2026 Season Prediction

[UUaswan]

Not sure if its been said but
Logan, Charlie are new big ins
Seron, Rosas will add something
Gulden, Amartey, Paps, Mills who didn't play much
Datolli, Ladhams, Hannily, Cleary hardly played and could add a bit
Maybe 2 or 3 key defenders everyone keeps talking about get a game
Even Jmac only played 16 games
Surely some of our draft feature
A whole host of others aged 20 to 25 improve

Fingers crossed with injury, we have significant upside

[KSAS]

Media pundits are beginning to talk up our chances of finishing in the top 4. This is mainly built around getting Charlie Curnow.
Speaking of which, his brother Eddie has recently said Charlie wasn't 100% engaged last year and expects him to be firing with us.

Kane Cornes has already predicted Western Bulldogs to be premiers!

Brisbane still appear the ones to beat, despite the Lachie Neale saga.

[BFG]

Media pundits are beginning to talk up our chances of finishing in the top 4. This is mainly built around getting Charlie Curnow.
Speaking of which, his brother Eddie has recently said Charlie wasn't 100% engaged last year and expects him to be firing with us.

Kane Cornes has already predicted Western Bulldogs to be premiers!

Brisbane still appear the ones to beat, despite the stupid, sad and sordid Lachie Neale saga.

FTFY

[mcs]

Media pundits are beginning to talk up our chances of finishing in the top 4. This is mainly built around getting Charlie Curnow.
Speaking of which, his brother Eddie has recently said Charlie wasn't 100% engaged last year and expects him to be firing with us.

Kane Cornes has already predicted Western Bulldogs to be premiers!

Brisbane still appear the ones to beat, despite the Lachie Neale saga.

Excellent. Kane's kiss of death should confine the fairypuppies to more mediocrity. Needs to be at least another 90 years before they get anywhere near stealing another flag.

[imuninformedtwo]

Kane mainly loves pumping up the Dogs so he can then rag on his favourite target in Luke Beveridge as a serial under-performer who should be sacked. It's been his routine for at least two years now.

He's half right - their top end talent is exceptional, and a full season from Darcy is a scary proposition. But they lack real depth, particularly down back, and Beveridge is a real weirdo who only has credits in the bank because he got kissed on the ass by the proverbial rainbow when they cheated their way to a flag in '16.

[KSAS]

I predict Logan will take over from Hayward and play that high forward role as the link between transitioning the ball from defence into attack.

He has the skills and footy IQ to do so. It also allows Curnow and Armatey to play as the deep key forwards, avoiding having being too tall up front.

[imuninformedtwo]

I predict Logan will take over from Hayward and play that high forward role as the link between transitioning the ball from defence into attack.

He has the skills and footy IQ to do so. It also allows Curnow and Armatey to play as the deep key forwards, avoiding having being too tall up front.

I liked Hayward, but Logan will be a big upgrade. People forget he almost kicked 40 goals as a 22yo just two seasons back. Fingers crossed on injuries.

As for predictions, we’re all chasing the two northern clubs. Brisbane are a young side and if they stay hungry will be hard to beat.

Meamwhile, GC get more years into their 2023 draft crop, Bailey Humphrey is gonna be a certified star, Pertracca will relish a fresh start and they get Charlie Ballard back, who’s a gun. They are stacked and ready to go.

[dejavoodoo44]

I liked Hayward, but Logan will be a big upgrade. People forget he almost kicked 40 goals as a 22yo just two seasons back. Fingers crossed on injuries.

As for predictions, we’re all chasing the two northern clubs. Brisbane are a young side and if they stay hungry will be hard to beat.

Meamwhile, GC get more years into their 2023 draft crop, Bailey Humphrey is gonna be a certified star, Pertracca will relish a fresh start and they get Charlie Ballard back, who’s a gun. They are stacked and ready to go.

While I can’t really be arsed having a bet these days, I recently checked out the premiership odds. Sportsbet and TAB were identical for the first five: Brisbane at $4.50, Gold Coast at $8.00, Geelong at $9.00 and Hawthorn and us at $10.

Even though I fully expect Gold Coast to play finals, I was a little bit surprised that they were so short. Mainly because they still lack finals experience and the fact that they did trade away plenty of depth to get their recent academy crop. Though of course, another year older is a good thing for most of their players. And as you say, Petracca and Ballard are handy inclusions, and they might get lucky with Ugle-Hagan.

Problematically, Brisbane looks a little bit stronger on paper, but I'm consoling myself with the thought, that surely this will be the year that their season is totally cruelled by injuries.

I actually expected Hawthorn to be a little bit shorter, but I guess that price has factored in the Will Day injury.

A couple of other prices caught my eye. Firstly, both markets had Collingwood just outside the eight. Which seems fair, as many people see them as sliders, with a lot of pressure on young Nick Daicos, to keep them from sliding even further.

Also, I was slightly surprised that North were ranked 16th, only in front of Richmond and West Coast. They do have a squad that has plenty of high draft picks, who are maturing; so I'm wondering if that price means, that no one really considers Clarkson to be the messiah any more?

And on Curnow and McDonald: on a good day, Curnow and McKay seemed pretty unstoppable for Carlton, but I think there's a reasonable chance, that Curnow and McDonald will be an upgrade. While McKay probably has stronger hands, McDonald is the better kick, and assuming that his extended injury break hasn't slowed him down, he is quicker than McKay. There's also the fact that the Curnow and McKay partnership, often got pretty sloppy service from the Carlton midfield, whereas we've got ball users like Gulden, Heeney, Blakey, McInerney, Warner, etc.

