Prediction Round 1, 2026 - Best 23

[1970crow]

Cool. I’m going to go to the footy this feeling good about our chances, instead of writing our chances off in ****ing February.

I just can’t ignore a decade + of information. The philosophies pre-date Nicks, but we now have many years of watching him implement the same. I’m hoping we eventually change it up and look deeper than continuity, but it’s hard to feel good about us doing it.

 

[Cromulant]

I just can’t ignore a decade + of information. The philosophies pre-date Nicks, but we now have many years of watching him implement the same. I’m hoping we eventually change it up and look deeper than continuity, but it’s hard to feel good about us doing it.

Go on, try it for once.

 

[1990crow]

My R1 after seeing trial

FB: Worrell ~ Butts ~ Bond
HB: Milera ~ Murray ~ Michalanney
C: Cumming ~ Dawson ~ ANB
R: McAndrew ~ Soligo ~ Rachele
HF: Keays ~ Thilthorpe ~ Ah Chee
FF: Walker ~ Fogarty ~ Pedlar
B: Peatling ~ Laird ~ Hinge ~ Taylor ~ Nankervis

Jones in for Hinge if he doesn't get up.
Rankine in for Taylor when he's available (R2).

Curtin eventually in for Nankervis/Hinge.
Draper who knows. Not really worth discussing until he's played a block of sanfl.

 

[Daniel6]

I just can’t ignore a decade + of information. The philosophies pre-date Nicks, but we now have many years of watching him implement the same. I’m hoping we eventually change it up and look deeper than continuity, but it’s hard to feel good about us doing it.

That’s your choice, but I don’t understand why you continue to watch when you clearly don’t like the coach, club or players.

Your mind is already made up we are going to lose.

 

[Tex Danger]

My R1 after seeing trial

FB: Worrell ~ Butts ~ Bond
HB: Milera ~ Murray ~ Michalanney
C: Cumming ~ Dawson ~ ANB
R: McAndrew ~ Soligo ~ Peatling
HF: Keays ~ Thilthorpe ~ Ah Chee
FF: Walker ~ Fogarty ~ Pedlar
B: Berry ~ Laird ~ Hinge ~ Taylor ~ Nankervis

Jones in for Hinge if he doesn't get up.
Rankine in for Berry/Taylor depending on form when he's available (R2).

Curtin eventually in for Berry/Taylor.
Draper who knows. Not really worth discussing until he's played a block of sanfl.

Forgot Rachelle?

 

[Cromulant]

Forgot Rachelle?

Or Rachele

 

[ABAB]

I just can’t ignore a decade + of information. The philosophies pre-date Nicks, but we now have many years of watching him implement the same. I’m hoping we eventually change it up and look deeper than continuity, but it’s hard to feel good about us doing it.

Well, Nicks did change and play Curtin in the midfield during the H&A season, he look good in there but didn't even try it when our midfield was getting slaughter during the Finals and reverted back to Keays and Laird. Did throw Taylor in there when the game was done through so he is clearly a "slow" learner.

 

[1990crow]

Forgot Rachelle?

Whoops. Rachele in for Berry.
I prefer Taylor's ability to play forward.

 

[AFC979810]

Anyone thinking Tex is set for a reduced role had better think again.

Imagine how good Fog will be once Tex leaves, am I right?

On a side note - It's a weird thing this Adelaide Big Footy board. This preseason there is real feeling from the usual suspects that we didnt rest our players enough in 2025. We had two best 23 players over the age of 30 and we gave those two time off (Walker two complete games off and Laird one complete game off.) Tex also had 5 games with less than 70% TOG.

Meanwhile - the premiers trotted out 36 year old Dayne Zorko for 27 games straight. Old Fart Ryan Lester played 26 games. 31 year old Charlie Cameron played 25 games.

Same goes for Grand Finalist Geelong. 35 year old Danger played more games than Laird and Walker, as did Blikavs and Stewart.

Its funny how the same idiots with the same negative comments really feed the narrative on this board.

 

[1970crow]

Go on, try it for once.

Ignore what is clearly ingrained philosophies? I don’t understand how that’s possible.

 

[AFC979810]

I just can’t ignore a decade + of information.

Within the last decade - we have gone from being in a Grand Final to winning our first wooden spoon.

You dont get that range of outcomes with the same philosophies.

