2026 Ladder Predictions

[PowerfulPies2023]

Post yours.

Lions
Hawks
Cats
Suns
Freo

Can't see them missing. Not sure on Pies. gws and crows seem good but unlikely the 8 stays the same as a couple usually drop out. Only Dogs and swans and potentially Melbourne seem like challengers to take a sides spot. Maybe Port?

Lions to 3peat.

 

[shaqsuns]

Lions
Giants
 Hawks
Suns
Cats
Bulldogs
Dockers
Saints

 

[Sydneyfan]

End of Season Ladder (probable finals ending)

1. Gold Coast (prelim)
2. Adelaide (prelim)
3. Brisbane (premiers/runner-up)
4. St. Kilda (premiers/runner-up)
5. GWS (elim)
6. Sydney (semis)
7. Western Bulldogs (elim)
8. Hawthorn (semis)
——————
9. Fremantle
10. Collingwood
11. Geelong
12. Essendon
13. Port Adelaide
14. Kangaroos
15. Carlton
16. Melbourne
17. Richmond
18. West Coast

 

[imagifED]

1) Adelaide
2) Brisbane
3) Hawthorn
4) Gold Coast
5) Fremantle
6) Sydney
7) GWS
8) St Kilda
9) Geelong
10) Western Bulldogs
11) Collingwood
12) Port Adelaide
13) North Melbourne
14) Essendon
15) Carlton
16) Melbourne
17) West Coast
18) Richmond

Predicted we would miss finals in 2024 when most thought we would make it. Predicted we would make finals in 2025 when most thought we would not. I think we will be a good H&A team, question mark obviously on finals.

 

[Leather Poisoning]

1. Brisbane - would take a bit of a disaster for them to fall away
2. Hawthorn - we're coming
3. Gold Coast - they're coming
4. Bulldogs - they have to turn some of that percentage into a better finish surely
5. Adelaide - if they get some midfield boost they'll be there
6. Fremantle - they have good pieces in every area
7. GWS - this is just their zone.
8. Collingwood - dont' think they'll improve
9. Sydney - they don't stay down for long
10. Melbourne - they're better than they looked. New coach will refresh them.
11. St Kilda - They'll boost aroudn the edges but won't realy bother anyone
12. Port Adelaide - not sure what they're missing but thye don't really have it.
13. Essendon - surely can't do any worse than this year.
14. Geelong - Think they'll have one of their tactical down seasons.
15. Carlton - they're realy lost as a club
16. North - This club is a disaster.
17 West Coast - losing their captain isn't a good start to the new season. Weird for them to be so bad for so many seasons in a row though - very un-west coast
18. Richmond - They're doing good things but are so raw.

 

[Aristotle Pickett the3rd]

1. GWS
2. Western Bulldogs
3. Brisbane
4. Gold Coast
5. Hawthorn
6. Adelaide
7. Geelong
8. St.Kilda
------____------
9. Collingwood
10. Sydney
11. Fremantle
12. Melbourne
13. Kangaroos
14. Essendon
15. Carlton
16. Richmond
17. Port
18. West Coast

 

[Wojcinski]

1. Brisbane
2. Suns
3. GWS
4. Hawks
5. Freo
6. Geelong
7. Dogs
8. Sydney
-
9. Adelaide
10. Pies
11. St Kilda
12. Carlton
13. Melbourne
14. North
15. Port
16. Essendon
17. Richmond
18. West Coast

 

[Veer Right]

Noticing a clear top 11 and then the rest which i agree with as well.

 

[ShooterMcGavin8]

Pies gonna slide hard

 

[Rod Stroker]

Hard to say before trades and draft.
Lions would have to be top 2.

Geelong yesterday lacked a KPF marking target and a competitive ruck. If they land Curnow and Marshall, they will be right up there.

Giants would want to arrest their backwards trend of PF then SF then EF. I expect they will.

I think Freo will do nothing again, mid table at best.

I expect we'll finally climb out of the bottom 4, how far above that who knows

 

[Eddie Murphy]

Bound to change but here's a first crack.

1. Brisbane
2. Hawthorn
3. Gold Coast
4. Geelong
5. Sydney
6. Adelaide
7. Fremantle
8. St Kilda
9. Western Bulldogs
10. GWS
11. Collingwood
12. North Melbourne
13. Carlton
14. Port Adelaide
15. Melbourne
16. Essendon
17. West Coast
18. Richmond

Bris def Gee
Haw def GCS
Syd def Stk
Ade def Fre

Gee def by Syd
GCS def Ade

Bris def GCS
Haw def Syd

Bris def Haw

 

[JackFlash]

1. Hawthorn
2. Suns
3. Brisbane
4. Fremantle
5. Western Bulldogs
6. Giants
7. Geelong
8. St.Kilda

No idea really until we see who gets traded and the draft (which is apparently a weak one this year)
I think the Pies and Crows will slip, Lions never finish on top and they have a strategic finals plan better than anyone else, the Cats will still contend, but at what level of contention is the query? It's all guess work right now, i'm more concerned about what i will do with myself next week? The worry could be if both Adelaide and Swans contend as well? It's possible that 6 interstate teams could finish in the 8 next year?

