Wired for Success - Picks for Round 8
With now a third of the AFL Fantasy season behind us, every waiver move matters more than ever. The competition is heating up, and finding those low-ownership gems could be the key to gaining an edge in your league. Whether you’re dealing with injuries, chasing form, or simply looking to strengthen your depth, the waiver wire is still packed with value—if you know where to look.
This week, we’re once again shining a spotlight on players who are owned in less than 30% of AFL Fantasy Draft leagues but have shown promising signs heading into Round 8. These are the under-the-radar options who could provide serious upside, especially with bye rounds and rotations starting to shake things up.
No matter what position you’re targeting—defenders, midfielders, forwards or even rucks—we’ve got a list of potential pickups that could slot straight into your squad and make an impact. It’s not always the big names that win leagues, but the savvy pickups at just the right time. So let’s get into the best Round 8 waiver wire targets that could give you that all-important edge.
Top Waiver Wire Picks by Position
Defenders
Windsor (81) - Still playing off half back and benefitted from the 110+ marks that Melbourne achieved for the second week in a row. One for the future but not for our draft teams this year.
Banks (75) - Second game of 70+ in a row and this one included a 41 point last quarter during Richmond’s late game dominance. Feel he needs an injury to a Short or Vlaustin to be really relevant so just on the watchlist for now.
Trainor (73) - 6 intercept possessions tonight for Trainor as he returned to full game time. Looks great for such a young defender and is putting up more reliable 70+ scores than many others in deep leagues. A real option for those looking for some reliability out of their defender scores. To put it in perspective, he’s gone over 70 more times than Dan Rioli, Kane Farrell, Mason Redman, Joel Freijah and many other defender options.
McDonald (60) - Was the only defender to miss out on scoring for Melbourne tonight so if we can’t trust him in these games, we’ll never be able to trust him. Off the watchlist despite having two good games before this one as he should return to regular programming from here.
Howe (85) - Nothing to see here, just a typical Howe performance that we know he can do a few times a year. This game didn’t have Moore playing but traditionally even without Moore in the side he hasn’t seen any major bump in his average.
Byrnes (74) - A quiet last quarter let down an otherwise great game for Byrnes. Very similar vibe to Trainor where he’s providing a somewhat reliable 70 score for our defences.
Buckley (100) - Very similar to Jeremy Howe we know he’s capable of these better scores a few times a year. Was relishing having no Darcy to worry about and he took 11 marks to show that. Not for us.
Johannisen (67) - Not as good as a score tonight but it was a tough matchup. The role was there again off half back which is all you need to see at this point. Still a great option in defence.
Florent (36) - We put on the radar last week that Florent historically struggles at the SCG and needs the wider grounds to score well. If he scores like this even on other grounds, we’re in a bit of a trouble for him as an option.
O Hollands (104) - Much more ball in the back half today which was seen by the scoring of all Carlton defenders including Hollands. The 7 tackles were the most impressive thing about this performance and as said last week will always be an option for those in deep league due to his defence status.
Haynes (92) - Played really well today but has been doing that sporadically throughout the season. Has three scores of ~90 points which is better than most waiver options but can’t be trusted on the field. Is a loop option only.
Saad (83) - Back after having one down week and is still a great option for defence given, he now has three scores over 80. Safer than Haynes.
M McGovern (78) - Still has a three-round average of 90 so will be on a lot of coaches’ radars but with games against Adelaide, Sydney and giants in three of the next four he’s the option we’re least excited back there in Carlton’s defence.
Battle (107) – Feasted on the smaller forward line today and produced his best score for the club. Was back on kick in duties after missing out last week but we have enough of a sample size of his role at Hawthorn to know this is an anomaly.
J McGovern (61) – Just had too much to worry about to find time to play his intercepting best today with the absolute avalanche of Hawthorn ball coming in. Still managed to get through the game uninjured and has much more upside than other options at the moment. Has Melbourne, Richmond and St Kilda in his next three so is still a terrific option.
Midfielders
Sparrow (111) - The high half forward role against Richmond is proving very fruitful this year. Both Sparrow and Chandler made the most of the opportunity. Has Eagles next week but as this was his first score over 70 since round 2, we can’t be rushing to grab Sparrow.
Dow (99) - Has been on the waiver wire target list due to his large chunk of CBAs for a few weeks now and even with McIntosh getting his fair share again he managed to sustain a healthy 9 CBAs. Remains a big watch for us as his TOG was sitting around low 70s but tonight it went over 80%. Still worth grabbing in deeper leagues.
Lindsay (98) - It was a weaker opponent sure, but we’ve seen from Lindsay that he can definitely accumulate from very early into his career. Was predominately set up on the wing tonight which is a great position to be against Richmond. If he goes 80+ next week he’s officially recovered from his injury and needs to be grabbed. Are you game to go a week early?
