Pre-season training is well underway as AFL clubs begin their preparations for 2026.
As is the case every year, there are a number of clubs that surge up the ladder as their list improves and their players mature. On the other hand, ageing lists and player turnover see other clubs regress.
We look at three clubs expected to rise, and three that may fall in 2026.
Slider: Collingwood
It feels as though many have been predicting the Pies to decline over the past few years, but the numbers suggest it could come in 2026.
A blistering 14-2 start in 2025 suggested Collingwood had comfortably avoided the drop-off some predicted. But a patchy 3-6 finish to the season showed some of those concerns still linger. The Daicos brothers, Jamie Elliott and Darcy Cameron were in ominous form to begin the year, potentially papering over some cracks that eventually appeared in the back half of the year.
In 2025, they had the oldest list by almost two years, with an average age of 27.8. Steele Sidebottom and Scott Pendlebury are 34 and 37, respectively, and although they have been incredible players, their form has to decline at some point.
Collingwood's list management team has traded a considerable amount of draft capital to bring in Dan Houston and Harry Perryman. And the question must be asked, has it been worth it? You wouldn't think so at this stage.
This has resulted in Collingwood's group of under-23 players lacking depth. Outside of Nick Daicos, who is their next young star? Ed Allan in 2022 and Harry DeMattia in 2023 are their only first-round picks since Daicos. Allan has played 15 games and DeMattia is yet to debut.
For a side that has repeatedly defied predictions of a slide, the warning signs are getting harder to ignore heading into 2026.
