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Toast Bring on 2026!

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iGNITER said:
Don’t post too much nowadays. But. I have a good feeling about 2026. Can’t wait.
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I’m the opposite. I’m finding it hard to see any positives or be excited for next season. I expect we’ll fall right back into the pack.
Hey, at least there’s wildcard round now. Can finish 10th and play finals 🙄
 

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Kes1984 said:
I’m the opposite. I’m finding it hard to see any positives or be excited for next season. I expect we’ll fall right back into the pack.
Hey, at least there’s wildcard round now. Can finish 10th and play finals 🙄
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Cmon
Lots of pressure for spots next year
Lots of guys are ready to go and knocking on the door
 
B. Maynard. Frampton. Howe/Reef
HB. Houston. Moore. IQ
C. Jaicos. Perryman. Hill
HF. Shultz. Buller. Mcreery
F. Elliot. McStay. West/Membrey

R. Cameron. Naicos Degoey

Int huge depth from Pendles Sidey Crisp HH Allan Parker Steele Sullivan Hayes Swadling Anderson Long Steene Jiath Cochran Howes HDM

lipinski
 
Kes1984 said:
I’m the opposite. I’m finding it hard to see any positives or be excited for next season. I expect we’ll fall right back into the pack.
Hey, at least there’s wildcard round now. Can finish 10th and play finals 🙄
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Why?
 
domus said:
Why?
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One of the weakest KPF line ups of the top teams. Mcstay is a battler and Buller is a former MSD. One of the weaker midfields of the top teams outside of adel. Far too reliant on young Nick. Heavily reliant on degoey’s fitness. Big lack of depth in KPD and ruck. If we lose either of Moore or Cameron for large periods will be an issue.

We need a lot to go right to stay up there. Lose checkers who’s been consistently no 1 or 2 goal kicking for us. Can’t rely on Elliot kicking 60 again. A few games we won off his own boot. We’ve been given one of the most toughest draws. I’m still bullish but that’s just being objective of the list. Those two Queensland teams that have been given multiple leg ups will be hard to beat on talent
 
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stormskye said:
One of the weakest KPF line ups of the top teams. Mcstay is a battler and Buller is a former MSD. One of the weaker midfields of the top teams outside of adel. Far too reliant on young Nick. Heavily reliant on degoey’s fitness. Big lack of depth in KPD and ruck. If we lose either of Moore or Cameron for large periods will be an issue.

We need a lot to go right to stay up there. Lose checkers who’s been consistently no 1 or 2 goal kicking for us. Can’t rely on Elliot kicking 60 again. A few games we won off his own boot. We’ve been given one of the most toughest draws. I’m still bullish but that’s just being objective of the list. Those two Queensland teams that have been given multiple leg ups will be hard to beat on talent
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We were close to another GF this year. The midfield you believe is one of the weakest in the comp has taken us to dizzy heights these past few seasons.

Throw Josh in with Nick, Beau will play more mid time as will Perryman. It is Allan's time to shine and Long will make further improvement. I reckon Angus Anderson looks a likely lad. I'm sensing another diamond in the rough like Freo's Barlow. Crispy still has run in his legs. Our midfield will be fine.

And now that one player has been removed from our forward line in Checkers, our forward half is going to be impotent?

Buller is a taller, bigger version of Checkers. I think he is a very good addition to a forward line featuring a revitalised Bobby Hill, Beau, Schultz and Billy Elliott. Mcstay carried a shoulder injury for the final few games this year so he too will be a better player in 2026.

As for Elliott- why can't he reproduce this year's form? Every club has a gun who has won multiple games for them. That's why they are called stars. That's why GC were keen to acquire him.

The draw we had this year was in the top three most difficult. We are always going to be screwed in that regard.

That hasn't stopped us from finishing top 4.

Every team with a couple of exceptions has to hope for a good run with injury. That's a given.

We will be in the mix again.
 
domus said:
We were close to another GF this year. The midfield you believe is one of the weakest in the comp has taken us to dizzy heights these past few seasons.

Throw Josh in with Nick, Beau will play more mid time as will Perryman. It is Allan's time to shine and Long will make further improvement. I reckon Angus Anderson looks a likely lad. I'm sensing another diamond in the rough like Freo's Barlow. Crispy still has run in his legs. Our midfield will be fine.

And now that one player has been removed from our forward line in Checkers, our forward half is going to be impotent?

Buller is a taller, bigger version of Checkers. I think he is a very good addition to a forward line featuring a revitalised Bobby Hill, Beau, Schultz and Billy Elliott. Mcstay carried a shoulder injury for the final few games this year so he too will be a better player in 2026.

