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Full Noise by SN
Running It Straight is back!Opening Round teams: 10 debutants headline season opener
SEN • March 4th, 2026 8:21 pm
Sydney and Carlton have announced teams ahead of Thursday night's season opener, featuring 10 debutants across the two sides.
The hosts are headlined by the inclusion of superstar - and former Blue - Charlie Curnow, set to feature in red and white for the first time against his old mob.
Alongside Curnow, the Swans have selected former Sun Malcolm Rosas and former Hawk Jai Serong to debut in their new threads.
Hayden McLean misses out on selection, with Logan McDonald set to line up alongside Curnow in the front half, while Errol Gulden starts in the middle following a precautionary pre-season withdrawal.
As for the Blues, the new-look side has named seven debutants to kick off the season, with both Ollie Florent and Will Hayward set to face their old side.
Rookies Jagga Smith and Harry Dean will make their official AFL debuts, while trade acquisitions Ben Ainsworth, Liam Reidy and Campbell Chesser are also set to line up in the navy blue for the first time.
Rookie Talor Byrne misses out on selection, as does SSP selection Wade Derksen.
See below for all the teams ahead of Opening Round.
Sydney v Carlton
Sydney
IN: C.Curnow, M.Rosas, J.Serong
Carlton
IN: O.Florent, H.Dean, W.Hayward, B.Ainsworth, J.Smith, L.Reidy, C.Chesser
Remaining teams to be announced at 6:20pm on Thursday.
Gold Coast v Geelong
Gold Coast
IN:
OUT:
Geelong
IN:
OUT:
GWS Giants v Hawthorn
GWS Giants
IN:
OUT:
Hawthorn
IN:
OUT:
Brisbane v Western Bulldogs
Brisbane
IN:
OUT:
Western Bulldogs
IN:
OUT:
St Kilda v Collingwood
St Kilda
IN:
OUT:
Collingwood
IN:
OUT:
