How to go 23-0 in the AFL draft game
Short answer: take the best fit for an open slot at every spin, not the biggest name. Fill the ruck with a real ruck. Keep UTIL for last. Spend your one re-roll on a weak squad. Do all that and about 33% of the best possible drafts go 23-0 (32.9% of 10,000 simulated drafts). It is never guaranteed.
At a glance
- About 33% of perfect drafts go 23-0: 32.9% of 10,000 simulated best-possible drafts.
- Taking the highest-rated name every spin instead of the best fit drops that to 22.1%. Taking the second-best name every spin: 0.5%.
- There are 68 club-decade squads across 19 clubs and 4 decades. 67 can field nine on their own.
- The strongest single squad is 2010s Geelong. Its best nine goes 23-0 in about 18% of simulated seasons. The weakest full squad, 1990s Fitzroy, most likely finishes 5-18.
- Off-position factors: 93% one line over, 89% defence to forward, 85% / 82% / 78% between ruck and forward / midfield / defence.
Checked 21 October 2026, against the game’s own engine.
Best side for any spin
Pick a club and a decade to see the strongest legal nine that squad can field on its own, and how often it goes 23-0.
Geelong's strongest 2010s side — Enright, Scarlett, Dangerfield, Ablett Jr, Selwood, Blicavs, Hawkins, Stewart, Taylor — goes 23-0 in about 18% of simulated seasons.
- DEFCorey EnrightDefender
- DEFMatthew ScarlettDefender
- MIDPatrick DangerfieldMidfielder
- MIDGary Ablett JrMidfielder
- MIDJoel SelwoodMidfielder
- RUCMark BlicavsRuck
- FWDTom HawkinsForward
- FWDTom StewartForward
- UTILHarry TaylorUtility
- Goes 23-0
- 18%
- Likely record
- 22-1
The strongest legal nine from this squad alone, as if every spin landed here. Odds are from 2,000simulated seasons against the game’s All-Star opponents. Your real draft takes one player from each spin.
How the draft is actually scored
Your side gets one team score. Three-quarters of it is the average rating of your nine, each counted at what he is worth in the slot you put him in.
The other quarter is an efficiency cushion. At every spin the game works out the best player-and-slot combination that spin offered. Your efficiency is your average over that best average, and the cushion is efficiency cubed. So a draft at 95% efficiency keeps only about 86% of its cushion. Small misses cost more than they look.
A perfectly drafted weak hand still gets the full cushion. That is why a lucky set of spins helps, but drafting well matters more.
Each of the 23 rounds is then a win chance against a seeded All-Star side, on an Elo-style curve. No round is ever a certainty, which is why even a perfect draft goes 23-0 only about 33% of the time.
Best fit beats best name
The biggest name on the spin is often the wrong pick. If his line is already full, he goes in out of position at a discount, and a lesser player who fits an open slot would score more.
In 10,000 simulated drafts each, always taking the best player-and-slot combination went 23-0 32.9% of the time. Always taking the highest-rated name went 23-0 22.1%. One rung lower every spin (the second-best name) went 23-0 just 0.5%.
Playing out of position
Any player can go in any open slot. On his listed lines he is worth his full rating. Anywhere else, he is first re-rated against the real specialists of that line and decade (a midfielder played forward is compared with that decade’s actual forwards), and never rated up by the move. Then the conversion factor applies:
| Move | Keeps |
|---|---|
| Defence ↔ midfield, midfield ↔ forward | 93% |
| Defence ↔ forward | 89% |
| Ruck ↔ forward | 85% |
| Ruck ↔ midfield | 82% |
| Ruck ↔ defence | 78% |
Dual-position players (listed on two lines) count in full on either. The tool above marks any player its best side has to play out of position.
The UTIL slot
There is one UTIL slot in the nine, and it takes anyone at full value. That makes it your safety valve. Fill the positional slots when a good fit appears, and save UTIL for a strong player whose line is already full, or for a late spin that fits nothing else.
Fill the scarce slot: ruck
The nine is 2 defenders, 3 midfielders, 1 ruck, 2 forwards and 1 utility. No squad lists more rucks than defenders, midfielders or forwards, and ruck is the steepest discount for anyone else: a forward in the ruck keeps 85%, a midfielder 82%, a defender 78%. When a squad offers a good ruck and the slot is open, it is usually the pick.
Use the re-roll
You get one re-roll a draft. It swaps the spin on show for the next one. In simulation, perfect drafts that spent it on a squad with no genuine star went 23-0 32.9% of the time, against 29.9% without it. An unused re-roll is wasted value.
Hard mode: what to read instead
With ratings off, the picker shows each player’s per-game numbers for that decade: disposals, marks, tackles, hit-outs and goals, plus how many games they come from. A Small sample tag marks anyone under 40 games, often a farewell stint or a hot month. Judge each line on its own numbers: hit-outs for rucks, goals for forwards, disposals and tackles for mids.
Dailies and Unlimited
The Daily drafts the full nine and the Quick Daily drafts 5 (DEF, MID, RUC, FWD, UTIL). Both are hard mode, one attempt, the same spins for everyone, and no wilds. Afterwards the result card names the day’s best possible side from those spins.