As for Elliott- why can't he reproduce this year's form? Every club has a gun who has won multiple games for them. That's why they are called stars. That's why GC were keen to acquire him.

The draw we had this year was in the top three most difficult. We are always going to be screwed in that regard.

That hasn't stopped us from finishing top 4.

Every team with a couple of exceptions has to hope for a good run with injury. That's a given.

We will be in the mix again.
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Nothing you said changes what I posted. And I never said the midfield was one of the weakest in the comp??? It’s one of the weaker of the TOP teams. That’s just a fact. A huge part of that is degoey’s constant absence/lack of fitness

I hope Buller becomes a good player for us. The facts are he’s a former MSD pick. How many elite KPF come from that? He’s played a grand total of 10 games, and his best game? Against eagles in a practice match last round game. Comparing him to checkers at this stage is disrespectful to checkers.

I’m not saying we can’t contend. But we need a lot to go right. We are far too reliant on Nick, Moore, Elliot and Cameron as it stands. Others need to step up. Allan in the midfield? We shall see…
 
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stormskye said:
Nothing you said changes what I posted. And I never said the midfield was one of the weakest in the comp??? It’s one of the weaker of the TOP teams. That’s just a fact. A huge part of that is degoey’s constant absence/lack of fitness

I hope Buller becomes a good player for us. The facts are he’s a former MSD pick. How many elite KPF come from that? He’s played a grand total of 10 games, and his best game? Against eagles in a practice match last round game. Comparing him to checkers at this stage is disrespectful to checkers.

I’m not saying we can’t contend. But we need a lot to go right. We are far too reliant on Nick, Moore, Elliot and Cameron as it stands. Others need to step up. Allan in the midfield? We shall see…
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BNE and GCS are standout midfields - I don’t see us as particularly weak against remainder of the Top 8.
 
Kes1984 said:
I’m the opposite. I’m finding it hard to see any positives or be excited for next season. I expect we’ll fall right back into the pack.
Hey, at least there’s wildcard round now. Can finish 10th and play finals 🙄
Click to expand...
I'm buzzing at the thought of seeing what West, Reef, Steele, Parker, Harrison and Buller can bring next season. Also it's almost the last chance for Allan and HDM to kick down the door for AFL selection so that excites me because at least we'll know and we don't feel as dependent on them.

Also of the teams who made the top 8...who got better? Brisbane and Gold Coast definitely. You could argue Geelong though I think Worpel is a plodder. Sydney will improve though their backline is still yuck. Same with the Dogs. Hawthorn lost a starting midfielder and didn't add anyone and they'll admit their poor midfield depth let them down last season.

I have us locked in for top 6. You don't fluke a prelim appearance and outside of losing Mihocek who let's be honest, looked absolutely cooked in the final few games of the season...did we get worse? I'd argue no because I think our upside outweighs the "aging list".
 
stormskye said:
Nothing you said changes what I posted. And I never said the midfield was one of the weakest in the comp??? It’s one of the weaker of the TOP teams. That’s just a fact. A huge part of that is degoey’s constant absence/lack of fitness

I hope Buller becomes a good player for us. The facts are he’s a former MSD pick. How many elite KPF come from that? He’s played a grand total of 10 games, and his best game? Against eagles in a practice match last round game. Comparing him to checkers at this stage is disrespectful to checkers.

I’m not saying we can’t contend. But we need a lot to go right. We are far too reliant on Nick, Moore, Elliot and Cameron as it stands. Others need to step up. Allan in the midfield? We shall see…
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Name a team that doesn't need it's top 4 or 5 players to stand up. That's why they are the top players-they are expected to be the difference makers. I think Buller is every chance to be another version of Checkers but with more height and weight. I don't care how he got to the AFL-he is there now and deserving of respect. Look what Noble has achieved.

We have had lengthy periods over the last three or four years when Moore, Cameron, Checkers, Degoey and Nick have been missing and we still won games and played off in final series.

Name a team that doesn't need a lot to go right in order to contend.
 

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domus said:
We were close to another GF this year. The midfield you believe is one of the weakest in the comp has taken us to dizzy heights these past few seasons.

Throw Josh in with Nick, Beau will play more mid time as will Perryman. It is Allan's time to shine and Long will make further improvement. I reckon Angus Anderson looks a likely lad. I'm sensing another diamond in the rough like Freo's Barlow. Crispy still has run in his legs. Our midfield will be fine.

And now that one player has been removed from our forward line in Checkers, our forward half is going to be impotent?

