Opinion 2026 wish list

[bindas12]

Midfield bulls. Close the thread.

 

[Come back Cyril]

My mental meanderings post PF loss have been around ways we can improve, so I thought I'd put it out there for you all.

What I'd like to see coming into next year:

• Improved clearance ratios - goes without saying, there will be personnel changes of course but I'm hoping to see improvement from the youngsters. Ward, McKenzie and Buttler all have potential to step up another level.
• Day on the park consistently. Move heaven and earth to get his foot right.
• Weddle to become a dominant player.
• Team's maturity in their ability to absorb pressure and attain / hold territory during these periods.
• Strength over the ball. IMO this is an area Geelong really controlled the PF, they rarely lost their feet, and moved the ball to advantage to find a free player. This ties in with the first point.

Love others to add their thoughts.

This is a great list. I would also love the following.
1. Calsher to have an uninterrupted preaseason and to really improve his endurance - think he could be anything with a couple of big preaseasons under his belt.
2. Butler and Lewis to do the same and to both be cherry ripe for a big year.
3. Weddle to work on his ball-handling
4. Some strong additions to our midfield
5. An offseason focus on strategies to halt momentum against us (chip it around? Extra mids?)

Number one on my wish list is definitely getting Day on the park as often as possible.

 

[CaptainWorpedo]

1. Address midfield weakness via draft, trade or FA.

2. A preseason without any major injury concerns.

3. A focus on skills for all

4. Dear, McCabe and Mackenzie to gain some muscle, but not that much it impacts their pace or jump.

5. McCabe trains as a defender and partners with Mraz

6. Cody Anderson’s endurance improves and he has a break out year as a FWD-MID. Which helps take some of Worpels load.

7. Mraz, McCabe and Anderson debuts. (Anderson linked to 6)

8. Starting the main season strongly with wins. No slow starts.

9. Secure a top 4 position, so we’re in a great position for a Grand final push!

10. Find some Rookies with skill and speed.

 

[MatteeG]

To stop getting beaten by what we know. Every loss this year seemed to be based on opposition strengths. Keep Finn ready at all times

Also get Meeky to improve his taps to advantage, and get a bit more campaigner about him.

 

[Adelaide Hawk]

Yes, as with others the obvious piece we need is a dominant midfielder. Some say two, but I'm hopeful Will Day will be back stronger than ever in 2026. We also need a forward to take a step up, we cannot rely upon Gunners booting 73 goals again. Someone needs to set themselves for a 60-goal season. Not being too critical, but I'd really love to see Wizard have a greater impact on games, if he's not finding the ball around goal, give him a run in the midfield for a while. He should be a 50 goal a year player. Other than that. I'll leave it up to Sam, he knows more about it than I do.

 

[Adelaide Hawk]

Also get Meeky to improve his taps to advantage, and get a bit more campaigner about him.

Ironically, we lost a game to Port Adelaide last year when he did precisely that. He tapped the ball clear rather than just drop it at his feet and lock the ball in. Time and place

 

[mustang]

Well for starters we have to improve this below, or not let it be a thing in pressure games. Our ball handling was iffy at times in 2025, and it needs to improve. We were bottom 6 for 2025 in regards to 1st possession becoming a clearance.



Our rebound 50 rate is top 3 in the comp and our intercept possessions top 2, so we have done a lot right defensively. Add to this that we are the number 1 team for defensive 1v1 loss% and 2nd for defensive pressure acts.
What has dried up in our defensive end is our run and drive. I think we were sat on the closer we got to finals, and that our transition suffered.
For example, over the 2025 season we were rated 5th in the compm for scores from kick ins. Filter down to the last 10 games, and we were 17th.

It might surprise people to know we are below league average for ground ball gets in the F50, and I think that marries up with our intent for another small with pace and pressure(Butler?). 4th for tackles inside 50, 2nd for loose ball gets, but also 5th for groundball gets around the ground. We are doing a lot right it must be said.

We are bottom 4 for Hardball gets, but top 5 for contested possessions. 5th for Loose ball gets and 5th also for uncontested possessions. I think this is how we intend to play at this point. We don't want a contested game, we look to space, we look to get the ball on the outside and we like to play uncontested footy on our terms.

Bottom 6 for centre clearances(10th for stoppage clearances). Below league average for total clearances. This is a clear deficiency we need to address which we all know about.

