Gold Coast\u2019s thumping 56-point win was last Friday,<\/a> their opponents, Geelong, started their 2026 redemption arc in \u201clacklustre\u201d fashion.<\/p>\nIn fact, it was their worst start to a season in 11 years, with a deficit not seen since their 62-point loss to Hawthorn in Round 1 of 2015. And while no one expects the Cats to fall off a cliff this year, their midfield depth looks an increasing concern; despite recruiting James Worpel last trade period<\/p>\n
Chris Scott\u2019s side dearly missed the senior stardom of Patrick Dangerfield (calf) and Jeremy Cameron (quad) at Carrara, and while the duo are expected to return to play this Saturday evening against Fremantle, recruit Worpel will ironically miss as he overcomes a finger infection.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe use Brisbane as the benchmark. Clearly, Brisbane\u2019s midfield is the deepest by a fair way in the competition,\u201d three-time Brisbane premiership player Jonathan Brown said on Fox Footy\u2019s Friday night coverage of Opening Round.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy worry is still that; they were exposed in the Grand Final. To go all the way, is their midfield deep enough?\u201d <\/p>\n
Four-time flag Hawk Jordan Lewis replied: \u201cI think no. When you compare it to the best, and even the side they played tonight, for me they just don\u2019t bat in the same league as that. It\u2019s a performance you don\u2019t want to have Round 0 … that can knock you about a fair bit.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s as lacklustre as I\u2019ve seen (from them) for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n
The dash and gaining of territory from Max Holmes and Bailey Smith took the Cats\u2019 outside game to another level last year, but at the nucleus, Worpel and tackling machine Tom Atkins may need to take their punish game up a notch against the competition best.<\/p>\n
After missing all of 2025, Tanner Bruhn shone brightly off half-back, and may be a point of difference that Scott can call upon in the middle if required later in the year.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s clearly a lot of room for improvement for the Cats. They\u2019ll go over it with a fine-tooth comb, work out one or two things, but they\u2019ll move on pretty quickly,\u201d Geelong great Tom Hawkins said.<\/p>\n
\u201cDimma (Damien Hardwick) mentioned Dangerfield and Cameron out now. As great a players they are, I\u2019m not exactly sure that they make a dent in the way the Suns played out there. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve got a tough start to the year … Tanner Bruhn was excellent, but he was on his own a bit tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018EVERY TEAM\u2019S DOING IT\u2019: AFL\u2019S RULE CHANGE UNEARTHS LATEST \u2018EXPERIMENT\u2019<\/p>\n
The AFL\u2019s ever-polarising Opening Round saw just over half of the competition take to the field last weekend; 10 of the 18 clubs to be precise.<\/p>\n
Subsequently, it\u2019s given eight clubs an early peek at how their rivals will shape up in 2026 \u2014 and they all would\u2019ve seen one common denominator among just about every participant in Round 0.<\/p>\n
With umpires instructed by the league to officiate the \u2018stand\u2019 rule harder than ever, an increase in punish from handballs from one end of the ground to the other was more than just noticeable.<\/p>\n
Not many more were more obvious in the implementation of the tactic than Sydney, who gained an eye-watering 446 metres more territory against Carlton last Thursday night, than they did on average last season.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe game\u2019s changing; exactly what the AFL has wanted with the \u2018stand\u2019 rule. I think handball now has become king,\u201d two-time Kangaroos premiership player David King told Fox Footy\u2019s First Crack Preview on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can get away with not being a great kicking team, in my opinion, if you\u2019re a great handballing team and you\u2019re prepared to run smart patterns with aggressive lines. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not necessarily the volume of handballs, it\u2019s the territory you\u2019re able to take … we\u2019re seeing a lot of forward, aggressive handballs.<\/p>\n
SHIFT IN HANDBALL GAME<\/p>\n
METRES GAINED PER GAME IN 2025: 241 (from 141 handballs)<\/p>\n
METRES GAINED PER GAME IN OPENING ROUND: 408 (from 163 handballs)<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a huge jump, and only 10 per cent more handballs in total \u2014 so something\u2019s changed. I think coaches are experimenting with how aggressive you can be.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s only one game, and it\u2019s early, but gee it\u2019s a contrast.\u201d<\/p>\n
When compared to last year\u2019s averages, Gold Coast and Collingwood each had large upticks in their metres gained by handball in Opening Round \u2014 and despite their heavy loss, as did Carlton.<\/p>\n
Head coach Michael Voss has been potted by some fans and corners of the media for a game plan that hasn\u2019t evolved enough on first glance in 2026, but as King pointed out, the Blues are well and truly on the handball-happy train.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery team\u2019s doing it … Carlton has gone from 207 to 528. If you think the Blues haven\u2019t changed, you\u2019re dreaming. You\u2019re not watching,\u201d King added.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose thinking Michael Voss hasn\u2019t tried to adjust what they\u2019re doing, you\u2019re not watching it close enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
Voss unsure what to make of loss | 07:07<\/p>\n
HAWKS QUALM THAT MUST BE ANSWERED TO CHALLENGE FOR FLAG<\/p>\n
