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See our ranking of every AFL club from best to worst heading into wildcard round below!<\/p>\n
How do the Power Rankings work? We take wins and losses into account, but also the quality of opposition faced and whether teams are likely to get healthier and\/or improve going forward. It\u2019s a little bit \u2018who\u2019s hot and who\u2019s not\u2019; part predictive, part analysis of what\u2019s happened. If Team A is above Team B, we\u2019d probably tip A to win if they were playing at a neutral venue this weekend.<\/p>\n
All times AEST.<\/p>\n
See the Fox Footy Power Rankings heading into the 2026 finals.Source: FOX SPORTS<\/p>\n
1. FREMANTLE (19-4, 137.2%)<\/p>\n
Ladder position: 1st<\/p>\n
The loss to Carlton really doesn\u2019t matter at all – the Dockers didn\u2019t go all-out resting players but it\u2019s safe to say they weren\u2019t trying their hardest either. And in the big picture, the weekend was fantastic for Fremantle, because the bracket has fallen perfectly for them. The only real reason to suggest they won\u2019t make the Grand Final, after dominating the home and away season, was the idea that they\u2019d get stage fright on prelim night. Well, they\u2019ve gotten the easier qualifying final draw with defensively-questionable Hawthorn… and the prelim should be even easier! Assuming Brisbane beats Sydney in the other qualifying final, the Dockers are either hosting Sydney (in a very fitting tribute to 2013\u2019s Grand Final run), Adelaide (who aren\u2019t one of the four best teams but might get to the final four anyway) or a wildcard team (who would\u2019ve already had to win three do-or-die finals to get there and would be comparatively exhausted). Fremantle is going to make the 2026 AFL Grand Final; they can basically spend the next month planning for how to beat Brisbane.<\/p>\n
Next game: Qualifying final vs Hawthorn at Optus Stadium, Thursday week 8:10pm<\/p>\n
All-Australian extended squad confirmed | 00:41<\/p>\n
2. BRISBANE LIONS (16-7, 121.7%)<\/p>\n
Ladder position: 3rd<\/p>\n
In the end, thrashing Hawthorn a few weeks ago has given Brisbane a home preliminary final. The massive percentage swing from that game decided third place and now the back-to-back premiers will be strong favourites to beat an under-strength Sydney side in their qualifying final. History still says a team that\u2019s been this defensively questionable can\u2019t win the flag, but the Lions are now healthy and have given themselves the best opportunity possible (without actually making the top two). They should cop a tougher prelim final opponent than Fremantle does – we\u2019d have them playing the winner of a Hawthorn-Geelong semi; they\u2019d feel confident against the Hawks but their clashes with the Cats are always unpredictable. Still, the Lions are favourites to make the Grand Final from here. And while Fremantle has had the better home and away season, the back-to-back champs\u2019 experience will be a massive advantage on the day. We would not argue with you if you said Brisbane is the premiership favourite right now.<\/p>\n
Next game: Qualifying final vs Sydney at the SCG, Saturday week 3:15pm<\/p>\n
Lions Lock In Top Four | 03:22<\/p>\n
3. GEELONG (15-8, 122.3%)<\/p>\n
Ladder position: 5th<\/p>\n
The finals bracket may not fall kindly for the Cats, who have the longest active winning streak of all finalists (partially because they played most of their hard games in the first two thirds of the season). Had they finished 6th as expected, they would\u2019ve likely hosted Adelaide in their elimination final before a winnable semi-final trip to Sydney. Instead the Cats now risk facing bogey side Carlton (who\u2019ve won four of their last five meetings), which also wouldn\u2019t be a real home game. Win that and they should cop the old enemy Hawthorn in a semi-final – that Easter Monday epic ended up deciding who finished fourth – while Brisbane likely awaits in a prelim. This team is good enough to win those three games, especially if Max Holmes is back, but it\u2019s a much tougher path than it would\u2019ve been if Melbourne had just beaten the Bulldogs. Having said that, at least they can\u2019t face Freo in a prelim now; we think the Cats, with their experience and strong performances against Justin Longmuir\u2019s side this year, are one of the two sides that can beat the Dockers in a Grand Final.<\/p>\n
Next game: Elimination final vs Western Bulldogs, Collingwood or Carlton at the MCG, Friday week 7:40pm<\/p>\n
Butters confirms intention to leave Port | 02:37<\/p>\n
4. HAWTHORN (15-6-2, 120.1%)<\/p>\n
Ladder position: 4th<\/p>\n
