With salary caps set at $10 million and $13 million across the SuperCoach and AFL Fantasy platforms respectively, filling every position with a premium player is simply not possible.
In order to field a team that both keeps you under the cap and allows you to be competitive, selecting a smattering of rookies is essential.
Obviously, these young names won't make up the bulk of your weekly totals, but should you select the right ones early, your bottom line and your win/loss column will look healthy.
Although we don't know whether any of these names will break through the banner in round one just yet, their pre-season track work has piqued our interest.
These are each club's rated rookies that look primed for early debuts.
Collingwood
Finlay Macrae (MID/FWD)
SuperCoach price - $126,900
AFL Fantasy price - $234,000
With pundits viewing him as a better player at his age than his statistically dominant brother Jack, Finlay Macrae should already be on your shopping list.
He's impressing on the track and he has KFC #SuperCoach in his blood, will Finlay Macrae be in your team?
๐ MORE THAN 60 CHEAPIES RATED: https://t.co/uFr2ks5Da0 @danbatten_ pic.twitter.com/bHCDTmkGWH
— SuperCoach AFL (@Supercoach) February 8, 2021
Like the majority of draftees, Macrae missed out on playing competitive football last season, however in his seven NAB League appearances in 2019, the dual position player averaged a solid 69 fantasy points and 61 on Supercoach.
With his ability to play anywhere on the ground, it is this flexibility that could see Macrae utilized by Nathan Buckley in the early stages of 2021.
Oliver Henry (FWD)
SuperCoach price - $135,300
AFL Fantasy price - $238,000
We now shift our gaze to another of Collingwood's prized recruits and another player with a sibling elsewhere in the league, Oliver Henry.
Across his 15 NAB League games, primarily spent within the forward fifty, Henry averaged a handy 51.6 fantasy points.
Although listed solely as a forward, scouting reports suggest that the younger brother of Geelong's Jack Henry has the ability to play at either end of the ground.
Henry piqued the public's interest last week with his pair of goals in the Magpie's intra club hit out, and with Collingwood operating with an unorthodox front six, the pick 17 could find himself in the forward fifty come round one.
Collingwood:
Oliver Henry, pick 17 in last yearโs draft, impressed on Friday night, enhancing his claims of making a Round 1 debut against Western Bulldogs at the MCG on March 19.
He kicked two goals on Friday, and impressed with his composure.#RookieWatch #SuperCoach
— SuperCoach IQ (@SuperCoachIQ) February 20, 2021