Christmas is approaching and the holiday season is here. So everyone should have their wish list for Santa written and ready.

From a footy point of view, clubs and fans alike will have at least one standout hope for 2026, no matter how outlandish some may seem.

What would every AFL team’s biggest wish be? Foxfooty.com.au runs through each team’s big Christmas wish heading into 2026.

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Taylor Adams suffers achilles tear | 00:26

ADELAIDE CROWS

A breakout midfielder

The 2025 minor premiers have all the tools to bounce back from a straight-sets finals exit. One area of need the Crows didn’t address over the off-season was building out their midfield in an area that let them down in September. But could the answer come from within? The versatile Daniel Curtin had a superb second season in a variety of roles, while Sid Draper will push for more regular AFL opportunities in 2026 after playing 10 games in his debut campaign. The Crows will be hoping such young guns can take steps forward and provide a point of difference through the midfield, even if they’re not heavily relied upon as such. Adelaide would already be thinking it didn’t have its full complement of on-ball options as it was including Izak Rankine missing the finals series and Josh Rachele, who can also get thrown in the engine room, underdone.

BRISBANE LIONS

Another three-peat

Not asking for much, hey? Brisbane fans will very much be daring to dream about a repeat of its 2001-2003 golden run and seeing their team win a third-straight premiership in 2026. The Lions are extremely well placed to salute again too, with their key stars all still in their prime along with arguably the best croup of young talent in the AFL that will only get better. And while they lost Brandon Starcevich and Callum Ah Chee to rival clubs, they added Sam Draper and Oscar Allen in free agency in a double coup. The Allen addition appears particularly key to help fill the Joe Daniher void they never really replaced. Plus they added another young star in No. 6 draft pick Daniel Annable. Exciting times to be a Lions fan.

CARLTON

Harry McKay up and firing. And a Swans fail

It’d soften the blow of Charlie Curnow’s departure, especially if Curnow dominates in his new colours. The Blues never had either of their star key forwards firing in 2025 — including McKay and Curnow combining for 30 games — as part of the reason Michael Voss’ side regressed. And frankly it feels like the Blues never really worked out how to best optimise the pair in the same forward line. Well, this is clearly McKay’s forward line now in his best opportunity yet to bounce back to his Coleman Medal heights, even if the 27-year old will now constantly draw the best opposition defender. A big season from McKay could go a long way in helping the Blues throw their hat in the ring for September and get the club back on the path it was on for several years as it moves in a new direction sans Curnow, Tom De Koning and Jack Silvagni. Oh, and a win over Sydney in Opening Round would also be seriously sweet. In fact, Blues fans should be cheering against Sydney all season (not that they’ll need any extra reason to), given Carlton holds the Swans’ 2026 and 2027 first-round picks. 

Nicks signs new Crows deal | 00:29

COLLINGWOOD

Father Time to hold off a little longer

You’ve heard this before, but there’s no shying away from it; Collingwood’s experienced side has several core stars in its twilight years. They’ll go into 2026 with the oldest list in the competition again including Scott Pendlebury (37), Jeremy Howe (35), Steele Sidebottom (34), Jamie Elliott (33) and Jack Crisp (32) well into their 30s and many others past or approaching the big three-0h. So can father time hold off a little longer and the Pies again sit among the premiership contenders? It might well be the last hurrah with Pendlebury, Sidebottom and Howe as three of the absolute key torch bears of this club’s sustained run. In a perfect world, the Magpies would continue to earth young talent around Nick Daicos while staying in that inner circle of flag fancies, though it can be a hard needle to thread.

ESSENDON

Better run with injuries. And next gen to emerge

Hard to recall a team getting a worse run with injuries than the Bombers in 2025. An injury decimated, disappointing season ended with 13-straight losses and an overhaul of the fitness department. It’s been one of several key changes at Tullamarine including Andy McGrath replacing Zach Merrett as captain after his failed trade move, Andrew Welsh stepping in as president and Craig Vozzo resigning as chief executive. Above all else, the Bombers will simply be keen to see their best 23 — or something close to — more regularly on the park in 2026. That and the new generation of Bombers, like Nate Caddy, Isaac Kako and the club’s trio of first-round draftees, continue to emerge to forge a vision towards Essendon’s next era of success.

