As the 2026 campaign gathers steam, here’s what your team needs to fix to leap up the ladder, or remain in the premiership mix.
Adelaide
The Crows were expected to make another leap this year after a straight-sets finals exit last season; that’s now no lock. Scoring has become an issue, ranked 10th heading into round six for points per game and scores per forward-50m entry, having been third and fourth, respectively, last season. They are losing inside 50s by 8.6 per game, ranked 16th, having been mid-table last year, and their kick-to-handball ratio has favoured kicking too much, an issue they addressed in the win over the Blues. Ben Keays playing more as a deep forward has been questionable, while Riley Thilthorpe needs to get moving.
Brisbane Lions
Perhaps a tweak is required, for midfielder/tagger Josh Dunkley hasn’t had his typical impact. The Lions co-captain and 2025 Merrett-Murray medallist is averaging 20.3 disposals (his fewest since 2017), 8.3 contested possessions (fewest since 2018), and 2.5 clearances (fewest since 2017), although he continues to be a pivotal cog. One issue for Chris Fagan is that the Lions have been one of the easiest teams to score against from kick-ins.
Carlton
If Michael Voss is to conjure a miracle and have the Blues in finals contention, there is (much) work to do. The Blues have an over-reliance on scoring from stoppage, with more than 50 per cent of their score coming via that source – the highest percentage across the league, and well above the league average of 34 per cent. As we witnessed again against Collingwood, the Blues’ inability to close out a game continues to haunt them. They have won just one final term this season.
Collingwood
The Magpies have had all sorts of issues inside attacking 50m, ranking 16th for scoring (72.7points per game) and goals (10.5). That their scoring average dipped by 16 points from last year highlighted their woes, although they perhaps turned a corner against the Blues, booting 13 goals. Jamie Elliott’s lack of production had been a growing issue, but he was fantastic against the Blues. Watch for defender Jeremy Howe to be a break-glass option, should the goalkicking issues return.
Essendon
Yes, game plans and structures and “playing your role” do matter, but the challenge for the Bombers is to retain the boldness – the big fix – they demonstrated in their breakthrough win over Melbourne. The Bombers need to keep taking the game on, as they did against the Demons, when they finally held an opponent to a double-digit score (78 points), and the Gold Coast. A revised defensive philosophy has also helped. The poise and class of Rising Star nominee Jacob Farrow is already clear. And it has been good to see Darcy Parish banish his early season demons, and Zach Merrett smile for a change.
Fremantle
The Dockers need to determine whether the Sean Darcy/Luke Jackson ruck combination is the best way forward. Darcy’s lack of fitness and cumbersome look against Collingwood was an issue before he was concussed. When he left the field, Jackson shifted into the ruck and excelled – as he typically does. Can the two function at an optimal level together? We’ll see. While we are on the Dockers, it still remains to be seen whether they have the “big-game” mentality, as they have fallen late in recent seasons. That’s a slow burn.
Geelong
The Cats are well-placed, as they showed with their demolition of the Bulldogs on Friday night, but there are issues. They need to keep Patrick Dangerfield fit and fresh. The ageing champion is still a match-winner. Shaun Mannagh lifted against the Western Bulldogs, having had six and eight disposals against Hawthorn and West Coast, respectively, with no goals or score assists. They led the league in points-from-turnover-differential last year (+17.3 points), but had been in the negative before thumping the Western Bulldogs.
Gold Coast
The Suns haven’t been at their best over the past three weeks, and must find a way to get skipper Noah Anderson purring when he returns from having his appendix removed. The hard-running midfielder is averaging a modest 24.2 disposals – down six from last season – while his clearances have slipped from seven to 5.4 per game. The Suns will also hope Christian Petracca can remain healthy. We’ll know more about the Suns when they face the surging Hawks in Launceston on Anzac Day.
GWS
The Giants are a worry, and need to “fix” their terrible run with injury. That changed (briefly) against Richmond, with key defender Jack Buckley, small forward Brent Daniels, utility Toby Bedford and key forward Aaron Cadman returning, but Cadman was then concussed. Jake Stringer (corked quad) could not get up against the Swans, while Daniels was rested.
Hawthorn
There appears to be little wrong with the second-placed Hawks, but it has to be asked – have they prospered against weakened opponents? The latest was Port Adelaide, who embraced an uncontested style and willingness (though not always followed) to avoid kicking long forward, so key Hawks’ talls Josh Battle, James Sicily and Tom Barrass could not intercept. Will other teams follow this method? The injury absence of Will Day, and the trade miss on Merrett, have been covered, for now. But there is one tweak they may need to make. They have been outscored by 4.3 points per game from centre-bounce clearances – ranked 15th. They were fourth last season (+4 points). Expect Ned Reeves and Lloyd Meek to get busy in this area.
Melbourne
The Demons have been a feel-good story. Under new coach Steven King, they were expected to be in a semi-rebuilding mode, but their attacking style has them firmly in the finals hunt. But there is still work to do. They have struggled at stoppages, conceding more than 40 points per game from this area, and need to find a better balance in contested possession differential. They are among the worst teams for ground-ball gets.
