Training 2026 Preseason

[DQ 4EVER]

I must admit I initially didn't rate Wagner but I have warmed to him now and he is very versatile and can fill a few roles.

He is is a confidence player and he has commented on that himself saying he now feels he belongs in the AFL.

Me 2
I was wrong about him after his first game

 

[fnerd]

Yeah Not me ,I always knew wagsta would be a star .
You campaigners should try opening your eyes more often

 

[Taylor]

Wagner tried to be too cute with it early, then just started running at that high speed of his and hoofing it long over the back, resulting in a lot of goals from the opposition lines breaking.

 

[Dockeroo]

Always interesting to look at bookies odds preseason it adds a level of impartiality to things at this time of year.
They have us joint 8th in the betting with the pies, basically non-contenders at this point.
Personally I think we are slightly underestimated but not by much here. Probably have us about 6th at this stage.

We are basically relying on McVee, draftees and organic growth to improve from last year though.

Some of the sides ahead of us had better off seasons and recruited more talent. Some probably stagnated and are heading into 2026 with the same batch of talent.
Of course there will always be the one side that bolts from the bottom into contention too that’s not factored into this list.

A fascinating question for me will be - if the bookies are indeed right and we finish 8th or 9th, does JL survive that into 2027?
Personally I think anything less than prelim final weekend and questions would need to be asked. If signs are good I could accept as a fan an exit in the second week of finals after a competitive campaign.

Losing in the wildcard round or heaven forbid - missing the top 10 altogether, then the coach is toast.

 

[Spirit Level]

Wags was a huge loss in the final last year, would've played on Rowell and at least been able to keep up with him

 

[dockerfemme]

View attachment 2511787Always interesting to look at bookies odds preseason it adds a level of impartiality to things at this time of year.
They have us joint 8th in the betting with the pies, basically non-contenders at this point.
Personally I think we are slightly underestimated but not by much here. Probably have us about 6th at this stage.

We are basically relying on McVee, draftees and organic growth to improve from last year though.

Some of the sides ahead of us had better off seasons and recruited more talent. Some probably stagnated and are heading into 2026 with the same batch of talent.
Of course there will always be the one side that bolts from the bottom into contention too that’s not factored into this list.

A fascinating question for me will be - if the bookies are indeed right and we finish 8th or 9th, does JL survive that into 2027?
Personally I think anything less than prelim final weekend and questions would need to be asked. If signs are good I could accept as a fan an exit in the second week of finals after a competitive campaign.

Losing in the wildcard round or heaven forbid - missing the top 10 altogether, then the coach is toast.

I think the bookies odds have the top 4 right. I think the odds gap between the Swans at 5th and the Dogs at 10th is too great. To a large extent you could throw a blanket over those teams at this stage IMHO.

I think there are things you can argue that could make us better this year - last year we played most of the year without Hayden Young, we didn’t really know what we had in Murphy Reid and Voss forced his way into the team pushing Jackson into the midfield which didn’t really seem to be in our planning. McVee fills a clear hole too.

Having said all that I still have us as bottom of the 8 level.

 

[Jezzitizle]

View attachment 2511787Always interesting to look at bookies odds preseason it adds a level of impartiality to things at this time of year.
They have us joint 8th in the betting with the pies, basically non-contenders at this point.
Personally I think we are slightly underestimated but not by much here. Probably have us about 6th at this stage.

We are basically relying on McVee, draftees and organic growth to improve from last year though.

Some of the sides ahead of us had better off seasons and recruited more talent. Some probably stagnated and are heading into 2026 with the same batch of talent.
Of course there will always be the one side that bolts from the bottom into contention too that’s not factored into this list.

A fascinating question for me will be - if the bookies are indeed right and we finish 8th or 9th, does JL survive that into 2027?
Personally I think anything less than prelim final weekend and questions would need to be asked. If signs are good I could accept as a fan an exit in the second week of finals after a competitive campaign.

Losing in the wildcard round or heaven forbid - missing the top 10 altogether, then the coach is toast.

Is this a reflection of likelihood of winning the flag, or better trends?

No evidence that Swans will make it back, Cox has a lot to prove.

Hawks got no better. Gunston kicked 60 last year, at his age can he do it again?

GC and the Crows look good on paper but a lot to prove.

Giants hit and miss.

Expect Cats and Brissie to be strong, but there is a very good chance one of them doesn’t perform to expectations.

Honestly if we go into r1 with our big guns fit, I am expecting top 4 this year, with top 2 depending on how we go between rounds 15-19.

