Customise ESPN
Relative obscurity to pick 1 buzz: WA's Heath Mellody is the ultimate bolter
Heath Mellody was a relatively unknown prospect earlier in the year. But then the National Championships came around, and the Larke Medallist suddenly has open pool pick 1 buzz, writes Jasper Chellappah.
ESPN/Getty Images
Every AFL club's 2026 draft plans, prospects linked, and live trade options
ESPN's AFL Draft expert Jasper Chellappah looks at every club's plans, its prospects linked, and potential live trade options.
TOP HEADLINES
FOOTY'S UNLUCKIEST FAN BASES
ESPN's AFL Misery Index: Ranking the most miserable fanbases since 2000?
ESPN/Getty Images
Essendon or Carlton: which team has been worse since 2000?
1:57
AFLW
Why every AFLW finalist can -- and can't -- go all the way in 2026
ESPN/Getty Images
The W Files: $1 million prize on the line as stars rewrite record books
FIXTURE REVEALED!
AFL 2027 fixture: Five must-watch games in the first month
ESPN/Getty Images
DRAFT PROFILES
Power to burn and a 'trademark' goal: why Ethan Drever has rocketed up draft boards
ESPN/Getty Images
Consensus top draft prospect Dougie Cochrane already in rare air
ESPN
Who I would -- and would not -- want to be this AFL offseason
WAY-TOO-EARLY TIERS
AFL tiers: A clear flag favourite; 'silly season' winners and losers
ESPN/Getty Images
ESPN AFL
Every AFL club's trade and free agency period graded
DRAFT LATEST
First-round Phantom Draft: An early look at who goes where, when bids will come
ESPN/Getty Images
'I'm a competitor': Cody Walker primed and ready for the next step
Morgan Hancock/Getty Images
Top Headlines
- AFLW finals: Team news, fixtures, and more
- Swans set to probe culture after Papley's test
- Hawks coach wants Zach Merrett to fit in first
- Tom Papley tests positive to illicit substance
- AFLW superstar's injury hammer blow confirmed
- Fagan to join Blues as director of coaching
- Former Swans captain announces AFL retirement
- AFL releases full fixture for 2027 season
- Tigers, Blues unhappy as AFL confirms Round 1
- Pies coach departs after disastrous AFLW season
- James Wiltshire/AFL Photos via Getty Images
2026 AFL Draft indicative order: every club, every pick
The AFL offseason is a time for hope. Here's the latest 2026 AFL national draft indicative order, taking into account completed pick swaps and trades.
- ESPN/Getty Images
AFL trade and free agency grades - Every club's report card from the 2026 transfer period
The 2026 AFL trade and free agency period is over. Some teams improved, some stagnated, and others, well, got worse. Here's how every team fared over the last two weeks.
- ESPN/Getty images
ESPN's All-Australian team for 2026: Final 23 named -- who gets snubbed?
Who would pick up an AFL All-Australian blazer if our three footy writers, Jake Michaels, Matt Walsh, and Jarryd Barca had their way? Here's ESPN's final All-Australian team.
- ESPN
Subscribe to the ESPN Australia Newsletter
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.
- ESPN
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.
- Photo by Josh Chadwick/Getty Images
Remembering Neale Daniher: The football figure who became Australia's inspiration
There have been more decorated footballers. More successful coaches. But it's difficult to think of too many figures in Australian sport who have left a greater impression on people, or whose influence stretched so far beyond the game itself.
- Mark Brake/AFL Photos/Getty Images
'It's a scam': What the AFL and city of Adelaide won't tell you about Gather Round
Everyone loves to rave about Gather Round. But unless you're in the financial 1%, this weekend-long football festival just isn't meant for you.
- Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images
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.
- Daniel Pockett/Getty Images
Ranking every AFL after-the-siren winning goal since 2000
Since the turn of the millennium, there have been 33 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.
- Michael Dodge/Getty Images
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.
