Tackle the Headline, verdicts on seven recruits, Midweek Tackle, opinion, latest news

Like most things, progress isn’t linear when it comes to AFL player performance, with trends up and down throughout the course of a campaign.

In the latest episode of the Midweek Tackle digital-only show ‘Tackle The Headline’, panellists Lauren Wood, Glenn McFarlane and Josh Barnes assess the more recent form of last year’s big-name recruits, with help from Champion Data’s AFL Rating metric.

Watch The 2026 AFLW Australia v Ireland International LIVE & Free on Kayo Freebies Sat 1 Aug | Register free now, no credit card required.

CHRISTIAN PETRACCA

AFL Rating 2026: 9th

AFL Rating since Round 12: 56th

Lauren Wood says: “The drop-away is evident. You look at those numbers since Round 12; it’s pretty startling.”

Glenn McFarlane says: “The drop-away has been across the board. He’s had a big few days, too, Christian. When you look at that, his impact was really good early on … and then it’s just dropped off. His confidence levels are down, but that’s across the board with the Suns – there’s just no cohesion there.”

CLAYTON OLIVER

AFL Rating 2026: 22nd

AFL Rating since Round 12: 48th

Wood says: “It’s interesting … to the naked eye, it looks like his impact has been really strong. He sits inside the top 25 players for the season, but he’s dropped away, too, since Round 12.”

Josh Barnes says: “That surprised me a little bit. He’s still fourth in the league for disposal average. We know he’s always been a huge accumulator, but that’s a stunning effort from him. He’d have to be close to winning the best and fairest at GWS, I think … if you take out Charlie Curnow’s probable Coleman, which puts him at the top, I think Oliver’s had the best year of almost all these players … he’s tried to hold a midfield together that has been up and down, particularly in the last couple of months.”

McFarlane says: “He would be right in the mix. What a story that would be. What a comeback for a guy who won, I think, four best and fairests at Melbourne.”

MORE COVERAGE:

ANALYSIS: These 21 unsigned players are flying under the AFL trade radar. They can be ‘27’s best bargains

‘BE VERY AFRAID’: Trade targets, crucial new deals and $4.5m win in ‘smart’ Hawks masterplan

AFL FIXTURE REVEALED: Historic ‘Melbourne mini Gather Round’ as wildcard impact laid bare

TEAM TIPS: Major Bulldogs blow for blockbuster as Dockers make curious big man call

JACK STEELE

AFL Rating 2026: 30th

AFL Rating since Round 12: 30th

Wood says: “It breaks my red, white and black heart to say this, but Jack Steele has just been so consistent, literally and figuratively, when you look at those (numbers).

McFarlane says: “What a quality person he is as well … I was really critical that St Kilda would get rid of Jack Steele, and the way it was done I didn’t really like, but I look at what that young St Kilda midfield is doing now, and they’re building for the next two or three years. In the end, it’s been the right thing in that sense, but he has been fantastic for the Melbourne Football Club, and I’m really pleased that he’s playing good footy, and wouldn’t it be great if he could have some finals success as well.”

Barnes says: “Obviously it was an unusual decision at the time (from St Kilda). I thought he’s the kind of player that you could just find a role for, but they didn’t think they had one. Obviously, Macrae’s still there and not getting a game, so that kind of player is out of the midfield. They’ve got youngsters in – has it been the right call for St Kilda, even though he’s performing really well at Melbourne?”

Wood says: “Oh, it’s an interesting one, isn’t it, to look at it from the St Kilda point of view, because you could argue that it changes up Nasiah’s role, it changes up essentially the flow-on effect … this is a team where you’ve got that next generation – Hugo Garcia, Mattaes Phillipou – these are the guys when you’re looking years ahead, you’re going to have to be getting games into them as opposed to Jack Steele, as brutal as that sounds. Obviously he was captain at the time; it was a terrible ending the way things ended for him at Moorabbin, but I’ve heard a few of his post-game interviews on radio around the traps, where there have been a few sort of veiled comments about being valued as a player and being valued in his role. So, I think it’ll be one of the great sort of post-career stories where we can actually find out what happened.”