 

[1970crow]

That’s your choice, but I don’t understand why you continue to watch when you clearly don’t like the coach, club or players.

Your mind is already made up we are going to lose.

My mind is made up that we won’t win a flag under this coach. There’s no players that I dislike, there might be a couple that are locks to be selected that I don’t think should be. And the ‘club’ is just an administrative vessel that exists to put the players on the park. I support the players being successful, I think the ‘club’ has ingrained philosophies that actively get in the way of that.

Put it this way, Hawthorn have been as success as any club in the last 20 years. They pushed flag legends out of the club at the end of their careers and didn’t destroy the place, they’re back contending again. And then there’s our approach.

 

[Cromulant]

My mind is made up that we won’t win a flag under this coach. There’s no players that I dislike, there might be a couple that are locks to be selected that I don’t think should be. And the ‘club’ is just an administrative vessel that exists to put the players on the park. I support the players being successful, I think the ‘club’ has ingrained philosophies that actively get in the way of that.

Put it this way, Hawthorn have been as success as any club in the last 20 years. They pushed flag legends out of the club at the end of their careers and didn’t destroy the place, they’re back contending again. And then threw out approach.

If philosophies are ingrained then the coach doesnt matter.

 

[1970crow]

Imagine how good Fog will be once Tex leaves, am I right?

On a side note - It's a weird thing this Adelaide Big Footy board. This preseason there is real feeling from the usual suspects that we didnt rest our players enough in 2025. We had two best 23 players over the age of 30 and we gave those two time off (Walker two complete games off and Laird one complete game off.) Tex also had 5 games with less than 70% TOG.

Meanwhile - the premiers trotted out 36 year old Dayne Zorko for 27 games straight. Old Fart Ryan Lester played 26 games. 31 year old Charlie Cameron played 25 games.

Same goes for Grand Finalist Geelong. 35 year old Danger played more games than Laird and Walker, as did Blikavs and Stewart.

Its funny how the same idiots with the same negative comments really feed the narrative on this board.

I do t recall reading how Zorko and Ryan were carrying an injury that meaningfully impacted their performance. You got anything suggesting different?

 

[AFC979810]

My mind is made up that we won’t win a flag under this coach.

Hasn't that been your opinion under every coach since you started posting on this board?

Look its a great strategy - betting on one of the 17 teams to have a better result than our team each year gives you a 95% chance of being right. Keep playing those odds.

 

[1970crow]

If philosophies are ingrained then the coach doesnt matter.

B.I.N.G.O. I don’t know how many more times or ways I can post it.

That said, I do have some hope. Balme came in and he couldn’t possibly change much in a single offseason. I have hope that he’s moving the needle slowly behind the scenes. Same with Davis. Fingers crossed.

 

[AFC979810]

I do t recall reading how Zorko and Ryan were carrying an injury that meaningfully impacted their performance. You got anything suggesting different?

Who was carrying an injury?

 

[1970crow]

Hasn't that been your opinion under every coach since you started posting on this board?

Look its a great strategy - betting on one of the 17 teams to have a better result than our team each year gives you a 95% chance of being right. Keep playing those odds.

No, it hasn’t been, at least until there is some water under the bridge. I definitely arrived at that conclusion a lot earlier with Nicks than any predecessor though. What about you, which coaches did you think were going to take us to a flag? Do I need to quote some of your views on Nicks as a coach?

Is it only you that is allowed to criticise aspects of the club?

 

[Daniel6]

My mind is made up that we won’t win a flag under this coach. There’s no players that I dislike, there might be a couple that are locks to be selected that I don’t think should be. And the ‘club’ is just an administrative vessel that exists to put the players on the park. I support the players being successful, I think the ‘club’ has ingrained philosophies that actively get in the way of that.

Put it this way, Hawthorn have been as success as any club in the last 20 years. They pushed flag legends out of the club at the end of their careers and didn’t destroy the place, they’re back contending again. And then there’s our approach.

Cool. Nice story

 

[1970crow]

Within the last decade - we have gone from being in a Grand Final to winning our first wooden spoon.

You dont get that range of outcomes with the same philosophies.

Rubbish you don’t.

 

[ABAB]

My mind is made up that we won’t win a flag under this coach. There’s no players that I dislike, there might be a couple that are locks to be selected that I don’t think should be. And the ‘club’ is just an administrative vessel that exists to put the players on the park. I support the players being successful, I think the ‘club’ has ingrained philosophies that actively get in the way of that.

