FANTASY How an AFL Clubs auction works
Own a real AFL club for the season: how the play-money auction runs, what to bid and how to win it.
In an AFL Clubs auction league, you don't draft players one at a time - you buy a whole AFL club. Win the auction for Geelong and you get Geelong's real playing list, rename the club, pick your colours and run it like the real thing. Up to 18 mates, one club each.
Everything in the auction is play money. Nobody bids real dollars and nothing is paid out - your budget is pretend millions that only matter inside your league.
1. How the auction runs
Every team starts with the same budget - $100m unless your commissioner changes it. Teams take turns putting a club up for auction. Everyone can bid, each bid adds at least the minimum raise, and every new bid resets the clock (30 seconds by default). When the clock runs out, the highest bid wins the club.
The auction keeps going until every team owns a club. You can't bid more than you have left, so keep an eye on your budget as the big clubs go.
2. Auto-bid while you're away
Can't sit at your phone for the whole night? Set an auto-bid on the club you want - the most you're willing to pay. Fantasy Zone bids for you, a small step at a time, only as high as it needs to and never above your limit. Your rivals only see the bids, not your limit.
Turn on notifications and your phone tells you when the auction starts, when it's your turn to put a club up, when you've been outbid and when you've won.
3. What you actually win
You get the club's real playing list, and it stays in sync with the real club until Round 1 - the AFL Draft, trades and delistings all flow through. Draft a teenage gun in November and he's yours. Once the season starts, the list is yours to manage.
4. Leftover money is your trade budget
Whatever you don't spend in the auction becomes your trade budget. Trades can include cash, so a team that saved money can buy a star off a rival later. Spending everything on the best club isn't always the smartest move.
5. How to bid well
- Know the lists, not the ladder. Last year's premier might have an ageing list; a young club full of rising midfielders can score more fantasy points for years.
- Don't panic early. The first clubs up often go for silly money. There are 18 clubs - the bargains usually come in the middle.
- Set an auto-bid limit and stick to it. It stops you getting caught up in a bidding war at 11pm.
- Think about cash. $15m left over can win you a big trade in July.
6. Then the season
From Round 1 it plays like any Fantasy Zone AFL league: pick your team each round, captain scores double, vice-captain covers, bench players cover anyone who doesn't play, and live scores update every 30 seconds.
Set your league up now and run the auction over summer - choose 🏉 AFL when you create a league, then AFL Clubs auction.