AFL 2026 predicted ladder part three: Brisbane’s best may still be ahead
- Adelaide
“It’s definitely not ideal, is it?” Darcy Fogarty asked in the wake of Izak Rankine’s homophobic slur. And yes, it wasn’t ideal. It wasn’t ideal for Rankine’s AFLW teammates, for the club’s management, for Rankine himself, or for the squad that had celebrated a Round 23 win over Collingwood as a moment of footballing supremacy. The night felt like a victory party: a club that had earned a double chance, broken a hoodoo, and finally believed it belonged among the elite. What could possibly go wrong?
Yet whispers began to circulate. After three weeks spent defending their player, soothing the LGBTQ+ community, sending Rankine to Rome for reflection, and juggling two home finals plus a premiership bid, Collingwood arrived in South Australia with a clear target. They exposed Adelaide’s vulnerable spots in the qualifying final.
Those vulnerabilities linger as open questions: midfield depth, ruck options, and wing structures. The team enjoyed a favorable fixture last year and benefited from a relatively smooth injury run, but this year looks tougher on those fronts. Still, they boast a solid defense and enough star power to contend again.
- Hawthorn
The Hawks stand as a case study in balance: temperament, tactics, and organization align in a straightforward, no-frussiness manner. There’s nothing mysterious or self-sabotaging about them. Their list-building, their ball movement, and their overall approach reflect patience, savvy, and common sense. They’re a team with backbone—capable of turning games around when they’re on the brink. The elimination-final win over GWS epitomized that resilience.
Preliminary final night, Patrick Dangerfield overwhelmed them, and there’s no shame in that. The big question now is whether they can lift further, or if they’ve already squeezed out their ceiling. The midfield looks a touch light without Will Day. I expect them to serve as the league’s reality check for the other 17 clubs, revealing where everyone truly stands. Whether they have the depth and quality to push deeper remains uncertain.
- Fremantle
There’s a shared industry impatience with Fremantle—an expectation they should be achieving more with a premiership-ready list. The media, and the club itself, feed that narrative. But the Dockers aren’t flawless. They rely on young talents in key roles who are still learning to handle pressure, which leaves them vulnerable at times under peak stress.
They remind me of Chris Scott’s Geelong teams before their second flag: loaded with talent, yet imperfect at the margins. They can play cautiously and invite criticism for it, but when they tilt the handbrake off, they can devastate opponents and prompt the perennial refrain, “Why can’t you play like that every week?”
There’s much to admire here: a squad willing to grind, especially on the road and when underestimated. I genuinely hope coach Justin Longmuir, the playing group, and the passionate supporters finally taste a premiership. I believe it’s within their reach.
- Gold Coast
“We don’t get much,” Damien Hardwick quipped last year. Truth is, the Suns have benefited from favorable starts and smart talent acquisition. Hardwick inherited a heap of talented players and has shaped them into a serious outfit. Like his Richmond teams, this Suns side thrives on up-tempo مبovement.
The biggest challenge now is deciding how to deploy all that talent. In Richmond, the story wasn’t built around star names like Dustin Martin or Alex Rance, but around the role players who held everything together. This time there’s a broader talent pool—taller forwards and speedy midfielders—so mapping out roles for multiple high draft picks, Norm Smith contenders, and Brownlow-caliber players will be tricky.
It’s a great problem to have, though. The fixture looks tougher, and anything short of a preliminary final would feel like a disappointment.
- Sydney
Sydney’s 2025 season mirrored the post-Grand Final hangover many teams endure: irritable at times, inconsistent, and at times undisciplined, still adjusting to a new coaching regime and the sting of another grand-final setback. They flashed moments of top-tier football, but often as bursts that fizzled with slow starts and inconsistent goalkicking. By the time they clicked, the competition had already split, leaving them as the strongest side outside the premiership contenders.
Talent-wise, their top players rank among the league’s best. In the off-season, Errol Gulden, Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, and Charlie Curnow looked almost engineered for peak performance. When they’re all fit and clicking at the SCG, the atmosphere feels like a party. They carry that distinct Sydney swagger. Yet none have a premiership to their name, and most carry grand-final wounds to atone for. I still believe they’re the strongest challenger Brisbane faces.
- Brisbane
It’s plausible we haven’t seen Brisbane’s ceiling yet. Eighteen of their premiership squad were 23 or younger, including several teenagers, and many have already established themselves as stars of the competition.
They play with deliberate patience across games and on the whole season—conserving, probing, and finally striking. They understand when to coast, when to grind, and when to unleash. In an ever-lengthening season, those traits are invaluable.
In 2025 they asserted control on their terms, advancing with relentless efficiency, starting from the backline. Their defenders exude composure and clarity, while the ball use—whether in tight 15-meter sequences, longer switches, or direct drives down the middle—landed with near-perfect precision.
Everything about the ensemble suggests they can sustain this momentum. They boast impressive depth, a balanced age distribution, diverse roles, and varied risk appetites. The real test now is whether they can cement themselves among the greatest teams we’ve seen and keep pushing the boundaries of success.