Put it this way, Hawthorn have been as success as any club in the last 20 years. They pushed flag legends out of the club at the end of their careers and didn’t destroy the place, they’re back contending again. And then there’s our approach.

And when we didn't go conservative with the camp, we pissed off the players and set the list back 5 years. Very fortunate we didn't end up with a Carlton-like list.

 

[AFC979810]

No, it hasn’t been, at least until there is some water under the bridge. I definitely arrived at that conclusion a lot earlier with Nicks than any predecessor though. What about you, which coaches did you think were going to take us to a flag? Do I need to quote some of your views on Nicks as a coach?

I thought that Craig, Walsh, Pyke could have taken us to a flag. I still believe that Craig was unlucky. Walsh was building something special and Pyke was damn close.

My views on Nicks are pretty public. I liked him as a coach when we hired him to rebuild the culture. Then I wanted him gone from early 2022 onwards for a coach who was a strategic thinker. I thought that up until July 25. Now I think he deserves a shot with our list in 2026 and if he fails we need a new coach.

I still think Nicks could take us to a flag. I think its a lot more about the playing list, health and luck than many on here.

Is it only you that is allowed to criticise aspects of the club?

C'mon. Thats a sad sack response. Is that a hungover response? I much prefer the charged up 3 bottles of red 1970 Crow!

 

[Daniel6]

I thought that Craig, Walsh, Pyke could have taken us to a flag. I still believe that Craig was unlucky. Walsh was building something special and Pyke was damn close.

My views on Nicks are pretty public. I liked him as a coach when we hired him to rebuild the culture. Then I wanted him gone from early 2022 onwards for a coach who was a strategic thinker. I thought that up until July 25. Now I think he deserves a shot with our list in 2026 and if he fails we need a new coach.

I still think Nicks could take us to a flag. I think its a lot more about the playing list, health and luck than many on here.



C'mon. Thats a sad sack response. Is that a hungover response? I much prefer the charged up 3 bottles of red 1970 Crow!

Neil Craig was a brilliant coach between round 1 and round 22, nut he was out of his depth when finals came to town.

His defensive style of getting numbers behind the ball to clog up space was found out with the quicker ball movement and his defensive style didn’t allow the team to kick a winning score.

I think Don Pyke could have won a flag with the with the club, but when the club hired Brett Burton and gave him too much autonomy, Burton let Pyke down.

 

[AFC979810]

Neil Craig was a brilliant coach between round 1 and round 22, nut he was out of his depth when finals came to town.

His defensive style of getting numbers behind the ball to clog up space was found out with the quicker ball movement and his defensive style didn’t allow the team to kick a winning score.

I think Don Pyke could have won a flag with the with the club, but when the club hired Brett Burton and gave him too much autonomy, Burton let Pyke down.

Craig had his limitations no doubt. But you also need to be healthy and lucky heading into the finals and playing in finals.

Roo in 2005 cost us that loss against St. Kilda.

In 2006 we entered the finals series as the #1 team. We also went into the finals with our forward line missing. Our 3 best forwards in 2006 were ROO (44 goals - last game was Rd 20). Hentschell (42 goals - last game was rd 21), Burton (41 goals, played until rd 18 then hammy and came back for prelim).

Then our next best goal kickers were Bode, Scott Thompson, McGregor and Biglands.

Our strength in 2006 was our midfield and our backline. Our forward line was good, but IMO this was on the back of the rest of our team being so good. To lose our 3 best forwards was a much bigger loss than Craigs faults.

 

[Daniel6]

Craig had his limitations no doubt. But you also need to be healthy and lucky heading into the finals and playing in finals.

Roo in 2005 cost us that loss against St. Kilda.

In 2006 we entered the finals series as the #1 team. We also went into the finals with our forward line missing. Our 3 best forwards in 2006 were ROO (44 goals - last game was Rd 20). Hentschell (42 goals - last game was rd 21), Burton (41 goals, played until rd 18 then hammy and came back for prelim).

Then our next best goal kickers were Bode, Scott Thompson, McGregor and Biglands.

Our strength in 2006 was our midfield and our backline. Our forward line was good, but IMO this was on the back of the rest of our team being so good. To lose our 3 best forwards was a much bigger loss than Craigs faults.

We were never winning a final with Neil Craig. Just wasn’t going ti happen