SAM DRAPER

AFL Rating 2026: 65th

AFL Rating since Round 12: 29th

McFarlane says: “He’s one of these guys I reckon is really building into the season and could be a really important player for the Lions come September. You know, the fact is, September’s not the month that he usually plays footy. We know that for a fact. I think it’d be great to see him, and the way he’s building and feeling a part of that team I think is really important as well.”

Wood says: “That’ll be interesting, when you put it that way. I hadn’t really thought about it like that before, but he won’t have played a season this long, probably ever. So it’ll be interesting to see what that does for him as well, even fitness-wise – it would be quite a toll.”

CHARLIE CURNOW

AFL Rating 2026: 95th

AFL Rating since Round 12: 23rd

Wood says: “Those numbers speak for themselves. He’s well and truly delivering up there in Sydney. There’s something in that Bondi water for him, isn’t there?”

Barnes says: “Well, we all spoke at length last year about how Sydney probably needed a big dog kick to. They had sort of a lot of second bananas in that forward line. Now they’ve got Charlie Curnow and the second bananas, and it looks a lot better. So he’s delivering exactly what they wanted. I always thought it was harsh at the start of the year when people were saying he wasn’t performing, all that sort of stuff. He was always going to take a little bit of time, and he’s taken off ever since. He’s three up in the Coleman; he’s probably going to win that. It’s been a fantastic year. And the thing with him and Sam Draper is their whole season is going to be defined by September, really. These are two clubs that are probably going to finish in the top four. Charlie Curnow’s finals record is not good – he really struggled on the finals stage at Carlton in the few chances he had there. If he can kick a bag and get them into a grand final and deliver on grand final day, that completely changes his career and the narrative about him.”

McFarlane says: “Can I be the devil’s advocate here? And I think it’s great, and Charlie Curnow’s doing a great job, but Carlton was able to then go out and get Ollie Florent, Will Hayward and Ben Ainsworth. Speak to anyone at Carlton, they’ll tell you that those three guys have changed the culture of the Carlton Football Club. Sounds strange, but they’ve come in and really changed and reset the Carlton Football Club. They’re very good on field, but their efforts around the club, the way they’ve been able to shape that list … particularly since Josh Fraser took over, they’ve done a great job, those three guys.”

OLLIE FLORENT

AFL Rating 2026: 101st

AFL Rating since Round 12: 156th

Wood says: “Obviously, with every green light unfortunately comes a red light, and Ollie Florent is one of those ones that has dropped away significantly on that list from Champion Data to sit 156th in the competition for return since Round 12. But particularly with Ollie, he’s been a serviceable player for want of a better term, but the value doesn’t always necessarily (reflect) in the numbers.”

McFarlane says: “And they would take that – Carlton would look at that and take that. Will Hayward probably had a really slow start, didn’t he? But he’s really come good. And Ainsworth, the leadership that he’s got there as well, I think they’d be happy with that.”

Barnes says: “They’ve all been ticks, for sure.”

TOM DE KONING

AFL Rating 2026: 207th

AFL Rating since Round 12: DNQ (Did Not Qualify)

Wood says: “It’s 207 to start with for the season, and a big DNQ (since). We know he’s had that punctured lung though and broken ribs obviously in the last portion of the year.”

Barnes says: “Yeah, I thought he was fantastic on return on the weekend. He got some coaches’ votes. I thought he was really good in that centre square, and that’s what they’ve been looking for this whole season. He hasn’t really delivered on that massive price tag. It would have taken an unbelievable season to deliver on that. But I think he’s still building into it. And it’s the question we’re going to be asking, I’m sure, for the next three months is what happens with him and Rowan Marshall? Because Rowan Marshall was so unbelievably good for the time that Tom De Koning wasn’t in the team. And so now it’s diminishing returns when they’re together. But is it better for the team if they’re together? St Kilda people will tell you it is. I’m not so sure. So he needs a big finish to help St Kilda get into that wildcard zone, lock that in, and continue his form for the back end of the year.”