Prediction Where do you predict Carlton will finish in 2026 and why?

[WalshYouLegend]

As we approach our first pre-season games, where do you predict Carlton will finish at the pointy end in 2026?

Why?

Who will be the stand out players for most improved or biggest impact for new recruits?

Who will be the top 3 goal kickers?

Who will be the best 3 defenders?

 

[Chookaradley]

I think realistically 9-12th. I just can't see us jumping any teams above us. We could be 1 Jacob Weitering

23

Jacob Weitering

Age

28

Ht

195cm

Wt

102kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

13.8

4star

K

9.1

4star

HB

4.7

3star

M

5.6

5star

T

1.3

3star

MG

189.4

3star

No current season stats available

D

16.8

4star

K

10.8

4star

HB

6.0

4star

M

6.0

5star

T

0.8

3star

MG

263.4

4star

injury away from much worse.

Jagga will be huge for us.
Brodie to have a solid year as well.
Really excited by Harry O Farrell, will be missing for most of the year, but he and Harry Dean will be the backbone of our defence for the next decade.

 

[slashin_velvet]

I know I keep coming back to it after something like 15 years, but HARKER did some analysis many moons ago that showed the correlation between number of players used by a team, and their finishing position. The rub - a club that uses circa 30 players total in a year is much more likely to finish higher on the ladder than a club that uses more.

This is pretty self explanatory - an injury to best 22 results in depth being given a chance, but depth is rotational if it doesn't deliver to expectations. If best 22 isn't settled, you churn through more players and lack cohesion.

I think we are realistically 7th-10th, but only with a settled squad.

 

[Soapy V]

I really don't know. I see this year as a reset

We need youth coming through, a whole new set of standards and a game style that can compete with most and is more positive and pro active

We need to get the best of out our players

This year needs to be a positive step to set us up for the next decade

 

[luke livingston seagull]

I have a stupid gut feeling that it’s these kind of years where teams are hard to predict and can be a surprise climber.

We have class all over the park now, some really exciting youth and a senior core that have gotten through an uninterrupted preseason together for the first time in a long time.

However we will definitely be skating on thin ice. An injury to Weiters, Walsh or Harry and the house could quickly crumble.

If we are finally blessed with a good run injury-wise, I’m not putting a cap on what we can do.

If we cop a major injury to any of the above mentioned, I think we will be battling to squeeze into the Wildcard round.

Very excited to see what happens this year.

 

[Jatz]

I am pretty negative about the year, I'm expecting we'll finished somewhere between 12-14th.

I think we're on a much better path but I don't see that helping us this season.

 

[LFTWNG11]

I am pretty negative about the year, I'm expecting we'll finished somewhere between 12-14th.

I think we're on a much better path but I don't see that helping us this season.

This.

Out list has been reset and the balance will be better going forward but in its current state? Bottom 6.

The hype/potential around Jagga is my biggest concern. I don’t see him making it as a star but it seems he will be burdened with massive expectations.

 

[Soapy V]

I am pretty negative about the year, I'm expecting we'll finished somewhere between 12-14th.

I think we're on a much better path but I don't see that helping us this season.

Depends. Injury means a lot in an even comp

Key will be game style.

IMO we now have a list with options in most spots and some very good young talent. Other main point will be how clear they step up

When you have a side with names like Cripps Weitering McKay Walsh Newman Florent Hayward Hewett Cerra (Jagga) you are always a chance.

Can we get others like Jagga Wilson Byrne Carroll Dean Ison etc to step up and really contribute and play a game style that is exciting and positive. We do that and I think finals is a chance

 

[Espio]

Depends. Injury means a lot in an even comp

Key will be game style.

IMO we now have a list with options in most spots and some very good young talent. Other main point will be how clear they step up

When you have a side with names like Cripps Weitering McKay Walsh Newman Florent Hayward Hewett Cerra (Jagga) you are always a chance.

Can we get others like Jagga Wilson Byrne Carroll Dean Ison etc to step up and really contribute and play a game style that is exciting and positive. We do that and I think finals is a chance

I think you are right here, we are Schroedingers team right now, could be top 6 or could be bottom six, both realities exist.

