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ESPN's top 20 must-watch AFL players for 2026: 10-1
Who are the AFL's must-watch players? Not necessarily the best players in the league, or the most promising, but the ones who make you tune in anytime, anywhere? Here's our top 10.
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ESPN's top 20 must-watch AFL players for 2026: 20-11
Who are the AFL's must-watch players? Not necessarily the best in the league, or the most promising, but the ones who'll make you tune in anytime, anywhere? Here's part 1 of our top 20.
TOP HEADLINES
'I like this game better than ours': Behind footy's incursions into North America
50 BEST PLAYERS
The 50 best AFL players heading into season 2026
It's that time of year when ESPN's Jake Michaels counts down his 50 best players in the AFL. Spoiler alert: two-time Brownlow medalist Patrick Cripps has made the cut.
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AAMI COMMUNITY SERIES
THIS WEEK'S GAMES
NEW STATS FOR 2026
Last touch, ball movement tracking improved: What's new with Champion Data in 2026
Champion Data will put a greater emphasis on tracking AFL ball movement in season 2026, while all state leagues and Under 18s games will all get significant upgrades to their statistical captures for the upcoming season.
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WILL YOUR CLUB PASS OR FAIL IN 2026?
Reach a prelim, make finals, avoid freefall: Every AFL club's pass mark for season 2026
Make finals, win the flag, or avoid the bottom four? What is each AFL club's pass mark for the 2026 season?
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Best case, worst case, most likely: How each club could fare in 2026
IN THE HOT SEAT
AFL coach pressure rankings: Who is really under the pump?
Which AFL coaches have the best job security going into the 2026 season, and who should be considered under the most pressure to perform? Matt Walsh takes a look.
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EVERY TEAM RANKED
AFL tiers: The teams 'up to their eyeballs'; which clubs shot themselves in the foot?
The 2026 AFL season gets underway next Thursday. Who are the flag favourites? Who should already be booking September holidays? Jake Michaels has ranked every club ahead of Opening Round.
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Top Headlines
- Premiership Demons defender retires from AFL
- AFL preseason: Team news, fixtures, and results
- Suns forward suspended for AFL opening round
- AFL to 'have a chat' after ruck loophole exposed
- 'Let's not be afraid': Dogs embracing tough fixture
- AFL umpires to get stats for Brownlow voting
- Walsh inks monster contract extension with Blues
- 'No ruck craft': Gawn's fear over rule changes
- Cripps: Curnow vs. Carlton could get spicy
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Subscribe to the ESPN Australia Newsletter
Keep up to date with the latest news from across the sporting world. Be it at home or abroad, we've got it covered in our weekly newsletters.
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Listen to the ESPN Footy Podcast
Join ESPN's footy team for some of the best AFL and AFLW analysis and insight on the ESPN Footy Podcast.
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Hold your horses: AFL's Origin revival was real, but its long-term future is not
AFL Origin's return was a clear success, but one brilliant night is not enough to prove it's truly back for good.
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Way-too-early AFL Draft Power Rankings: The top 10 for 2026
Twelve months out from the 2026 AFL Draft, this is ESPN's way-too-early top 10 prospects to track.
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Ranking every AFL after-the-siren winning goal since 2000
Since the turn of the millennium, there have been 32 after-the-siren goals kicked which have won the game. We've ranked them -- taking into account shot difficulty, context of the match, conditions, and more to determine which clutch kick rules them all.
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Swans private ownership: the soaring highs but inevitable lows
After a brief period of growth and prosperity, private ownership of the Swans ultimately failed, but without it, would the club itself have survived a cut-throat era of Australian rules football?
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'Exactly what we need': How Aussie Rules helped make ESPN a live sport juggernaut
When ESPN was a fledgling station without any meaningful TV rights, it needed content. Enter Aussie Rules football and the VFL, and a partnership which left a lasting impact on both league and broadcaster, writes Shannon Gill.
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AFL player record holders, statistical leaders, and more
Who has played the most AFL games? Who has kicked the most AFL goals? Here are the league leaders in history for all the stats that matter.
