If you learn anything from the 2025 AFL season, it is that any team can make a run at finals (except the perpetual cellar dwellers in rebuild) with a good run of health and a decent dose of luck.
The way the league has structured itself now gives teams a chance to improve or decline rather rapidly, and having the right pieces in the right places has never been more important.
The more I listen to list managers and coaches these days, the less I think taking the best-available player in every draft is the way to go. There will always be standouts that demand to be taken with the top five picks, but outside that, it starts to be a bit of a lottery, and finding the right player, not just the apparent best one, is where the value lies.
The same can be said for trading. We’ve seen some bigger names trade places with varying effects, but the right player on the right team makes a world of difference.
It is with that in mind we narrow the focus onto the teams that “could”, even if they may not necessarily “should” make a leap into contention for the top eight next season. What is one realistic move that could push them that little bit further and into contention?
How do we make 2026 contenders out of the 2025 pretenders?
Time to have a look.
The remainder of this article is for our members. They support me, and I provide for them. It’s a good deal.
Oh… a Mongrel paywall… the worst of all paywalls. Why? Because HB believes work such as this is worth a mere pittance per day. Whilst you could stick with Caro’s Arrow or Kane’s Vol-Kane-O, you’ll get your 500 words in the newspaper and be happy, or you could dive articles like this. If you don’t want to, that’s fine. You’re welcome to join and keep reading if you do.
