Prediction Round 1, 2026 - Best 23

[Crow till I die]

Surprise in for R1 2026 - Murphy

We fail to land any targets in trade period and nothing of note presents in the main draft and Nicks goes on a charm offensive and coaxes the recruiting team and Murphy is convinced to nominate for the rookie draft and viola..welvome back Murphy and into the round 1 side......


Then I woke up in a cold sweat shouting no no no.....and realised it was a nightmare

 

[kirky]

I hope we persist with Pedlar. My favourite out of the unfashionable bunch, Nankervis also.

Well he needs to find more of the ball for starters.

 

[BRL121]

Surprise in for R1 2026 - Murphy

We fail to land any targets in trade period and nothing of note presents in the main draft and Nicks goes on a charm offensive and coaxes the recruiting team and Murphy is convinced to nominate for the rookie draft and viola..welvome back Murphy and into the round 1 side......


Then I woke up in a cold sweat shouting no no no.....and realised it was a nightmare

Him playing the viola should have been the clue it was a dream.

 

[thebirdman 24]

Trac at forward pocket? Lol

Good use of two first rounders…

We do need a natural small forward though, any options on our list or via trade? We can’t keep repurposing midfielders into the role like Taylor and Pedlar, we need a specialist.

 

[MsTopG]

Probably worth making this now. What do we think the R1 lineup looks like?

Does Tex retire?
Do we get Trac?
Do we play Dowling/Draper/Cheddar?
Will ROB still be shit?

My guess

B: Michalanney, Murray, Worrell
HB: Laird, Keane, Milera
C: Curtin, Dawson, Cumming
HF: Rachele, Fogarty, ANB
F: Keays, Thilthorpe, Ah Chee
R: ROB, Petracca, Rankine
I/C: Peatling, Soligo, Hinge, Edwards
Sub: Draper

The only reason Tex will go on is money. Club needs to make a call on him.

Out:
Butts?, Tex, Smith, Murphy, Jones, Strachan, Crouch, Burgess, Schoenberg, Sholl, Mathew Nicks

In:
Petracca , Ah chee.
If Butts leaves we will need to bring in a key defender. May is available from Melb.
A new ruck.
A new coach.

Best team
Michalanney Butts/May Worrell
Milera Keane Hinge
Soligo Dawson Curtin
Rachele Fogarty Pedlar
ANB Thilthorpe Ah Chee

ROB? Rankine Petracca

Cumming Keays Peatling Edwards/Draper

Depth
Laird, Murray, Dowling, Berry, Cook, Taylor, Ryan, Nankervis, Bond

 

[Wouldbetackler]

Maxy Murray Worrell
Milera Keane Hinge
Curtain Daws ANB
Keays Fog Rankine
AhChee Filfy Rachelle
ROB Trac Peatling
Cumming, Soligio, Draper, Laird, Edwards

 

[Daniel6]

Best 22. Not necessarily Rd 1

B: Max - Keane - Worrell
HB: Edwards - Murray - Pearling
C: Draper - Soligo - Curtin
HF: Rachele - Fog - Rankine
FF: Tex - Filthy - ANB
R: Rob - Petracca - Dawson
Int: Milera - Bond - Laird - Pedlar

Emg: Keays - Berry - Nankervis

 

[Crowked]

B: Bond, Butts, Worrell
HB: Max, Keane, Milera
C: Draper, Dawson, Cumming
HF: Rachele, Fogarty, ANB
F: Keays, Thilthorpe, Ah Chee
R: ROB, Curtin, Rankine
I/C: Peatling, Soligo, Hinge, Edwards, Pedlar

 

[pjcrows]

Rob in the ruck sticks out like dog's balls.

 

[Drakescoffeecake]

What about McAndrew?

 

[Scorpus]

What about McAndrew?

Didn't like the look of him in the SANFL finals.

 

[1990crow]

Trade period really determines how this looks.

But assume Petracca, Ah Chee in.