If the coaching is good we can be more than competitive, if we revert back to our old game style we will struggle.

I have to be honest I have no faith in Voss to turn the corner, just hope not to do too much harm before we turn the page.

 

[Jatz]

Depends. Injury means a lot in an even comp

Key will be game style.

IMO we now have a list with options in most spots and some very good young talent. Other main point will be how clear they step up

When you have a side with names like Cripps Weitering McKay Walsh Newman Florent Hayward Hewett Cerra (Jagga) you are always a chance.

Can we get others like Jagga Wilson Byrne Carroll Dean Ison etc to step up and really contribute and play a game style that is exciting and positive. We do that and I think finals is a chance

Injury certainly means a lot, let's see how we go on that front.

Until I'm proven otherwise, I will hold off on the game style. Very little I've seen in the previous season or two has me excited at all that we have a game style to push this list into finals.

I am also of the opinion that Cripps is pretty well done as a dominant mid of the comp. I'm not suggesting there won't be games where he excels but I think the time of his dominance over a season is behind him and I don't think we've currently got the player to help fill that void. My biggest concern with Cripps is how easily he is run around in transition and he's only getting slower with age.

I certainly hope I'm wrong (and you are right) but I think this is going to feel like a frustratingly long year for us. There'll be signs of what's to come though I think.

 

[Dramoth]

8th to 12th.

Returning players and a good influx of quality experienced players and some good draft pickups. The other thing that could propel us further up the ladder is the youth who’ve been in the system for a couple of years now stepping up and pushing for a list spot.

The other thing that we should be looking at is that we no longer have to bomb it long into the forward line anymore. We have guys who can lead into space and are good in the air. I’m not saying that it was Charlie who was the sole reason we bombed it long, but he was our #1 forward and with his knee issues, he couldn’t do long leads at the ball carrier.

 

[17in25]

I think we will finish somewhere between 10 and 16.

Losing TDK and Charlie is huge. Both are stars and it was obvious they'd both checked out exceedingly early in 2025. What we got back will only be measurable over the next 2-4 years. Sadly, this means for 2026, we hold our ground but more likely go backwards.

I have little faith in our coaching, such a hard and frustrating style to watch. I feel we get out thought on game day every week. I hope we've modified our approach because we are just so predictable, especially exiting d50.

I still have big question marks on our fitness, so much for "speed and power" last year we looked slow and grunty at best. Have we really addressed this? As highlighted, we really need to improve in fundamental skill execution, we got punished on turnover as we miss what would seem to be very gettable kicks, these cost us in scores against. We leak badly when we turn the ball over. And we do it way too often.

I don’t think we have the depth to cover us when inevitable injuries strike. Imagine a game without Weiters and McKay...

Of course, I'll watch every game and hope for the best, but I just can't see improvement in final ladder position this year.

As for what I am hoping for in 2026.

Someone surprises me and step up beyond the obvious guns, Jagga and Dean while we wait for Cody and the likes of Butters/Walter to come through in 2027.

Example, Talor Byrne becomes our version of "the wizard" and the footy world wonders how he got through to pick 45??? Once can dream yeah.

As for goal kickers, I couldn’t care less where they come from as long as they score. I'd prefer an even spread rather than hoping McKay kicks 60+

That’s my honest take.

 

[Jacks Seething Rage]

14-15

Too many things have to break right for us.

We have limited KP depth back and forward even before injuries play a part, ruck is largely an unknown, we are somewhat reliant on three guys returning from LTIs, we are equally somewhat reliant on draftees and inexperienced guys to step in and perform immediately, and the only known in the coaches box is that we need significant change

We'll be better than Bombers, Eagles and Dees. Likely in a group with Port, Roos, Tigers and Saints to wrestle for the next rungs on the ladder.

Will be pleased to see growth in the right areas, but expectations are otherwise low.

 

[Osc1]

Too hard to tell as there have been many changes to both the list and coaching departments. Will need to see how the first 4 or 5 games go. Not necessarily win/lost but game style and mongrel.

 

[BlueNath]

I think we bounce a little. Everything went wrong and by the half way point we now know some players were basically checked out and that undercurrent subtly swept through the motivations of the entire group.

