2026 AFL Round 24 Predictions

The home-and-away season wraps up with two sides who’ll both be glad to see the back of 2026 when St Kilda hosts Gold Coast at Marvel Stadium on Thursday night.

The $1.40 Saints kept the faintest of Wildcard pulses alive with a big win over Richmond last week, only for the maths elsewhere to finish the job the Tigers couldn’t.

Liam Ryan returns for an injured Jack Higgins this week alongside journeyman Dougal Howard.

Gold Coast will be happier than any team to put this season behind them, with 11 losses from their past 12 games and distant memories of AFL 2026 premiership favoritism after Round 2.

No Christian Petracca, Will Powell or Sam Collins for the Suns this week, meaning Saints fans will likely finish this season with the eternal hope they get from just missing out on finals most years.

Many believe a win for Brisbane all but cements a preliminary final spot for the back-to-back premiers.

Arguably the form team of the competition, a Lions victory against Collingwood at the MCG on Friday night would ensure third spot on the ladder and a qualifying final against the Sydney Swans.

Outside of Hugh McCluggage’s calf injury, Fages has almost a full list to choose from now that Ty Gallop has served his three-week suspension.

Collingwood played out a second draw this season against the same opponent (Hawthorn) last week, a first in AFL history, and will be desperate to end the year on a genuine result rather than another shared scoreline.

Isaac Quaynor (glute/hip) will miss this week, but it wouldn’t surprised to see Craig McCrae rest his ageing list now that a Wildcard spot is locked in.

At $4.10, nobody expects the Pies to do much, and the form of players such as Will Ashcroft – 30+ disposals in each of Brisbane’s last nine matches – means this could be a nice tune-up for the champs.

Carlton has already locked away its Wildcard spot under newly appointed senior coach Josh Fraser and will get a lovely little hit-out against the best when they host Fremantle at Marvel Stadium on Saturday.

The Blues capped an extraordinary mid-season resurgence with a share of the points against the Bulldogs, taking their tally to 10 wins, 2 losses, and 1 draw since the change of coach.

Fremantle, though, arrive in winning form after taking care of Adelaide by 24 points, with Jye Amiss bagging five goals for the third time in four weeks.

The $1.57 about Fremantle seems generous, despite Carlton’s form, keeping in mind Murphy Reid is still unlikely to play after copping one to the twig and giggle berries.

19 wins from their last 21, we’ll be taking the price about the Dockers as they get as much into their legs before two possible breaks in the next month.

Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs close out their regular seasons at the MCG on Saturday afternoon, with the Demons coming off one of their most emphatic wins of the year.

The Dees were scintillating during their 72-point victory over Port Adelaide as they look to edge out either Brisbane or Hawthorn in the top four.

The win came at a cost, however, with Jacob van Rooyen collecting a three-match ban for striking Aliir Allir. Tom McDonald was reportedly training with the forward group on Tuesday with his possible switch from defence into attack, while Jake Melksham has been good in the VFL with 3.3 from 15 disposals over the weekend.

The Bulldogs, who are currently $2.90 with Ladbrokes, have gone winless for three weeks now, but could welcome the return of defenders Bailey Dale and Connor Budarick.

In any case, Melbourne’s 10-1 record at the ‘G suggests the Dogs will find it hard to return to their winning sways before finals.

The tune-up of all tune-ups, Geelong will prep for a deep AFL 2026 finals run when they host Richmond at GMHBA Stadium on Saturday night.

The in-form Cats still haven’t secured a top six spot but should have no issues against a Richmond side in 17^th spot on the ladder with an average score of 63.9ppg.

The record gets worse when you consider the Tiges have lost 16 matches in a row against top eight sides.

Geelong is an enormous $1.02 favourite with Richmond a $13 outsider, and there’s little in the history between the two clubs to suggest anything but a comfortable Cats win.

Geelong to finish the home-and-away season with a flourish.

Adelaide faces a genuine must-win when it hosts GWS at the Adelaide Oval on Saturday night, needing the points and a favourable result elsewhere to avoid the Wildcard Finals Round altogether.

The Crows let a chance to keep top four hopes alive slip last week against Fremantle, but a home final remains in their own hands with the right result here.

Wayne Milera, Alex Neal-Bullen and Tex Walker all loom as important inclusions for Matthew Nicks’ team.

GWS arrives with nothing to play for but pride, though has shown all year it’s capable of springing the odd upset and would love nothing more than to ruin the top six chances of the Crows.

The Crows should win this one comfortably, but worth keeping in mind they’ve failed to cover the line in 14 of their last 17 matches as a favourite.

Essendon and Port Adelaide both close out their 2026 campaigns at Marvel Stadium on Sunday afternoon and it couldn’t come a moment too soon for these battlers.

The Bombers showed a glimpse of ticker in defeat last week, fighting back from a poor start against Sydney before running out of legs.

Port Adelaide will be looking to finish its season on a high after a disappointing 72-point loss at home against the Dees.

Aliir Aliir will miss through concussion, but all eyes are on Butters and whether he gets one final game for Port before making his free agency decision.

Port are $1.64 favourites and considering how they’ve impressed at different times throughout the season while the Bombers have been awful, this could be the value play.

While North Melbourne will miss finals yet again, they’re a genuine chance of finishing their season with a W against the Sydney Swans on Sunday.

The market has shifted notably since news broke around the Swans earlier this week and their five suspended players, with the Kangaroos into $1.67 and well-backed to end an 11-game losing streak against their opponent.

They will be without star ball user Harry Sheezel after he suffered a cheekbone injury last week, but the experienced Luke McDonald is available for selection and should come straight in.

In addition to the five players suspended on Wednesday, the Swans have copped another blow with Justin McInerney injuring his other hamstring and adding another two-three weeks until his return.

Interesting result either way this one goes.

Hawthorn can finally lock in a top four finish when it visits West Coast at Optus Stadium on Sunday night.

The Hawks were held to a second draw this season by Collingwood last week, a result that leaves them sitting in fourth rather than outright third and with Melbourne, Geelong and Adelaide breathing down their back.

The good news is they’re virtually at full strength and have no excuses.

West Coast has had little to celebrate for most of the year and won’t offer much resistance as they battle a 10-game losing streak.

Could be an absolute monster victory for Sam Mitchell’s men with everything to play for.