One of the favourite pastimes of a football fan is to look at the potential in a player and imagine what they could become in the future. With the 2026 season done, there is now more than four months of fantasising and pondering about what each club and player can do in 2027.
Every season, a player from nowhere makes their mark. This year's version of that was Sydney SSP recruit Jai Serong.
Then there are the young stars ready to emerge as some of the league's best, à la Fremantle's Murphy Reid who claimed his maiden All-Australian at 20.
There are breakout stars to watch, but there are plenty of players who hang in the balance of promising talent and potential but failing to deliver, how will they fare next year?
We at Zero Hanger have listed the 10 players to watch and why in 2027:
Zane Duursma
He has the talent and the athletic traits; does Duursma now have the right club to help him shine at last?
The 21-year-old showed brief glimpses of his potential during his three-season, 38-game and 28-goal stint at North Melbourne.
In 2027, under Melbourne coach Steven King, Duursma could finally make the leap expected of him. But the onus is on him to make it happen.
It has seemed, from the outside, Duursma has expected his talent to be enough at AFL level, but he will need to work his you-know-what off this summer to make the most of his opportunity at the Dees.
Fortunately, he has a very similar player to him in Bayley Fritsch to learn off.
If Duursma can do the work, the world is his oyster to emerge as a damaging, high-flying, goal-plundering mid-sized forward in 2027. And perhaps King's positive environment can help him get there.