Buller is a taller, bigger version of Checkers. I think he is a very good addition to a forward line featuring a revitalised Bobby Hill, Beau, Schultz and Billy Elliott. Mcstay carried a shoulder injury for the final few games this year so he too will be a better player in 2026.

As for Elliott- why can't he reproduce this year's form? Every club has a gun who has won multiple games for them. That's why they are called stars. That's why GC were keen to acquire him.

The draw we had this year was in the top three most difficult. We are always going to be screwed in that regard.

That hasn't stopped us from finishing top 4.

Every team with a couple of exceptions has to hope for a good run with injury. That's a given.

We will be in the mix again.
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No cox
 
Be around the mark again.
Win most weeks in 2026.
My line up for 2026 is:

fb: howe frampton iq
cb: maynard moore perryman
c: houston crisp [PLAYERCARD]josh daicos[/PLAYERCARD]
cf: shultz buller nick daicos
ff: elliott membrey west
r: cameron jdg beau
int: pendles side mcstay saxena
sub: de mattina
 
Opps forgot Bobby Hill he plays in the forward line.
is a good problem to have when you keep on forgetting players and good ones as well.
 
Kes1984 said:
I’m the opposite. I’m finding it hard to see any positives or be excited for next season. I expect we’ll fall right back into the pack.
Hey, at least there’s wildcard round now. Can finish 10th and play finals 🙄
Click to expand...
Me too, sadly.

We have a very tough draw and a list without many stars in their primes or much A-grade young talent. Compare our list to those of Lions, GC, GWS, Hawks, Dogs, Swans, Cats and we look pretty mediocre. McCreery's injury will likely rule him out of making the move into midfield this season and we still rely heavily on other injury-prone players such as DeGoey, Howe and McStay. Pendles is now so slow that he's more of a liability than an asset but we'll inevitably play him until he claims the games record. The sub rule actually worked in his favour but now that's gone.

Having said all of that, I am really looking forward to going into the season with low expectations and watching guys like Buller, West, Allan, Parker, Steele and Smit trying to become Best 23 players. And I have a soft spot for Harrison and hope he gets back to his best. An 8th - 12th finish feels about right to me.
 
I think our list is better placed heading into 2026 than it was in 2025.
We will get back Hill. McInnes, Harrison.
Expect a better season out of Houston, JDG, Shultz & McStay (barring injuries )
West, Buller could slot straight in and impact early with experience around them.
Steele, Anderson will add ready made depth to our midfield stocks.
Naicos played under duress most of 2025.
I think our gains for 2026, far outweigh our losses of personnel from this season gone and we've got some good youth to keep developing.
I don't subscribe to the "heading for the cliff" BS, our club knows where it's placed and what it needs to do to keep on contending.
Write us off at your own peril haters in the media.
Bring on 2026!
 
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FromTheBoundaryLine said:
I have a good feeling about 2026 and think we’ll be right in it again for top 4.
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Proud Of You Yes GIF
 
MoreMoore said:
B. Maynard. Frampton. Howe/Reef
HB. Houston. Moore. IQ
C. Jaicos. Perryman. Hill
HF. Shultz. Buller. Mcreery
F. Elliot. McStay. West/Membrey

R. Cameron. Naicos Degoey

Int huge depth from Pendles Sidey Crisp HH Allan Parker Steele Sullivan Hayes Swadling Anderson Long Steene Jiath Cochran Howes HDM

lipinski
Click to expand...
That spine worries the fk outta me
 
MoreMoore said:
B. Maynard. Frampton. Howe/Reef
HB. Houston. Moore. IQ
C. Jaicos. Perryman. Hill
HF. Shultz. Buller. Mcreery
F. Elliot. McStay. West/Membrey

R. Cameron. Naicos Degoey

Int huge depth from Pendles Sidey Crisp HH Allan Parker Steele Sullivan Hayes Swadling Anderson Long Steene Jiath Cochran Howes HDM

lipinski
Click to expand...
I like your post and the team depth. The problem of veterans vs youth, who gets pushed out will be fascinating. Getting games into the next up players apears urgent. I get the feeling AFL and elite skills are short on for a contender.
 
Kes1984 said:
We went in for a challenge this year - we were one win short of a Grand Final.

Only 2 teams of 18 make the Grand Final
Only 1 team of 18 win the flag

Unrealistic to think a Prelim berth is a wasted year - you're expectations are set far too high.
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We were "all in" - We were then 10 points clear on top of the ladder? We were then leading the Prelim at half time?

At the very least it's a disappointment in my mind
 

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