The Aporia · Marc McGowan

2026-09-05 · The Sydney Morning Herald

Australian wildcard’s unlikely US Open run comes to end on day of upsets

🔮 This is all still very new for the 123rd-ranked Australian, who remains without an apparel sponsor, and the reward for his pair of US Open wins will be a career-high ranking of No.109 once the tournament ends. Sweeny has about three months to make his top-100 debut in time to earn direct acceptance into next year’s Australian Open, but he would be a certain wildcard recipient if not. assertive

2026-09-15 · The Sydney Morning Herald

Port want picks, not players, amid Butters’ move to the Western Bulldogs

🔮 However, the clubs will need to strengthen a muted salary dump involving contracted Port player Todd Marshall joining the Bulldogs in exchange for two first-round picks to convince the AFL it is a fair deal after the league warned all clubs that deals struck separate to free-agency compensation will be heavily scrutinised. assertive

2026-09-18 · The Sydney Morning Herald

Sydney v Fremantle player ratings: Brightest stars and stunning moments on a night of agony and ecstasy

🔮 After the events of last month in Melbourne, the second-on-the-ladder Swans couldn’t have seemed further away from another grand final berth. assertive

2026-09-20 · The Sydney Morning Herald

Three contentious free kicks, one crazy minute: The detailed verdict on preliminary final umpiring calls

🔮 The skills of the players in this intense, classic preliminary final between Hawthorn and the Brisbane Lions were the real highlight but when three free kicks are paid in the final 61 seconds and the lead changes those umpiring decisions will be examined and reviewed in fine detail. assertive

2026-09-22 · The Sydney Morning Herald

‘Need some experience’: AFL confirms assistance package for Essendon

🔮 Essendon will have two extra rookie list spots next season after asking the AFL for help four months ago, but missed out on a draft pick request and soft cap relief. mixed

2026-09-24 · The Sydney Morning Herald

Why this Dockers star was close to tears before preliminary final

🔮 Young was brilliant, and widely regarded as the best and most influential player afield as the Dockers booked their second AFL grand final, first in 13 years, and another shot at what would be a history-making first flag. assertive

2026-09-25 · The Sydney Morning Herald

The man who built Fremantle’s list of stars almost missed the job. This is why

🔮 Everyone this masthead spoke to about Walls this week, on and off the record, noted that he would hate the attention being on him. assertive

2026-09-26 · The Sydney Morning Herald

Match-winning Lion reveals he’s been playing with fractured back

🔮 “I think throughout the game I was getting under them [when the ball was kicked to him], and wasn’t marking ones that I would have liked,” Morris said. assertive

2026-09-26 · The Sydney Morning Herald

This Lion pulled off the tackle of the grand final, but he barely remembers it

🔮 - Fremantle are shattered for captain Alex Pearce, whose devastating game-ending Achilles injury in the Dockers’ heartbreaking grand final defeat will likely also eat into his 2027 campaign. assertive

2026-10-01 · The Sydney Morning Herald

How Essendon’s plan for pick No.1 is going to help bitter rivals Carlton

🔮 Carlton’s path to secure gun father-son Cody Walker has become clearer, with bitter rivals Essendon set to bid on Dougie Cochrane with the first pick in this year’s national draft. assertive

2026-10-02 · The Sydney Morning Herald

Exquisitely talented, daring, smart: This Brighton Grammar footy captain is shaking up the draft

🔮 Port Adelaide list boss Jason Cripps revealed this week that Essendon will bid on the Power’s next-generation academy prospect Dougie Cochrane at No.1, but there is plenty of other intrigue in how the top 10 might shake out. assertive

2026-10-04 · The Sydney Morning Herald

On the market: Your team by team guide to AFL trade period

🔮 The AFL trade period officially opens on Monday when the list managers from all the clubs gather at Marvel Stadium to get serious about the deals that will shape their teams for 2027. assertive

2026-10-04 · The Sydney Morning Herald

Why this nephew of a premiership Pie is getting attention ahead of the draft

🔮 The high-flying nephew of a premiership Magpie has smashed a long-standing AFL combine record to bolster his top-10 draft chances – and he might be wearing black and white next year. assertive

2026-10-06 · The Sydney Morning Herald

No material impact on competition: AFLPA flags free agency as key to next pay agreement

🔮 Free agency is under-used in the AFL and has not affected the equality of the competition, according to the players’ union – and could face a major overhaul as part of the league’s next pay deal. assertive

2026-10-08 · The Sydney Morning Herald

The awkward Sinner slip from the Australian Open’s new boss

🔮 Andrew Abdo would have known what he did as soon as the word “Jacob” left his lips – everyone else at the Rod Laver Arena function did – but he ploughed on without hesitation. assertive

2026-10-09 · The Sydney Morning Herald

How Nick Blakey can get to the Roos and what it will cost them

🔮 North Melbourne’s bold play for aggrieved Swans defender Nick Blakey could cost them in other ways as the Kangaroos close in on finally luring a big-name star. assertive

2026-10-11 · The Sydney Morning Herald

Suns to land Hawks forward pair in wake of King deal as trade period reaches final stretch

🔮 Hawk forwards Aidan Schubert and Sam Butler will become Gold Coast players as early as Monday as the Suns bolster their forward line following the loss of Ben King to Hawthorn. mixed

2026-10-13 · The Sydney Morning Herald

Ruthless Roos leap towards relevance with Blakey blockbuster

🔮 North also swung and missed on the likes of Isaac Heeney (in 2016), Josh Kelly (2017 and 2021), Jordan De Goey (2018) and Andrew Gaff (2018) despite their willingness to give them all at least, and in some cases more than, $1 million annually on long-term deals. assertive

2026-10-14 · The Sydney Morning Herald

Contending, rebuilding or stuck in limbo: What AFL trade period says about your team’s flag hopes

🔮 Bringing in readymade talent is worth far more than picks to the Hawks, given where they are – and even then, they didn’t give much up – so this was a ragingly successful fortnight. Western Bulldogs In: Jordon Butts (Ade/free agency), Zak Butters (PA/free agency), Finn Maginness (Haw/trade), Hudson O’Keeffe (Carl/trade), picks 42, 53, 83, 89, R2 2027 (PA), R3 2027 (Mel), R4 2027 (PA), R2 2028 (PA), R3 2028 (PA), R3 2028 (GC), R4 2028 (Melb) Out: Picks 14 and 33, R3 2027 (GC), R1 2028 (WB) Draft picks: 42, 53, 55, 83, 89, 91, 109 Trade rating: 9.5/10 The Bulldogs could hardly be happier. assertive

2026-10-15 · The Sydney Morning Herald

Seven flag stars have left the Demons in the past year. But their list guru says they’re ‘ahead of the curve’

🔮 The Demons are the sole club to have picked at least twice in the first round of the AFL draft in each of the past three years, and will take picks four and 14 into next month’s draft after more savvy trading in the past fortnight. assertive

2026-10-18 · The Sydney Morning Herald

Who the players rate as the cream of the crop in this year’s AFL draft

🔮 “Cody’s the ultimate competitor, and you see him before games for Vic Country, and he’s just looking like he could kill someone,” said Geelong Falcons forward Jack Pickett. assertive

2026-10-20 · The Sydney Morning Herald

‘Spelling mistakes everywhere’: How an email from the heart got this AFL prospect a scholarship

🔮 Wil Malady will be drafted into the AFL next month. assertive

Forward-looking sentences extracted from their articles, oldest first. Nothing here checks whether any of it turned out to be right.

👤 Marc McGowan

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