The five goals of percentage between them and Brisbane is probably going to end up deciding a Grand Finalist – the weather did the Hawks no favours against the Eagles as they tried in vain to overhaul the Lions\u2019 figure. Playing Fremantle in their first final isn\u2019t a disaster; it means you can\u2019t play the Dockers in a prelim, and with how the Hawks have gone in the west this year, there\u2019s at least some chance they pull the upset. The bigger problem is the ensuing game, probably a semi-final against Geelong, the Bulldogs, Carlton or Collingwood; none of those games would be easy. And you\u2019re probably looking at a prelim at the Gabba should the Hawks survive that (where we\u2019d have very little faith in them pulling the upset). There\u2019s absolutely a chance Sam Mitchell\u2019s men go out in straight sets, though we\u2019d say that speaks more to the evenness of the pack behind Fremantle and Brisbane than them being particularly poor. The Hawks just feel a step off the best this season, but they are still better positioned than most to make a deep run this September. Being in the top four, and not the wildcard, matters a lot.<\/p>\n
Next game: Qualifying final vs Fremantle at Optus Stadium, Thursday week 8:10pm<\/p>\n
Gaz urges Essendon to go hard at Merrett | 01:03<\/p>\n
5. CARLTON (12-10-1, 101.5%)<\/p>\n
Ladder position: 10th<\/p>\n
We feel roughly as confused by the Blues as we do by the Swans, but for the opposite reason. Beating Fremantle doesn\u2019t mean much in a literal this-is-how-good-they-are sense, because the Dockers had nothing to play for, but it will only add to this group\u2019s confidence that they can challenge the best. Because, well, they have! The hottest team in footy heads into the finals having beaten the two premiership favourites AND their elimination final opponent (should they get there), Geelong. They have only lost two of their past 14 games; they are a really damn good footy team right now, and while they were unlucky to still finish 10th, that\u2019s the risk they took by playing for the draw late against the Bulldogs. If you go game-by-game you can absolutely see the Blues making a deep run in this finals series; they can beat a wounded Melbourne, and they can beat Geelong, and then with huge hype building they\u2019d likely run into Hawthorn in the semi-finals. They shouldn\u2019t have to leave town until a potential prelim… probably at the Gabba, just like 2023. But their incredible story is also their flaw; they\u2019ve had to play so hard just to finish 10th that, inevitably, they\u2019re going to have an off night at some point. That could come this Saturday or it could come in a month\u2019s time. You never know in the finals. You\u2019re basically just flipping a coin and hoping it keeps coming up heads; coming from 10th you\u2019ve got more chances to hit tails.<\/p>\n
Next game: Wildcard final vs Carlton at the MCG, Saturday 7:35pm<\/p>\n
Blues take down ladder leaders! | 04:08<\/p>\n
6. MELBOURNE (15-8, 109.6%)<\/p>\n
Ladder position: 7th<\/p>\n
Clearly the biggest losers of Round 24, the Demons\u2019 incredible season could now very easily end without them even making an elimination final. That would be a massive shame given how good they\u2019ve been this year, as they become the first true victim of the expansion to 10 finalists. It\u2019s definitely unlucky that they\u2019re copping the hottest team in the comp, Carlton, instead of Collingwood or even the Bulldogs again (we know they just lost to them but we\u2019d tip the Demons in a rematch). The silver lining is if Steven King\u2019s men can get through the wildcard round, the path opens up. Adelaide in Adelaide wouldn\u2019t be an easy elimination final match-up, but it\u2019s probably the best option on the board, and after that the Demons could draw the under-strength Swans in a semi-final. Remember, they took it up to Sydney at the SCG earlier this season, too. So if the Dees can get through this week, we think they\u2019re a great shout of making a prelim… but they\u2019ve also copped a rash of absences at the worst possible time, and Saturday night will feel like a Blues home game. We will be happy for whichever team wins that game; it\u2019s a great story either way. It\u2019s also a sad story for the loser, and sadder if the Demons lose, given how good they\u2019ve been all season.<\/p>\n
Next game: Wildcard final vs Carlton at the MCG, Saturday 7:35pm<\/p>\n
Crows Soar Into Top Six | 00:47<\/p>\n
7. ADELAIDE CROWS (15-8, 117.3%)<\/p>\n
Ladder position: 6th<\/p>\n
There are two main reasons why the Crows can make a prelim, and make amends for last year\u2019s straight sets exit. One is the draw; the Demons\u2019 loss to the Bulldogs didn\u2019t just save the Crows from the wildcard but propelled them into the most favourable position in the bracket outside of the top three. They\u2019d rather not face the Magpies again but should it be the Demons or Dogs coming to Adelaide, the hosts will be favoured, and then there\u2019s a potential semi-final against a weakened Sydney side. And remember, the Crows already beat the Swans at the SCG once this year! But the other reason they can make a prelim is the incredible form of Izak Rankine – he\u2019s absolutely primed to make amends for last year (in a footy sense), having been arguably the best player in the game over the last six weeks. Few clubs have a game-breaker like him and, if he keeps this up, he can drag a flawed group deeper than anyone thought possible before Round 24\u2019s good fortune.<\/p>\n
Next game: Elimination final vs Melbourne, Western Bulldogs or Collingwood at Adelaide Oval, Saturday week 7:35pm<\/p>\n
