AFL 2026

a weekend of good footy and surprising results, the two biggest stories are weird as fuck.

The whole Elijah Hollands story gets worse and worse the more you see or read. I have not seen anything that paints Carlton in anything but the worst light either. I cannot wrap my head around it at all, but it's not good, and Hollands ending the weekend in hospital just compounds it. What ever the outcome is, it's clear that boy needs some serious support.

Then we get the fallout from last weekend's dumb decision. Butters gets reported by an umpire for abuse despite no corroborating evidence at all. The AFL seem to know this because they only gave him a small fine. Port appeal and win, based not on the facts of the case, but the fact that one of the Tribunal members got in his car to go to work halfway through the hearing!! Real clown show areas.

Yeah the Hollands thing is really sad. I actually feel for everyone, even the club. They wouldn't have wanted him out there if he was in crisis, it's bad for team performance if nothing else. He clearly had plenty of chats with coaches where they would have twigged if he wasn't on the planet. It's a tough one.

ive looked it up since you mentioend it, had missed it over the weekend, players are saying they were talking about it on the pitch whihc is a bit wild

Sydney are the April premiers by a long way, absolutely flying.
Hawthorn next, and the Hawks were the latest to remove the wheels from the Gold Coast.
Scott Pendlebury should not, at 38 years of age, be able to play that well on the G, rack up 43 touches and win best on ground, remarkable.
Nice of the Lions to remind everyone who they have to beat in September.
Weird seeing Geelong struggling.
Nice seeing North either winning or being very competitive.
Melbourne are good! Pickett is a gem.

@mariner4life said in AFL 2026:

Sydney are the April premiers by a long way, absolutely flying.

i was going to come in and point out im very causious we'res till replying on 1-2 outstanding quarters....but double checking and that was on of the more consistant performances, 3 goals in the first, 4 in the second, 5 in the third and 6 in the fourth

also interesting 18 behinds....kick straight and that would have been a huge score

Should they just give Freo the flag already?!

oh you poor sweet child. you have so much to learn about Freo.

@African-Monkey said in AFL 2026:

Should they just give Freo the flag already?!

You are heading for such a bad fall.
Like when they blow a big lead in the fourth quarter of the GF.
I hope you have lots of friends and family around for emotional support when it comes.

Haha, and yes, I have plenty to learn about things in AFL lol.

It is funny though seeing Eagles fans get nervous about their chances.

their chances of what? finishing above the bottom 2?

there are 3 "big" Melbourne teams below them on the table weirdly. sorry, hilariously.

i think i can see all of them having a upward tick...even a brief one beore the eagles

@Kiwiwomble said in AFL 2026:

their chances of what? finishing above the bottom 2?

I meant freo's chances haha even though it sounds like they have nothing to worry about lol

@African-Monkey

nervous!
there is no need to be
by now it should be quite clear to all freo fans about how it'll play out

chatted to a long time docker fan a while ago
said that after the brisbane game last season she had resigned herself to the fact that freo are not guna win a flag in her lifetime!

@mohikamo said in AFL 2026:

@African-Monkey

nervous!
there is no need to be
by now it should be quite clear to all freo fans about how it'll play out

chatted to a long time docker fan a while ago
said that after the brisbane game last season she had resigned herself to the fact that freo are not guna win a flag in her lifetime!

That was my first Freo game i went too funnily enough. We got flogged badly that night and it kickstarted Brisbane's charge to the flag!

@African-Monkey said in AFL 2026:

That was my first Freo game i went too funnily enough. We got flogged badly that night and it kickstarted Brisbane's charge to the flag!

sorry
meant the freo v gold coast final
freo were tracking ok at the end of last season then lost their last two home games
and fucked it all up
typical

@mohikamo said in AFL 2026:

@African-Monkey said in AFL 2026:

That was my first Freo game i went too funnily enough. We got flogged badly that night and it kickstarted Brisbane's charge to the flag!

sorry
meant the freo v gold coast final
freo were tracking ok at the end of last season then lost their last two home games
and fucked it all up
typical

Ah yeah that, that was a good choke.

@African-Monkey said in AFL 2026:

Ah yeah that, that was a good choke.

It's come back to me now.
The game v Brisbane was a choke as well.
Before the game (Rd 24) Freo was in the four, and Brisbane was in fifth.
A win for Freo would have virtually locked up a top four spot, (they would have only been out of 2nd on %)
A loss for Brisbane, and they would have been 7th on % (and thus unlikely to win the flag from there).
So a big game, with consequences, and Freo being in the better table position.
What happened?
Freo, f'n biscuits, choked it up and got flogged, not really a surprise to anyone!
Brisbane then made top four.
And Freo choked it up, again, in the first round of the playoffs.
Both games at home.
And Brisbane went on to win the flag; thank you very much Dockers!

AND THEN!!!!!
YOU BOUGHT A DOCKERS SEASON TICKET!!!!!!

@mohikamo said in AFL 2026:

@African-Monkey said in AFL 2026:

Ah yeah that, that was a good choke.

It's come back to me now.
The game v Brisbane was a choke as well.
Before the game (Rd 24) Freo was in the four, and Brisbane was in fifth.
A win for Freo would have virtually locked up a top four spot, (they would have only been out of 2nd on %)
A loss for Brisbane, and they would have been 7th on % (and thus unlikely to win the flag from there).
So a big game, with consequences, and Freo being in the better table position.
What happened?
Freo, f'n biscuits, choked it up and got flogged, not really a surprise to anyone!
Brisbane then made top four.
And Freo choked it up, again, in the first round of the playoffs.
Both games at home.
And Brisbane went on to win the flag; thank you very much Dockers!

