Expert predictions: Damo's huge flag call, clear favourite for Rising Star

OUR ESTEEMED team of journalists have peered into football's crystal ball and come up with their prognostications for season 2026.

Brisbane is again the overwhelming favourites to win another premiership, while West Coast is the clear favourite to finish bottom of the ladder.

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At an individual level, Nick Daicos, Jagga Smith and Charlie Curnow are the popular choices to win the major awards, while plenty of eyes are on St Kilda heading into a massive season.

Spooky or just kooky? Read 'em and weep (or laugh).

Damian Barrett

Premier: Fremantle

Runner-up: Geelong

Wooden spoon: West Coast

Moving up: Sydney

Set to fall: Adelaide

Club under the most pressure (and why): St Kilda. You can't spend that much money on players from other clubs and not reach finals

Will the big-spending Saints win a final?: No

Brownlow Medal: Chad WarnerColeman Medal: Mitch Georgiades

AFL Rising Star: Daniel Annable

Recruit of the year: Will Hayward

Surprise All-Australian: Murphy Reid

Who should headline the Grand Final entertainment?: Icehouse and Def Leppard

Headline you'll see: Merrett wants out

Headline you won't see: North Melbourne: We gave 'Clarko' too much power

Big call: Nick Daicos to place, but not win, in a fourth consecutive Brownlow

Barrett's ladder prediction

1. Fremantle

2. Geelong

3. Brisbane

4. Collingwood

5. Sydney

6. Gold Coast

7. Hawthorn

8. Adelaide

9. Carlton

10. Western Bulldogs

11. Port Adelaide

12. St Kilda

13. Greater Western Sydney

14. Melbourne

15. Essendon

16. North Melbourne

17. Richmond

18. West Coast

Gemma Bastiani

Premier: Brisbane for the three-peat repeat

Runner-up: Western Bulldogs

Wooden spoon: West Coast

Moving up: Sydney

Set to fall: GWS (the injuries will prove too hard to come back from)

Club under the most pressure (and why): St Kilda - Made all the off season moves to become a legitimate contender, now is the chance to see if it pays off

Will the big-spending Saints win a final?: No

Brownlow Medal: Marcus Bontempelli (finally)

Coleman Medal: Charlie Curnow

AFL Rising Star: Jagga Smith

Recruit of the year: Christian Petracca

Surprise All-Australian: Dan Houston

Who should headline the Grand Final entertainment?: Billie Eilish

Headline you'll see: It's not just Jagga: Carlton finally a reliable competitor across the park

Headline you won't see: Swans regret splashing out for Charlie Curnow

Big call: The Hawks will fall away due to a lack of midfield consistency

Bastiani's ladder prediction

1. Brisbane

2. Western Bulldogs

3. Sydney

4. Gold Coast

5. Geelong

6. St Kilda

7. Melbourne

8. Carlton

9. Adelaide

10. Fremantle

11. Greater Western Sydney

12. Hawthorn

13. Port Adelaide

14. Collingwood

15. Essendon

16. Richmond

17. North Melbourne

18. West Coast

Riley Beveridge

Premier: Brisbane

Runner up: Western Bulldogs

Wooden spoon: West Coast

Moving up: Western Bulldogs

Set to fall: Collingwood

Club under the most pressure (and why): Fremantle. It has to happen eventually. One of the best, if not the very best list in the competition

Will the big-spending Saints win a final?: No

Brownlow Medal: Noah Anderson

Coleman Medal: Riley Thilthorpe

AFL Rising Star: Jagga Smith

Recruit of the year: Will Hayward

Surprise All-Australian: Lawson Humphries

Who should headline the Grand Final entertainment: Dua Lipa

Headline you'll see: More lethal than Lethal's? Lions repeat three-peat again

Headline you won't see: The Butters Ban: Fans, media agree to stop talking about Zak

Big call: The Giants make a preliminary final from 10th on the ladder

Beveridge's ladder prediction

1. Brisbane

2. Western Bulldogs

3. Fremantle

4. Gold Coast

5. Hawthorn

6. Geelong

7. Adelaide

8. Sydney

9. Collingwood

10. Greater Western Sydney

11. Carlton

12. Port Adelaide

13. St Kilda

14. Essendon

15. North Melbourne

16. Melbourne

17. Richmond

18. West Coast

Sarah Black

Premier: Brisbane

Runner-up: Gold Coast

Wooden spoon: West Coast

Moving up: Sydney

Set to fall: Geelong

Club under the most pressure (and why): North Melbourne. Alastair Clarkson is now in his fourth year, and the club has won just 20 games in the past six seasons - an average of 3.3 per year

