Expectations for 2026

[Tugga27]

Carrying this on from the previous 2 seasons.

Having a look at last year's predictions, apart from a few who tipped us to make finals, most expected us to win between 7 and 8 games.
I don't think anyone saw us winning only 1 game.

So here we are again.

I'm expecting us to win 5 to 6 games and finish with a percentage in the eighties'.

I like Mini but I don't think he can survive another year like last year.

 

[Ambrose Burnside]

Premiers

 

[Barrybran]

Wins are marginally more important than last year but we'll be looking at metrics such as contested possessions, I50 differential and percentage.

We should be aiming to win against Richmond, Essendon and Melbourne and at least be competitive against North (they should be better than us). I think we'll steal a couple unexpected wins somewhere.

We're likely still a bottom 5 side though. 13th placed Port had 9 wins last year.

 

[mattyc75]

Somewhere out of range of the wildcard round

 

[kane249]

If Yeo gets fit again i'd like to see us trending back on the 2024 path

So more than 5 wins is what i'd like to see.

Avoiding the spoon

No 100 point beltings

 

[Monsterdarlz]

Dont care about w/l want to see vast improvements to ground ball wins, hardball gets, contested possesions and clearances. We cant have a year like last where we get smoked in these areas

 

[Wooshaaaa]

CDT sandover medalist.

 

[Boohemian]

Just want to enjoy going to the footy again, with some prospect of jagging a win.

 

[HoneyBadger35]

I’m not an unreasonable person. I just want them to spell Bo Allan and Sam Allen correctly on the Premiership memorabilia.

 

[stallon]

Expectations:
Not bottom.
6+ wins

I will maintain that we werent a 1 win team in 2025, losing Waterman/Gov/Yeo/Allen/etc to long stints due to injury and having Reid/Kelly out of form/lacking fitness really derailed us.

We will be better in 2026 if Waterman stays on the park, Reid starts the season well, etc. The natural development will automatically improve our floor

 

[evans1863]

Pump the Dockers and see them miss the top 6 by one win

 

[Weshi]

Expectations:
Not bottom.
6+ wins

I will maintain that we werent a 1 win team in 2025, losing Waterman/Gov/Yeo/Allen/etc to long stints due to injury and having Reid/Kelly out of form/lacking fitness really derailed us.

We will be better in 2026 if Waterman stays on the park, Reid starts the season well, etc. The natural development will automatically improve our floor

You take the spine out of any team and they will struggle, add sheed to that list. Though only Waterman and Yeo returning from the first group. I am quietly confident we will see significant improvement from most of our 2nd and third year players.

 

[PepperTom32]

If Yeo gets fit again i'd like to see us trending back on the 2024 path

So more than 5 wins is what i'd like to see.

Avoiding the spoon

No 100 point beltings

Unless I’m mistaken, in the last two seasons we haven’t registered any 100 point drubbings. Came mighty close though

 

[stallon]

You take the spine out of any team and they will struggle, add sheed to that list. Though only Waterman and Yeo returning from the first group. I am quietly confident we will see significant improvement from most of our 2nd and third year players.

Way I see it is we were pushing some good teams towards the end of the year for 3 quarters.

Add some fitness/conditioning to the younger guys so they dont fade out of games, Starcevich + Waterman(Both in our top few players) + Young, potentially Yeo and better depth in general.

It really makes no sense for anyone to think we are a realistic chance of being a 1 win team again, anybody saying that is just being overly unnecessarily negative or just has no ****ing idea tbf

 

[HoneyBadger35]

I’m not looking at the fixture and thinking there are our five or six wins, lock those in, but it is a mark I think we will get to.

More important than a W/L tally though, the things I want to see develop over the year are:

• Game style. We looked at our best drawing a man and handballing off the back flank, running in waves etc. Does that go up a gear now that everyone has had a year to embed it, and what’s the next layer? How do we move it by foot off half back if we can’t get any run and carry going? Time of possession was a real worry but something we started getting a little better at, do we have a Plan B if things aren’t on our terms?

• Midfield support. Harley’s in for a massive year, but I’d love it if he could have some friends go with him. I’d like to leave the footy excited that I got to see him in full flight, not a bit sad that the teenager is being tagged, scragged and targeted by four oppo mids with nobody able to step in and make them think twice about that.

