Loved: Marvel Stadium's cost of living assistance
Cost blowouts in almost every aspect of our lives is dominating the discourse in 2026, so any little win at this stage is worth celebrating.
That's why we were rapt with the AFL's decision earlier in the month to freeze or slash the price of some of the staple costs of attending the footy at Marvel Stadium, from general admission family tickets ($54) to the humble Four 'N' Twenty pie ($4.70) and bucket of chips ($4.90).
That was in addition to the cost of the popular hot jam donut being lowered to $5 last year, whilst hot dogs have also been frozen (the price, not the product) at $6. For pies and hot dogs, they're cheaper now than they were at the stadium a decade ago - an almost unfathomable outcome given the inflation spikes since then.
Supporters have responded in kind with an average of 33,000 spectators attending the first five games of the season at Marvel Stadium - a 6% rise on 2025 so far - boosted by an impressive crowd of 40k turning out to Essendon v North Melbourne despite both teams disappointing on the field in recent years.
In a world where family outings such as sport are becoming borderline unaffordable for the working class family, it's a big win to have such options still available.
It's a shame the MCC weren't able to reciprocate with their food prices at the MCG across town, but league ownership of Marvel Stadium probably plays its part in helping out with subsidising such deals.
Loved: The AFL listening to supporters (for now)
Speaking of goodwill towards the supporters, it was somewhat surprising to read at the weekend (via a 6:30am Sunday morning press release - talk about taking out the trash) that league executives decided to stick with the 2:30pm Grand Final for at least another two years.
There was understandably some scepticism about the long-term future of the daytime Grand Final given the desires of the league to move towards a nighttime half-time entertainment show, and the soaring ratings of the NRL's end-of-season game, but the 82% of respondents to last year's AFL Fans Association survey who wanted a 2:30pm first bounce have got their way.
The daytime-nighttime debate will likely rage on for as long as the time of the first bounce doesn't change, but it's fair to say that the existing fanbase should not be ignored in favour of chasing new ones.
This particular writer is amongst the minority of supporters who want to see the big game under lights to unlock the commercial potential of a more helpful television timeslot, especially as there'll never be any danger of the Grand Final not being sold out whether it starts at 2:30pm, 5:00pm or 7:30pm.
But my personal opinions aside, it was relieving to see league headquarters finally put overwhelming public opinion ahead of such commercial interests, even if it may not be for more than two hours.
Long live the daytime Grand Final.
Loved: Ben King's remarkable kicking efficiency
Long live the sharpshooter, as well.
As the AFL seemingly and gradually moves away from the spearhead full forwards in the mould of Lockett, Dunstall and Ablett, it has been so refreshing to see someone in 2026 whose only job is to mark the ball and immediately put it between the big sticks.
Gold Coast forward Ben King, who notably is a free agent in 2026 and insists he "loves" the Gold Coast and will let his agent do the negotiation on an extension, has put boot to ball on only 18 occasions this season but leads the Coleman Medal race with a stunning 16 goals from 17 shots - a scoring accuracy (94%) the likes of which we almost never see.
King is set to command a new contract upwards of $1.5 million per year - with Victorian clubs such as Collingwood and Hawthorn lining up to woo him down south - and that price will only increase on his current trajectory.
Hated: The messed up fixturing caused by 'Opening Round'
Byes in the first month of the season can get in the bin.
The polarising 'Opening Round' has attracted both a lot of derision and a lot of love in its first few years, and whilst some people will never be won over by the concept of giving the northern states clear air in the first week of the competition whilst one-quarter of the NRL has a post-Vegas bye, the imbalance it causes to the opening round of the fixturing is surely untenable.
Just after we enjoyed our first full nine-game round of the season, a follow-up was immediately stripped from us as the fixture reverted to seven games per round whilst those who played in Opening Round took their first byes of the season.
The Sunday night Opening Round game in Melbourne between St Kilda and Collingwood added to the spectacle but defeated the entire purpose of the concept, which was to give the rugby league states full rein of the weekend. Who would have thought football in Melbourne on the first weekend of the season would work?
Byes will be an unavoidable part of life when the league soon expands to 19 teams, but this just seems to be a self-inflicted mess, and an unenjoyable one.
The AFL likes to promote equity in the competition, so it's time to get back to nine games from week one (or zero, whatever they want to run with) in 2027.
Hated: Tristan Xerri's 'blood smear' incident
Speaking of mess, let's never see blood wiped on the body of another player ever again.
Tristan Xerri's three-game punishment doesn't appear to be a sufficient sanction given the disgusting nature of the offence and the health risks that it poses, and I was a little surprised to learn that the league didn't appeal the punishment given how strongly they condemned it earlier in the week.
It's absolutely something this sport can never see again, so I thought there may have been a stronger punishment to act as a line in the sand moment - just as they did with Izak Rankine last year (not to compare the two).
In Xerri's defence, he was sincerely apologetic from the outset, claimed full responsibility for his actions, condemned himself publicly and contacted Andy McGrath after the game to follow it up.
Hated: The number of early season blowouts
Despite the best efforts of the salary cap and all other equalisation measures, it's an inevitable product of an expanded competition that - at some point - the more teams there are in any sporting league, the greater the gulf between the best and the worst can be.
We've already seen the bottom-four clubs (GWS Giants, Carlton, Essendon, Richmond) on the end of some absolute spankings, and the latter three all look like they're going to be in for a world of pain throughout the season.
Massive blowouts have marred every round of the season so far, with ten-goal plus margins being a feature of every weekend right from the opening night when Charlie Curnow ran out against his former club.
If you think there has been an unusual number of heavy wins so far in 2026, you're right: albeit with a small sample size of just 28 matches, 38% of them have had margins of greater than 40 points - up from 33% in 2025 and about 29% in each of the three years prior.
That's even despite West Coast Eagles, by the worst team of 2024 and 2025, have done their bit in the last two weeks to reduce the number with their wins over North Melbourne and Port Adelaide.