AND THEN!!!!!
YOU BOUGHT A DOCKERS SEASON TICKET!!!!!!

And boy am I loving the journey so far!

@African-Monkey said in AFL 2026:

And boy am I loving the journey so far!

Yeah well
They are going good atm
so yeah, have your fun now
cos' later on, you know what's guna happen
and you'll be cryin' like a girl

As a Tiger fan its a tough watch , if im honest they are that bad im not watching much ,

But if there is a shining light they are accumulating good kids , doesnt guarantee its all going to work out mind you but thats all you can do in the meantime i guess

Tigers have probably bottomed out more than they wanted, but they got flags out of the cycle, a lot of them. Can't be disappointed by that. Better to be a Richmond fan than Carlton or Essendon.

AFL fans: The draft rules need to change! it's not fair that clubs are getting access to talent when they are good!

AFL House: Ok, you are right, we'll change the rules

AFL Fans of clubs it stood to benefit soon: Wait, not yet!! that's not fair! Change them AFTER we get our talent.

Do. Not. Listen. To. Fans!
Fans don't want equity, they want things to benefit their clubs.

@mariner4life said in AFL 2026:

Tigers have probably bottomed out more than they wanted, but they got flags out of the cycle, a lot of them. Can't be disappointed by that. Better to be a Richmond fan than Carlton or Essendon.

What the flags do , they relieve the pressure in a situation like this , what clubs can get sucked into , is trying to climb back up the ladder too quickly to please the supporters and relieve that pressure , when the reality is, the list isn’t capable of going all the way to the top anyway .This was Richmond in the 90s early 2000s ,and now the bombers .

I think you have to hold strong and rebuild the list properly as your focus and ignore the outside noise . You don’t make it to the top without A grade talent , and unfortunately they usually walk into your club as high pick draft selections anyway.

At least the Tiges are so bad it makes sense to stay that way. In all sport it’s proven that you should move on from an ageing star a year early instead of a year too late.

@game_film said in AFL 2026:

At least the Tiges are so bad it makes sense to stay that way. In all sport it’s proven that you should move on from an ageing star a year early instead of a year too late.

If you rebuild properly at the bottom of the ladder and go to the top no one really remembers it anyway ,

A bit of pain for long time gain

Brisbane now for example

if you do it too right they will re-write history anyway.

it's fucking hard to do, and there are so many pieces you need. Some pieces you won't get until half the work is done.

@mariner4life said in AFL 2026:

if you do it too right they will re-write history anyway.

it's fucking hard to do, and there are so many pieces you need. Some pieces you won't get until half the work is done.

Quite often you see 2 sides at the bottom rebuilding at the same time , one gets it right and one doesnt ,

I remember Brisbane and Carlton together at the bottom recruiting for quite a few seasons ,

Way back in our earlier bottom out that lead to the flags it was us and Melbourne , Melbourne got there eventually but initially they didnt, and they went back down and topped up

Now it seems to be us and West Coast

@african-monkey

top of the table to-nite!!!!!!

@mohikamo said in AFL 2026:

@african-monkey

top of the table to-nite!!!!!!

Had it running at the same time as the Force game. Oh what a win against the Dogs B team from what I understand! That Hayden Young goes alright doesn't he?!?

Already counting down to next Thursday at home to Hawthorn. You blokes know where I'll be!

I'll take the one pointer finishing without Tex.

@booboo said in AFL 2026:

I'll take the one pointer finishing without Tex.

How good was that! I'm in Adelaide currently, hard to spot anyone without a Crows shirt on.

@African-Monkey said in AFL 2026:

@booboo said in AFL 2026:

I'll take the one pointer finishing without Tex.

How good was that! I'm in Adelaide currently, hard to spot anyone without a Crows shirt on.

I think winning the Show Down is more important than winning the comp. Somewhat more realistic too ...

Tigers start their season!

@antipodean said in AFL 2026:

Tigers start their season!

Good game that.

damn...got a little closer than i would have liked yesterday, blood just couldnt shake the D's

Look, I don't wanna be known as that guy here, but is it time we start renaming Fremantle as 'Flagmantle'?

The stadium was buzzing last night. Fantastic atmosphere.

@African-Monkey

haha
starting to get some "flagmania" are ya

4 big wins in 18 days is actually very impressive.
and were still going hard in the 4th quarter of game four, ran over the top of a good team
yes, i'm impressed

@mohikamo said in AFL 2026:

@African-Monkey

haha
starting to get some "flagmania" are ya

4 big wins in 18 days is actually very impressive.
and were still going hard in the 4th quarter of game four, ran over the top of a good team
yes, i'm impressed

Already booked my tickets to Melbourne mate. Told the boss I won't be available for the last week of September and the first week of October either. Too busy celebrating.

I went for closer to a deep depression last night than should have been possible.
The Lions assumed by winning the first half by 8 goals they they just needed to turn up to win by 15 goals.
Unfortunately thr Blues woke up and honestly looked like a top 6 side. Smashed us in the middle and McKay woke the fuck up.
Waaaay to nervy last 10 and the type of performance that should get a bake even from papa Fages.

If Carlton found something in that 2nd half thrn they will give everyone they play kittens. Well done to them, shows that Voss hasn't lost the dressing room. Should have folded, did the opposite.

Lions need to be careful, I have seen teams who think they just need to get to finals before flicking the switch come undone over and over.