The numbers that matter
The big winners of Round 1
Damien Hardwick's Gold Coast Suns after they, for the second consecutive week, kicked at least six goals in two separate quarters. This time it was to blow last-placed West Coast out of the water to establish an unassailable 62-point half-time lead.
The two sides shared seven second-half goals each as the Suns took their feet off the pedal and enjoyed a very cruisy victory, one week after completely dismantling Geelong.
New recruit Christian Petracca was enticed up north by Hardwick to link up the Suns' star-studded midfield with big forwards Ben King and Bailey Humphrey and, after an impressive debut as a half-forward flanker against Geelong, he swapped roles with Touk Miller in Round 1 for a more prominent midfield role and racked up 108 AFL Fantasy points courtesy of 23 disposals and four goals.
Petracca is the only man in the competition to have got a perfect ten coaches' votes in both weeks of the competition and the Suns are looking in excellent shape so far, especially without Brownlow Medallist Matt Rowell who is injured with a finger injury.
Hardwick's biggest challenge going forward could be to restrain ill-tempered defender Mac Andrew, who again lost his cool at the weekend to concede a 50-metre penalty that gave the Eagles a free goal.
The big losers of Round 1
Collingwood's first two weeks have looked particularly alarming, even though they were able to grind out a 78-66 win over St Kilda in Opening Round.
11 goals was enough to beat St Kilda but a repeat performance couldn't get the win over Adelaide, and it's hard to imagine they'll be winning too many games of footy this year by averaging less than 80 points.
It has appeared evident in the first fortnight that they are lacking tall and strong options up forward, with last round's front three of Membrey, McStay and Steele combining for only seven marks and one goal.
It meant that even though Collingwood were able to increase their inside 50 count from 40 against St Kilda to 59 against Adelaide, there was nothing to show for it at the end of the day.
The bye will ensure that captain Darcy Moore returns from injury for their next game, but he isn't going to solve the problem of a dearth of marking options in the forward 50.
The naughty boys
These were the charges laid down by the Match Review Officer throughout the round. It'll be especially fascinating to see if Collingwood attempts to use Scott Pendlebury's clean record of more than 400 games without a single suspension as a grounds for challenging his one-match ban.
• Jonty Faull (Richmond) - Striking, 1 match
• Scott Pendlebury (Collingwood) - Rough conduct, 1 match
• Charlie Cameron (Brisbane) - Rough conduct, $3000
• Sam Wicks (Sydney) - Rough conduct, $3000
• Harvey Thomas (GWS) - Striking, $3000
• Steele Sidebottom - Striking, $2500
• Neil Erasmus (Fremantle) - Careless contact with umpire, $1500
• Toby Pink (North Melbourne) - Careless contact with umpire, $1500
• James Peatling - Careless contact with umpire, $1500
Coleman Medal race
Hawthorn veteran Jack Gunston was excellent in the second half of 2025 and has carried that form into the new year with a bag of 5.1 against Essendon.
Jacob van Rooyen and Aaron Naughton topped the weekend count with 6.1 each, whilst there were five-goal hauls for Shannon Neale, Joel Amartey and Ben King.
Goal of the Week
Mark of the Week
Next weekend's fixtures
After the first full round of 2026, we're straight into seven-game weeks. It's understandable because of the Opening Round muckabout, but also frustrating from a viewing perspective. Brisbane, Carlton, Collingwood and Geelong have the bye this week.