FREMANTLE

Hayden Young to make first All-Australian team

The Dockers living up to their potential and winning their first final under Justin Longmuir, if not more, would also be nice. But to get there, Young needs to ascend his game and become the All-Australian star he’s very capable of being. In fact, Young might have the highest ceiling of any Docker and he has all the tools to be their best player and a damaging point of difference through the midfield to complement the likes of Andy Brayshaw and Caleb Serong. Young, 24, never got going in 2025, limited to only nine games due to repeated hamstring and groin setbacks. A big season from the Dockers jet in the engine room alongside the likes of Luke Jackson, Brayshaw and Serong could mean big things for the Dockers in 2026.

Andrew McGrath named new Bombers captain | 00:28

GEELONG CATS

No grand final scars

We’ve seen this story before. A team gets belted on grand final day and is left with scars that causes their downturn the following season. Most recently, Sydney tumbled out of the top eight entirely after its 2024 Grand Final horror show loss to Brisbane. The Swans also fell to eighth after getting smashed by Geelong in the 2022 decider. Perhaps most notoriously, Port Adelaide was decimated by Geelong by 119 points in 2007 in a disastrous day for the Power, tumbling to 13th the following season and not playing finals again until 2013. Adelaide and GWS also missed finals after their disappointing GF performances in 20017 and 2019 respectively. If there’s one club you’d back to keep it together, it’s Chris Scott’s Cats. They’re the ultimate professional unit and the emergence of a new wave of stars has Geelong primed to contend again in 2026. So long as some players aren’t haunted by their Brisbane beat up on the last Saturday in September.

GOLD COAST SUNS

For missing 20 per cent of flag team to deliver

Damien Hardwick infamously said when he first took over as Suns coach at the end of 2023 that the club already had ‘80 per cent’ of its first premiership team intact. Gold Coast has been on a busy recruiting drive since including bringing in Christian Petracca and Jamarra Ugle-Hagan this past trade period and several young stars via the draft. It’s all coming together for the Suns and the club ticked off a huge milestone by winning its first final in 2025. And if not for a shock Round 24 loss to Port Adelaide, Gold Coast would’ve made the top four. Hardwick and company will now have their eyes on a bigger prize as they go into 2026 as a genuine flag contender for the first time in club history. Whether they’ve made up that missing 20 per cent will depend on if the likes of Petracca can step up and compliment the rest of a budding core ready to deliver more September success.

GWS GIANTS

A Clayton Oliver renaissance

The Giants acquiring Clayton Oliver was one of the biggest moves of the trade period, despite it coming at very little cost. It’s therefore a low-risk move in isolation. But in the wider scheme of things, GWS needs Oliver to return to his best to help the club make a deep finals run. GWS’ midfield depth has at times been an issue in recent years, with the club very reliant on Tom Green and Finn Callaghan, who are still coming into their own. If Oliver could return to his All-Australian best and coexist with Green, despite being similar players, it could be key in helping Adam Kingsley’s talented group live up to its potential and go a few steps further in September. Oliver averaged 25.6 disposals, 5.4 tackles and 5.5 clearances in 2025, so it’s not as though he’s completely lost it, and he’s still only 28. But it’s been a far cry from a superstar that was a top five player in the competition and helped lead Melbourne to a drought-breaking flag.

Pies set to contend in 26 | 00:57

HAWTHORN

Breakout star to nullify Zach Merrett miss. And a healthy Will Day

Sam Mitchell’s crew is running it back in 2026 with basically the same side that took it to a preliminary final … with one key omission: Zach Merrett. Hawthorn was unable to land the star midfielder in a trade with Essendon in one of the biggest stories of the trade period. And who knows; the Hawks might get another crack at Merrett again. It’s still far from a disaster, as Hawthorn has one of the most talented young lists in the competition that should only keep improving. But they’d love for one of their young midfielders to make a genuine leap to nullify missing out on Merrett, especially if a lack of starpower in that part of the ground is an issue. They’re already very well represented in the engine room with Will Day and Jai Newcombe. But can Josh Ward go to another level after a breakout 2025? Can Cam Mackenzie, who, according to some whispers was a player of interest of Essendon’s, become an elite on-baller? Could Nick Watson provide a point of difference in there? What about Josh Weddle? The Hawks will also hope they get a healthy season out of Day, maybe their most important player, and he overcomes his injury woes after playing six and 16 games respectively over the last two seasons.

