Wired for Success - Round 1
Welcome to the start of the AFL Fantasy Draft season! Round 1 is the perfect time to fine-tune your lineup, and hitting the waiver wire early can give you a major competitive edge. Whether you’re looking for defenders, midfielders, rucks, or forwards, this guide brings you top picks being discussed in each position and ranks them to help you make the smartest decisions for your team.
Get ready to uncover hidden value, snag Restricted Free Agents (RFAs), and dominate your AFL Fantasy Draft league starting in Round 1!
Why the Waiver Wire Matters in AFL Fantasy Draft
The waiver wire is a treasure trove of opportunities, especially in the first few rounds. Star players sometimes go undrafted or get overlooked. Others excel in roles you didn’t predict during preseason. Staying on top of the best waiver wire picks can help you:
Replace injured players
Add depth to your lineup
Identify breakout candidates early
Gain a strategic advantage over your competitors
Here are our top recommendations for each position going into Round 1.
Top Waiver Wire Picks by Position
Defenders
Strong defenders can anchor your AFL Fantasy Draft team, and Round 1 showcased some exciting options. Here are the standout names:
Sam De Koning: The No. 1 defensive waiver pick this week. He has a high ceiling and dominated his Round 1 matchup. Even if he doesn't face Reid each week, his scoring potential as a defender is gold.
Lachie Cowan: Promising half-back option who showed great composure. Perfect for deeper leagues.
Josh Worrell: Backed up his preseason form with an impressive showing in Round 1. St Kilda traditionally are easier to score against so we have to be mindful of that. Wait to see how he goes against a tougher opponent like Essendon this week.
Callum Wilkie: A streamable option when Saints take on forward lines without too many big key forwards. Can use him from the bench when needed.
Corey Wagner: Picked up 24 touches and displayed strong offensive involvement. Interesting depth option in deeper leagues.
Tom Cole: Benefiting from Duggan’s injury, he could see increased opportunities in defense. In the past he has not scored well when Eagles were depleted down back but the ball will be down there even more to start the year.
Darcy Wilmot: Promising score from 25 touches with Zorko also back there. Coleman won’t be relevant until towards mid season so Wilmot is a nice backline option to get you through to then as a minimum.
Nick Vlaustin: Reliable as always and looked to get involved from kick outs.
Jack Henry/Zach Guthrie/Lawson Humphries: Throw a blanket over them, game situation helped but they all have St Kilda next and they should be an easy matchup too. Order of preference within the waiver targets would be opposite to what they scored in round 0 (Humphries, Guthrie and then Henry) as Humphries is found scoring further up the ground too.
Joel Freijah: Even got CBAs! Took awhile to get moving but the fact he has big halves in him is a very good place to start.
Midfielders
Scoring midfielders are the backbone of any successful AFL Fantasy team. Here are this week’s midfielder options:
Xavier Duursma: Consistent performance with a history of strong fantasy scores. He’s a great addition for midfield depth.
Josh Ward: Talked up during preseason and didn’t disappoint in Round 1 after not being in the team in Opening Round. He’s a solid option in deep leagues, although fellow Hawk Mackenzie took most of the CBAs leaving Ward out on the wing.
Levi Ashcroft: An impressive debut without CBAs. Once Brisbane eases into weaker opponents, expect his role to expand. Must-have in deeper leagues.
Steele Sidebottom: Sidey at the end of last year got a CBA role and scored well (86, 93 and 110) in round 0 he had 16% and round 1 he had 65% and scored 110. Since they won he should atleast get another go so one to stash as a loop option in to your midfield
Tom Sparrow: First sparked our interest when he laid three big tackles in the first quarter of the preseason match against Freo and now has backed up that pressure in the first home and away game. Good chance for DPP too.
Jack Ross : Only 3 CBAs but 57 point 3rd term got him to a good score. Being in a team like Richmond its tough to trust a player like this week to week, there are better options available in the midfield.
Thomas Dow: Similar to Ross he did it without CBAs but it can be put down to the gigantic effort by Richmond in the second half.
Jarrod Berry – His heat map had him in defence but for most CBAs he was actually lined up on a wing.
Sam Lalor: Wow he looked good on the big stage. So with that he cant be ignored, especially considering he only had 2 CBAs which will increase over the season and by then he’ll have forward status. A must grab in deeper leagues.
Mitch Knevitt: Role is there, not traditionally a high scoring position for Geelong (think Atkins last year/start of this year) but Knevitt was a high scorer in VFL and was involved way more in transition. We like him as an option even in shallower leagues.