Langford (74) - Made a lot of errors by foot but made up for it in attack on the footy. TOG is now up to around 80% and has three scores of 70+ out of five full games. Still like him as a potential option so keep him on your watchlist.
Ned Long (95) - PSA that Long is still drafted in under 30% of leagues. This needs to be rectified as the role, team and upside are all too large for the community to ignore. Sidey and Pendles will need rests at some point and there’s no sign of Tom Mitchell yet at training.
Pendlebury (102) - PSA that Scott Pendlebury is still drafted in under 30% of leagues. It was an Anzac Day game so we shouldn’t be surprised he had more than 30 touches, but his form and role are too hard to keep ignoring in the short term. We still say Long over Pendles if you have to pick one.
Johnson (94) - There was nothing new to Johnson’s role this week, but we know he is a good footballer that’s still developing consistency in his game. You’ll expect to see scores like this here and there but until the CBA count rises, we aren’t expecting anything like this week to week. Reminder that Johnson had a three week average of 52 before this game.
Sharp (19) - Just as he starts to play himself in to form, he goes and does this. 5 touches from 92% game time. Anyone capable of that should not be on the watchlist so cross him off.
Windhager (90) - Like last week he started the game tagging and then moved to halfback as Nasiah got more time in the centre. Still had 12 CBAs but the hybrid role is working well for him. Remains as one of the better options that’s under 30% owned. Even though we know he has 50s and 60s in him.
McInerney (99) - Plenty to like here as McInerney got his turn in the CBA rotation today and collected 29 touches from the hybrid CBA and wing role. If he maintains this, he’s a great option as we know he can score based on his 80 average last year. Worth a punt for those in need of a midfielder.
Ward (91) – Ward has so much potential but just struggles to pull it all together on a consistent basis. He has scores of 88 and 101 to go with this score but he also has scores of 44 and 50. However, with the Tigers and Melbourne coming up you could do far worst if you’re in need of a streaming option.
Mackenzie (90) – 19 CBAs today. Very similar story to Ward where the role and team are great, but he just can’t do it on a consistent basis. If you had to pick one, we’d still go with Ward as there is more upside with the current role and potentially getting more look ins at CBAs.
Hustwaite (74) – Took a fair shar of the CBAs left vacant by Nash and looked very impressive in his first game this year by eye. Has 24 touches but unfortunately it didn’t translate to a big fantasy score. We have Ward and Mackenzie ahead of him despite his recent VFL Form.
Hutchinson (81) – Has been threatening to produce a good score with his full time CBA Role and today was the best we’ve seen yet. Still plays in a very bad side so his potential is always limited. Will also tire shortly due to his young legs being exposed to so much CBA action.
Rucks
Goldstein (79) - This is the upper limit of what we can expect out of Goldy until Essendon find themselves a top up player in the mid-season draft. Only for those in desperate need. His next three opponents are Xerri, Grundy and English.
Forwards
Chandler (92) - As said with Sparrow, great matchup for his position and he took full advantage with two goals. Has only scored well against North and Richmond this year which is saying something about his reliability. Still a pass from us.
Elliot (110) - Since Schultz has gone out of the side, he’s gone 71 (subbed off), 75 and now 110. Going too hard to keep scoring as well with Schultz back in the side (he’s expected back next week). On our watchlist to see if he goes back to that 58 average, he had with Schultz playing.
Caddy (77) - 2 goals 2 in the second half was where bulk of his scoring was done. Looked like he was playing well beyond his years as he had some critical moment during Essendon’s fight back. This is his first score over 70 this year so we aren’t expecting anything to change on the back of one good game.
Hipwood (84) - Not the easiest matchup for him today and managed to kick four goals two behinds. Not taking many contested marks so his scoring still has too much of a floor for us to like him as an option.
Garcia (20) - Ross Lyon confirmed in the press conference that it was a tactical sub (in his roundabout way). Likely more to it as Garcia got sprayed up before quarter time and was off for 15 minutes before being subbed as well. If you’ve got him, we’d start making alternative plans especially with Phillipou coming back.
Powell Pepper (93) - After seeing Carlton’s small forwards have a field day against North, everything was set up for Powell Pepper to have a great game too. He delivered in spades and kicked one goal from his 17 disposals. Has a 6 round average of ~80 points so he’s one of the better forward options available on waivers, even if we saw the ceiling of what he can do this week.
Georgiades (94) - When Corr and Logue were dropped everything was set up for Georgiades to also have a great game and the focal point of the Port attack also delivered in spades. Has two good matchups two hard matchups before the bye but with a season average of 75 he should be way more waivered than he currently is.