Throw in Amartey as a third tall, and some quality smaller forwards, in Papley, Rosas, Dattoli and Campbell, plus Heeney and Warner wandering into the forward line, then we appear to be a side, that will be able to rack up match winning scores very quickly. Perhaps $10 is a bit short? Though it would probably be unwise, to get too confident before any matches have been played.

[crackedactor 01]

While I can’t really be arsed having a bet these days, I recently checked out the premiership odds. Sportsbet and TAB were identical for the first five: Brisbane at $4.50, Gold Coast at $8.00, Geelong at $9.00 and Hawthorn and us at $10.

Even though I fully expect Gold Coast to play finals, I was a little bit surprised that they were so short. Mainly because they still lack finals experience and the fact that they did trade away plenty of depth to get their recent academy crop. Though of course, another year older is a good thing for most of their players. And as you say, Petracca and Ballard are handy inclusions, and they might get lucky with Ugle-Hagan.

Problematically, Brisbane looks a little bit stronger on paper, but I'm consoling myself with the thought, that surely this will be the year that their season is totally cruelled by injuries.

I actually expected Hawthorn to be a little bit shorter, but I guess that price has factored in the Will Day injury.

A couple of other prices caught my eye. Firstly, both markets had Collingwood just outside the eight. Which seems fair, as many people see them as sliders, with a lot of pressure on young Nick Daicos, to keep them from sliding even further.

Also, I was slightly surprised that North were ranked 16th, only in front of Richmond and West Coast. They do have a squad that has plenty of high draft picks, who are maturing; so I'm wondering if that price means, that no one really considers Clarkson to be the messiah any more?

And on Curnow and McDonald: on a good day, Curnow and McKay seemed pretty unstoppable for Carlton, but I think there's a reasonable chance, that Curnow and McDonald will be an upgrade. While McKay probably has stronger hands, McDonald is the better kick, and assuming that his extended injury break hasn't slowed him down, he is quicker than McKay. There's also the fact that the Curnow and McKay partnership, often got pretty sloppy service from the Carlton midfield, whereas we've got ball users like Gulden, Heeney, Blakey, McInerney, Warner, etc.

Throw in Amartey as a third tall, and some quality smaller forwards, in Papley, Rosas, Dattoli and Campbell, plus Heeney and Warner wandering into the forward line, then we appear to be a side, that will be able to rack up match winning scores very quickly. Perhaps $10 is a bit short? Though it would probably be unwise, to get too confident before any matches have been played.

Just for the record. SEN radio has declared that Sydney has the best forward line in the comp.

[imuninformedtwo]

While I can’t really be arsed having a bet these days, I recently checked out the premiership odds. Sportsbet and TAB were identical for the first five: Brisbane at $4.50, Gold Coast at $8.00, Geelong at $9.00 and Hawthorn and us at $10.

Even though I fully expect Gold Coast to play finals, I was a little bit surprised that they were so short. Mainly because they still lack finals experience and the fact that they did trade away plenty of depth to get their recent academy crop. Though of course, another year older is a good thing for most of their players. And as you say, Petracca and Ballard are handy inclusions, and they might get lucky with Ugle-Hagan.

Problematically, Brisbane looks a little bit stronger on paper, but I'm consoling myself with the thought, that surely this will be the year that their season is totally cruelled by injuries.

I actually expected Hawthorn to be a little bit shorter, but I guess that price has factored in the Will Day injury.

A couple of other prices caught my eye. Firstly, both markets had Collingwood just outside the eight. Which seems fair, as many people see them as sliders, with a lot of pressure on young Nick Daicos, to keep them from sliding even further.

Also, I was slightly surprised that North were ranked 16th, only in front of Richmond and West Coast. They do have a squad that has plenty of high draft picks, who are maturing; so I'm wondering if that price means, that no one really considers Clarkson to be the messiah any more?

And on Curnow and McDonald: on a good day, Curnow and McKay seemed pretty unstoppable for Carlton, but I think there's a reasonable chance, that Curnow and McDonald will be an upgrade. While McKay probably has stronger hands, McDonald is the better kick, and assuming that his extended injury break hasn't slowed him down, he is quicker than McKay. There's also the fact that the Curnow and McKay partnership, often got pretty sloppy service from the Carlton midfield, whereas we've got ball users like Gulden, Heeney, Blakey, McInerney, Warner, etc.

Throw in Amartey as a third tall, and some quality smaller forwards, in Papley, Rosas, Dattoli and Campbell, plus Heeney and Warner wandering into the forward line, then we appear to be a side, that will be able to rack up match winning scores very quickly. Perhaps $10 is a bit short? Though it would probably be unwise, to get too confident before any matches have been played.

All fair. To be honest, I'm less fussed about our inclusions, talent, playing style or anything else.

I want to know - and I suspect it's part of why Cox was prepared to show a hard-ass side in the off season with some trades - we've fixed the resilience side. For all the ups and downs of last year, the second half submissions against Gold Coast and GWS, and capitulation against Geelong (I can kind of forgive the anomaly of the game against Adelaide) worried me most, as they were a repeat of the GF.

I want to know we can play tougher for longer.