AFL Beat 2026 – Opening Round Recap!

The AFL season started this week with the “Opening Round” in which only ten teams participated. That’s okay, though, because the quality of the games was very good. Who needs a preseason? Let’s go!

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The AFL Ladder

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Opening Round Results

Opening Round Highlights and Placeholder Videos

Round One Schedule

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AFL Footy Tipping Contest Results

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Notes and Comments

Sydney-Carlton was the curtain raiser and it did not disappoint. Carlton is expected by many, including myself, to contend for the Premiership this year. Sydney reminded everyone that they were in the Grand Final just two years ago and are still a force to be reckoned with. A huge third quarter got them the game.

Gold Coast also had a big third quarter and ran away from the Cats. Truth be told, the Cats never really got going in the game, but it was still within reach at Half Time. The Suns put the game in the refrigerator in the third.

The GWS Giants did a massive job of handling the Hawthorn Hawks given their full squad is not exactly the healthiest. Jake Stringer and Jesse Hogan showed Tom Hanks how shit gets done with five goals for Jake and Jesse’s 400th.

Brisbane hoped to get their back to back Premiership defense off to a good start, but ran into a Western Bulldogs outfit that may just be in the mix this year. It was a helluva game that two DFOers called the best game they’ve ever seen. Do yourself a favor and click the highlights.

Finally, Collingwood showed that St. Kilda’s spending spree this off-season wasn’t enough to get them into the top tier. Granted, it’s the first game and Collingwood are a tough team, so maybe the Saints will fare better next week

It was a rough week in the AFL Tipping Competition as no one got better than 3 out of 5. We have a full slate of 9 games next week, so we’ll see if the results improve. Don’t forget to put the tips in!

If you are a member of an AFL club or you got a Watch AFL membership, you should be able to watch every AFL and AFLW game, including replays. Game times vary between Australian afternoon and evening, which actually makes it easier for us in North America to watch as the games can be seeing in the evenings on Pacific Time and early mornings on Eastern time.

If you haven’t become a member of a club or signed up for the Watch AFL app, you can still watch the AFL and AFLW games in the USA on either FS1 or FS2 and in Canada on TSN. Showtimes can be found here on the Australian Football Association of North America website. But I do recommend that you join a club. It’s fun and they send you free shit.

See you next week!