3rd in the comp for marks inside 50, and 2nd for Marks inside 50 per Inside 50 and to add fuel to my point that I will get to, is that we are also top 5 for Scores from centre clearance.

In summary, and surprising no one, we need to improve in the middle.
We can score well from centre clearance, but we don't give ourselves enough chances to do so when we are bottom 6 for winning them.
Our potency inside 50 is a strength, but we also have improvement to be found when it comes to winning the ball on the deck.
A mid/forward hybrid is a necessity to my eyes, which we pretty much all already know. Someone who can win a clearance but also provide a marking option when resting forward.
The return of Day will also help with centre clearances, but he's likely going to be protected a little at times, so we need improvement regardless( 2 mids at trade week is pretty much a necessity IMO).

I'm not sure how we improve our ball handling at the stoppage, but whether its personnel or simply training more often with soapy footys it's a clear problem that I've observed, backed up by the stats.

Our midfield depth is a watch and we need to improve this too, but I still think Ward, MacKenzie and Butler can help out there.

Wishlist for 2026:
1-2 mids being added.
Marking forward.
Return of the speed and ground ball winning in the backhalf.
Another small forward.
Centre clearances.

Agree feel we need a second wingman also.

 

[killerspud]

Not really the thread for it. I think Wiz and Moorey are locked in and I'd like Butler to push his case. Competition for spots is not a bad thing at all.

Would you out of interest entertain Bobby Hill?

 

[Alex_au]

Just curious on what is the timeline for a Will Day return? Is he expected back for a full pre season and a round 1 return?

 

[kazzooka]

Just curious on what is the timeline for a Will Day return? Is he expected back for a full pre season and a round 1 return?

Pretty much that is the expectation at this stage. But i'd imagine his pre-season will be about managed loads and constant monitoring. He missed the start of 2024 due to the issue, then came good and played out the year, then had a big preseason only to last just 4 games, then recover for 2 and out again.

I think a careful preseason and constant checkups and scans and easing off if needed. Manage his game time early too.

 

[BlueWaterHawk]

Consistent umpiring and match review findings would be nice

No point wishing for the moon.

 

[Leather Poisoning]

I want to see 100 goals kicked between Chol and Wiz.

I want to see us with 2 A grade mids for the whole season.

 

[SSSSSS]

Weddle playing 15+ games on the wing/CHF or on the ball.

Get him out of the backline. Let him do his damage forward of centre.

 

[BlueWaterHawk]

Weddle playing 15+ games on the wing/CHF or on the ball.

Get him out of the backline. Let him do his damage forward of centre.

Yes! I think we need to make the opposition have to answer the question of how to manage Weddle, not play him as a negator.

I'd like to see Croc concentrate more on power over finesse. He's been pushed around a lot this year.

 

[hawkmang]

My main wish is for Day and Dear to get their bodies right and to play every game

 

[SSSSSS]

Well for starters we have to improve this below, or not let it be a thing in pressure games. Our ball handling was iffy at times in 2025, and it needs to improve. We were bottom 6 for 2025 in regards to 1st possession becoming a clearance.



Our rebound 50 rate is top 3 in the comp and our intercept possessions top 2, so we have done a lot right defensively. Add to this that we are the number 1 team for defensive 1v1 loss% and 2nd for defensive pressure acts.
What has dried up in our defensive end is our run and drive. I think we were sat on the closer we got to finals, and that our transition suffered.
For example, over the 2025 season we were rated 5th in the compm for scores from kick ins. Filter down to the last 10 games, and we were 17th.

It might surprise people to know we are below league average for ground ball gets in the F50, and I think that marries up with our intent for another small with pace and pressure(Butler?). 4th for tackles inside 50, 2nd for loose ball gets, but also 5th for groundball gets around the ground. We are doing a lot right it must be said.

We are bottom 4 for Hardball gets, but top 5 for contested possessions. 5th for Loose ball gets and 5th also for uncontested possessions. I think this is how we intend to play at this point. We don't want a contested game, we look to space, we look to get the ball on the outside and we like to play uncontested footy on our terms.

Bottom 6 for centre clearances(10th for stoppage clearances). Below league average for total clearances. This is a clear deficiency we need to address which we all know about.

