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AFL overreactions: Hawks -- not Swans or Dockers -- should be flag favourites
Is it Hawthorn which deserves premiership favouritism, or the Swans or Dockers? Plus, is the end near for Patrick Dangerfield? It's time to judge the biggest overreactions from Round 7 of the AFL.
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AFL Draft becomes compensation ecosystem under new rule changes
More change is coming to the AFL Draft. Its effects may finally allow clubs to rebuild through youth, but the remedy has arrived far too late to equalise the AFL's two-tiered competition.
TOP HEADLINES
ESPN's rolling AA after Round 7: The unicorn is one of three major changes
ROUND 7 REVIEW
Stocks: The crazy stats behind Pendles' Anzac Medal-winning performance
Scott Pendlebury set records, and Kysaiah Pickett is giving All-Australian selectors unnecessary headaches, but a future Hall of Famer had a stinker. Here's whose stocks are up and down after Round 7.
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Anzac Day reality check: Once again, Essendon's problem is its leaders
The Bombers' paucity of veteran leadership is hardly a revelation, but appeared more stark than ever on Anzac Day, and that's not a good sign for a side with so much raw, young talent, writes Rohan Connolly.
They're looming again: Footy's 'old faithful' doing what it does best
OPINION
'You're not brokering world peace': Ross Lyon is hurting the post-match press conference
RED TIME
FULL EPISODE OUT NOW
Would mid-season trades only work with a 'games cap' restriction?
2:44
Why AFL should expand 'Spud's Game', have designated mental health round
1:06
Top Headlines
- AFL Round 8: Everything you need to know
- McRae won't speculate on Pendles record-breaker
- Shock decision as Demons move on CEO Paul Guerra
- 'Hasn't been the best week': AFL changes ARC
- Port's sought-after star opens up on future
- Clarko blasts AFL technology as GWS down Roos
- Nicks: Dawson performance full of courage
- 'What was going on': ARC call stuns WC coach
- 'Big week': Blues wrap arms around Ollie Hollands
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Keep up to date with the latest news from across the sporting world. Be it at home or abroad, we've got it covered in our weekly newsletters.
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Expert tips, best tips for Round 8 of the AFL
Who should you be tipping in Round 8 of the 2026 AFL season? Our footy experts have put their heads together to help you out. So open your ESPN Footytips app, take notes, and get ahead of the game!
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Listen to our AFL podcast - the ESPN Footy Podcast with Champion Data
Join ESPN's footy team for some of the best AFL analysis and insight on the ESPN Footy Podcast.
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ESPN's Brownlow Medal predictor and tracker - every vote for 2026
The Brownlow Medal is the highest individual honour in the AFL. In 2026, ESPN is giving you an advantage with our one-of-a-kind predictor.
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We're misty-optically: Paying tribute to Dennis Cometti, a footy commentary icon
It's inevitably the witticisms which first spring first to mind when think of Dennis Cometti, but, more broadly, he was Australian football's greatest ever caller and will be sorely missed, writes Rohan Connolly.
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The 50 best AFL players heading into season 2026
It's that time of year when ESPN's Jake Michaels counts down his 50 best players in the AFL. Spoiler alert: two-time Brownlow medalist Patrick Cripps has made the cut.
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Hold your horses: AFL's Origin revival was real, but its long-term future is not
AFL Origin's return was a clear success, but one brilliant night is not enough to prove it's truly back for good.
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'I like this game better than ours': Behind footy's incursions into North America
As the NRL heads off to Las Vegas, it's only fitting to throw back to when Aussie rules football ventured to Canada and the US in the 1960s and 1980s. Shannon Gill looks at the wild (and at times, turbulent) history of footy in North America.
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Ranking every AFL after-the-siren winning goal since 2000
Since the turn of the millennium, there have been 32 after-the-siren goals kicked which have won the game. We've ranked them -- taking into account shot difficulty, context of the match, conditions, and more to determine which clutch kick rules them all.
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AFL player record holders, statistical leaders, and more
Who has played the most AFL games? Who has kicked the most AFL goals? Here are the league leaders in history for all the stats that matter.