MELBOURNE

New gen to inspire a Hawthorn-like bounce back. And a Suns fail

It’s officially a new era at the Demons under Steven King. Three of the absolute pillars from the 2021 flag, Simon Goodwin, Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver, are now gone. And the club will be hoping a new wave of young players can provide hope for the future along with some handy veteran additions with the likes of Jack Steele and Brody Mihocek. The Dees actually did well out of the Petracca trade in a deal that yielded them multiple first-round picks including Gold Coast’s 2026 first rounder. So Melbourne should also be barracking against the Suns, as ambitious as that appears. The hope would be this is more an accelerated rebuild on the run, akin to Hawthorn when it moved on several veterans including Tom Mitchell and Jaeger O’Meara and prioritised youth, and Melbourne can bounce back sooner rather than later. After all, the Dees have already attacked the draft pretty hard in recent years with the additions of Xavier Taylor and Latrelle Pickett (2025), Harvey Langford and Xavier Lindsay (2024) Caleb Windsor (2023) and Jacob van Rooyen (2021) with first-round picks. It doesn’t necessarily mean the Demons have to play finals in 2026 to say this reset has worked. But fans would want to see several young guns start to come on and ultimately be filled with optimism to suggest they’re back on the right path after a rough few years.

NORTH MELBOURNE

Genuine progress

It’s been a tough period at Arden Street including the club approaching a 10-year finals drought with six-straight seasons of and bottom three finishes. The Roos did improve their win total to five in 2025 — their best return since 2019 — and there’s several blossoming stars across the board that can form the core of a good side under master coach Alastair Clarkson. Now we — and more importantly, North fans — need to see genuine progress and inroads up the ladder. The time for simply wanting to see positive signs, player development and honourable performances is over; the Roos need to start stacking wins and become a more serious player in the competition yet again. While the defence remains a concern, there’s enough starpower leading way in Harry Sheezel, George Wardlaw, Luke Davies-Uniacke, Nick Larkey, Tristan Xerri and Charlie Comben.

Richmond take Wolmarans with top pick | 00:46

PORT ADELAIDE

Zak Butters’ signature

Impending restricted free agent Zak Butters’ free agency call will easily be the biggest Port Adelaide storyline of next season, with the club’s ability to contend in the short term hinging on it. Victorian native Butters, who played Talent League footy with the Western Jets and who hails from that part of the state, will seriously weigh up a return home despite a new Power era under Josh Carr. The Western Bulldogs, Geelong and Hawthorn are expected to be among the clubs to make big plays for the dual All-Australian hard nut in 2026, with Port needing to pull out all the stops to retain the burgeoning superstar. But after the Alberton-based club regressed from 16 wins and a preliminary final berth in 2024 to nine wins and a 13th-placed finish this year — its worst ladder finish in 13 years — there’ll be plenty of pundits expecting Butters to seek greener Victorian pastures in 2027. But Power fans will continue to pray their three-time club champion sticks around. Of course, while keeping Butters should be atop of the wish list, Port would get very well compensated if he departed to help kickstart a reset and the club’s ability to obtain an influx of father-son and Academy-linked draftees on the way.

RICHMOND

A healthy Sam Lalor to make his mark

It’s near impossible to argue there’s any one player more pivotal to Richmond’s long-term success than former no.1 draft pick Sam Lalor. But after his draft-eligible GWV Rebels season was cruelled by a serious hamstring injury, his rookie campaign this year was cut short due to another such injury — with scar tissue a concern going forward after three strains in a 12-month span. If you thought Lalor was nursed through his first AFL pre-season, his every move will be put under a microscope by the Tigers’ medical gurus this summer. And while he’s only entering his second season, it’s an important campaign for the 19-year-old, with pressure already up a notch after Richmond this pre-season handed him the hallowed no.4 guernsey. The Bacchus Marsh product undeniably showed Dusty-like glimpses across his first 11 AFL games, but the Tigers faithful won’t put the weight of the world on Lalor’s shoulders — all they’ll ask for is natural progression in an injury-free year.