Sam Mitchell\u2019s fifth year at the helm for Hawthorn got off to an underwhelming start last Saturday evening against GWS, and there\u2019s one young gun who may need to have his best season yet to give them a chance of a flag in 2026.<\/p>\n
After signing a four-year contract extension last month, 21-year-old Josh Weddle is one of Mitchell\u2019s most prized magnets for his versatility, but two-time North Melbourne premiership player David King believes continuity right now is the best thing for Weddle.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere\u2019s Weddle, is my question? At some point, the player has to take some responsibility for commanding a position in the team,\u201d King told First Crack Preview.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know he gets thrown around a bit, and I just wonder, is it because he doesn\u2019t dominate one position? When he\u2019s in the middle, when he\u2019s in ruck, half-back flank \u2014 does he get the job done?<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m being a little hard on him, but he\u2019s just getting a few things wrong (due) to poor concentration, and poor execution.\u201d<\/p>\n
Weddle attended 19 per cent (seven total) of Hawthorn\u2019s centre bounces last weekend, after appearing in just five across his career.<\/p>\n
His presence through the middle of the ground is likely largely due to the Will Day-sized hole that his injury has left, though history suggests the Templestowe product is yet to establish himself as a ball-winner.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 60 games, he\u2019s only had 23 or more disposals twice. He\u2019s had 20 clearances in two years; I don\u2019t know where he plays. I don\u2019t want everyone telling me he\u2019s a \u2018Hall of Famer\u2019 just yet, he\u2019s got some work to do,\u201d King continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know if he\u2019s the answer in the midfield or not. I\u2019d put him to half-back and keep it \u2018straight lined\u2019 … to make the game easier for him, because he can do some good things!<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s some good in there, you\u2019ve just got to find a way to bring it out. In my opinion, they\u2019ve got to service him first. I\u2019d even sacrifice Sicily, they\u2019ve got enough quality stocks down back. Move him around; senior player, he can handle it … he\u2019s smart enough to know what to do at the right time.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis kid\u2019s a priority. If they\u2019re to be any threat this year, he has to be a weapon for them, and he\u2019s not right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cam Mackenzie\u2019s availability after exiting concussion protocols could see Weddle move back to Hawthorn\u2019s defensive half, with the ability to play higher up on a wing. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An AFL Hall of Fame Legend has flagged a common trend he believes could impact one of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":534284,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,689,55,639,42255,11295,265109,265108,61820,160382,19098,12923,265106,8001,218267,265099,265104,265107,229791,265095,192025,27292,265103,265112,18664,13659,2485,9130,52619,265111,265098,17976,265100,265113,12102,3231,1823,1120,12141,19052,51310,253473,265102,31732,39203,12137,3257,18093,265097,677,39209,8016,52764,701,238854,12105,12936,51240,27748,265096,265105,265101,85,23078,19118,265110,1133,9020],"class_list":{"0":"post-534283","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-afl","8":"tag-afl","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-australia-and-new-zealand","12":"tag-australian-football-league","13":"tag-australianfootballleague","14":"tag-bailey-smith","15":"tag-ben-king","16":"tag-bold-declaration","17":"tag-breakeven-point","18":"tag-brightest-young-stars","19":"tag-bruhn","20":"tag-burning-questions","21":"tag-chris-scott","22":"tag-clunking-marks","23":"tag-concussion-protocols","24":"tag-contested-marks","25":"tag-defensive-mechanism","26":"tag-dominant-influence","27":"tag-dominant-spearhead","28":"tag-faces-media","29":"tag-finger-infection","30":"tag-football-legend","31":"tag-four-year-contract-extension","32":"tag-full-forward-position","33":"tag-game-panel","34":"tag-game-plan","35":"tag-geelong-cats","36":"tag-gold-coast","37":"tag-gold-coast-suns","38":"tag-handball-game","39":"tag-handball-happy-train","40":"tag-handballing-team","41":"tag-hawk-jordan-lewis","42":"tag-hawks-qualm","43":"tag-increases-handballing","44":"tag-jack-gunston","45":"tag-jack-jovanovski","46":"tag-jack-riewoldt","47":"tag-jake-stringer","48":"tag-jeremy-cameron","49":"tag-jonathan-brown","50":"tag-josh-weddle","51":"tag-kick-goals","52":"tag-kicking-team","53":"tag-lance-franklin","54":"tag-leigh-matthews","55":"tag-max-holmes","56":"tag-michael-voss","57":"tag-midfield-depth","58":"tag-midfield-issues","59":"tag-oceania","60":"tag-patrick-dangerfield","61":"tag-premiership-player","62":"tag-premiership-winner","63":"tag-queensland","64":"tag-redemption-arc","65":"tag-sam-darcy","66":"tag-sam-mitchell","67":"tag-senior-games","68":"tag-senior-player","69":"tag-senior-stardom","70":"tag-shock-magnet-shift","71":"tag-spoiling-defenders","72":"tag-sports","73":"tag-tom-atkins","74":"tag-tom-hawkins","75":"tag-top-six-leading-goalkickers","76":"tag-trade-period","77":"tag-young-gun"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/534283","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=534283"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/534283\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/534284"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=534283"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=534283"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=534283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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