Will the big-spending Saints win a final?: No

Brownlow Medal: Nick Daicos

Coleman Medal: Sam Darcy

AFL Rising Star: Zeke Uwland

Recruit of the year: Brody Mihocek

Surprise All-Australian: Josh Weddle

Who should headline the Grand Final entertainment?: Let's continue with the throwback acts and aim as high as possible - Queen

Headline you'll see: History repeats: Brisbane salutes for another three-peat

Headline you won't see: Wildcard winners create finals havoc

Big call: The death of Vic bias - not one Victorian side will make the preliminary final stage

Black's ladder prediction

1. Brisbane

2. Gold Coast

3. Adelaide

4. Sydney

5. Fremantle

6. Hawthorn

7. Greater Western Sydney

8. Western Bulldogs

9. Geelong

10. Collingwood

11. Carlton

12. St Kilda

13. Essendon

14. Melbourne

15. Port Adelaide

16. Richmond

17. North Melbourne

18. West Coast

Nat Edwards

Premier: Brisbane

Runner-up: Gold Coast

Wooden spoon: West Coast

Moving up: Sydney Swans

Set to fall: Greater Western Sydney

Club under the most pressure (and why): St Kilda - with all the big off-season moves, this club needs to make finals in 2026.

Will the big-spending Saints win a final?: No

Brownlow Medal: Nick Daicos

Coleman Medal: Charlie Curnow

AFL Rising Star: Jagga Smith

Recruit of the year: Charlie Curnow

Surprise All-Australian: Nick Watson

Who should headline the Grand Final entertainment?: HUNTR/X … the whole MCG belting out Golden or Soda Pop. What more could you want?

Headline you'll see: Butters: The AFL's new $2 million-man

Headline you won't see: Premiership hangover hits Lions hard

Big call: Nick Watson to kick 50 goals in 2026

Edwards' ladder prediction

1. Brisbane

2. Fremantle

3. Geelong

4. Sydney

5. Gold Coast

6. Adelaide

7. Hawthorn

8. Western Bulldogs

9. St Kilda

10. Collingwood

11. Greater Western Sydney

12. Carlton

13. Melbourne

14. Port Adelaide

15. Essendon

16. North Melbourne

17. Richmond

18. West Coast

Josh Gabelich

Premier: Brisbane

Runner-up: Fremantle

Wooden spoon: West Coast

Moving up: Sydney

Set to fall: Collingwood

Club under the most pressure (and why): St Kilda. Spent big in the off-season. Now need to make inroads back up the ladder and return to September.

Will the big-spending Saints win a final?: Yes

Brownlow Medal: Errol GuldenColeman Medal: Sam Darcy

AFL Rising Star: Jagga Smith

Recruit of the year: Christian Petracca

Surprise All-Australian: Josh Treacy

Who should headline the Grand Final entertainment?: Robbie Williams

Headline you'll see: Another superstar forward firing in Sydney

Headline you won't see: Wildcard ride ends in premiership after finishing 10th

Big call: Lachie Neale to finish on the Brownlow podium again

Gabelich's ladder prediction

1. Brisbane

2. Fremantle

3. Sydney

4. Gold Coast

5. Hawthorn

6. Adelaide

7. Geelong

8. Western Bulldogs

9. St Kilda

10. Greater Western Sydney

11. Collingwood

12. Port Adelaide

13. Melbourne

14. Carlton

15. North Melbourne

16. Richmond

17. Essendon

18. West Coast

Nathan Schmook

Premier: Brisbane

Runner-up: Fremantle

Wooden spoon: West Coast

Moving up: Sydney

Set to fall: Collingwood

Club under the most pressure (and why): Greater Western Sydney. Expected to contend with the list it has built, but injuries to key players could make for a difficult start and a year of chasing.

Will the big-spending Saints win a final?: No, but expect them to climb into wildcard weekend.