Jaeger O’Meara: Will suffer upon Young’s return and against tougher midfield units than Geelong. However easy run coming up and young isn’t expected back until round 4 so don’t waste a waiver pick on him.
Nathan O’Driscoll: Just behind Serong in CBAs, very interesting as Johnson and O’Meara should suffer the most from Young’s return. We wouldn’t waste a waiver wire pick on him but can pick up as a Free Agent.
Oliver Dempsey: Keeper format has given him forward status so worth keeping an eye on incase he gets it in Classic too. Solid score to start.
Stephen Coniglio: DPP incoming and With Daniel going down had to be relied upon even more as a forward. There’s still a path to return to the CBAs which is all you need to see right now for him to be a good stash for your bench. A fully fit cogs in your forward line come finals is a p oint of difference especially if you are running thin in that area at the moment.
Ned Long: Is the handover from Pendles 65% CBA role from last year starting to happen to the younger brigade? Macrae didn’t work, Allan hasn’t worked yet, maybe the answer was there all aLong (pardon the pun). He did average 102 from 7 VFL games last year. De Goey still waiting in the wings to come back and he should steal CBAs from Long and Sidey but until then he’'s a streaming option.
Ed Langdon: Didn’t get the CBAs we were promised and still scored 80. One to watch if those CBAs go up but Melbourne were pretty good without him in there.
Xavier Lindsay: Averaged 88 in the Coates league but need to see more before we can trust him even on our benches.
Rucks
Quality rucks are often hard to find on the waiver wire, but a couple of Round 1 performances stood out:
Sam Draper: Potential dual-position (DPP) status makes him a versatile pick. He held his own against strong opposition in Round 1 and offers solid scoring potential.
Nick Bryan: Received 64% CBAs and scored 81 in Round 1. If you’re in a two-ruck league or need depth, grab him immediately.
Forwards
Forward talent can vary week to week, but these waiver wire options emerged after Round 1:
Jeremy Finlayson: Role is real, great option that will be dual position in round 6. Is a confidence player and confidence will be sky high at the moment. Must be picked up from your waiver.
Jack Silvagni: Very interesting selection who really got going after quarter time. We were excited to see how he scored as a defender which was not too bad, but then he was swung forward late and tried to lift the Blues over the line.
Aaron Naughton: Thrived without Ugle-Hagan. Averages 83 over the last eight games without him there now and really relished the forward freedom. A good option.
Darcy Wilson: A running-and-gunning forward with impressive endurance. Looked excellent in Round 1 and should start strong early in the season.
Riley Thilthorpe: A streaming option against weak defensive teams. Watch his matchups carefully before playing.
Cameron Zurhaar: Could’ve been even better if he kicked straight, he’s entered the official streaming option category, consistency has always been his probleml and has too much of a floor to be a serious option.
McStay/Membrey: All this taught us was forwards against Port may be a good play this year while they defender stocks are down. These two are going to be too inconsistent for your forward lines.
Josh Rachele: Backed up preseason form but still doesn’t look great by foot, can’t trust he’ll get a CBA bump at all this year so expect inconsistent scoring
Darcy Fogarty: Won’t verse the Saints every week and needed four goals to get to 80. Still a pass.
Max Hall: Too hard with Owens coming back, don’t waste a waiver wire pick up on him but if you’re desperate up forward a good option off the free agent list. Got called out by Ross Lyon in the presser which is always good news.
Ben King: Result of weaker opposition, biggest learning out of this was key forward against West Coast, especially while they try work out the game plan under mcqualter. Georgiades in round 2 and Freo Twin Towers of Treacy and Amiss in round 3.
Positional Rankings at a Glance
To help you prioritise your pickups, here’s a quick ranking of the top options by position:
Defenders
Sam De Koning
Joel Freijah
Nick Vlaustin
Darcy Wilmot
Lawson Humphries
Midfielders
Jarrod Berry
Tom Sparrow
Mitch Knevitt
Xavier Duursma
Stephen Coniglio
Rucks
Sam Draper
Nick Bryan
Forwards
Darcy Wilson
Jeremy Finlayson
Jack Silvagni
Aaron Naughton
Josh Rachele
Use this guide to make waiver moves that will maximise your AFL Fantasy Draft team's scoring potential heading into Round 2.
Get Ahead of the Game
Making smart waiver wire decisions early in the season is key to staying competitive in AFL Fantasy Draft leagues. By incorporating high-upside pickups like Sam De Koning or Darcy Wilson, you can gain an immediate edge over your opponents and set the tone for the rest of the season.
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