Preview 2026 Best 23 Discussion

[wakojako]

Good news is that our list has improved, bad news is that we are going to struggle for spots.

Players that will be competing for a b22 spot (in order of most likely to play round one)

• McVee
• Johnson
• Walker (underrated on this board, people have forgotten how good of a defender he is)
• Simpson
• Sharp
• Murray
• Sweid

Player spots up for grabs:

• Banfield
• Worner
• JOM
• Dudley
• Noddy

We do have an extra spot on the bench this season which will help. My pick for an early debut besides McVee is Murray. AFL ready body, elite speed and endurance, but most importantly he brings versatility which is extremely valuable in today's game.

Despite being highly rated on this board, my pick is on Simpson to miss out. Imo we can't have three attacking defenders in Clark, McVee and Simpson in the team. I think Walker or Worner would make our defence better balanced. I also don't think both of JOM and Banfield will miss out. I can see JLo picking one if not both.

Predicted B22
Forwardline
Cox Pearce Ryan
McVee Chapman Clark

Midfield
Serong Darcy Brayshaw
Johnson Young Erasmus

Forwardline
Treacy Voss Amiss
Reid Bolton Frederick

Bench
Jackson, Switta, Murray, JOM, Walker

I completely forgot about Wagner in my prediction! We are very tight for spots. JOM or Walker to miss out.

 

[Cesoir]

I was you cheeky campaigner

Best looking half back in the comp... just a shame my kicking skills wasn't as good as my looks.

Oh, sorry - I had you confused with the other Huskii, the one that fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down.

My bad

 

[King Huskii]

Oh, sorry - I had you confused with the other Huskii, the one that fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down.

My bad

Just don't mispronoun me

 

[Spirit Level]

With both Sweid and Murray looking for forward line spots, does it all Reid to push into a more permanent mid position? Is it too early?

 

[apuchar]

With both Sweid and Murray looking for forward line spots, does it all Reid to push into a more permanent mid position? Is it too early?

Brayshaw said likely 50/50

 

[pK75]

With both Sweid and Murray looking for forward line spots, does it all Reid to push into a more permanent mid position? Is it too early?

It’s succession planning, happens when they/he are ready. Meanwhile they are both depth for Switta injuries.

 

[Jezzitizle]

Honestly wouldn’t be surprised if Murray played early. Not many better places to develop than at Geelong.

Sweid more surprising with injury history and being a bit younger, but wouldn’t be a shock either.

Match sim reports will be pretty interesting this year for players in the 19-30 best range on the list.

Could see someone emerge ala Worner, Bruce.

 

[freoextra]

With both Sweid and Murray looking for forward line spots, does it all Reid to push into a more permanent mid position? Is it too early?

He will do part of his training there this preseason but it certainly does not look like he has bulked up for the role, still very lean. I can’t see him doing big minutes in the midfield just yet.

 

[E Shed]

He will do part of his training there this preseason but it certainly does not look like he has bulked up for the role, still very lean. I can’t see him doing big minutes in the midfield just yet.

If ever there was a player that doesn’t need to get bigger it’s Reid.
Stay lean, nimble and outthink them. That’s his go for mine.

 

[Lach72]

Honestly wouldn’t be surprised if Murray played early. Not many better places to develop than at Geelong.

Sweid more surprising with injury history and being a bit younger, but wouldn’t be a shock either.

Match sim reports will be pretty interesting this year for players in the 19-30 best range on the list.

Could see someone emerge ala Worner, Bruce.

Sweid is 18 months past that knee.
He played part of 24 and all of 25

 

[bellie4pm]

Interested in thoughts re most likely major magnet changes…

Chapman to wing?
Simpson to half back with mcvee and clark.
Mason cox

46

Mason Cox

Age

34

Ht

211cm

Wt

110kg

Pos.

F/R

Career

Season

Last 5

D

8.7

2star

K

5.2

2star

HB

3.5

3star

M

4.0

4star

T

1.6

4star

G

1.2

4star

D

6.0

1star

K

3.0

1star

HB

3.0

2star

M

2.3

2star

T

0.3

1star

G

1.0

4star

D

9.0

3star

K

5.4

2star

HB

3.6

3star

M

2.6

3star

T

2.4

4star

G

1.8

5star

to interchange bench and jackson to midfield
Bolton to midfield
Others?