McEvoy: ‘We’re united as a club’ | 01:31<\/p>\n
8. SYDNEY SWANS (18-5, 136.1%)<\/p>\n
Ladder position: 2nd<\/p>\n
We honestly have no idea where to put the Swans; they looked like their usual selves against North Melbourne… but there\u2019s a reasonable jump in quality from \u2018North Melbourne With Nothing To Play For\u2019 to \u2018Brisbane Going For A Home Prelim\u2019. At a minimum the Swans are the least-scary top-two finisher in a while – though in a pure football sense, the most similar case would be Adelaide without Izak Rankine last year. And we saw how that went for them. As much of an emotional toll the last week has been, there\u2019s also some chance the playing group is galvanised to try and prove everyone wrong (including Andrew Pridham) about their season being \u201ctorpedoed\u201d without three of their best five players and their best tagger. And the bracket should favour the Swans; assuming they lose to Brisbane in the qualifying final (which isn\u2019t a sure thing) their semi-final is against Adelaide, Melbourne, Collingwood or the Bulldogs. Even in their current form that\u2019s winnable; before the weekend they looked on track to draw Geelong in the semis instead (who we think are quite a bit better than that quartet). We can absolutely see a world where Sydney produces an emotionally-charged win in the semis… and then gets smashed by Fremantle in the prelim.<\/p>\n
Next game: Qualifying final vs Brisbane at the SCG, Saturday week 3:15pm<\/p>\n
Dillon addresses Swans saga | 01:25<\/p>\n
9. WESTERN BULLDOGS (13-9-1, 95.4%)<\/p>\n
Ladder position: 8th<\/p>\n
Two weeks ago we would\u2019ve had the Bulldogs a clear 10th in the finals pecking order; something has changed since that dire North Melbourne loss, though. Not only is Ed Richards reminding the footy world he\u2019s one of the game\u2019s great midfielders – they\u2019ve still got two of them! – but the side looks more defensively sound overall. And while Aaron Naughton\u2019s fitness, and the reliance upon him structurally when he\u2019s there, remain concerns the Dogs of the past fortnight can absolutely beat Collingwood on Friday night. It\u2019s a good draw for them though it must be said the Marvel tax is clearly in effect here. There was no world where they get a true home game because the AFL has always prioritised crowd numbers over true fixture fairness; but it\u2019s also completely reasonable to point out it\u2019s unfair that the lower-ranked team has home ground advantage. This is not just a finals thing; the Marvel teams are, broadly speaking, less powerful on and off the field for various reasons. They are structurally disadvantaged in a way almost every other club isn\u2019t. That\u2019s capitalism for you.<\/p>\n
Next game: Wildcard final vs Western Bulldogs at the MCG, Friday 7:40pm<\/p>\n
Will Pies regret not resting players? | 03:46<\/p>\n
10. COLLINGWOOD (12-9-2, 102.4%)<\/p>\n
Ladder position: 9th<\/p>\n
We understand the merits of listening to your players about their bodies; the human element is what makes coaching so challenging, as you can\u2019t treat players like you\u2019re playing Football Manager. And Craig McRae deserves the benefit of the doubt in almost all cases. But that doesn\u2019t mean we can\u2019t question the Magpies resting so few players for their Round 24 dead rubber<\/a>; even without being outcome-based and simply pointing to Scott Pendlebury\u2019s injury and going \u2018SEE, WRONG\u2019, it seems illogical to play your best guys ahead of a potential five-week finals campaign. Were the Magpies likely to win the flag anyway? No. But they can absolutely make a prelim, as they\u2019re one of the more match-up based teams in this finals series. Say they and Carlton win their wildcard games – most people would be picking the Pies to win their elimination final against Adelaide in Adelaide. The ensuing semi-final would be against a weakened Sydney in Sydney; that\u2019s winnable! Professional sport is all about is about finding those little 1 or 2 per cent edges; resting players is one of those luxuries that gives you those edges. Collingwood can clearly still win a final or two despite their decision – drawing the Dogs instead of Carlton was a great result for them – but this is about the process not the outcome.<\/p>\n Next game: Wildcard final vs Collingwood at the MCG, Friday 7:40pm<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Welcome back to the Power Rankings… Finals Edition. The top 10 is set, and the unpredictability of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":867145,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":["post-867144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/867144","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=867144"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/867144\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/867145"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=867144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=867144"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=867144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}