My first weekly review of the season – in an all-new, hopefully improved format.
I look at how the Swans breached the blue dam wall, Collingwood's records in games with big i50 discrepancies, and more.
Tell me what you think works, doesn't, etc.
www.onepercenters.net.au/p/how-the-sw...
The headline is 1-22.
The subhead is that, in 2025, the Eagles finally chose a direction.
A new coach, a new style, a young list learning in public.
They're still miles away from competence.
But they're going somewhere.
My West Coast season preview: www.onepercenters.net.au/p/2026-afl-s...
Dominant. Fragile. Explosive. Exposed.
No side frustrates and fascinates quite like the Dogs.
Is this finally the year their brilliance finally scales against good teams?
Or is the tension unresolvable?
My Western Bulldogs season preview: www.onepercenters.net.au/p/2026-afl-s...
Dean Cox's first season in charge was derailed by bad injuries to very good players.
When those players returned – the Swans looked more like their old selves.
Then they traded in Charlie Curnow.
What's their ceiling in 2026?
My Sydney season preview: www.onepercenters.net.au/p/2026-afl-s...
For too long, clubs like St Kilda were supposed to stick to the script.
Draft, hope, contend for a bit, slide back down the ladder.
They weren't meant to bother anyone.
The Saints have chosen a different path.
Will it work?
My St Kilda season preview: www.onepercenters.net.au/p/2026-afl-s...
Many people thought the Tigers might not win a game all season.
Instead, they won their very first game, beat Damien Hardwick, and won interstate.
Year one of the rebuild went very well.
What does year two have in store?
My Richmond season preview: www.onepercenters.net.au/p/2026-afl-s...
It didn't always seem clear who was in charge at Alberton last year.
Now Josh Carr is the boss.
He’ll shape the game plan and the list to get Port back into contention.
But the biggest decision may be out of his hands.
My Port 2026 season preview: www.onepercenters.net.au/p/2026-afl-s...
Thanks very much, Pete. Can't say I'm optimistic, but if it's going to get better, it needs to start in that first month.
I was there the day thousands of North fans felt something they hadn't in years: belief.
But the light at the end of the tunnel turned out to be a false dawn.
Is there any realistic prospect of improvement this season?
My North Melbourne season preview: www.onepercenters.net.au/p/2026-afl-s...
Many thanks to @credittodubois.com for his help with this one.
Great eras end before anyone is ready.
Melbourne’s ended noisily and publicly.
Simon Goodwin, Christian Petracca, and Clayton Oliver are all gone.
In their place is a new coach, a new style, new hope – and a new era.
My 2026 Melbourne season preview: www.onepercenters.net.au/p/2026-afl-s...
My pleasure! Thanks for reading.
Cheers, Ben! Much appreciated.
The Hawks are good.
But good isn't enough these days.
How can they become great – especially when there are such big question marks over the health of their best player?
My 2026 Hawthorn season preview: www.onepercenters.net.au/p/2026-afl-s...
The Giants entered 2025 as many people's flag favourites but exited in the first week of finals.
This pre-season, they've been whacked by the injury stick.
Can they still contend – or should Adam Kingsley look to the future?
My GWS 2026 season preview: www.onepercenters.net.au/p/2026-afl-s...
In 2026, the Suns did three things they'd never done before: have a winning season, make finals, and win one.
Now, with a Norm Smith medallist, a former #1 pick, and a list bursting with talent, their challenge is to contend.
My Gold Coast 2026 preview: www.onepercenters.net.au/p/2026-afl-s...
Geelong remain Geelong.
Steady, relentless, inevitable.
Every year, they're close to the best.
What about this year?
My Geelong 2026 season preview: www.onepercenters.net.au/p/2026-afl-s...
The Dockers are very good – and this might be the best list they've ever had.
The problem is, they're not quite as good as they should be.
How can Justin Longmuir improve them by enough to make them real contenders?
My 2026 Fremantle season preview: www.onepercenters.net.au/p/2026-afl-s...
Unhappy Essendon seasons tend to each be unhappy in their own way.
2025 was wrecked by injuries and the captain trying to leave.
But destruction can be the beginning of creation.
My 2026 Essendon season preview: www.onepercenters.net.au/p/2026-afl-s...
The Pies were top of the ladder for longer than any other side in 2025.
Ultimately, they weren't the best team – but it took the best team to beat them.
What does 2026 have in store?
My 2026 Collingwood season preview: www.onepercenters.net.au/p/2026-afl-s...
The Blues thought they were climbing to the mountaintop.
Instead, they lost their grip.
How far did they fall, and how do they start the climb back up?
My 2026 Carlton season preview: www.onepercenters.net.au/p/2026-afl-s...
2000s revivalism is everywhere right now: low-rise jeans, mall culture aesthetics, pop-punk, and Brisbane Lions dynasties.
My 2026 Brisbane season preview: www.onepercenters.net.au/p/2026-afl-s...
In 2025, the Crows found a genuine physical and tactical advantage that allayed concerns that their list under Matthew Nicks couldn't compete.
And then it all went spectacularly, catastrophically wrong at the worst time.
My Adelaide 2026 season preview: www.onepercenters.net.au/p/2026-afl-s...
Real footy starts in three weeks.
For the third season in a row, I'll be publishing deep previews of all 18 teams: how they play, how they've built their list, causes for optimism/pessimism, and more.
I think they're worth reading!
The first one, on the Crows, drops tomorrow.
Deep dives into set pieces, Japanese noir detective stories, a hardcore punk gig, some unorganised thoughts on the State Of Tennis Today, a book about leaving it all behind to join a convent, and some more.
www.onepercenters.net.au/p/culture-co...
Appreciation of North Melbourne's incredible achievement, reflection on how they did it, and rumination on what it might mean for the AFLW.
www.onepercenters.net.au/p/greatness-...
Appreciation of North Melbourne's incredible achievement, reflection on how they did it, and rumination on what it might mean for the AFLW.
www.onepercenters.net.au/p/greatness-...
Cheers. Yeah, David is clearly a very switched-on guy.
Thank you! Yeah this one ended up being more of an exploration of the psyche of fandom than I'd anticipated when I first had the idea.
The AFL draft is a parallel universe where things are always either good or about to be good.
To understand that world, I spoke with the man behind FootyStuff, whose channel has become the draft’s accidental memory bank.
New on One Percenters: www.onepercenters.net.au/p/the-archiv...
