Below is an AFL ladder prediction along with futures betting tips for the 2026 AFL season. The markets for the minor premiership, top 4, and bottom 4 are analyzed.
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2026 AFL Ladder Forecast
We surveyed 50 experts’ ladder predictions to evaluate each team’s potential for the upcoming season. Our sources included fans, journalists, and statistical model creators.
The table below ranks each team based on the expectations from the surveyed experts. The standard deviation (Stdev) column shows how varied the predictions were. The best and worst predictions for each team are also listed.
For the third consecutive season, Brisbane leads the predictions. More than two-thirds of the fifty ladder predictions have them winning the Minor Premiership, and 94% expect them to finish in the top four.
Conversely, 90% of the surveyed experts expect West Coast to end up with the 2026 wooden spoon.
It’s not anticipated that Adelaide will repeat their Minor Premiership from last year. None of the experts predicted them to finish first this season.
Similar to last year, one club may be unfortunate to miss the playoffs. There’s a considerable drop-off between St Kilda making the top 10 (52%) and Melbourne (16%).
Note the drop-off from 14th to 15th. None of the experts have predicted Essendon, North Melbourne, Richmond, and West Coast to make the top 8, as opposed to at least 8% for the rest of the league.
The standard deviation column effectively highlights the polarizing views on some clubs. It’s interesting that there’s higher variance for the clubs ranked 2nd-11th compared to the rest of the league. Melbourne (14th) is an exception here. Additionally, although Melbourne had only the 14th highest average rating, they have the 12th highest chance of making the top 10.
The table below shows how frequently each club has been tipped to finish in each ladder position.
Comments for each club are as follows:
Adelaide: 60% predict them to finish between 5th and 7th.
Brisbane: strong agreement. 68% choose them to finish 1st and 94% tip them to finish in the top 3.
Carlton: strong consensus. 56% expect them to finish 12th or 13th, and 90% predict them to finish between 11th and 14th.
Collingwood: polarizing. 44% predict them to finish 10th or 11th, but the next most popular position is 5th.
- SCCG Management. The Gambling Industry’s Global Connector. Access Here.
- Source: SCCGManagement.com