ST KILDA

All-in trade plan to be a success

Bit of a tricky one to define. But Saints fans would love to simply look back on 2026 and be able to say, ‘going hard on trade and free agency worked’, after they loaded up with additions Tom De Koning, Sam Flanders, Jack Silvagni and Liam Ryan. It could be achieved in different ways. For one, and most importantly, the Saints playing finals. As they say, ‘winning solves everything’. Even if some of those recruits were underwhelming, baring in mind their lucrative price tags. There’s added opportunity now with 10 teams qualifying for an extended finals series as part of a wildcard round. Of course, those new additions could also simply shine and turn into key pieces for Ross Lyon’s team moving forward. De Koning has all the tools to be one of the best ruckmen in the competition, while Flanders has traits to be an A-grade midfielder. For Silvagni and Ryan, it might be as simple as staying on the park after they’ve been disrupted by injury in recent years.

Blues looking forward to Swans showdown | 01:25

SYDNEY SWANS

Charlie Curnow back to his best

In a hectic and intense finish to November’s trade period, the Swans landed their big fish in Charlie Curnow, parting with three first-round draft picks and forward Will Hayward in the process. Now, they need Curnow to rediscover the form that saw him claim two Coleman Medals as the league’s unmatched goalkicking force. The soon-to-be 29-year-old was one of the bigger victims of Carlton’s lacklustre 2025 regression, booting just 32 goals in 18 games — his lowest tally in a season playing at least 18 games since 2017. But a statement return to his best footy is high up Sydney’s wishlist going into 2026, after a grand final hangover that saw it win just 12 games this year and miss the finals after 17 wins in 2024. The Swans also traded for defender Jai Serong and small forward Malcolm Rosas to supplement their flag-calibre list, but it’ll be Curnow’s production they’ll be most reliant on after Hayden McLean, Joel Amartey and Logan McDonald this year combined for 38 goals in 28 games.

WEST COAST EAGLES

Young stars start to take over

The Eagles will enter the new year with the youngest and least experienced list in the competition, with just three listed players set to be over the age of 30 for the 2026 campaign. And while patience will again be granted to Andrew McQualter, after a one-win 2025 slog, the fanbase will demand progress from the club’s exciting core of youngsters. A leap will justifiably be expected of former no. 1 draft pick Harley Reid, while up-and-comers Reuben Ginbey, Elijah Hewett, Bo Allan, Jobe Shanahan and Tom Gross should also take steps. It comes as West Coast in November added premium first-round picks Willem Duursma, Cooper Duff-Tytler and Josh Lindsay to its burgeoning crop. Like any rebuilding club, the Eagles won’t be expected to hit on all of their high draft picks, but the hope out west is the club has recruited enough high-end talent to form a long-term foundation for a return to on-field success.

WESTERN BULLDOGS

Zak Butters

Them and several thousand Dogs fans! Where Zak Butters decides to play his football in 2027 will be the trade question on everyone’s lips throughout next season, with the free agent-to-be weighing up a massive career call. A move home to Victoria looms — with Whitten Oval in May tipped to be the “frontrunner” landing spot — but Port Adelaide will continue to hold out hope the superstar midfielder recommits at Alberton under rookie senior coach Josh Carr. Yet even if Butters opts for a change of scenery after eight fruitful years in South Australia, the likes of Geelong and Hawthorn are also thought to be firmly in the running for the dynamic ball-getter next year. Acquiring the three-time club champion and dual All-Australian would be a massive boon to prop up Marcus Bontempelli and the Bulldogs’ fledgling premiership odds, with Tom Liberatore and Adam Treloar soon to be on their last legs. The Dogs were this year’s best attacking side, and a Butters and Bontempelli-led engine room in 2027 would do wonders for the club’s bid for a third flag.