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📻 IMPORTANT AUCKLAND UPDATE 📻
Cornes' left-field premiership prediction
SEN • January 13th, 2026 9:20 am
Kane Cornes has gone big on his 2026 AFL premiership prediction, naming the Western Bulldogs as his pick to take out the competition in the upcoming season.
Despite missing the finals in 2025, the Bulldogs are stocked with star power, led by superstar midfielder Marcus Bontempelli, All-Australians in Ed Richards and Bailey Dale and up and coming star Sam Darcy.
With pressure on coach Luke Beveridge to deliver on their talented list, Cornes believes a side as strong as the Bulldogs’ should have what it takes to win the premiership exactly 10 years following their triumph in 2016.
“I think they are going to win the premiership,” Cornes told The Eddie Cornes Podcast.
“I do! You can’t have a list that good and not go all the way. With what Sam Darcy is going to be, and he will be the most dominant player in the competition this year – you watch - and Marcus Bontempelli – they’ve got the best one and two players in the competition, and some other absolute stars.
“They are loading, and I would be thinking - an early premiership prediction - the Western Bulldogs. Surely, they have to get it done with the list that they’ve got.”
While not conforming to Cornes’ opinion, former Geelong star Cam Mooney found the comments hard to fault.
“I can’t disagree with what he is saying,” Mooney said on SEN Breakfast.
“They have to be right up there. They have got an awesome list. Their backline is still a question, which it always has been which is why I thought at the time Steven May may have been a night little gap filler to help them get there.
“They decided not to go down that path, but from a midfield/forward point of view, they are A-grade.
“Your midfield, where do you start? ‘Libba’ (Tom Liberatore), (Ed) Richards, Bont – there’s three. Joel Freijah, good young kid. (Adam) Treloar, question mark. Riley Sanders, young kid. Sam Davidson, young kid, he’ll grow.
“And then you look at their forward line; this is going to be the big one. Naughton kicked 60 last year, great year. Darcy, obviously he had the injury but 48 goals. You’ve got your two big guys there…
“You’ve got young (Jordan) Croft – imagine having two guys at 6’7” plus who can mark the ball! That’s going to be something to really look forward to if you are a Doggies fan for the next decade.”
