A Swans star couldn’t hide his frustration after the club’s ‘disappointing’ season ended. And a missing piece could be key to the Swans bouncing back to flag contention in 2026.
Plus priority pick debate, and concerns for Collingwood’s finals campaign despite the club restoring its flag hopes.
The big issues from Round 24 of the 2025 AFL season analysed in foxfooty.com.au’s Talking Points!
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‘DISAPPOINTED’ SWANS STAR’S VOW… AND DOES MISSING PIECE HOLD KEY TO BOUNCE BACK?
The Swans had just demolished West Coast by 67 points. Yet judging by Errol Gulden’s reaction post-match, would’ve thought Sydney had lost.
That’s because a reflective Gulden was thinking bigger picture.
You could feel the star’s frustration dripping off the screen after the Swans’ “disappointing” season came to a close in a year the club fell from a minor premiership and grand final appearance to outside the top eight under Dean Cox.
“100% (it was a disappointing season),” a raw and honest Gulden told Fox Footy.
“Listen, it’s not where this footy club wants to be, finishing up the season now.
“I’m honestly super disappointed. Tonight was probably a bit of a reflection of our season. The first half was really poor, it took a rocket from ‘Coxy’ at half-time to get us going.
“To be honest, it’s not a great feeling right now.
“I guess the positive being we have a bit of time off now. Then come back and hopefully have a really good block before Christmas and get this club back up where it should be playing finals.
“We owe it to ourselves, our fans and the club to come out next year and write the wrongs of this season. We’ll work our arses off… Certainly don’t want to be feeling this feeling again, it’s not good.”
Cox “confident” ahead of 2026 | 09:13
The Swans never recovered from a rocky start to the year including being marred by injury. Most notably, Gulden missed half the season.
But we got a glimpse of what this team could be at full strength in the back-half of the season, winning eight of their last 11 games to finish 10th on the ladder at 12-11.
With a longer break, slightly easier draw, a better run with injuries and more familiarity under Cox’s system, there’s reason to be optimistic that Sydney can bounce back hard next year back into the top eight, if not higher.
Kangaroos great David King believes the club is one key move away from rocketing back into premiership contention — adding a star key forward.
It certainly seems in Sydney’s plans.
It emerged this week that the Swans were set to target Carlton dual Coleman medallist Charlie Curnow this off-season in an acquisition Demons great Garry Lyon called the “perfect” fit for Sydney.
The Swans have also been linked with a move for Jamarra Ugle-Hagan, but there’s increasing doubt around the troubled Bulldog’s AFL future.
Whether it’s Curnow or someone else, King thinks the Swans need to prioritise adding a marquee key forward to their mix.
“I think they bounce quickly, you talk about some high-level acquisitions on the trade table to really hone in on. They certainly need a bona fide target,” King said on Fox Footy.
“If they get that, I think they’re back in the premiership race almost immediately. If not, it’s a challenge.”
In fairness, Sydney only got a combined eight games from Logan McDonald and Joel Amartey this season due to injury after the pair kicked a collective 80 goals last season. So even this year we never saw their full strength forward line with both talls.
But the Swans surely wont die wondering in pursuit of winning a premiership with this list, with a core that’s made two grand finals over the last three seasons.
Swans storm home to take down Eagles | 00:58
Three-time Coleman Medalist Jack Riewoldt also thinks the Swans “need to go and get a big superstar forward,” pointing to their proven a track record in recruiting high-profile goalkickers in the past including Lance Franklin and Tony Lockett.
“They’ve been able to do it in the past and attract a big name along,” Riewoldt said.
“For them to be a bona fide contender again, that midfield needs someone to kick it to.”
It could also give Cox the flexibility to swing someone back to bolster their defence, with King suggesting McDonald had all the traits.
“I think Logan McDonald could go from full forward to centre-half back,” King added.
“We’ve seen a lot of forwards do it over the journey and be amazing. They’ve got a great eye for where the ball is likely to go, they play the percentages well.
“It’s easier to cover a man than to lose a man. I think that role would suit (McDonald) really well.
“And I don’t think he’s the prime target that’s going to take them to the promise land (as a forward), so you’ve got to find another option.”
‘JUST NONSENSE’: EAGLES’ PRIORITY PICK DEBATE RAGES AFTER HORROR SEASON
To give West Coast a priority pick or not?
It’s been widely discussed all year, and two Fox Footy pundits debated the matter after the club’s challenging one-win season came to an official end.
West Coast finished 18th with the worst win-loss record of the AFL era (1-22), and the most losses of any team in the history of the competition.
It’s been a dour period for the club in the fallout from its 2018 premiership glory under Adam Simpson, with just 11 wins from 91 games over the last four years — all bottom three finishes.
