It's an unfortunate guarantee that some AFL clubs are going to struggle significantly more than others in any given season.
The disparity between the top half and bottom half of the league was particularly obvious in 2025, with the ninth-place Bulldogs winning five more games than the 11th-place Carlton Blues.
The gap was even larger the further down the ladder you go, with West Coast becoming the first club since GWS in 2013 to win just one game for an entire season.
But who will be in the mix for the least-desired award in 2026? There's a few familiar clubs you might recognise...
4Melbourne Demons
An off-season of major overhaul will see Melbourne go into 2026 with a refreshed list and a new approach under the tutelage of senior coach Steven King.
The departures of Clayton Oliver and Christian Petracca allows the club to go into 2026 with an eye on what's next, as King plans to prioritise the development of youth over stars of years past.
That explicit focus suggests that a spot in September is not necessarily a primary goal at Demonland. Furthermore, if the adjustment to King's gameplan takes longer to fire than expected, the Dees could quickly tumble into the bottom four of the ladder.
There's certainly more than enough talent on this list to suggest they won't be the favourite to claim the wooden spoon, hence their ranking on this list, but the margin for error is slim, and a slow start under a new system could see them slide further than many expect.
