The AFL is back this weekend with a massive 5 games to kick start the year in the 2026 opening round, with the first game starting tonight between the Sydney Swans and Carlton
The 2026 AFL season is set for an exciting start after several explosive trades during the off season, there is no telling who will kick start their 2026 premiership campaigns off strongly and which teams will struggle to gel early on.
Several teams that featured in the blockbuster trades will playing in the opening round with the most notable being the Swans vs Carlton game as Charlie Curnow will face off against Carlton for the first time since leaving the club. Both the Swans and Carlton had several list changes in a bid to return to Finals footy in 2026 and will be looking to set the tone of their seasons by making a statement in the opening match.
Friday nights game also features another blockbuster trade with Christian Petracca (Formerly Melbourne) set to play his first AFL premiership game with the Gold Coast Suns who look to have also benefitted from a big off season, they play Geelong who fell short in the Grand Final last season and have a largely unchanged list.
Saturday nights double header will see the reigning premier Brisbane Lions start their hunt for a third consecutive title, and while they lost a lot of experience they held strong in their Community Series game. They play the Western Bulldogs who also had a strong pre season outing the Community Series.
The opening round finishes on Sunday as St Kilda take on Collingwood. After a couple seasons without a finals appearance, St Kilda will want to have a hot start to the season to put themselves in early playoff contention and after a strong off season and some great individual preseason performances, the opening round could be the perfect opportunity to get themselves going before heading into a tough couple of games in the rounds to follow.
The AFL keeps getting bigger and better, so make sure you catch all the action. You can watch games live on Sky Sport or Subscribe to WatchAFL to catch every game live and on demand