But things just feel different now. So I think we pop a little. Around 12-14 wins I feel (8th - 10th). That should be enough to see us play in the wild card round and who knows from there!?

 

[The_BigFella]

Impossible to predict. If McKay or Weitering go down, we’re in serious trouble. But with a healthy list, we should be solid — I’d say somewhere between 8th and 12th.

The main focus this year needs to be a short reset: sharper transition footy, a modern game style, and a genuine injection of youth.

 

[agro]

I'll let you know in an hour or so.

 

[Michael Jezz]

I predict Carlton will finish 11th or 12th

 

[JustaBattler]

Too reliant on luck with injuries and a lot of new faces to predict anything higher than somewhere in the top8.

 

[17in25]

Too reliant on luck with injuries and a lot of new faces to predict anything higher than somewhere in the top8.

And we just lost Carroll to a hamstring injury. So, we now have 8 out (or at very least doutful for round zero) without so much as a practice match against an actual opponent!

Cowan
Carroll
Cottrell
Haynes
Newman
Acres
LTI-
Motlop
HOF

By round one we will be in double figures. So, sadly, you/we are correct in assuming that a high ladder position is a very remote possibility as we do not have the depth to cover it.

 

[Gabagool]

I think we'll finish anywhere from 6th to 12th.

If the team can click quickly, injuries are a little kinder to us and our game plan is changed..things should improve.

We can realistically go 3 & 2 to start the season and we don't leave Melbourne after Round 15.

Yes we've lost some players, yes we have lots of new faces but I think we're a decent chance of making finals. In saying that, a bad run of injuries, game plan issues and the team taking a while to learn to play together could easily see us slide down the ladder.

 

[Leeway]

I am going to be the outlier here, so I hope people bookmark me....

We will play finals.
We will finish top 6.

Injuries to the right mix of players at any club will cripple them, and that was us last year. I've explained plenty of times why I think we'll improve this year, and to reinforce it again, it's all about overlap run and mid-forward connection. It was our biggest problem last year, and has been addressed through recruiting and players returning from injury.

Of those thet left, Charlie is the only one who really hurts, and I loved all 3 of them. But if we're being honest, our best runs of games over the last 3 years didn't have Sos for the majority of them. TDK had flashes of brilliance mixed with rushed ball butchering just hack kicking it forward, he was a major part of that mid forward connection problem. If we can use our ruckman to feed and protect our midfielders instead of trying to be a midfielder, I strongly believe you will see better clearances that clear the bubble, but we'll find out soon enough. Charlie definitely hurts because that kind of talent is rare. It's a shame his last year for us was filled with some of what appeared to be his laziest and most selfish games, but he'll be a star again
in Sydney and it will sting to see it.

I know mine isn't a very popular view, but I'm expecting to bump this post on the regular throughout the season.

 

[HereComesJuddy]

I unfortunately think we will be somewhere between 12th - 15th.

Strangely, although I’d normally be disappointed, just think we will go slightly back before moving forward at a rapid pace.

IMO, if we finish low enough and somehow nab Walker and another top young kid with ours and Sydney’s picks, plus add a couple through trade/FA, honestly think we become a very tough club to beat in 2027 and a premiership threat as soon as 2028. The thing that may become a problem in this scenario is if we do finish low in 2026, you’d think Voss would be gone, and it usually takes a year or so for a new coach and playing group to gel.

If a low finish happens in 2026, the positives far outweigh the negatives.

 

[WalshYouLegend]

I think you are right here, we are Schroedingers team right now, could be top 6 or could be bottom six, both realities exist.

If the coaching is good we can be more than competitive, if we revert back to our old game style we will struggle.

I have to be honest I have no faith in Voss to turn the corner, just hope not to do too much harm before we turn the page.

I want to be in the reality universe permutation where Carlton do an Adelaide Crows style rebound and top the ladder in 2026.

 

[Stamos]

Last year was an utter disaster, basically anything that could go wrong did. So despite some talent out the door, we should improve on 25's result.
But given the upheaval and list and coaching changes, there'll likely be some teething issues with cohesion, so I don't think we bounce back to where we should be until 2027.

I think we'll be in the 6 - 10 range this year.