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SELECT 👉 Hagley Oval commentaryKane Cornes: Top 10 AFL player pressure rankings for 2026
SEN • October 17th, 2025 9:31 am
It’s all about performance now.
It’s all well and good to have said you want a move from your club or you want out, but now you have to be the difference maker for your team..
According to Kane Cornes, these 10 players have to have big years, that’s the reality of where things sit.
10 - Harry McKay: He hasn't been traded, he didn't want to be traded and he was hardly mentioned. But there is a level of expectation when you're a key forward on a million bucks and you're the key guy at Carlton to perform.
9 - Jamarra Ugle-Hagan: For obvious reasons, he needs to get a kick for all the hoops Gold Coast went through. Get fit, get in shape and have a big pre season. I don’t want to see or hear about him in night clubs. I think he likes the idea of being a footballer. I don’t think he likes the idea of what’s required to be one.
8 - Zac Butters: How’s he going to handle the pressure with the level of scrutiny on him. I think he will be fine.
7 – Nasiah Wanganeen Milera: The $2 million man, go get yourself a Brownlow Medal, that’s the level he needs to play. Saints fans are going to be forgiving if he has a few off weeks.
6 – Sam Flanders: He needs to be at the level of All Australian if you’re taking $900k.You need to be in that squad.
5 – Cam Wilkie: He is contracted, goes and speaks to a rival coach, bluffs his club into a new contract. He double bluffed them for more cash and years so he needs to play well. If he doesn’t, the club will ask for the money back. He’s been a gun player for a long time, he has to maintain that level.
4 – Tom De Koning: The $1.7 million man to come across as the guy to lead the ruck. Can his body hold up?
3 - Christian Petracca: Forced the club to give pick 7 and 8, the minimum expectation is a prelim for Gold Coast.
2 - Zach Merrett: He could have been No 1. He has blown the club up. He's tried to single-handedly blow the joint up as captain. He needs to come back and play well and not sook it up. He has to train as he aways has with - high standards - and perform well. For the betterment of himself.
1 – Charlie Curnow: It’s the biggest deal ever, he has to find a level of success that Jeremy Cameron had at Geelong. I like the deal for Sydney and Carlton but time is going to judge this. There needs to be a premiership in that 4four to five year window that he has signed for.
