Preview 2026 Best 23 Discussion

[mattis117]

Slightly related to this thread but I really dislike the move to a 23rd man on the field by the AFL. This has been a slow creep from 22 to now 23 players being named as regular starters in the last few years.
Given we clearly had the worst bottom 6 players of all the eight finalists last year, it’s just another small thing that makes it even harder for us.
Great for teams with massive depth like Brisbane and GC. Bad for the likes of freo.

This seems short sighted to me. We have a lot of developing depth and what was a weakness may be a strength quite quickly.

 

[theGav56]

Our bottom 6 aren’t great but I don’t think we have enough match winning talent consistently which will cost us a few finals.

I'm not giving the club any leeway for the bottom 6.

This is the lower echelons of team selection from Channels

IC: Erasmus Johnson Draper Chapman Worner

Competing for spots : Banfield, Walker, o'Meara, Dudley

Injury cover: Omac and Cox

Pretty decent options for last players selected and depth.

If the club can't drag itself to a decent season with those options I don't think it is list issues.

 

[Dockeroo]

I really don't think our bottom 6 are that bad, at least assuming no injuries.

I think our depth has improved a fair bit in the off season, at least at the moment when everyone is training the house down.

I think except for Brisbane, we are not too far away from matching any side for depth. GC will have awesome depth in 2 or 3 years, but they are not there yet and need to hold on to their free agents to win a flag.

Key forward depth is not ideal, but we can easily play one less tall and an extra small with out any issues.
We really just need one of Pickett, Dudley, Sweid , Murray to have a break out season.

Having said all that, it would have been great to get someone like Ah Chee or .. to improve our bottom 2 or 3 players, and add more final experience.

--------------------
FB: Ryan Pearce Simpson
HB: Clark Cox McVee
C: Wagner Young Frederick
HF: Bolton Treacy Reid
FF: Amiss Voss Switkowski

R: Darcy Jackson Brayshaw

I: Chapman Serong Erasmus Johnson Murray

Depth
General: Worner, JOM, O'Driscoll, Walker, Banfield, Sharp, Pickett, Dudley, Sweid

KPD: Davies, Draper, McDonald
KF/ Ruck: Cox, Riddle

Do Gold Coast really have massive depth?

Feels like they shed about 4 best 23 players this last trade period alone to accumulate the points that they did to draft their Queensland kids.

Gold coast had a more balanced 22 than us in September anyway.
I seem to recall guys like Will Powell and Bodhi Uwland really stepping up and delivering for them - in our team their equivalents are the likes of Chapman and Frederick - that 14th to 18th best bracket in their respective teams in terms of ranking.

I think we rely massively on our top 6 or 8 players. I know every team does, but we do to a greater degree.

Yes GC lost Flanders and Ainsworth but they brought in Petracca, two top 5 picks (I have a bad feeling Dylan Patterson will be a freak btw ) and had a whole host for first round picks sitting in the shed like Lombard, Rogers etc waiting to go that didn’t even play that final in September.
There’s a reason some of us have been whinging for years on the main board about their concessions - they are coming home to roost right now.

I thought we did as well as we could this offseason but we have still only brought in one quality AFL player I’m absolutely sure about in McVee. Everyone else is an unknown quantity at this point.

I didn’t see much in the shed down at peel by the end of last season, the picking were pretty slim. Brandon Walker is one that needs a big year for sure. Should be looking at taking either Worner or Banfield spot in the 22.

This seems short sighted to me. We have a lot of developing depth and what was a weakness may be a strength quite quickly.

I hope you are right. We will have a good idea of our depth - if Banfield is still getting games next year though. I recall this time last year (and the year before) posters saying he was depth yet he played 20 games in 2025!

Maybe one of the unknown draftees like Sweid or Murray comes from nowhere to grab a spot. That would be nice.

I thought our small forwards were really exposed in the end last year and glad to see the club throwing everything at fixing this glaring issue in the draft and even the SSP train ons.
Law of averages surely means one of Murray, Sweid, Kickett or Scerri is a decent AFL small forward.

 

[theGav56]

Gold coast had a more balanced 22 than us in September anyway.
I seem to recall guys like Will Powell and Bodhi Uwland really stepping up and delivering for them - in our team their equivalents are the likes of Chapman and Frederick - that 14th to 18th best bracket in their respective teams in terms of ranking.

I think we rely massively on our top 6 or 8 players. I know every team does, but we do to a greater degree.

Yes GC lost Flanders and Ainsworth but they brought in Petracca, two top 5 picks (I have a bad feeling Dylan Patterson will be a freak btw ) and had a whole host for first round picks sitting in the shed like Lombard, Rogers etc waiting to go that didn’t even play that final in September.
There’s a reason some of us have been whinging for years on the main board about their concessions - they are coming home to roost right now.

I thought we did as well as we could this offseason but we have still only brought in one quality AFL player I’m absolutely sure about in McVee. Everyone else is an unknown quantity at this point.

I didn’t see much in the shed down at peel by the end of last season, the picking were pretty slim. Brandon Walker is one that needs a big year for sure. Should be looking at taking either Worner or Banfield spot in the 22.


I hope you are right. We will have a good idea of our depth - if Banfield is still getting games next year though. I recall this time last year (and the year before) posters saying he was depth yet he played 20 games in 2025!

Maybe one of the unknown draftees like Sweid or Murray comes from nowhere to grab a spot. That would be nice.

I thought our small forwards were really exposed in the end last year and glad to see the club throwing everything at fixing this glaring issue in the draft and even the SSP train ons.
Law of averages surely means one of Murray, Sweid, Kickett or Scerri is a decent AFL small forward.

Player like Worner, Banfield and O'Meara cop a hiding on here and portrayed as week depth. I think they are fit for purpose in Longmuir's eyes.

We brought in McVee and seemed to have no other trade targets. My conclusion is Longmuir has the list he wants.

 

[Dockeroo]

Player like Worner, Banfield and O'Meara cop a hiding on here and portrayed as week depth. I think they are fit for purpose in Longmuir's eyes.

We brought in McVee and seemed to have no other trade targets. My conclusion is Longmuir has the list he wants.

My view is that none of those players you mentioned are good enough to play in a flag winning side. So far, the best those 3 have done is week one of finals (and they were pretty damningly exposed in that) so they have it all to prove still.

I agree McVee is a fine pickup but I’d also bet anything that JL would have liked to recruit more - but what could he do?
Mason Cox was just about the only other player that even wanted to come to the club. Once Jai Serong declined us that was about it in terms of potential other recruits.
Off to the draft and hope Wallsy can pull another rabbit or two out of the hat.

 

[theGav56]

My view is that none of those players you mentioned are good enough to play in a flag winning side. So far, the best those 3 have done is week one of finals (and they were pretty damningly exposed in that) so they have it all to prove still.

I agree McVee is a fine pickup but I’d also bet anything that JL would have liked to recruit more - but what could he do?
Mason Cox was just about the only other player that even wanted to come to the club. Once Jai Serong declined us that was about it in terms of potential other recruits.
Off to the draft and hope Wallsy can pull another rabbit or two out of the hat.

Thinking Jai Serong is a significantly better player than those three is fanciful.