 

[King Huskii]

Stop with this Chapman to wing nonsense

 

[Jezzitizle]

Sweid is 18 months past that knee.
He played part of 24 and all of 25

Yes I know, I’m no medico but as a layman wouldn’t surprise me if they are more cautious with him.

 

[MakeshiftMartyr]

Fremantle
FB: Ryan Cox Chapman
HB: Clark Pearce McVee
C: O'Meara Erasmus Banfield
HF: Switta Treacy Frederick
FF: Bolton Amiss Voss

Fol: Darcy Serong Brayshaw
INT: Jackson Young Reid Johnson Wagner

Peel
FB: Davies Murphy Worner
HB: Simpson Draper Walker
C: Carr O'Driscoll Sharp
HF: Sweid Nicholls Luke
FF: Murray McDonald Sturt

Fol: Cox
INT: Riddle Whan Dudley Kickett SSP-selection

Does highlight the need for more midfielder next year, but gee it's nice to see both forward-lines full.

 

[Ysaye]

Stop with this Chapman to wing nonsense

Whilst I personally will only believe it when I see it, may I ask why is it wrong for someone to speculate on a Chapman move to the wing?

At the end of the day, chapman has the right positioning and endurance profile to be a great fat side winger (a role I'm not sure we have that many applicants for) and even the club was talking about this as a possibility in both 23 and 24.before multiple injury runs. The things going against it is that Chapman himself said that he wanted to concentrate on being a good defender first. Also I would argue he is too valuable in other positions like third tall defender / HBF to warrant playing such a sacrificial role.

 

[pK75]

Fremantle
FB: Ryan Cox Chapman
HB: Clark Pearce McVee
C: O'Meara Erasmus Banfield
HF: Switta Treacy Frederick
FF: Bolton Amiss Voss

Fol: Darcy Serong Brayshaw
INT: Jackson Young Reid Johnson Wagner

Peel
FB: Davies Murphy Worner
HB: Simpson Draper Walker
C: Carr O'Driscoll Sharp
HF: Sweid Nicholls Luke
FF: Murray McDonald Sturt

Fol: Cox
INT: Riddle Whan Dudley Kickett SSP-selection

Does highlight the need for more midfielder next year, but gee it's nice to see both forward-lines full.

Assuming you have Wagner as the 7th defender, move him to JOMs wing and bring in a defender to replace JOM. JOM will be good leadership and muscle for the young guys down at peel, too slow now for AFL

 

[Flour bag punter]

Would love this r1 lineup, but Simpson would need a monster preseason to be picked ahead of JOM. Match committee love a vet.

I would expect match committee select a tall on the bench too, likely Draper for Walker.

Worner is a possibility for the bench. Can play anywhere in the backline or possibly even up onto a wing.

 

[Flour bag punter]

Stop with this Chapman to wing nonsense

Murray should be trialled on the wing. He has a solid fitness base, plays high half forward mid already and is a good deliverer of the ball

 

[Big Animal]

I think Worner should be training during the offseason/preseason for a wing. There won't be room up back with a full list and he's shown he's too useful and consistent to sit at Peel. I often think Shill or BHill when considering wings but Worner could be more like Acres with slightly smaller body but better decision making.

Also, this was his draft profile for reference:

POSITION: Wing
SNAPSHOT: "A tall 19th-year wingman with clean hands overhead, neat short kicking skills, and strong running capacity."

After losing out on a top-age season, Karl Worner made the most of his 19th-year campaign with the Oakleigh Chargers in 2021. Also tied to Richmond's VFL squad, the hard running wingman impressed with his ability to rack up possessions and impact on the outside. He managed a handful of NAB League appearances and was outstanding in the Victorian trial games, leading to Metro selection and a draft combine invite as his state's season was cut short. With nice size and footballing traits, Worner is a 2002-born prospect to watch.

STRENGTHS:

• Outside run
• Endurance
• Overhead marking
• Short kicking
• Size

IMPROVEMENTS:

• Expansive kicking
• Speed

Able to plug into roles on all three lines, Worner looks most comfortable running off the wing or half-back where his greatest assets come to the fore. The 19-year-old's ability to link play from behind the ball or outside a stoppage is handy, as Worner puts in repeat running efforts to give-and-go or get away neat kicks under pressure.

He is the type of player who can help set his side up going forward. Worner offers great efficiency and composure with his short-range kicking, picking targets well and then following up his initial disposal to earn another. When looking to be more expansive over long distances, he sometimes lacks the same effectiveness and can enhance that side of his game.