And it’s frankly hard to see the Eagles turning things around anytime soon as a lengthy rebuild looms under first-year coach Andrew McQualter, with co-captain Oscar Allen set to depart the club.
It was no great surprise that West Coast chief executive Don Pyke confirmed last month the club would seek priority pick help at the end of the season.
McQualter sums up tough 2025 season | 09:38
But some have argued the Eagles’ downfall has largely been by their own doing. Herald Sun chief writer Jay Clark said West Coast was “paying for the mistakes off the back of the flag” after the club opted to held onto its ageing veterans when they had trade value and went all in on Tim Kelly.
They say not knowing where you are is the worst position to be in. And the Eagles basically bet on their list when they were on the slide in a recipe for disaster.
However Kangaroos legend David King argued the AFL model is an “equalisation business,” with North Melbourne (2023 and 2024) and Gold Coast (2019) the two most recent clubs to get priority pick help.
The league doesn’t want teams down the bottom for too long, particularly a club as rich and powerful as West Coast.
So King suspects it’s a matter of when, not if, the Eagles will get a handout, leading to his debate with Clark below …
King: “(McQualter has) Taken over a basket case, really. This year they’ve won 19 quarters of footy — the worst in the competition — last year they won 26. To put that into context, Richmond won 28 and Kangaroos won 30, so they’re a long way off. I do think they need some AFL help, whether they’ll get that this year or next, it’ll come. They’ve won 11 games in four years.”
Clark: “They’re paying for the mistakes on the back of the flag, they had the option to trade out some stars. Western Bulldogs would’ve Jeremy McGovern and Jack Darling in a heartbeat. They hung onto them and didn’t get those picks in and paid a lot for Tim Kelly. That’s what happens. If you keep trying to shoot for the premiership, you end up paying the price. Haven’t we got to move past this time of just dishing out these free picks to try and help clubs from mistakes?”
King: “Every club make mistakes, that’s why they end up here … you can’t have a club rusted to the bottom of the table for eight years when you’re in the equalisation business.”
Clark: “Well then Collingwood and Geelong, for example, should just keep loading up and topping up. And when they do fall off the cliff, they’ll know the AFL will pick them up too.”
King: “No one is aiming to fall off the cliff. But if three people at your football club make bad decisions three years in a row, should the whole 100,000-plus strong fan base pay the price of that for a decade? That’s just nonsense.”
Clark: “Well, they’re about to get Pick 2 for Oscar Allen, who heads to Brisbane. So they’ll already get Pick and Pick 2, that’s a fair whack already … Allen going will be a win for this football club. Richmond made these hard decisions trading out their stars to get the picks in.”
Cats secure 2nd, Cameron seals Coleman | 01:14
CONCERNS FOR PIES ‘VULNERABILITIES’ AFTER CRUEL BLOW
It felt like the wheels were falling off at Collingwood for a while. But the Pies crucially held onto their spot in the top four ahead of a whole new season in two weeks for a group proven on the September stage.
Suddenly Collingwood fans will be daring to dream again about a repeat of 2023 after witnessing their side’s flag hopes gradually dwindle in the second half of the season.
Craig McRae’s experienced side will have to get by without Howe for at least half of its finals campaign though, with the veteran defender to miss at least two games after a groin setback to continue his tough injury run over the last couple of months.
And an AFL great is concerned that it could leave their back six vulnerable.
Though Howe, 35, is in the twilight of his career, he remains an integral member of Collingwood’s defence in the area of the ground that made the club so dominant earlier this season.
It could set a particularly hard task if Collingwood comes up against finals opponents with multiple key forward weapons, like Adelaide, Hawthorn and the Western Bulldogs, forcing the likes of Harry Perryman and Brayden Maynard to play as undersized third talls.
‘This is horrific timing’ – Howe subbed | 00:42
North Melbourne great David King still doesn’t have complete trust in what the Pies will do this finals series, particularly with Howe sidelined for the foreseeable future.
“I don’t think they’re bankable,” King said.
“I think they’re dangerous, which is still great. But I don’t think they’re the product of 2023, put it that way. They run off a few cylinders.
“I still think there’s some defensive vulnerabilities. If Howe is not there for the first two weeks of finals against good sides, they’re the cracks that get exposed.”
Tigers champion Jack Riewoldt said Collingwood “will do anything” to get Howe back to bolster McRae’s defence.
“We don’t know exactly what the extent of the injury is. But they will be doing everything to get him back on the park,” Riewoldt said.
“When Jeremy Howe is out there, Darcy Moore is a better player and Collingwood is a two-goal better defence. He’s so important for them for finals.”