AFL 2026: Sir Doug Nicholls Round (Week 1)

Published: May 18, 2026 Updated: May 19, 2026 Daniel Harris 7 mins read 0

Uses your browser’s text-to-speech for accessibility.

Geelong firmly planted their flag in the ground, as serious contenders, with a huge statement win and beating the reigning Premiers, Brisbane, on their home deck.

In a re-run of last year’s Grand Final, a seven-goal burst by the Cats, through the middle of the contest, blew it wide open and from there they didn’t look back.

Shaun Mannagh, who won both the AFLCA’s Best Young Player Award and the Carter Family Community Champion Award in 2025, had arguably his best-ever display.

The 28-year-old, who joined the club as a middle-aged recruit, racked up both career-high 30 disposals and five goals, along with 14 score involvements and 694m gained.

As part of this special indigenous round, the players wore their 2026 First Nations Guernsey, designed by Meeza and Lawson Humphries.

Swans defeat Magpies in thriller at the SCG

Ladder leaders Sydney produced a stunning second-half comeback as they swooped from the clouds to get up against Collingwood in a thrilling clash.

They trailed by as much as 33 points at one stage but slowly got going and, with momentum behind them, eventually chased the deficit down. Forward Tom Papley kicked what proved to be the sealer, with a right-foot snap on the run.

It still took a fantastic tackle from James Rowbotham, his 860th that ranks him the second highest in the AFL, as the Magpies were set to break, to ensure the result.

Brodie Grundy (pictured below) won the first Goodes-O’Loughlin Medal of his career with a best on ground that included a monster 46 hitouts, 34 disposals and twelve clearances.

Embed from Getty Images

Life after Michael Voss

Carlton put a difficult week behind them by snapping a seven-game losing streak with a surging finish to see off the challenge from the Western Bulldogs.

On Tuesday, following much media speculation, the club announced the departure of senior coach Michael Voss after five seasons at IKON Park. During his time, he led them to consecutive finals in 2023 and 2024, but this year hadn’t gone well at all.

Whilst work goes on to find a suitable replacement, with a number of names being floated as a potential successor, experienced Assistant Coach Josh Fraser has been handed the reins, until further notice, and his debut couldn’t have gone any better.

One of the themes of the Blues in 2026 was their dramatic late fade-outs from decent positions, whereas in this one they flipped the script by coming from behind.

Debutant Jack Ison, the first ever player of the Next Generation Academy, had a day he’ll remember for the rest of his life and has already made himself a fan’s favourite.

The 19-year-old got involved in the ‘Welcome to Country’ ceremony, dancing with the group Bandok Tait, and then had a good outing, which included scoring the clincher.

Embed from Getty Images

Demons make big statement victory

Melbourne put the rest of the competition on notice by registering their highest score against fellow contenders Hawthorn in over 20 years, with a superb performance.

The crowd of 68,557 at the MCG made it the highest ever attendance for a home-and-away fixture between the two clubs; they were treated to a real spectacle.

Embed from Getty Images

It puts the Demons, under the tutelage of first-year coach Steven King (pictured above), back in the top six and will just have their supporters thinking about what could be possible.

Jack Ginnivan and Connor MacDonald both made their 100th AFL appearances – certainly not the result the Hawks wanted, and also given a bit of a reality check.

Crows hammer woeful Kangas

Adelaide produced a devastating second quarter of footy as they put a very disappointing North Melbourne outfit to the sword in a 68-point mauling.

They strung together an incredible ten-goal burst, grabbing their biggest points haul in a quarter since 2015, and it was their seventh ever on club record – it effectively killed off any kind of contest, and from there it was plain sailing for the afternoon.

Embed from Getty Images

The Crows’ pressure rating peaked at a remarkable 294 – anything over 185 is considered a good benchmark – with the visitors barely managing to lay a tackle.

It was a complete horror show for the Kangaroos that have now lost 14 straight at The Oval – their kicking efficiency, in that second term, was the worst ever in their history.

Dockers equal club record

Fremantle made it an equal club record nine straight successes, the best run under coach Justin Longmuir, after travelling interstate and defeating lowly Essendon.

The WA club have been in red hot form since that opening day loss and are the only ones to keep up with the table-topping Swans, who they sit behind on percentage.

Embed from Getty Images

Forward Patrick Voss (pictured above), given the nickname of ‘The Prancing Pony’, came back to haunt his old mob, having been delisted by the Bombers at the end of the 2023 season without making a single senior start, by booting a season-high five majors.

Speaking, post-match, to Fox Footy, he said, “There is a good vibe around the group at the moment, so much fun to be a part of, we all feel like we are contributing and playing our role, which is all you can ask for on game day.”

“It would be nice to be back here in September, but we aren’t looking that far ahead. We’ll try to keep winning games of footy, and the rest will take care of itself.”

The perfect ’10’

Gold Coast kept their perfect record intact in the Northern Territory (NT), cruising to a pretty comfortable 10-zip victory over Port Adelaide.

They have found the TIO Stadium (Darwin) a happy hunting ground over the last five years, with the current deal between them, the AFL and the NT Government seeing them play there twice a year – discussions are ongoing about extending it.

Embed from Getty Images

The Suns were boosted by the return of Brownlow Medallist Matt Rowell (pictured above), who has endured an injury-hit 2026, so far, but hopefully will now be able to get on a run.

However, it also came at a cost in losing both Lachie Weller (hamstring) and Will Graham (concussion) to injury, which severely hampered their rotations.

Saints prove too strong for the Tigers

St. Kilda returned to the winners’ circle, putting three figures up on the scoreboard, and got the chocolates by beating an injury-ravaged Richmond at Marvel Stadium.

They won the inside 50 count by a differential of +26, which is their third-highest since 2019, as they led for the whole match and were never really troubled.

Embed from Getty Images

Coach Ross Lyon handed a debut to Charlie Banfield (pictured above), son of two-time Premiership player Drew, following a run of good form in the VFL. He enjoyed his big occasion, with family and friends in the stands, and even got himself on the scoresheet.

Embed from Getty Images

As part of this special round, a First Nations Ceremony was held prior to the first bounce to celebrate their people, culture, influence, and contributions to the sport.

Harley shines as Eagles upset Giants

No doubting the big shock, which came on Sunday evening, when the West Coast were able to run right over the top of Greater Western Sydney at Optus Stadium.

Harley Reid showed just why he was rated as the number one pick when the club selected him in 2023, with arguably one of his best on-ground displays ever to date.

Embed from Getty Images

The 21-year-old midfielder (pictured above) is accruing career-highs for disposals (34), kicks (20), clearances (10) and tackles (8), as well as scoring a couple of important goals.

Last year’s wooden spooners have already got three triumphs on the board, showing their supporters they are heading in the right direction. In contrast, for the Orange Tsunami, only a few doubts are creeping in about whether they will make the finals.