 

[theprospector]

1 Lions
2 Suns
3 Hawks
4 Pies
5 Saints
6 Swans
7 GWS
8 Cats

9 Crows
10 Dogs
11 Freo
12 North
13 Blues
14 Tigers
15 Port
16 Melbourne
17 WCE
18 Essendon

 

[Angus Young]

Brisbane
Hawthorn
Geelong
Fremantle
Suns
Adelaide
Collingwood
Sydney

 

[JayJ20]

It'll change after the trade and draft period, but for now:

1) Gold Coast
2) Brisbane
3) Sydney
4) Geelong
5) GWS
6) St Kilda
7) Western Bulldogs
8) Hawthorn
9) Collingwood
10) Adelaide
11) Fremantle
12) North Melbourne
13) Carlton
14) Melbourne
15) Port Adelaide
16) Richmond
17) Essendon
18) West Coast

 

[HBFlanker]

1. Brisbane - Could go undefeated
2. Gold Coast - Petracca addition will be enormous
3. Hawthorn - Merrett addition will be enormous
4. Geelong - Marshall addition will be enormous
5. Fremantle - Ready to properly challenge
6. Adelaide - Can challenge again. need another midfielder
7. Western Bulldogs - Interrupted 2025, they will be better and more settled next year
8. Sydney - Last year was a write off early on

9. GWS - Just don't have enough through the middle anymore. Should be going hard for Simpkin or Trac
10. Collingwood - The cliff is upon us - Will be ordinary for the next few years
11. St.Kilda - Bye bye Rossco
12. North Melbourne - The big bounce is beginning
13. Port Adelaide - Just in no mans land at the moment. Could be worse if Butters leaves in the next few weeks
14. Carlton - Big concerns here with players departing all over the place
15. Melbourne - New coach. Have sneakily had a bit of an exodus once Petracca and Mcvee depart on top of Spargo
16. Essendon - Goodness me. Where to?
17. West Coast - Will improve slightly.
18. Richmond - Will be worse than last year.

 

[MF]

1. Freo
2. Brisbane
3. GWS
4. Hawthorn
5. Sydney
6. Geelong
7. Gold Coast
8. Bulldogs

9. Adelaide
10. Collingwood
11. Saints
12. Port Adelaide
13. Carlton
14. Melbourne
15. Essendon
16. Richmond
17. North Melbourne
18. West Coast

 

[MCG-Unit]

Wish List:

Saints
Geelong
Brisbane Lions, Swans
Gold Coast
GWS Giants
Dockers
WC Eagles

9-18 Rest of the World

 

[JayJ20]

This was my post this time last year and I think I did pretty well. I put how far off I was in parentheses:

1. Brisbane (+2)
2. Fremantle (+4)
3. Collingwood (+1)
4. Carlton (+7)
5. Hawthorn (+3)
6. Geelong (-4)
7. St Kilda (+5)
8. GWS (-3)
------------------
9. Bulldogs (0)
10. Adelaide (-9)
11. Sydney (-1)
12. Gold Coast (-5)
13. Port Adelaide (0)
14. Melbourne (0)
15. Essendon (0)
16. North Melbourne (0)
17. West Coast (+1)
18. Richmond (-1)

I got 5 right and 4 within one place.

I got 6 out of the 8 finalists right. Only had Carlton and Adelaide way off.

Also hilarious how I had Fremantle and Geelong, Hawthorn and GWS and St Kilda and Gold Coast flipped.

 

[cactuscall]

Wish List:

Saints
Geelong
Brisbane Lions, Swans
Gold Coast
GWS Giants
Dockers, WC Eagles

 

[JPetro83]

Hawthorn
Brisbane
Geelong
Sydney
Gold Coast
Adelaide
Fremantle
Collingwood

GWS
St Kilda
Bulldogs
Port
Carlton
Melbourne
North Melbourne
Essendon
Richmond
West Coast

 

[PCORF]

Very early prediction and I'm 100% sure I will be wrong.

1 Geelong
2 Brisbane
3 Sydney
4 Hawthorn
5 Fremantle
6 Adelaide
7 Collingwood
8 Bulldogs

9 Giants
10 St Kilda
11 Gold Coast
12 Port Adelaide
13 Carlton
14 Melbourne
15 North Melbourne
16 Essendon
17 West Coast
18 Richmond

Sydney back in the finals.

Every team will win at least 5 games.