Unlimitedlets you turn ratings on, and adds Star Wilds that widen one pick’s pool. A wild also raises the bar your draft is graded against.
Finals
16 wins books a finals berth. Then it is 4 sudden-death games (Qualifying Final, Semi Final, Preliminary Final, Grand Final) against stronger sides each week. In simulation, perfect drafts that made finals won the flag 21.2% of the time. The season and finals are seeded from your players, so the same nine always play the same season.
Read your review
The result card grades your draft by the wins your picks cost against the best side your own spins allowed, from S down to F. The draft review then marks every pick the way a chess engine marks a move: Best, Great, Good, Inaccuracy, Mistake or Blunder. That is where to look to get better.
Every club and decade
Each squad’s strongest nine on its own, by its chance of going 23-0 over 2,000 simulated seasons. Checked 21 October 2026.
Quick answers
- No. Even a perfect draft goes 23-0 only about 33% of the time (32.9% of 10,000 simulated best-possible drafts), because no single round is ever a certainty. See the strongest side→
- The strongest squad to land on is 2010s Geelong: its best nine on its own goes 23-0 in about 18% of simulated seasons. Open 2010s Geelong→
- The weakest full squad is 1990s Fitzroy (its best nine's likely record is 5-18), and 1990s Fremantle has only 8 players in the game, too few to field nine on its own. Open 1990s Fitzroy→
- The UTIL slot takes any player at his full value, so it is the one slot where position never costs you. How UTIL works→
- You get one re-roll per draft; in simulation, spending it on a weak squad lifted perfect drafts from 29.9% to 32.9% 23-0. When to re-roll→
- Yes: an out-of-position player is re-rated against that line's real specialists, then discounted to between 78% and 93% of that value, with ruck moves the steepest. Off-position factors→
- Take the best fit, not the biggest name: always taking the highest-rated player went 23-0 22.1% of the time, against 32.9% for the best player-and-slot combination. Why fit wins→
- We don't publish a crowd figure yet; in simulation a random drafter averages 4.0 wins and essentially never goes 23-0, and taking the second-best name every spin goes 23-0 0.5% of the time. How scoring works→
- The strongest cards listed in defence in the 1990s are Wayne Carey (North Melbourne), Stephen Silvagni (Carlton) and Andrew McLeod (Adelaide). Open 1990s North Melbourne→
- The strongest cards listed in defence in the 2000s are Wayne Carey (North Melbourne), Matthew Pavlich (Fremantle) and Andrew McLeod (Adelaide). Open 2000s North Melbourne→
- The strongest cards listed in defence in the 2010s are Alex Rance (Richmond), Sam Mitchell (Hawthorn) and Luke Hodge (Hawthorn). Open 2010s Richmond→
- The strongest cards listed in defence in the 2020s are Harris Andrews (Brisbane), Tom Stewart (Geelong) and Darcy Moore (Collingwood). Open 2020s Brisbane→
- The strongest rucks by decade: 1990s Jim Stynes, 2000s Dean Cox, 2010s Max Gawn, 2020s Max Gawn. Why the ruck matters→
- The Quick Daily drafts 5 (one of each: DEF, MID, RUC, FWD, UTIL), and a perfect five-pick draft went 23-0 31.4% of the time in simulation. Play today's Quick Daily→
- 16 wins makes finals, then it is 4 sudden-death games; perfect drafts that made it won the flag 21.2% of the time. About finals→
Common questions
How do you win the AFL 23-0 draft game?
Draft the best available fit for an open slot at every spin, keep the UTIL slot flexible, fill the ruck with a real ruck, and spend your re-roll on a weak squad. Even then about 33% of perfect drafts go 23-0, so it is never guaranteed.
What is the best team in the 23-0 game?
There is no fixed best team, because every draft deals different clubs and decades. The strongest single squad is 2010s Geelong: its best nine (Corey Enright, Matthew Scarlett, Patrick Dangerfield, Gary Ablett Jr, Joel Selwood, Mark Blicavs, Tom Hawkins, Tom Stewart and Harry Taylor) goes 23-0 in about 18% of simulated seasons.
How is a draft scored?
Three-quarters of your team score is your side's average rating. The other quarter is an efficiency cushion: how close each pick was to the best pick that spin offered, cubed, so small misses cost more than they look. Each round is then a win chance against an All-Star side.
Does playing someone out of position matter?
Yes. Moving one line (defence to midfield, midfield to forward) keeps 93% of the re-rated value, defence to forward 89%, and ruck moves 78% to 85%. Listed positions and the UTIL slot keep the full rating.
How do you draft in hard mode with no ratings?
Read the per-game numbers on the card: disposals, marks, tackles, hit-outs and goals, and how many games they come from. A Small sample tag marks under 40 games, which is often a flattering short stint. The dailies are always played this way.
Can you replay the same team for a different season?
No. The season and finals are seeded from the players you picked, so the same nine always play the same season.
Now put it to work. Same spins for everyone, one attempt.
Try it on today’s spinsPlay the full nine-pick DailyOr play Unlimited →