AFL 2026 pressure index: This is who’s under the pump at your club

Pressure in football comes in many forms.

There’s pressure on players to perform and execute their skills under the watchful eye of teammates, coaches, board rooms, fans and the media. There’s pressure of expectation and there’s pressure applied by opponents.

As we enter a new season, there are plenty of people under pressure in the AFL. Coaches, of course, feature high on the list, but also key players and club leaders.

Let’s take a look at who from each club is under the most pressure.

Adelaide

Coach Matthew Nicks

The Crows were a slow-burn rebuild for five years under Nicks until rocketing to the top of the ladder last season. But that’s when things turned sour, as they became the first minor premier in the AFL era to be eliminated from the finals in straight sets.

Nicks – and the Crows – will hope the growing pains have passed. A one-year contract extension ties him to the club until the end of 2027, but he needs to prove the finals’ freak-out was a one-off.

Brisbane Lions

Lachie Neale and Harris Andrews

Well, it’s difficult to say the pressure is on many at Brisbane, where back-to-back premierships have built a wealth of credit points. But if the Lions are serious about a three-peat, to match what their forebears did from 2001-03, it will be up to the leaders to ensure this side remains hungry for success.

Lachie Neale’s well-publicised marriage breakdown has been a distraction, but that issue, publicly, should fade come the season proper. Coach Chris Fagan also has an important role in focussing his men, but it’s Andrews – and potentially a fresh co-captain – who will know how his teammates are really tracking.

Carlton

Coach Michael Voss

Given a reprieve by new club CEO Graham Wright late last season, Voss will again be fighting for his future when the Blues open their season against the Swans, and old mate Charlie Curnow.

Despite the loss of star forward Curnow, ruckman Tom De Koning and defender Jack Silvagni, the Blues still believe they are a serious finals’ contender. But should the wheels fall off early, Voss will find himself under enormous pressure. There is no one more under the pump this season than the Brisbane Lions’ great.

Collingwood

Star recruit Dan Houston and the Magpies’ best-and-fairest voting system

Houston was a dual All-Australian at Port Adelaide and the recruit the Magpies hoped would lead them back to the promised land in 2025. But the rebounding half-back did not have the impact he, nor the Magpies, hoped for. After making his name as one of the game’s best kicks, he struggled in the Magpies’ down-the-line, handball-heavy system. He finished outside the top 10 in the Copeland Medal count, but Collingwood are determined to use him better once he recovers from a minor hip procedure.

Speaking of the club’s best-and-fairest, that Nick Daicos was beaten in the count by ruckman Darcy Cameron prompted even coach Craig McRae to say the voting system needed to be “challenged”. We’ll see if anything changes.

Essendon

Zach Merrett and the entire club

Merrett’s professionalism in terms of his preparation will never be questioned. But how he and his teammates re-acclimatise after his failed bid to join the Hawks will be a season-long watch. Yes, all parties are saying the right things now, but it will be in the trenches of June and July, with the season on the line, when this relationship will be truly judged.

Will the Bombers show enough improvement to make Merrett want to stay? Expect the Hawks to have another crack.

Fremantle

Coach Justin Longmuir and the entire club

The Dockers returned to the finals for the first time in three seasons in 2025, buoyed by 16 wins (their best tally in a decade), but their campaign ended with a home elimination final loss to the Suns.

The Dockers still have a core group of players to hit their peak but, in some ways, they are built to win now. Improving their clearance differential is a must in 2026. Longmuir has an ongoing employment agreement, as opposed to a set contract, so the Dockers could move swiftly if they believe change is needed.

Geelong

Star midfielder Bailey Smith

In terms of his on-field output, Smith could not have done much more in 2025, although he would probably want to revisit the grand final. Coach Chris Scott maintains Smith, as a recruit, has been an “outrageous success” and the club, in terms of his behaviour, is “really confident that it’s in a really good spot”.

But, to others, his behaviour, at times, was certainly distasteful and classless, while the AFL has warned him about his controversial social media posts. The Cats will not want any off-field distraction to impact their premiership push.

Gold Coast Suns

Coach Damien Hardwick

The Suns enjoyed their maiden finals campaign in 2025, veteran David Swallow coming off the bench to inspire his team to a stunning win in Perth. Defeat followed against the Lions, but that was no disgrace. However, expectations have risen – excuse the pun – after they recruited Demons great Christian Petracca to join Brownlow medallist Matt Rowell and skipper Noah Anderson in a blue-chip midfield.

Former Bulldog Jamara Ugle-Hagan appears to have turned a corner at his new club. It’s now up to Hardwick to make this work. Anything short of a preliminary final would be considered a failure with this loaded list.

Greater Western Sydney

Skipper Toby Greene

The premiership window looks to be closing for the Giants’ great, his team having missed a trick in recent times. There was the finals flame-out in 2024, while last year’s elimination final loss to Hawthorn at home came after they’d won nine of their previous 10 games.

