L-R: Montana Ham, Jasmine Fleming, Amy Gaylor. Pictures: AFL Photos

WHICH players are going to rocket upwards to start the 2025 AFLW Fantasy season?

So often the most important picks in our Fantasy teams are the young players who take their game to another level.

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Be they a talented youngster or solid role player, it’s the players who become genuine Fantasy superstars that rocket you up the rankings.

In 2024, it was Eliza McNamara, Mim Strom, Madeleine Guerin and Eliza West who all made the leap, and hopefully we can find some more again this year!

Jasmine Fleming (MID, $995,000)

Club: Hawthorn
Drafted: Pick 2 (2022)
2024 avg: 75.8

After a couple of seasons averaging in the 50s, Jas Fleming started to show some of the Fantasy chops that her buckets of talent would suggest she’s capable of. In my mind, the type of performance she had vs Melbourne in W9 last year (100 points, 23 disposals, six marks, three tackles and a goal) is what we should expect to see more and more of as she is given more time to play in the Hawthorn engine room. Big watch on this potential superstar.

Jasmine Fleming celebrates a goal during the round five AFLW match between Hawthorn and Geelong at GMHBA Stadium, on September 26, 2024. Picture: AFL Photos

Amy Gaylor (MID, $688,000)

Club: Essendon
Drafted: Expansion Pre-signing (2023)
2024 avg: 54.3

Amy Gaylor was given the unenviable task of training for an entirely new position (defender) in her first season at AFLW level. She built consistently through the year and rounded out the season with a top 10 finish in Essendon’s B&F, a Rising Star award in Round 6, and finished third for the Telstra AFLW Rising Star. Possessing an elite kick and extremely clean hands, Gaylor has the all-round game to put 20 points on her 2024 avg, particularly if she’s given any centre bounce time (which training reports suggest she is getting).

Amy Gaylor kicks during the round seven AFLW match between Essendon and the Western Bulldogs at Whitten Oval, on October 11, 2024. Picture: Getty Images/AFL Photos

Kaitlyn Srhoj (MID, $733,000)

Club: Greater Western Sydney
Drafted: Pick 3 (2023)
2024 avg: 56.6

Srhoj, the smooth-moving outside mid (which GWS so desperately needs), was building into her rookie year really nicely, with increased disposal counts, Fantasy scores and CBAs, before a PCL injury ruled her out for the final four games of the year. With reports suggesting that she has returned fit and firing, and with some increased midfield responsibilities, I believe that Srhoj has serious AFLW Fantasy scoring potential. If GWS persists with Zarlie Goldsworthy as a forward, there is a spot in the midfield available, and Srhoj has the all-around  disposal/mark/tackle game to become a mainstay very quickly. 

Kaitlyn Srhoj is tackled by Grace Hill during the week six AFLW match between GWS and Melbourne on October 3, 2024. Picture: AFL Photos

Charlotte Mullins (FWD, $717,000)

Club: Brisbane
Drafted: Pick 70 (2022)
2024 avg: 50.6

Unlike a lot of other players on this list, Mullins didn’t arrive with much fanfare in the AFLW, getting drafted at pick 70. She had been predominantly cast as a pressure forward in her first 15-20 games with Brisbane, we got a glimpse at the skills and scoring potential when Mullins was shifted onto the win. The most notable performance was a best on ground effort vs Carlton in Week 6, scoring 104 points with eight marks and a goal, showing that she has all the nous to score in transition. In the final five games, Mullins averaged 70.5 points, and if pre-season reports are to be believed, a half-back role is incoming. She has serious breakout potential.

Charlotte Mullins celebrates a goal during the AFLW R9 match between Brisbane and Sydney at Brighton Homes Arena on October 27, 2024. Picture: Getty Images/AFL Photos

Lucy Cronin (DEF, $598,000)

Club: Collingwood
Drafted: Pick 9 (2023)
2024 avg: 46.2

Hard to imagine a tougher gig than playing key defender as a rookie for the league’s wooden spooners. Cronin took a few games, but she showed that her intercept marking and kicking were more than good enough to compete and translated that into an average of 58ppg after Week 4. With another pre-season under the belt, and after some of the Pies’ main kick-in takers have left the team, Cronin ought to be scoring at or above that 58 mark this season. Given I expect the ball to live in Collingwood’s D50, fingers crossed we can see more of the 80+ scores that Cronin managed twice in 2024.

Lucy Cronin in action during the match between Sydney and Collingwood at North Sydney Oval in round one, 2024. Picture: Getty Images

Sarah Goodwin (DEF, $752,000)

Club: Adelaide
Drafted: Pick 7 (2022)
2024 avg: 55.4

It has been a slow burn so far, but Sarah Goodwin was starting to show something Fantasy-wise in the back end of 2024. After leaving Port Adelaide for the Crows in 2023, last year was the first time we’d seen some ceiling scores from Goodwin, notably an 82 across half-back vs Collingwood in Week 8. There are reports of some midfield time this pre-season and given she has had multiple seasons averaging at or above 80 in the SANFLW (including one before she was drafted), big watch on this highly rated youngster reaching another level in 2025.

Sarah Goodwin in action during the AFLW R8 match between Adelaide and Collingwood at Victoria Park on October 20, 2024. Picture: AFL Photos

Montana Ham (FWD, $680,000)

Club: Sydney
Drafted: Pick 1 (2022)
2024 avg: 52.5

I wrote about a potential Montana Ham breakout last year, and I suspect that she will always be someone who the community expects to reach another level. After another season bogged down by injury, Ham has had an injury-free pre-season. Given the draft capital used to select her, and the moments of brilliance she flashes (albeit inconsistently), Sydney will surely be giving her the best possible chance to become that same game-breaking player that she was at U18 level. With forward status, and with some midfield time most likely in her sights, hopefully Ham will preclude herself from this article next year after having a monster breakout in 2025.

Montana Ham in action during the AFLW R8 match between Sydney and Gold Coast at Henson Park on October 19, 2024. Picture: Getty Images/AFL Photos

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