3rd in the comp for marks inside 50, and 2nd for Marks inside 50 per Inside 50 and to add fuel to my point that I will get to, is that we are also top 5 for Scores from centre clearance.

In summary, and surprising no one, we need to improve in the middle.
We can score well from centre clearance, but we don't give ourselves enough chances to do so when we are bottom 6 for winning them.
Our potency inside 50 is a strength, but we also have improvement to be found when it comes to winning the ball on the deck.
A mid/forward hybrid is a necessity to my eyes, which we pretty much all already know. Someone who can win a clearance but also provide a marking option when resting forward.
The return of Day will also help with centre clearances, but he's likely going to be protected a little at times, so we need improvement regardless( 2 mids at trade week is pretty much a necessity IMO).

I'm not sure how we improve our ball handling at the stoppage, but whether its personnel or simply training more often with soapy footys it's a clear problem that I've observed, backed up by the stats.

Our midfield depth is a watch and we need to improve this too, but I still think Ward, MacKenzie and Butler can help out there.

Wishlist for 2026:
1-2 mids being added.
Marking forward.
Return of the speed and ground ball winning in the backhalf.
Another small forward.
Centre clearances.

I think our ball handling at stoppage will improve with additional personnel.

The combo of Worps/Newk/Nash is very one paced and it means we aren't able to get the ball from inside to outside save for Newk deciding to run through multiple tackles or a lucky Worpel fend off.

If we can change that to a Newk/Day/Trac or Merrett we've suddenly got a few more ways to get the ball out of congestion.

 

[Hawksboy72]

1: Mitch Lewis to play like Riley Tilthorpe.
2: A Fit Will Day either at HB, HF or wing, keep him away from the midfield to protect him.
3: Top 4 finish.
4: An Absolute killer instinct...make a statement...win enough games to rotate like the cats do.
5: Bring back the unsociable hawks...we're better with abit of mongrel about the club.

 

[Bedi]

2026 it has to be nothing short of a premiership. This year and last we've taken all the steps in reaching that goal, so adding a bit more grunt in the middle should hopefully take us to that next level. Also mindful of what plan B looks like in case a KPF or KPD goes down, so am wanting to hold on to some depth with likes of Reeves, Blanck, Scaife, among others who ordinarily we may not hold on to, I think we need to keep.

 

[dixyland]

We need Day to be the third best mid on the team, that way he isn't as big of a loss when injured as he currently is.

 

[Elhawko]

I want to see the mentality we bring after our 'mouthguards to training' games every game; not being blown away by oppo aggression in the big games, and showing killer instinct against the weaker teams when we get them down.

And a good, uninterrupted preseason where we set up our cohesion across all lines from the get go.

 

[HawksILove]

Beating Geelong in every game from 2026

 

[Mushie]

I would like immediate stints at box hill for anyone at the club who can't handball more then 5ms.

Also anyone who can't do a handball that isn't:

Loopy
Slow
Not to advantage
gets intercepted regularly
Is telegraphed 3 weeks beforehand

(James Sicily

6

James Sicily

Age

30

Ht

188cm

Wt

90kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

18.3

5star

K

12.7

5star

HB

5.7

4star

M

6.3

5star

T

1.5

3star

MG

365.0

5star

D

19.4

4star

K

14.3

5star

HB

5.1

3star

M

5.9

5star

T

1.0

2star

MG

437.4

5star

D

10.0

3star

K

6.0

3star

HB

4.0

3star

M

4.2

4star

T

2.0

4star

MG

173.8

3star

i am looking at you buddy)

 

[killerspud]

all the talk of mids - we need another small defender to deal with teams with multiple small forwards (like the lions and cats)

A gun midsized forward would also be handy

 

[Millsie69]

1: Mitch Lewis to play like Riley Tilthorpe.
2: A Fit Will Day either at HB, HF or wing, keep him away from the midfield to protect him.
3: Top 4 finish.
4: An Absolute killer instinct...make a statement...win enough games to rotate like the cats do.
5: Bring back the unsociable hawks...we're better with abit of mongrel about the club.

I do wonder if we would consider doing what Port did with Rozee and shifting him to half back, but it's not as if we're bereft of good distributors off half back.

I'd definitely like to see Amon moved back to the wing. We have plenty of good kicks back there now.

 

[Todman]

The ability to play all 4 quarters.