We are only one month into the AFL season, but a whole season’s worth of storylines have already played out.
Multiple clubs are on the verge of crisis, a few teams have spiked sharply up the ladder, everyone’s cross about Opening Round and the league has landed Kylie Minogue for the grand final, if you care about that sort of thing.
We have picked out five particularly interesting teams to focus on, be it for good or bad reasons.
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Starting, largely, with the bad…
Essendon coach Brad Scott. Â AFL Photos via Getty Images
Essendon’s losing streak is beyond ugly now
As of Sunday’s clash with the undefeated, rampaging Western Bulldogs, it will have been 317 days since Essendon won a game, a streak dating back to May of 2025.
Last year’s injury crisis gave the team and coach Brad Scott somewhat of a pass for their struggles in the second half of the season, but the start to 2026 has been grim.
The Dons have been blown off the park by Hawthorn and Port Adelaide, and then were simply outplayed by a North Melbourne team that has been stuck to the bottom of the ladder since 2020.
Essendon now finds itself in an incredibly awkward spot. Coach Brad Scott is under mounting pressure, captain Zach Merrett showed in the off-season he doesn’t want to be there and the spectre of this losing streak continues to grow.
What’s worse is outside of Nic Martin, Mason Redman and Nick Bryan, they have the majority of their first-choice players available.
We’re barely a month into the season and already the Dons are teetering on the verge of collapse.
Carlton captain Patrick Cripps. AFL Photos via Getty Images
Carlton is fast approaching rock bottom … again
Carlton has found itself at the proverbial rock bottom more times than any other team in the 21st century, but as what feels like the end of the Michael Voss era approaches, they’re back in the depths once more.
The Blues have conceded 36 second-half goals from three games this season, while kicking just 11 themselves. They’ve blown two second-half leads, and should’ve fumbled a third against Richmond, if not for their inaccuracy in front of goal.
This is a trend that stretches back to the middle of 2024, and arguably even further back, and is something Voss has not been able to solve.
Patrick Cripps looks like he is out of steam and the club’s on-field leaders have no ability to stem opposition momentum.
They take on North Melbourne in five days before an incredibly tough run of games against Adelaide (away), Collingwood, Fremantle (away), St Kilda and then Brisbane (away). This could get even uglier.
Willem Duursma and Cooper Duff-Tytler of the Eagles. AFL Photos via Getty Images
West Coast has finally found hope
The 2025 season was as bad as it could possibly get for West Coast. They won one game, their captain walked out on them and it was generally hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel after spending the last half decade in the bottom four.
But it’s amazing what change in a summer. They added two elite draft prospects in Willem Duursma and Cooper Duff-Tytler, who have both shown signs of stardom already in just three games.
Jake Waterman is healthy and back to his All-Australian best as a key forward, while Jobe Shanahan looks like a long-term partner inside 50 for him.
Harley Reid continues to get better, Tim Kelly looks reinvigorated, Tom McCarthy and Milan Murdock were outstanding finds outside of the draft system and they’re still yet to have their biggest trade acquisition in Brandon Starcevich down back.
The Eagles have now won back-to-back games for the first time in two full years and have shown they have the talent to escape the doldrums, even if it doesn’t happen this year.
Port Adelaide coach Josh Carr. Getty
Port Adelaide is proving the grass isn’t always greener
Outside of smacking the hapless Essendon, Port Adelaide’s start to the season has been concerning.
They’ve now lost to both North Melbourne and West Coast, while also losing captain Connor Rozee to a long-term hamstring.
In his absence, and coupled with the looming spectre of Zak Butters departing at the end of the year, the Port midfield looks particularly thin.
Jason Horne-Francis is a star and Jase Burgoyne is a quality role player, but they do not seem to have much beyond those two at this juncture.
The Power are quickly learning the grass isn’t always greener. Their fan base was rabid in their attempts to oust Ken Hinkley, who led them to consistent September action, but now Carr must prove he is the right man to lead this next era at Alberton.
Marcus Bontempelli and Matthew Kennedy of the Bulldogs walk off the ground after a win. AFL Photos via Getty Images
The Bulldogs may have put the pieces together
The talent on the Western Bulldogs’ list has never been questioned. Pull up any statistical resource or expert’s list and you’ll find a handful of Dogs in every top 20 player ranking.
But for whatever reason, largely defensive issues, they have not been able to translate that skill into finals success since 2021’s run to the grand final.
Their start to 2026 could not have been more impressive. They’ve knocked off reigning premiers Brisbane at the Gabba, minor premiers Adelaide in Adelaide and thrashed GWS.
And they’ve done it with star key forward Sam Darcy yet to really fire.
James O’Donnell and Buku Khamis look more assured in defence thanks to structural tweaks and general improvement, their midfield unit is as dominant as ever and they’re the number two scoring team in the competition behind Gold Coast, who has had a much softer fixture.
We’re only one month into the season, but the Dogs have asserted themselves as the team to beat at this stage.