Riccardi (101) - Played his best game for the year against a clearly undersized defence. Interestingly had a lot more CBA action this week with 41% of CBAs compared to his previous year best of 23%. This alone is why he is on our watchlist but not recommending picking him up just yet. Has a tough run for forwards coming up in the next four weeks.
Harmes (90) - Harmes is now averaging 94 over his last three games. He won’t kick 4 goals every week, especially considering how opportunistic some of them were, but he will continue to play the high half forward role that comes up at stoppages. This has been fruitful for Moore and Miers in good sides and the dogs are up and about at the moment. One of the better waiver options available in deep leagues at the moment based on form alone. Just be mindful that he did have three games last year where he scored under 50 in a similar role, so he is prone to the odd stinker. Ideally you can play him as the backup option for those with rolling lockout.
Naughton (64) - Actually did well to get to 64 considering the opponent and considering he was on -1 at quarter time. Has Port Adelaide, Gold Coast, Geelong and Essendon before their bye so becomes a loop option while he leads the attack but will be tough to trust on field against some of those opponents.
Humphrey (99) - Back to his high impact scoring game with four goals in a great performance. Still only had 8 CBAs so just made the most of his opportunities today but will still the fluctuations in his scoring moving forward. Not for the faint hearted.
Cleary (82) - Cleary is a very good footballer, there is no denying that early on into his career. We can’t rely on him yet but that’s two scores over 80 out of three full games. It’s the floor score of 33 in between that has us worried for him as an option, especially in games at the SCG where that half forward role can get bypassed by the size of the ground.
Ben Long (52) - We know he had this in his wheelhouse, but it was his first score under 60 for the year. Has a tough matchup next week in Brisbane but as pointed out on First Crack, he came into the game as the No.1 ranked forward according to champion data, so we’d expect him to rebound. If not next week than perhaps in the following weeks against Bulldogs, Hawks and St Kilda.
E Hollands (98) - This will be the last week he fits the criteria of ownership for this article. Looked so much better today than last week and was getting possessions all over the ground and kicked a terrific snap goal. Didn’t need to be subbed this week. When fit last year he scored over 80 in seven of the last ten games playing a similar role.
Chol (114) – Two easy opponents and two great games in a row for Chol. Still has Richmond and Melbourne to come so should see a bump in his scoring in the short term. We can’t expect much from Chol though as he has never averaged more than 60 throughout a season. One for the brave to stream over the next couple of weeks if they need a hail mary.
Positional Rankings at a Glance
To help you prioritise your pickups, here’s a quick ranking of the top options by position.
Defenders
Please note all players are not in Bold which means they are only worth a waiver in deep leagues or leagues where the waiver wire order resets at the conclusion of each round regardless.
Jason Johannisen
Jeremy McGovern
Ollie Hollands
Adam Saad
Ryan Byrnes
Watchlist: Mitch McGovern, Luke Trainor, Caleb Windsor, Oliver Florent
Midfielders
Please note players in Bold are worth a waiver wire even in shallow leagues for AFL Fantasy Draft.
All players not in Bold are only worth a waiver in deep leagues or leagues where the waiver wire order resets at the conclusion of each round.
Ned Long
Scott Pendlebury
Justin McInerney
Marcus Windhager
Oliver Dempsey
Watchlist: Thomson Dow, Xavier Lindsay, Harvey Langford, Matt Johnson, Jack Bowes
Rucks
Please note all players are not in Bold which means they are only worth a waiver in deep leagues or leagues where the waiver wire order resets at the conclusion of each round regardless.
Todd Goldstein
Rhys Stanley
Forwards
Please note players in Bold are worth a waiver wire even in shallow leagues for AFL Fantasy Draft.
All players not in Bold are only worth a waiver in deep leagues or leagues where the waiver wire order resets at the conclusion of each round.
Elijah Hollands
James Harmes
Mitch Georgiades
Ben Long
Taylor Walker
Watchlist: Aaron Naughton, Sam Powell Pepper, Nailey Humphrey, Ben Ainsworth, Cooper Lord, Hugo Garcia
Get Ahead of the Game
Use this guide to make the right waiver moves and maximise your AFL Fantasy Draft team's scoring potential heading into Round 8.
Securing those high-upside pickups at this point in the season can make all the difference. Whether you're looking to strengthen your squad for the bye rounds or chasing that next breakout star, timely waiver wire decisions are crucial to staying competitive. Players like Elijah Hollands could be the key to setting your team apart as the season heats up.
For more weekly insights, top picks, and under-the-radar gems, subscribe to our newsletter and stay ahead of the game in AFL Fantasy. Don’t miss out—your next game-changing move is just a click away!