The best part about entering new footy season is that it's a fresh slate - every club starts from zero.
Optimism is high as fans relish in the prospect of their club making some form of improvement on last year, whether that's contending for a premiership, returning to September action, or seeing young players blossom into genuine superstars to push a rebuild forward.
Whether they've just won back-to-back premierships or are coming off a one-win campaign, each club has something to look forward to next year.
So, here's one thing your favourite club should be excited about entering the new year.
Gold Coast
Engine room dominance
Gold Coast's list is stacked, but the bulk of its top-end talent can be found in the midfield. While this is an already exciting area to consider for Suns fans, given the enormous success of Matthew Rowell and Noah Anderson in 2025, the addition of Christian Petracca to this nucleus should get many of the Sunshine State faithful up and about.
The Suns ranked in the top four for clearances won, scores from stoppages and scores originating from centre bounces in 2025, and this was also partly due to their ruck dominance, leading the league in hitouts to advantage per game, which helped set up Rowell and Anderson's monster years.
Add into the mix prized top five draft selection Zeke Uwland, the underrated Touk Miller and a plethora of outside runners who have thrived under senior coach Damien Hardwick's tutelage, 2026 beckons as a big year for Gold Coast - and potentially a deep run into September.
In fact, a dance on the penultimate weekend of September should be the expectation for the Suns in 2026, given how well their stars perform under the brightest lights.
Anderson and Rowell levelled up in their post-season debuts, recording a combined 66 disposals and 21 score involvements in the thriller. You don't have to rewind time too much to know that Petracca is a finals riser too, with a Norm Smith medal to his name and an average of 15.3 contested possessions in September.
If that's not worthy being excited over, it's hard to know what is.