• At least one small forward to emerge. Lots of guys on the list with the quintessential bag of talent but no consistent hurt factor. It’s also hard in a forwardline with minimal supply, but in the absence of Ryan, Rioli is long gone, Cripps is retiring and has always been the hard graft over the razzle dazzle type, who is going to step up and reliable adds crumbing goal and some hurt factor from the smalls? Champion, Williams, Newton (not a small forward but maybe too talented to be denied?), Brockman, Long, Owies (maybe not Owies). Someone has to end the year owning the 1A small forward role, and not by default.

• What is Archer Reid? I maintain he should be viewed as the Gov heir, but if he can make that ruck role his own with a few shifts up forward that would go a long way to resolving a big hole on our list.

And I’ll throw out a fun one: Jobe Shanahan for the rising star.

 

[lusheslewis]

Way I see it is we were pushing some good teams towards the end of the year for 3 quarters.

Add some fitness/conditioning to the younger guys so they dont fade out of games, Starcevich + Waterman(Both in our top few players) + Young, potentially Yeo and better depth in general.

It really makes no sense for anyone to think we are a realistic chance of being a 1 win team again, anybody saying that is just being overly unnecessarily negative or just has no ****ing idea tbf

I expect to be better than last year but that's not guaranteed.

Our midfield and forward line are big worries. If Yeo and Waterman aren't close to 2024 form we will struggle to get 2-3 wins.

We lost McGovern, Allen and Ryan. Reid will get tagged and I don't expect any of Duursma, Duff-Tytler or Lindsay to have a big impact in their first year.

My guess is 2-5 wins, percentage 65-70%.

 

[Smotie2]

We have a massive influx of talent including the 3 ssp signings.
Regardless of where their careers were at elsewhere they are a step up from what we have and I'm confident they will make a mark as those 3 in particular will want to prove themselves.

Reckon we win 6 to 8 games Including the 2 against norf.

 

[Bleedblueandgold]

4-6 wins, 50+ goals & rising star for Jobe, 20+ Brownlow votes for Harley.

 

[Yeahnahmate]

Flag

 

[PremiershipNo4]

Sorry you were correct there were no 100 point beltings in 2024

 

[Carbine Chaos]

I'm really hoping we can win 5 to 6 games and finish with a percentage in the eighties.

Is this a hopes or expectations thread though?

Some of my expectations...

• Waterman to make a successful return to the side and comfortably win leading goalkicker with 40+
• Yeo's return to be less successful/consistent, but still high quality when on the park.
• Robertson to play 15 games minimum, with Schoenberg/Macrae spending a vast majority of the year in the WAFL.
• An extension of the above: the Beagles will be much improved, not finishing bottom.
• Shanahan will finish Top 3 in the Rising Star.

 

[rebel23]

Definitely finals... Now that that bar has been lowered

 

[Lia]

Doubt we get over five wins but we are going to have some exciting moments and take a scalp or two.

 

[MrWoollie]

Overall...
Hope - 7-8 wins, Expectation - 3-5 wins
Hope - percentage improves to 80+, Expectation - anticipating 70ish.
Hope - 100 point losses are for Norf and Richmond. Expectation - we'll probably get 1 or 2 this year.
Hope - the midfield learns to pressure the ball coming out of the opposition backline, giving our defence a bit of a chance. Expectation - it'll happen in patches but won't be sustained.
Hope - Shanahan and AReid become stars. Expectation - I actually think that one of these two will have a real impact this year.
Hope - we find at least two decent small forwards to replace Ryan and Cripps. We need young guys pushing out old guys. Cripps becomes a WAFL mentor. Expectation - Low. Been living this hope for years now and Owies is as good as we've found. Cripps plays 20+ AFL games.
Hope - Bo and Jake stay injury free and Bo proves all the doubters wrong and shows the trade down from 3 for Baker and him was a good move. Expectation - One will spend significant time out with injury.

 

[Tugga27]

Is this a hopes or expectations thread though?

Some of my expectations...

• Waterman to make a successful return to the side and comfortably win leading goalkicker with 40+
• Yeo's return to be less successful/consistent, but still high quality when on the park.
• Robertson to play 15 games minimum, with Schoenberg/Macrae spending a vast majority of the year in the WAFL.
• An extension of the above: the Beagles will be much improved, not finishing bottom.
• Shanahan will finish Top 3 in the Rising Star.

Good call.

I'll edit post.