Mega AFL pre-season state of playWill Faulkner, Ben Waterworth, Jack Jovanovski, Dane Heverin and Ben Cotton
Fox Sports
February 2nd, 2026 Happy February! That means we’re edging closer to AFL pre-season action and Opening Round.
With footy just around the corner, there’s plenty to examine — or catch up on — including unheralded names pushing for early-season opportunities and the latest injury storylines.
Foxfooty.com.au examines everything you need to know about all 18 clubs in the lead-up to the season in a mega Pre-Season State of Play.
RICHMONDRole changes and who’s tearing up the track: Fox Footy’s David King — an avid training track-watcher at this time of the year — cheekily suggested on X last month there were “Ferraris” everywhere at Richmond.
Top-10 draft picks Sam Grlj and Sam Cumming are eyeing early-season debuts after only arriving at Tigerland last November, with Grlj already in the early stages of locking down a spot as a half-back rebounder.
“He’s exciting, he’s quick, he’s got a lot of speed, a lot of talent, he takes on everyone. He’ll be exciting, and he’ll be a very special player if we can harness it and teach him when to do it and when not to do it, but he’s going really well,” veteran Nick Vlastuin told foxfooty.com.au.
Cumming, meanwhile, has been making his presence felt in the midfield during intraclubs.
“Sammy Cumming is dominating. He played really well today (in match simulation last Friday). I hope he plays a lot of games this year, because he’s going really well,” Vlastuin also said.
Bargain trade recruit Patrick Retschko has been said to be mounting a case for a Round 1 debut, having made a wing spot his own in the absence of the departed Kamdyn McIntosh and injured Hugo Ralphsmith. The cast-off ex-Cat, who has athletic upside, is looking to ignite his fledgling AFL career after a low-profile deadline day swap.
Injury-hindered defender Josh Gibcus has crucially had an uninterrupted pre-season to this point, with the former top-10 draft pick desperate to have lift-off on his AFL career.
Injury latest: Hardly a surprise, but all eyes are on Sam Lalor after the prodigious midfielder was again troubled by his hamstring last year. But promisingly, the 2024 No.1 draft pick has shown ominous signs this pre-season as he gears up to well and truly stamp his authority on the competition after teasing with tantalising glimpses across 11 outings in 2025.
Fellow top 2024 draftee Josh Smillie is also looking to have an impact after a redshirt rookie year, having navigated hamstring and conditioning obstacles last year. But the 19-year-old midfielder has a way to go before being an early debut certainty, though, having undergone quad surgery back in November and not yet back in main drills.
It was thought that veteran star Nick Vlastuin had reintegrated into main training after his late-season fractured ankle last year, but that isn’t quite the case.
The 31-year-old told foxfooty.com.au he’s “day-to-day” when asked if Round 1 was still the plan, describing it as “a pretty bad injury” and adding: “And now, everything else is kind of getting sore as well when you don’t do too much for a couple of months and then try and get back into it. So, the back’s kind of blown up a little bit now, and just managing a few other little things.”
Meanwhile, second-year tall Tom Sims (foot stress fracture) remains some way away from a return still, and luckless wingman Judson Clarke has a long stint to go after sustaining another ruptured ACL last year. Hugo Ralphsmith has been deterred by a hamstring injury sustained in December.
https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-2026-preseason-state-of-play-opening-round-and-round-1-predicted-teams-selection-bolters-position-changes-latest-injury-news-analysis-fixtures/news-story/638be205039601660b6ede9be2af2187
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