Players who need to own 2026

[bigman]

Soligo needs to find out how to play a full season at A grade level. He has it but that’s two years in a row he has fallen away. Not convinced his groin issues were entirely fixed.

Keane needs to learn how to defend. Love his intercept and rebound work, but he can’t be exposed like he was at times this year or teams will take advantage.

Taylor needs to rock up to pre season and smash his time trial pb. He can’t give the coaches a reason to doubt him. If it means spending a month with Bond in the off season, so be it.

Pedlar and Cook are similar. Both have talent but drift out of games. Both are out of contract and Cook in particular will not get an extension unless he becomes a regular. They would improve our side but they need to do everything possible over the next two months.

Hinge needs to get back to some semblance of his best form. Maybe he was injured this year but the rise of Worrell has left him in no man’s land. He and the coaches need to find a role for him otherwise he will be left by the wayside.

There are others (Nank, edwards) but those come to mind for now.

 

[Jcpdragonx]

Taylor, Curtin and Draper

 

[conVINCEd]

Unless he can flick some kinda fitness + size switch, it feels like Soligo just isn’t capable of being a starting mid for a whole season.

Maybe playing him forward would allow him to use his smarts and craft without being smashed as much.

 

[Golumless]

Jake Soligo is really the man for this thread. It's time for him to make that step up to being a top line AFL midfielder which he has threatened to be at periods.

Rankine is a bit of a distant second. Dude needs to stop being his worst enemy and starting to get the accolades that he deserves.

 

[glengowan]

Rankine, Rachele, Curtin. Midfield and goals and class and domination in 2026.

 

[CrowToon]

Got the talent, shut your mouth and show us (but keep celebrating hard): Rankine, Rachele

Trajectory brilliant, keep it going: Thilthorpe, Curtin, Worell

Reckon there is another gear there:
Peatling, Taylor, Dawson (only if we can find another midfielder).

Going great aim to bring your brainfades down from one a week to one a month: Keane

Patches of brilliance, need to stretch it for longer: Soligo, Fogarty, Milera

Good honest footy: ANB, Keays, Laird, Michalanney

If you've got it, you're going to want to show it soon: Pedlar, Cumming, Bond

Starting to worry so, yes, BIG 2026 needed: Murray, Hinge, Berry

Last chance saloon (if you even get one): Cook, Sholl, Dowling, Jones, Nankervis et al

Want to see more of you: Draper

**** off ROB: ROB

 

[Golumless]

Reckon there is another gear there:
Peatling,

Now that's a good shout. The player who took up a lot of the Matt Crouch ball winning mantle when he went down was Peatling. Unfortunately he was the one who suffered with us living in our fears about our inside game in the last month (when it should have been Berry).

What does a pre-season where we plan on him being an 75-80% inside midfielder do to him? Can he push to Matty's clearance numbers alongside adding pace? It's not a big increase, especially if we give him another 10% CBA.

 

[scoota10]

Soligo needs to Bulk up, like Rowell, Neale i think Peatling will improve, and again I would like to see Murray tried at CHF

 

[bigman]

Soligo needs to Bulk up, like Rowell, Neale i think Peatling will improve, and again I would like to see Murray tried at CHF

He’s a pretty big, broad lad already.

If anything fining down slightly may help him run out a season better.

 

[Golumless]

Soligo needs to Bulk up, like Rowell, Neale i think Peatling will improve, and again I would like to see Murray tried at CHF

The ancient wisdom states if someone is playing as a CHB or FB, they are not a key forward.

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

I wonder if us failing to land a midfielder by trade (assuming that's the way things go) will see Rankine and Rachele as more permanent midfielders?

They'll be the upgrades, so to speak. Ah Chee one who takes up the vacancy across half forward

 

[bigman]

I wonder if us failing to land a midfielder by trade (assuming that's the way things go) will see Rankine and Rachele as more permanent midfielders?

They'll be the upgrades, so to speak. Ah Chee one who takes up the vacancy across half forward

Possibly, though I think the club still views Rachele as playing predominately forward. Agreed on Rankine.

Draper is the one we need to step up. Ideally he replaces Berry.

We could also play Ah Chee on the wing which would free up Curtin to play in the guts more.

 

[jackster83]

I wonder if us failing to land a midfielder by trade (assuming that's the way things go) will see Rankine and Rachele as more permanent midfielders?

They'll be the upgrades, so to speak. Ah Chee one who takes up the vacancy across half forward

It's more likely we just send Laird back into the mids. Especially with the Crouch safety blanket gone.

 

[MrBarry]

Rankine, Rachele, Soligo and Draper needs to step up asap.