Players expected to retire after 2026: Taylor Walker

13

Taylor Walker

Age

35

Ht

192cm

Wt

102kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

13.0

3star

K

9.0

3star

HB

4.0

3star

M

5.7

5star

T

1.6

4star

G

2.3

5star

No current season stats available

D

8.0

2star

K

6.4

3star

HB

1.6

2star

M

4.2

4star

T

1.6

4star

G

1.6

5star

, Patrick Dangerfield, Scott Pendlebury

10

Scott Pendlebury

Age

37

Ht

191cm

Wt

86kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

26.5

5star

K

13.2

5star

HB

13.3

5star

M

4.1

4star

T

4.9

5star

CL

4.9

5star

D

25.1

5star

K

12.3

5star

HB

12.9

5star

M

3.4

3star

T

2.3

3star

CL

3.6

4star

D

12.4

4star

K

7.6

3star

HB

4.8

4star

M

5.8

5star

T

2.6

4star

, Jeremy Howe

38

Jeremy Howe

Age

35

Ht

190cm

Wt

86kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

17.0

4star

K

11.2

4star

HB

5.7

4star

M

6.4

5star

T

2.1

4star

MG

318.1

4star

D

21.5

5star

K

16.5

5star

HB

5.0

3star

M

6.5

5star

T

2.0

3star

MG

433.3

5star

D

15.2

4star

K

9.0

4star

HB

6.2

4star

M

6.8

5star

T

1.6

4star

, Todd Goldstein

17

Todd Goldstein

Age

37

Ht

201cm

Wt

101kg

Pos.

Ruck

Career

Season

Last 5

D

13.2

3star

K

5.7

2star

HB

7.5

5star

CL

3.1

5star

HO

32.5

5star

D

16.7

4star

K

9.3

4star

HB

7.4

4star

CL

7.0

5star

HO

32.9

5star

D

5.2

2star

K

2.6

1star

HB

2.6

3star

HO

10.0

5star

, Jack Darling

27

Jack Darling

Age

33

Ht

191cm

Wt

95kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

12.1

3star

K

7.9

3star

HB

4.2

3star

M

5.0

5star

T

3.0

5star

G

1.9

5star

D

8.0

2star

K

4.3

2star

HB

3.7

3star

M

2.7

3star

T

2.4

3star

G

1.3

5star

D

14.6

4star

K

7.6

3star

HB

7.0

5star

M

6.0

5star

T

4.0

5star

G

1.4

5star

.
Players expected to play on in 2027: Dayne Zorko

15

Dayne Zorko

Age

36

Ht

175cm

Wt

77kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

21.4

5star

K

13.2

5star

HB

8.2

5star

M

3.6

4star

T

6.0

5star

MG

440.5

5star

D

14.0

3star

K

9.0

4star

HB

5.0

3star

M

2.0

2star

T

5.0

5star

MG

291.0

4star

D

16.4

4star

K

9.8

4star

HB

6.6

4star

M

5.2

5star

T

6.6

5star

, Steele Sidebottom

22

Steele Sidebottom

Age

34

Ht

184cm

Wt

86kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

27.4

5star

K

14.1

5star

HB

13.3

5star

M

5.5

5star

T

3.7

5star

CL

3.2

5star

D

24.0

5star

K

12.0

5star

HB

12.0

5star

M

4.5

4star

T

4.3

5star

CL

2.3

4star

D

31.6

5star

K

14.4

5star

HB

17.2

5star

M

4.2

4star

T

4.2

5star

CL

6.0

5star

, Jeremy Cameron

5

Jeremy Cameron

Age

32

Ht

196cm

Wt

94kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

12.5

3star

K

9.0

3star

HB

3.4

3star

M

5.4

5star

T

1.6

4star

G

2.6

5star

D

10.0

3star

K

7.1

3star

HB

2.9

2star

M

4.6

4star

T

2.0

3star

G

1.9

5star

D

8.2

2star

K

5.0

2star

HB

3.2

3star

M

4.6

5star

T

2.4

4star

G

2.0

5star

 

[Steele2King]

1. Brisbane
2. Hawthorn
3. Fremantle
4. Geelong
5. Sydney
6. Adelaide
7. GC
8. Western Bulldogs
9. St Kilda
10. Collingwood
11. GWS
12. Carlton
13. North Melb
14. Port
15. Bombers
16. Melbourne
17. Richmond
18. West Coast

 

[Wolfgang West]

Hard to say before trades and draft.
Lions would have to be top 2.

Geelong yesterday lacked a KPF marking target and a competitive ruck. If they land Curnow and Marshall, they will be right up there.

Giants would want to arrest their backwards trend of PF then SF then EF. I expect they will.

I think Freo will do nothing again, mid table at best.

I expect we'll finally climb out of the bottom 4, how far above that who knows

Ha Ha ! If that happens AFL are deadset taking the piss. Oh ! Thats right Charlie said he will take a pay cut !

 

[MCG-Unit]

View attachment 2441035

it's a Wish List not a prediction