North Melbourne
The Kangaroos have enjoyed their best start to a season through six games since 2016 when they had a 9-0 opening. The Kangaroos are firmly in the top-10 hunt, and have a stability – and development of youth – they have craved. However, Alastair Clarkson is unlikely to be happy that the Roos have conceded 35.7 per game from clearances – ranked 15th. They are still in the negative for inside-50 differential (-1.2, ranked 10th), but that’s an improvement on last year (-9.7). Will the Roos fall over? We’ll see.
Port Adelaide
Do the Power need to “fix” their mindset and adopt a full rebuild? That’s what Kane Cornes, a club great and now prominent commentator, has called for. Indeed, there appears to be a world of pain on the way at Alberton. In the short-term, under new coach Josh Carr, the Power concede a score from almost 50 per cent of opposition inside 50s, while stoppages are also a concern, having too often conceded scores from this facet of the game. As Matthew Lloyd has said, the Power are a bottom-six club, and rely too heavily on key men Zak Butters and Jason Horne-Francis.
Richmond
As Champion Data states when detailing the Tigers’ woes, it’s “alarm bells everywhere”. We thought the Tigers would take a leap, however minor, this season, but since their four-loss to Carlton in round one, their defeats have been by 68, 60, 42, 56 and 75 points. Yes, they have a long injury list and are rebuilding, but does that explain why they rank last for points scored, scores from clearance differential, scores and goals per inside 50 entry and shot-at-goal accuracy? The Tigers have also sleep-walked into quarters, having been outscored by 142 points in the first 10 minutes of quarters – ranked last. Coach Adem Yze’s overall record has slipped to seven wins and 45 losses, heaping pressure on him, and the club’s overall list management strategy.
St Kilda
The Saints would like to “fix” their tough early season fixture, but it’s too late for that. Regardless, they had one of their best wins under Ross Lyon against the Power a fortnight ago, and had every chance to edge the Crows last weekend. But there are still issues to address, in particular defending turnovers, given they concede 58.2 points per game – ranked 13th. They also have been outscored from quarter-time onwards in six games. In five of those games, they led at the first break. Rowan Marshall may again seek a trade, for the addition of the cashed-up Tom De Koning has had a major impact on him. That he had a break-out performance against the Crows after De Koning (back) was hurt highlighted his struggles this year.
Sydney
Charlie Curnow remains a big watch heading into Thursday night’s clash against the Western Bulldogs. The Swans traded for him to be their prime-time focal point, but Curnow is yet to fully deliver. He has only 12 goals in six games, and hasn’t been anywhere near the towering figure of 2022-23 when he was the Coleman medallist at Carlton. While coach Dean Cox says Curnow just needs time, AFL great Nick Riewoldt has questioned Curnow’s history of knee and ankle issues, and whether he can return to his “absolute best”. The Swans are likely to need this if they are to prevail in September, although they do boast other match-winners.
West Coast
The Eagles appear to have made (loose) progress this season, but coach Andrew McQualter needs to get busy on this. His team has gone backwards defensively, conceding a competition-high 116.2 points – up from 106 in 2025. They rank 17th for disposals and 16th inside-50 differential, and last scores from turnover differential. Harley Reid’s frustration is obvious, with rivals targeting him. A catch-up with Luke Hodge, expected later this season, cannot come quickly enough.
Western Bulldogs
Wow, it’s turned quickly from the Bulldogs, who were premiership favourites a fortnight ago, only to slip against Hawthorn and Geelong. Now they have lost star marking forward Sam Darcy (ACL) for the rest of the season, while coach Luke Beveridge is unsure when injured ruckman Tim English (knee) will return. English’s importance, and the need for a quick fix, has been highlighted in that they have conceded 31 hitouts-to-advantage over the past fortnight (21 against the Hawks). James O’Donnell (hamstring) and Tom Liberatore (concussion) are also out.
And for the AFL
What on earth were the league boffins thinking when they scheduled a Friday night double-header of the Cats v Bulldogs game in Geelong and the Swans taking on the Giants in Sydney? That the game times clashed (it wasn’t like there was a late game from Perth) made this call even more bewildering. Each contest shaped as a blockbuster, even though they didn’t pan out that way. While the league talks about spreading the AFL gospel in Sydney, it doesn’t always act. The Giants and Swans deserve a standalone clash. There are so many slots available for games. This was a poor call.
While we are at it …
It’s time to relax the last-touch rule when the ball goes out of bounds between the arcs. We can’t have a repeat of what happened to Carlton defender Nick Haynes in Adelaide when he chased a ball that had landed near the boundary line, and took possession barely centimetres inside the line, before crossing. He attempted to keep the ball in, yet was penalised. And the time spent on video checks to confirm whether a ball has flicked a toe or not and gone out of bounds is excruciating. Can this decision just be left to the field and boundary umpires? Surely, there are enough umpires to make a call.
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Jon Pierik is a sports journalist at The Age. He covers AFL and has won awards for his cricket and basketball writing.Connect via X or email.