FB: Worrell ~ Murray ~ Michalanney
HB: Cumming ~ Keane ~ Milera
C: Curtin ~ Dawson ~ Soligo
R: O'Brien ~ Petracca ~ Rankine
HF: Rachele ~ Thilthorpe ~ Neale-Bullen
FF: Ah Chee ~ Fogarty ~ Keays
B: Laird ~ Peatling ~ Pedlar ~ Draper ~ Hinge

Em: Taylor, Berry, Edwards, Dowling, Cook, Nankervis

Taylor, Edwards, Nankervis and Cook could all easily move into that bench with strong summers.

 

[Drakescoffeecake]

Didn't like the look of him in the SANFL finals.

Cant be any worse than rob surely

 

[crows dude]

Cant be any worse than rob surely

Rob always gives Strachan a bath in training matches. Id imagine hed do the same to McAndrew.

 

[BRL121]

Rob always gives Strachan a bath in training matches. Id imagine hed do the same to McAndrew.

Then you weren't watching this year.

 

[TBM]

Id like to get henry smith also

With Draper, Allen heading up to Brisbane its hard to see how he gets a game any time soon

Type of shrewd pickup we should be looking for.

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

Rob always gives Strachan a bath in training matches. Id imagine hed do the same to McAndrew.

No, McAndrew held his own when they played each other.

 

[Scorpus]

Cant be any worse than rob surely

We all know ROB is a poor mark but I lost count of the amount of times the ball hit McAndrew's forearms in a marking contest

He looks maybe okay in the ruck but his around the ground work is miles off standard

 

[bettingonbetts]

Everyone here seems pretty confident re Trac?

 

[Huntercrow]

Just a question about Rankine's eligibility for round 1. Isn't he 3 games into a 4 game suspension?

 

[Daniel6]

Just a question about Rankine's eligibility for round 1. Isn't he 3 games into a 4 game suspension?

Yes, he has missed 3 out of his 4. Will miss Rd 1.

However, he could play a SANFL practice match like Patrick Dangerfield did a few years ago in the VFL.

 

[Golumless]

Pre-trade period, this is where my round 1 side sits:

B: Bond - Nick Murray - Worrell
HB: Michaelanny - Keane - Hinge
C: Draper - Dawson - Cummings
HF: Keays - Thilthorpe - Taylor (Rankine)
F: Rachele - Fogarty - Neal Bullen
R: ROB - Soligo - Curtin
INT: Milera - Pedlar - Toby Murray - Peatling - Edwards (Taylor)

I am still all for going taller with Toby Murray as a third tall and potential 2nd ruck depending on how we use Thilthorpe. I do not rate our smaller options at all.

I think the wing is a good spot to get Sid Draper in with a good preseason. He's quick and good at creating space, so this should be a pretty ok role to settle him in. I would also like a way to get Edwards in, but equally, I don't think Pedlars final's series can be discounted at the moment.

 

[Thrillthorpe7]

B: Michalanney, Murray, Worrell
HB: Laird, Keane, Milera
C: Curtin, Dawson, Cumming
HF: Rachele, Fogarty, ANB
F: Keays, Thilthorpe, Ah Chee
R: ROB, Soligo, Rankine
I/C: Peatling, Stevens, Hinge, Draper
Sub: way too early to tell

Petracca pushes any of those 4 on the bench to sub if he comes

 

[Danger in Texas]

B: Michalanney, Murray, Worrell
HB: Laird, Keane, Milera
C: Curtin, Dawson, Cumming
HF: Rachele, Fogarty, ANB
F: Keays, Thilthorpe, Ah Chee
R: ROB, Soligo, Rankine
I/C: Peatling, Stevens, Hinge, Draper
Sub: way too early to tell

Petracca pushes any of those 4 on the bench to sub if he comes

Unsure if Stevens would start the year in the 22, but he’d be a big chance with a good pre-season

 

[Thrillthorpe7]

Unsure if Stevens would start the year in the 22, but he’d be a big chance with a good pre-season

If we didn’t get Petracca or Oliver then I think he’s a massive chance of slotting straight in