheaper players, discounted gems and premiums to make sure you're getting bang for your buck.

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What makes playing AFL Fantasy fun is playing in a league against your mates. You can set up a head-to-head league featuring between four and 20 of your friends or be involved in an open league with unlimited entrants, perfect for large workplaces.

The Gill McLachlan of your group is referred to as the commissioner. They can set your league up, send out invites and let the banter begin.

Listen to the AFL Fantasy Podcast with The Traders at Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts.

Fantasy Draft

There are a number of reasons that many leagues are opting to make AFL Fantasy Draft their game of choice among their mates.

In Fantasy Draft, you play against your league mates by holding a draft prior to the season commencing to select your squads. Each coach will take it in turns to make a pick. As soon as a player has been selected, no one else can pick them up. Every team is unique.

So if you're keen on owning Sam Docherty, the top-scoring defender in 2022, you'll need to get him before your league mates. But once you've got him, he's yours to keep! That is unless someone wants to facilitate a trade for him…

Draft day is one of the best days on the calendar. Get a crew together and lock in a date to hold your draft. You can host your draft from mid-February.

A significant amount of customisation is available for commissioners to choose from when setting up their league. Advanced scoring is a popular feature where you can change the value of points from the traditional scoring system and include other statistics such as spoils, goal assists, contested disposals, effectiveness of disposals, clangers and a whole heap more.

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Once your league is set up and you've joined, you can go ahead and compile your rankings in preparation for Draft Day.

Another feature added in 2021 was Keeper Leagues.

In a keeper league, coaches can keep players from year-to-year and manage their squad like a list manager. Commissioners can set the number of players you intend to keep ahead of the draft. They will be unavailable to select on draft day.

After your league is regenerated by the commissioner, you'll need to nominate your keepers ahead of draft day later in the pre-season.

Commissioners can regenerate their leagues from last year by clicking on Leagues > Create a League

Get expert advice from The Traders during the pre-season in the Fantasy Hub. Follow AFL Fantasy on Twitter and 'like' the Facebook page to join in the conversation.