 

[2big2strom]

So from what I’m gathering we need to start booking busses and tattoo appointments?

trying to decide whether my tattoo should say "flagmantle 2026" or be a picture of Bailey Banfield's face with the caption "Norm 2026"

some tough decisions to be made

 

[DQ 4EVER]

trying to decide whether my tattoo should say "flagmantle 2026" or be a picture of Bailey Banfield's face with the caption "Norm 2026"

some tough decisions to be made

I recommend you go the henna route

 

[theGav56]

View attachment 2511787Always interesting to look at bookies odds preseason it adds a level of impartiality to things at this time of year.
They have us joint 8th in the betting with the pies, basically non-contenders at this point.
Personally I think we are slightly underestimated but not by much here. Probably have us about 6th at this stage.

We are basically relying on McVee, draftees and organic growth to improve from last year though.

Some of the sides ahead of us had better off seasons and recruited more talent. Some probably stagnated and are heading into 2026 with the same batch of talent.
Of course there will always be the one side that bolts from the bottom into contention too that’s not factored into this list.

A fascinating question for me will be - if the bookies are indeed right and we finish 8th or 9th, does JL survive that into 2027?
Personally I think anything less than prelim final weekend and questions would need to be asked. If signs are good I could accept as a fan an exit in the second week of finals after a competitive campaign.

Losing in the wildcard round or heaven forbid - missing the top 10 altogether, then the coach is toast.

Fair post, but I think you can add a little more more optimism than you indicate here.

• Hayden Young fit and having a full season would be a huge factor.
• the ruck rule changes coupled with our potential use of Jackson as a wildcard is more than "organic growth".
• I choose to see McVee less as a simple, quality list addition, and more as a signal that the intent of the club regarding its gameplan is/has shifted. Again, more than "organic growth". Our success requires the coach to change gears, and this is being signalled.
• the targeted drafting of ready to go forwards over the past 2 seasons including Voss, Cox, the Wombat, Tobyn Murray actively indicate that the shift in game plan is primed and loaded.

I expect to be actively contending for top 4. Top 4 clubs contend for a premiership.

 

[CaseySibosadoHOF]

View attachment 2511787Always interesting to look at bookies odds preseason it adds a level of impartiality to things at this time of year.
They have us joint 8th in the betting with the pies, basically non-contenders at this point.
Personally I think we are slightly underestimated but not by much here. Probably have us about 6th at this stage.

We are basically relying on McVee, draftees and organic growth to improve from last year though.

Some of the sides ahead of us had better off seasons and recruited more talent. Some probably stagnated and are heading into 2026 with the same batch of talent.
Of course there will always be the one side that bolts from the bottom into contention too that’s not factored into this list.

A fascinating question for me will be - if the bookies are indeed right and we finish 8th or 9th, does JL survive that into 2027?
Personally I think anything less than prelim final weekend and questions would need to be asked. If signs are good I could accept as a fan an exit in the second week of finals after a competitive campaign.

Losing in the wildcard round or heaven forbid - missing the top 10 altogether, then the coach is toast.

Imo, with how big the gap was btwn the best and the rest, you can rank the top 10 teams in a lot of orders that make sense. But almost all those teams will see themselves as flag fancies, so inevitably every team ranked in the lower portion of that top 10 will feel underrated.

Putting Freo aside (obvious bias there), I think this list overrates St Kilda (should be a bigger gap btwn them and the rest), Hawks (lost 2 best 23 players + old players may regress - Gunston ain't kicking 73 goals again) and Gold Coast (the big names are nice but you usually don't get better short-term when you lose 4 best 23 players).

 

[Jezzitizle]

trying to decide whether my tattoo should say "flagmantle 2026" or be a picture of Bailey Banfield's face with the caption "Norm 2026"

some tough decisions to be made

Depends a bit on the real estate - if we are talking forehead, it has to be flagmantle, if it is a chest and belly piece, banners is the clear choice.

 

[anchor man]

trying to decide whether my tattoo should say "flagmantle 2026" or be a picture of Bailey Banfield's face with the caption "Norm 2026"

some tough decisions to be made

Anything but bloody flagmantle crap.

 

[Footskill]

This might of been posted.. not that I've come across, but oh wells. For those who haven't. Some of the highlights from the recent match sim with clear footage

 

[freo84]

This might of been posted.. but oh wells. Some of the highlights from the recent match sim

Cheers mate.