Brownlow Medal: Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera

Coleman Medal: Mitch Georgiades

AFL Rising Star: Jagga Smith

Recruit of the year: Christian Petracca

Surprise All-Australian: Heath Chapman

Who should headline the Grand Final entertainment?: Foo Fighters

Headline you'll see: Butters' value skyrockets with Brownlow podium finish

Headline you won't see: WA footy getting over Reids

Big call: A trifecta of young forwards in the Coleman Medal (Georgiades, 24, Darcy, 22, Treacy, 23)

Schmook's ladder prediction

1. Brisbane

2. Fremantle

3. Geelong

4. Gold Coast

5. Sydney

6. Western Bulldogs

7. Adelaide

8. Hawthorn

9. Port Adelaide

10. St Kilda

11. Collingwood

12. Greater Western Sydney

13. Carlton

14. Essendon

15. Melbourne

16. North Melbourne

17. Richmond

18. West Coast

Callum Twomey

Premier: Brisbane

Runner-up: Sydney

Wooden spoon: West Coast

Moving up: Sydney

Set to fall: Collingwood

Club under the most pressure (and why): North Melbourne – the Roos have the talent, now at least eight wins must be on the agenda for the first time since 2019.

Will the big-spending Saints win a final?: Yes

Brownlow Medal: Nick Daicos

Coleman Medal: Charlie Curnow

AFL Rising Star: Jagga Smith

Recruit of the year: Charlie Curnow

Surprise All-Australian: Murphy Reid

Who should headline the Grand Final entertainment?: Justin Timberlake

Headline you'll see: Clubs call for interchange cap to lift with five on the bench

Headline you won't see: AFL makes early Grand Final timeslot decision

Big call: Sam Darcy kicks a 13-goal haul – and 'Huddo' is there to call it

Twomey's ladder prediction

1. Brisbane

2. Sydney

3. Gold Coast

4. Western Bulldogs

5. Fremantle

6. Geelong

7. St Kilda

8. Hawthorn

9. Adelaide

10. Collingwood

11. Greater Western Sydney

12. Carlton

13. Melbourne

14. Port Adelaide

15. Essendon

16. North Melbourne

17. Richmond

18. West Coast

Michael Whiting

Premier: Brisbane

Runner-up: Fremantle

Wooden spoon: West Coast

Moving up: Sydney

Set to fall: Collingwood

Club under the most pressure (and why): Fremantle. All the pieces are in place for a serious tilt at the premiership. Just one finals win under Justin Longmuir – time to deliver on the potential

Will the big-spending Saints win a final?: No.

Brownlow Medal: Nick Daicos

Coleman Medal: Ben King

AFL Rising Star: Jagga Smith

Recruit of the year: Charlie Curnow

Surprise All-Australian: Mac Andrew

Who should headline the Grand Final entertainment?: Justin Timberlake

Headline you'll see: Sam Darcy emerging as the best player in the game

Headline you won't see: Contract talks weighing down Zak Butters' performance

Big call: We'll see an all non-Victorian preliminary final weekend

Whiting's ladder prediction

1. Brisbane

2. Fremantle

3. Sydney

4. Gold Coast

5. Geelong

6. Western Bulldogs

7. Adelaide

8. Hawthorn

9. Greater Western Sydney

10. St Kilda

11. Collingwood

12. North Melbourne

13. Melbourne

14. Carlton

15. Port Adelaide

16. Essendon

17. Richmond

18. West Coast

Combined votes

Premier

Brisbane – 8

Fremantle – 1

Runner-up

Fremantle – 3

Gold Coast – 2

Western Bulldogs – 2

Geelong – 1

Sydney – 1

Wooden spoon

West Coast – 9

Moving up

Sydney – 8

Western Bulldogs – 1

Set to fall

Collingwood – 5

Greater Western Sydney – 2

Adelaide – 1

Geelong – 1

Club under the most pressure

St Kilda - 4

Fremantle - 2

North Melbourne - 2

Greater Western Sydney - 1

Will the big-spending Saints win a final?

Yes - 2

No - 7

Who will win the Brownlow Medal?

Nick Daicos – 4

Chad Warner – 1

Marcus Bontempelli – 1

Noah Anderson – 1

Errol Gulden – 1

Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera – 1

Who will win the Coleman Medal?

Charlie Curnow – 3

Sam Darcy – 2

Mitch Georgiades – 2

Riley Thilthorpe – 1

Ben King – 1

Who will win the AFL Rising Star?

Jagga Smith – 7

Daniel Annable – 1

Zeke Uwland – 1

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