Adrian Barich: as the footy season gets underway for 2026, my predictions for winners, losers and sagas

You may have thought this, but the AFL-style football season starts on Thursday.

It starts with the strange “Opening Round” which might be confusing as the following weekend will be the “First Round”. Let’s see.

10 of the 18 teams compete in the opening round, and then everyone plays in the first round.

This makes you wonder if round one comes after the opening round. . . Does this double down emotionally?

I believe the purpose of introducing an opening round is to showcase the northern teams (Swans, Giants, Lions and Suns) with the aim of growing the game in the heart of rugby league. There was also consideration to avoid conflict with major Melbourne events such as the Grand Prix.

So officially the inaugural round is about expansion and visibility. Unofficially, first round with a degree in marketing. Netflix’s sports model: “Previously… in football.”

For me personally, the opening round is a bit like Professor Julius Sumner Miller: exciting, a little strange, and “Why is that?” It makes you ask the question. Maybe this should be called Round Zero.

Anyway, I digress. The main event is about to begin and the stories are maturing this year.

Brisbane are making the obvious headlines as they chase a historic three-peat.

Even as their Lachie Neale drama continues apace, they still have the ability to win. Traditionally, players are careful to respect someone’s privacy and let personal matters remain that way.

Compared to some of the off-field sagas this rivalry has gone on (Kangaroo fans still remember losing their captain and vice-captain in the same headline) this one, while deeply saddening, is unlikely to define a season.

I suspect former Eagles captain Oscar Allen may have made a great decision in the offseason.

As for his former club, it’s time his fans had something to cheer about.

After winning just one game last year (which I never thought I would have to write about the West Coast) I predict four to six wins this season.

Yes, this will not help the club reach fifth place with another trophy, but this is growth. And growth is what takes a proud club off the canvas.

It’s not a revival yet, but it’s a resistance. And the resistance is the first sign that the Eagles are done being pushed around.

Then there are Dockers. My tip? They will finish between fourth and sixth: they have the firepower and courage to reach the preliminary final.

Fans have waited for more than three decades for the premiership and 2026 looks like the year they should do it.

The people of Freo were patient, loyal and sometimes bordering on masochistic, but if there is one team that can channel long-suffering energy into victory it is Fremantle.

How’s this for an example of how passionate people can be about football?

I was at a well-known networking restaurant in West Perth last week and four industry leaders were preparing the AFL rankings for 2026. They even ranked the Dockers players from one to 44. Tribalism affects people from all walks of life.

Let’s not forget the WAFL season either. As chairman of Perth Football Club, obviously I have a vested interest.

Perth last won the premiership in 1977. This is not a typo. One thousand nine hundred seventy seven. The year Star Wars was released, the days when disco reigned and no one had ever heard of a mobile phone.

Since then we’ve had sequels, prequels, reboots and spin-offs across the galaxy far, far away, but no Demons banner. That’s why we’ve become experts in patience.

Subiaco lived among the flags for 49 years, from 1924 to 1973, and finally it was their turn. Perth now sits at the same number. History shows that droughts won’t last forever. While you are experiencing these things, they feel like they are.

Dockers fans understandably talk about a nearly three-decade wait. We nodded politely in Perth. We’ve had time to improve the technique.

Now it’s all about seeing who gets promoted, who gets relegated and which club will finally be rewarded for the fans’ patience. Who will deliver the ultimate reward for the club’s true believers?

So we watch and we judge. Football has never been just a game: it is theater that is both illogical and magnificent.

It’s the drama, the volatility, the breakdown and the breaking of the edge that makes you jump off the couch.

That’s why we keep coming back.

So fasten your seat belts. The conversation ends on Thursday.

This is a proving season for WA clubs. The Eagles are in search of authority again. Dockers are chasing the breakthrough their supporters have long wanted to happen

And at WAFL level the Devils dare to think that even a 49-year wait could finally give way to celebration.

Every epic eventually reaches its final chapter.

This starts now.