 

[2big2strom]

Fair post, but I think you can add a little more more optimism than you indicate here.

• Hayden Young fit and having a full season would be a huge factor.
• the ruck rule changes coupled with our potential use of Jackson as a wildcard is more than "organic growth".
• I choose to see McVee less as a simple, quality list addition, and more as a signal that the intent of the club regarding its gameplan is/has shifted. Again, more than "organic growth". Our success requires the coach to change gears, and this is being signalled.
• the targeted drafting of ready to go forwards over the past 2 seasons including Voss, Cox, the Wombat, Tobyn Murray actively indicate that the shift in game plan is primed and loaded.

I expect to be actively contending for top 4. Top 4 clubs contend for a premiership.

Another optimistic point to add: we are more primed than any other team (except maybe Brisbane?) to progress I would say every other team in our vicinity will likely regress or not be able to match our progression

 

[King Huskii]

Another optimistic point to add: we are more primed than any other team (except maybe Brisbane?) to progress I would say every other team in our vicinity will likely regress or not be able to match our progression

I reckon GC is primed for the next 12 years

 

[Kapow!!!]

I reckon GC is primed for the next 12 years

Depends on how long the academy system continues and how they manage their football department and board I guess. They're primed for a very prolonged premiership window as it is but if they keep that and manage it as they have been (i.e. rolling wantaways into multiple first round picks) and keep some reasonably sound footy minds in the office they could very well be there for a VERY long time.

Big ifs. It took them a decade and change to get their shit together but it's there now.

 

[King Huskii]

Depends on how long the academy system continues and how they manage their football department and board I guess. They're primed for a very prolonged premiership window as it is but if they keep that and manage it as they have been (i.e. rolling wantaways into multiple first round picks) and keep some reasonably sound footy minds in the office they could very well be there for a VERY long time.

Big ifs. It took them a decade and change to get their shit together but it's there now.

They could fail in trying to win a premiership over the next 10 to 12 years but that list although youngish has depth other clubs just can't either afford or get their hands on. Which other club is allowed to accept bids on two top 5 picks plus two others in the top 20? The AFL has purposely created a potential unstoppable team. They also acquired Petracca and at the same time JUH for a bag of chips.

Happy days to both of the northern academies.

 

[Alfonz]

GC definitely have a big chance in 2026 and 2027, especially if JUH doesn't blow up the joint, but I'm not too concerned about them after that. I reckon they are primed for 1-2 years, and then will revert back into the historical purgatory of the GC sporting wasteland.

Humphrey will keep trying to leave. Petracca is either already cooked, or will be in a few years. Witts and Collins have no replacements and they are getting on.

King FA end of 2026. Rowell and Anderson FA end of 2027. You can bet your life the Victorian clubs will come hard for them and I think 1 or 2 will leave.

That's pretty close to their 7 most important players, and they are facing the prospect of many of them being gone or regressing by the end of 2027. The academy will provide some talent, but that will take time, plus they largely seems to be quite small and the guys I've listed are talls or bulls.

 

[Cesoir]

Ɓ

This might of been posted.. not that I've come across, but oh wells. For those who haven't. Some of the highlights from the recent match sim with clear footage

Thanks for that mate, it's great to see the boys running around. Very low intensity and still overusing it, hopefully that's just bedding in plays because we'd get ripped apart if we try that under match intensity.

We should not be handpassing backwards, it invites pressure. Handpass forward or to a guy running past. Please and thank you.

 

[88mph]

This might of been posted.. not that I've come across, but oh wells. For those who haven't. Some of the highlights from the recent match sim with clear footage

Is it just me or do our skills look absolutely terrible here? Few good passages but overall the skill level looks concerning.

 

[gungho]

Me 2
I was wrong about him after his first game

He had one of the worst first games in history. I think there were 3 clangers in about 8 possessions. It was jack Anthony bad. Literally no one thought he would make it.

 

[Suma Says]

While it wasnt a great start by any stretch of the imagination id imagine most people are smart enough to wait till theres a bigger body of work than a single game to try to make definitive judgements like that.

 

[Superkoops]

While it wasnt a great start by any stretch of the imagination id imagine most people are smart enough to wait till theres a bigger body of work than a single game to try to make definitive judgements like that.

Clear intent to play-on quickly. Something breaking down in the f50 for both white and purple. You can see players clearly don’t have an option to kick i50 so invite pressure bu holding onto the ball and then handballing backwards and sideways. Bit to work on.