How Clayton Oliver assimilates will be fascinating to watch, but it will be up to Greene, 32, to help inspire – and drag – his team forward if they are to taste the ultimate success.

Hawthorn

Star player Will Day and the medical team

Day is arguably the Hawks’ best player, and his midfield presence is a must if this team is to make the next logical step by reaching the grand final. Jai Newcombe had an outstanding finals’ series, but he could not do it alone in the midfield. Day’s right navicular foot issues ruined his 2025 campaign.

He will continue to be monitored closely, with the pressure on the club’s medical team to get this right, particularly after the Hawks ultimately opted not to trade for Zach Merrett.

Melbourne

President Steven Smith and chief executive Paul Guerra

No one is expecting the Demons to challenge for the flag in 2026, but internal expectations are that the team should still be a legitimate finals’ contender – particularly as this will be a new 10-team finals campaign.

Neither Smith nor Guerra were officially in their current positions when the club parted ways with coach Simon Goodwin towards the end of last season, but both were on the panel that appointed his successor Steven King, and will now expect him to deliver a lift in performance. The Demons have had their fair share of internal issues over the past two seasons. Smith and Guerra will hope these have also eased.

North Melbourne

Coach Alastair Clarkson

The four-time Hawthorn premiership coach was expected to have the Kangaroos at least on the cusp of finals after three seasons in charge. But with just 11 combined wins, the past three seasons have been nothing short of a nightmare, even if there have been mitigating factors. Excuses, however, are no longer viable, and the Roos must be far more competitive.

They have turned to a more one-on-one defensive system over summer – this will be a close watch. Clarkson has two seasons left on his contract. Will he see this out?

Port Adelaide

President David Koch and star player Zak Butters

It was time to part ways with Ken Hinkley after 13 seasons, but the focus is now on Josh Carr after his ascension to the top role through the club’s succession plan. Koch was central to devising this plan, the Power opting against considering outside applicants when appointing their former premiership player, Carr.

The Power are unlikely to be in the premiership mix, but Koch and his board will want to see the club heading in the right direction. As for Butters, he is a restricted free agent in 2026, and is likely to be the league’s most wanted man. He has a major call to make – head home to Victoria, or remain with the Power. Can he handle the weekly speculation? We’ll see.

Richmond

Josh Smillie and the Tigers’ medical team

We’ve seen several of the young Tiger talents begin to make a splash, but life hasn’t been kind to top-10 pick Josh Smillie, who did not play a game in his rookie season and has continued to battle injury. He underwent surgery in November for a quad issue, the injury failing to heal as the Tigers hoped.

As top picks in the 2024 national draft, Smillie (pick No.7) and Sam Lalor (No.1) are central pieces in the Tigers rebuild. It’s now over to the club medicos to get Smillie healthy.

St Kilda

List chiefs Steve Silvagni and Graeme Allan, coach Ross Lyon and ruckman Tom De Koning

The Saints have been on a recruiting splurge, signing De Koning, Jack Silvagni, Liam Ryan and Sam Flanders, and making star playmaker Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera the league’s first $2 million-a-season man.

They were mired in mid-table mediocrity – the expectation is now they now leap into the finals. If they don’t, questions will be asked. And just how De Koning handles the pressure of an eight-year mega deal will also be a close watch.

Sydney

Star recruit Charlie Curnow

It’s up to Dean Cox and his assistant coaches to get this right, but Curnow now must deal with the responsibility of being the missing piece in the Swans’ premiership quest. Curnow wanted out of Carlton, declaring it was time for change, but, as a high-priced recruit, the expectations at Sydney remain just as high as they were at Ikon Park.

Curnow may enjoy Sydney’s surfing and beach culture, but there will be nothing swell if the Swans fail to build on their strong end to the 2025 season.

West Coast

Star player Harley Reid

It may be unfair to heap pressure on Reid, but that’s more an indication of where the Eagles sit, than about the player himself. The former No.1 draft pick finished third in the best-and-fairest count last season, his second year in the league, providing more evidence of how he could one day become the league’s best player. However, it’s been a bruising ride for the robust midfielder.

He might have joined a rich club that won a flag as recently as 2018, but the Eagles were deep in a rebuild by the time he walked in the door. The focus remains on Reid to be a beacon of hope. Here’s hoping it doesn’t impact his development.

Western Bulldogs

Coach Luke Beveridge

The Bulldogs won 14 games and boasted a percentage of 137; a record good enough to put them in the top eight almost any other year. But 2025 wasn’t a normal year, and the Bulldogs were again lamenting what might have been. That they won only two games against the top-eight teams told the tale.

They still have Marcus Bontempelli at his peak, a strong midfield, an emerging star in forward/ruckman Sam Darcy, and a heightened defensive focus. Beveridge is a premiership coach, but has never had the Dogs finish in the top four after the home-and-away season in his 11 seasons. With two years remaining on his contract, the clock is ticking.

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