Racing
League
Rugby
Cricket
Golf
Olympics
Football
Netball
Motorsport
Combat Sports
Basketball
Other Sports
Sport Nation
Full Noise by SN
📻 How to tune into Sport Nation
Kane's Countdown: The 10 AFL figures that need a huge 2026
SEN • February 19th, 2026 11:25 am
Kane Cornes has named his 10 AFL figures that need a huge 2026 season.
These names are under the pump this year for various reasons, whether it's reaching lofty expectations or finally delivering after huge contractual shows of faith from their clubs.
“This is pretty simple,” Cornes said on SEN's Locked In.
“Who needs a big year in the world of football? I've got 10 of them.
“So let's rip straight in.”
Kane’s Countdown - “It's a big year for...”
10 – David Koch (Port Adelaide President)
“At 10, David Koch, the Port Adelaide president, needs a big year,” Cornes said.
“When you say that your club isn't rebuilding and that finals is the objective. You're probably going to have to deliver on that because they sacked a coach after a prelim final.
“They've installed a new coach. His expectations are to play finals, and that's got to be top 8, it can't just be top 10.
“So, the pressure is on for Kochie and the Port Adelaide Football Club to do what probably not many of us are thinking that they're capable of doing, and that is playing finals.”
9 – Matthew Nicks (Adelaide coach)
“At number nine, Matthew Nicks in his seventh season needs a huge year.
“No finals wins in his first six seasons, a win-loss percentage of 43. He had a very healthy list last season, and an easy draw, that’s not going to be the case this year.
“We've already seen injuries to Curtin, Keane, Sid Draper and others, and the fixture is a lot more difficult than what it was last year.
“I reckon he needs a prelim finals appearance to justify Adelaide's extraordinary faith in him.”
8 – Darcy Fogarty (Adelaide forward)
“At eight, his forward, Darcy Fogarty signed a seven-year contract at the Crows recently to be the main man with Riley Thilthorpe inside 50.
“Thilthorpe has delivered, Fogarty hasn’t yet, but he’s got a seven-year deal.
“He averages just over 1.5 goals a game in his last two seasons and did not finish in the top 10 of Adelaide's best and fairest last year.”
7 – Clayton Oliver (GWS midfielder)
“At seven is Clayton Oliver, this is pretty simple with Tom Green missing this season.
“Oliver just has to prove to us that the game hasn't gone past him.
“I think it has. I think the game's gone past Clayton Oliver and those that don’t use the footy well. He gets a lot of it but isn’t great defensively and is reasonably one-paced.
“That says to me he’s in a bit of trouble. Hopefully I'm wrong, for the Giants and for his sake, he needs a big one.”
6 – Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera (St Kilda utility)
“This will shock a few, but at six is Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera.
“You're going to be the highest paid player in the game and you're going to have to deliver. With that paycheck comes high expectations on performance.
“He received little attention from the opposition last year. I reckon that's about to change.
“He was just allowed to stand by himself repeatedly with no-one near him.
“Can he perform to the same level with taggers living in his back pocket all year?
“It's a big year for him. It's easy to have one good season. It's more difficult to stack season after season after season. That's what the best players do."
5 – Ben McKay (Essendon defender)
“At five I've got Ben McKay, maybe the only player in history that has earned $1 million plus per season and at times looked like he's forgotten how to handball.
“He needs to eliminate the embarrassing errors and hold up as an elite intercepting defender for the wounded Bombers who just need him.”
4 – Jacob van Rooyen (Melbourne forward)
“At four, I've got Jacob van Rooyen.
“I loved him early in his first couple of years. He kicked 58 goals, I think in his first two seasons and has fallen off since then.
“At times last year it looked like he really had struggles marking the footy, like he's never attempted to mark a footy in his life.
“He needs to rediscover that aggression and presence and hopefully he's helped by a new game plan that's going to move the footy with some speed and some precision, which they haven't at the Dees under Simon Goodwin in a fair time.”
3 – Jy Simpkin (North Melbourne midfielder)
“At three is Jy Simpkin. He would have had his ego severely bruised when he found out that he was only worth a second-round draft pick on the open market after demanding to get out because he wasn't playing midfield.
“He's going to have to pick up that lip off the floor and perform because there are some youngsters coming, and if he's not careful, he could easily find himself playing VFL footy when they go past him.
“It’s a big year for the former skipper at North Melbourne.”
2 – Jordan De Goey (Collingwood midfielder)
“Jordan De Goey is at two.
“Just 24 games and 19 goals in his last two seasons. In that time, he's averaged just 18 disposals a game.
“It’s pretty bog standard and disappointing numbers really for a player whose big reputation is never really matched by actual performance.
“The Pies need him. I'm not confident that he's a star of the game or will be ever again, but they're going to need him, and we'll see if he can prove me wrong.”
1 – Alastair Clarkson (North Melbourne coach)
“At 1, I've got the North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson.
“The record is there for all to see for a fair time now. I've been saying probably for four of five years that he's lost it a little bit.
“It doesn't take away from the things that he's done in the past, but I was slightly concerned that he's going to have to need a whole new defensive game plan in year four.
“He’s starting from scratch essentially, when they should be four pre-seasons into his system.
“If he starts the season poorly, I think Sonja Hood might need that plan B after all.”