To go with his positive outside running, Worner also brings solid size and clean hands to the contest. While not the quickest, most line-breaking wingman, he gets in good positions to receive and can stand up in tackles to release others and keep the play moving. His vision and execution by hand are often sharp, complimenting his kicking well.

Another useful strength for Worner is his overhead marking nous. At 188cm, he provides aerial presence when required and is not afraid to contest against taller opponents. His hands are strong in those instances and along with his sound kicking skills, bodes well for a role off half-back where he can combine the two traits more often.

DRAFT PROJECTION: Late/Rookie

SUMMARY:

There aren't many 19-year-old talents with draft combine invites this year but Worner is one of them, having done all he could to put his name into contention throughout 2021. His key traits are effective over multiple roles and while not overly flashy, he provides good balance on a wing and the ability to chain play on the attack with clean use in the short range. Clubs which look to exploit that kind of style may look at Worner with a late or rookie pick, especially with that added year of experience under his belt.

 

[Boomer93]

I am a Banners 'hater' but he is one of our better candidates for the wing and I'd be happy playing him there, so long as his form warrants it.

Hey brother, I love your self awareness to be able to accept that Banners performances on a wing are at a higher standard than lots of our other players despite how much his performances can frustrate you at times, but being frustrated by a player doesnt make you a hater, you are a supporter and im sure you want nothing more than for him to turn it around! Leave the hater word for the eagles!

 

[MakeshiftMartyr]

Assuming you have Wagner as the 7th defender, move him to JOMs wing and bring in a defender to replace JOM. JOM will be good leadership and muscle for the young guys down at peel, too slow now for AFL

I don't necessarily disagree, I just don't see them dropping him.

 

[theGav56]

Fremantle
FB: Ryan Cox Chapman
HB: Clark Pearce McVee
C: O'Meara Erasmus Banfield
HF: Switta Treacy Frederick
FF: Bolton Amiss Voss

Fol: Darcy Serong Brayshaw
INT: Jackson Young Reid Johnson Wagner

Peel
FB: Davies Murphy Worner
HB: Simpson Draper Walker
C: Carr O'Driscoll Sharp
HF: Sweid Nicholls Luke
FF: Murray McDonald Sturt

Fol: Cox
INT: Riddle Whan Dudley Kickett SSP-selection

Does highlight the need for more midfielder next year, but gee it's nice to see both forward-lines full.

You have 5 players on the bench who will all spend time on ball.

O'Meara and Banfield will likely be gone next year, and we are often trying to shoehorn the likes of Johnson, Wagner and Erasmus into their positions on the wings. All are better on ball.

Wings are our weakness. You can see it in the Peel side, and also at the first training session where Draper was apparently playing wing. And the discussion about Chapman: a discussion that is always going to happen given the quality of players you have at Peel who could play HBF.

 

[Barnabus]

Simpson might be a good option on the wing. Needs to build his tank but he is fast enough and kicking skills are definitely an improvement on what we usually roll with.

 

[PowerToThePurpl]

Excuse my need to colour code everything (pending any positional change from this year):

FB: Ryan Cox Chapman
HB: Clark Pearce McVee
C: Erasmus Young Wagner
HF: Switta Treacy Frederick
FF: Bolton Amiss Voss

Fol: Darcy Serong Brayshaw
INT: Jackson Simpson Worner Johnson Reid

EMG: JOM NOD Sweid

Green: Def
Purple: Mid/Def
Blue: Mid
Yellow: Mid/Fwd
Red: Fwd
Jackson: Unicorn

I think a focus on recruitment over the last 5-10 years have been heavily influenced by flexibility in positioning and creating difficult matchups for opposition - it's definitely something we've used to our advantage.

From what I've seen of McVee it looks like he has a lot of scope to transition into the midfield while providing run from half back, a wing should suit his strengths.

Either way our list looks extremely balanced and ready for a finals tilt - hopefully we can keep most of these boys on the park for the majority of the season.

 

[Purple Suit]

I had a quick check on our delisting / retirements and they played a total of 14 games in 2025 between them, Fyfe being the most with 8 and 7 of them were the sub. We really are primed to improve with that stat for once. Judd McVee played 17 last season so we have already replaced the loss.

In comparison, we lost 105 games at the end of 2022 and shat the bed in 23.