 

[BRL121]

I wonder if us failing to land a midfielder by trade (assuming that's the way things go) will see Rankine and Rachele as more permanent midfielders?

They'll be the upgrades, so to speak. Ah Chee one who takes up the vacancy across half forward

Rachele is not a midfielder and won't be our saviour there.

 

[dogs105]

Could be looking at big improvement from a few younger guys. Need more from Fogarty, Keays, Murray.
Lipa should be a big improvement on ROB.

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

2 players I would like to see more of next season - Draper & Edwards.

 

[Rank]

Jake Soligo is really the man for this thread. It's time for him to make that step up to being a top line AFL midfielder which he has threatened to be at periods.

Rankine is a bit of a distant second. Dude needs to stop being his worst enemy and starting to get the accolades that he deserves.

Yep Soligo needs to step up, Curtin has to start playing decent minutes in the centre, and we have to somehow manage to trade in a ready made midfielder this off season, have to give Draper games and time in the midfield instead of Berry no matter what, Berry ain't good enough and will never cut it, he's to slow and doesn't get enough of it.

Rankine is a gun and could be a super star, owes it to himself and the club to wisen up, can't afford anymore dumb shit from our best player.

Fogarty needs to step up, far to inconsistent and not the A grader I hoped he would be, old man Tex gives more.

 

[CrowBloke]

2026 has to be the year for Draper and Welsh in my opinion. We are crying for an A grade mid and looking for the replacement of Tex after next season (assuming he signs on). Both are promising prospects, but they need to make 2026 theirs. Thoughts?

The fate of some of our Fringe, need-to-step-up players is in the hands of our Grand Poobah, Nicks, whose selection policies lack integrity.
Nicks has got to trust, believe in and rotate our youth through the side more often so that any of them won't be underdone when they are next-man-up (say, due to injury, which is about the only reason Nicks makes changes).
At least Nicks won't have Smith and Murphy to fall back on.

Draper needs to build his tank, apparently. I dunno. My concern with him was that he's so slightly built, but Levi Ashcroft is no Schwarzenegger and has 2 Norm Smiths now.

For mine, these players need to "own 2026" (in no particular order):
Cumming (hopefully at half-back now that we will get Ah Chee, but Cummings' poz fate is in Nicks' hands)
Peatling
Pedlar
Nankervis
Draper
Edwards
Cook
O'Brien (working with a better mids Coach, hopefully not VB)
O'Brien (working with a Ruck Coach to train him to tap to our Mids' advantage)
O'Brien (working on how to improve his kicking ffs , with Tex or Fogarty)
Bond
Rankine (needs to keep his mouth shut --- he owes that to his teammates --- and focus on what he does best ie his footy which can be mercurially brilliant)
Hinge.
Berry.
EDIT: Taylor and Soligo.

I'm looking forward to seeing what Curtin, Fogarty and Thilthorpe will do this year.

 

[CrowBloke]

Keane needs to learn how to defend.

Keane is an AA Defender, 2025; he knows how to defend,
BUT ...

Love his intercept and rebound work, but he can’t be exposed like he was at times this year or teams will take advantage.

Keane definitely needs to know when to leave his man, or not. He played a shocker on Gunston, but Nicks made no change (he rarely does).

 

[Golumless]

Keane is an AA Defender, 2025; he knows how to defend,
BUT ...

Keane definitely needs to know when to leave his man, or not. He played a shocker on Gunston, but Nicks made no change (he rarely does).

As is the smart thing to do. Changes rarely work and usually lead to things getting worse when involving your best players. They're your best for a reason, they'll work it out.

Keane for the most part has been bloody good at leaving his man this year. He got done because the midfield got done.

 

[SydCrow]

Sid needs to find his feet fast. I'd put him on a wing until he clicks.

 

[Bovo]

Sid needs to find his feet fast. I'd put him on a wing until he clicks.

I didn’t watch much SANFL. Did anyone note his progression?

 

[bigman]

I didn’t watch much SANFL. Did anyone note his progression?

Had a ripping game against West but dropped off late in the season.

His ball use and decision making were pretty ordinary, his speed dropped off a bit too as he fatigued.

Willing to give him a pass as first year but he needs to work on his deficiencies.

 

[AFC979810]

We have had a host of players that have shown they could be AFL level by having at least one solid season but for various reasons haven't gone on to improve and become high quality AFL players:

2021 - Schoenberg, Sholl
2022 - Berry
2023 - Jones, Pedlar, Murray*
2024 - Nankervis

From 2025 - it feels as though Zac Taylor could possibly be that type of player.

Really hope Nank can get back in the side and build on his 2024 form. Really like him as a player and think he has a bit of that x factor we need.



*tough on Murray i know.