Brisbane Lions Preview 2026

Brisbane have always had a couple of incredible players, and then a bunch of good players in terms of GameDay Squad scoring. They somehow find themselves being the premiership defenders with arguably the best youth prospects in the league.

This year, there will be a a few extra competions we can enter teams in and these "good" players I mentioned will be perfect for when the player pools are looking a bit dry.

I've covered some of the main prospects below but there are still plenty I couldnt squeeze in. Basically what I'm trying to say is, Brisbane are stacked!

The GDS Anchors

Josh Dunkley

I’m not normally one to make claims like “I see his average going even higher this season” for well established premiums but Josh Dunkley is one I genuinely think could see a bump. The best part is he wont even need to change a single thing about how he plays for this to happen!

If theres one thing we know about Dunkley, it’s the fact that he loves a cuddle. In fact, in 2025 he sat 4th in the competition for tackles, just behind Atkins, Rowell and Steele. Its one of the reasons his floor was so stable all year because no matter the structure or plan Brisbane go into the game with, the tackles will stay consistent.

Now lets take a step back and look at why it's such a good thing to be a tackler in 2026. One of the new rule “changes” is how the umpires will assess prior opportunity in tackles. To put it simply, they are going to be a lot harsher and if its anything like the AFLW, there are going to be a lot of holding the ball free kicks. It could take a while for the contested ball winners to work out where the line is and Dunkly will be there to clean up.

That now takes a lot of the +4 tackles that resulted in stoppages and turns them into +10s (4 for tackle, 2 for free for and 4 again for the kick)! 

There is more to Dunkleys game than just tackling though, so if I’m wrong about the impact on the rule changes, his floor scores will make him a reliable pick almost every week regardless.

Just keep an eye on his pre-season progression. Still recovering after multiple off season surgeries, Josh may have a slower start than some if he misses too much preparation.  

What’s new in 2026?

Sam Draper

Draper should have been one of the biggest talking points of the opening round. Moving to Brisbane in the hope of securing a number 1 ruck position, Draper was looking like a genuinely decent pick, mainly due to his forward status. Yes, he has spent a long time on the sideline but his recovery was looking good for opening round. 

Unfortunately, Sam missed the most recent intra club hit out with a stress reaction in his right foot. It has since been confirmed that he’ll miss 6-8 weeks and will at a minimum miss the opening round.

The concerning part about this isn't necessarily the fact that he’ll miss the first game, its that he'll miss a significant chunk of time to get match ready, after not playing since April 2025.

When he does come back and get himself fit, there is a lot of upside for Draper. As valuable as Darcy Fort has been to the club, he has never been considered number 1 ruck material, so Sam will take over as soon as he has his body right.

Draper is already a proven scorer. Averaging 95.4 in the 5 games he played for Essendon last season. He held ~5% of the teams market share of GDS points in the games he did play, and Essendon averaged 118.5 more total points as a team when he was on the field. 

If Draper was listed as a Ruck in GameDay Squad, I dont think we would be talking about him too much this pre season, but that forward status, with guaranteed ruck involvement, makes him one of the safest picks (if fit).

New 2026 Signings

Oscar Allen (free agent, West Coast), Daniel Annable (No.6 draft pick, Academy), Cody Curtin (No.43 draft pick), Sam Draper (free agent, Essendon), Koby Evans (No.38 draft pick), Tai Hayes (No.44 draft pick), Ben Murphy (Category B rookie)

Departed Players

Callum Ah Chee (delisted), Darcy Craven (delisted), Sam Day (retired), Oscar McInerney (retired), Deven Robertson (delisted), Brandon Ryan (delisted), Brandon Starcevich (trade, West Coast)

2026 GDS Position Changes

Player	Club	2025 Position	2026 Position
Conor McKenna	Brisbane Lions	Defender	Forward
Darcy Gardiner	Brisbane Lions	Forward	Defender
James Tunstill	Brisbane Lions	Forward	Midfielder
Jaspa Fletcher	Brisbane Lions	Midfielder	Defender
Luke Beecken	Brisbane Lions	Defender	Midfielder
Sam Draper	Brisbane Lions	Ruck	Forward

Dynasty Strengths

I’m going to go ahead and say what every non-Lions fan is thinking. The current Academy and Father Son rules are cooked! 

How can you be so dominant for the past decade and still collect so many top draft pick players?! Anyway, its good for our U22 sides I guess so lets talk about them.

We'll start with the obvious. If you were to tell me a duel Norm Smith Medalist was eligible for our under 22 sides I would have told you youre crazy! Will Ashcroft has already achieved so much and lived up to what now seems like an appropriate level of hype. Averaging a smidge over 110, Ashcroft had a strong end to the season.

His biggest downfall was the sprinkling of scores in the 60s and 70s that would be mixed in with his 130+ magic.

Will attended ~50% of centre bounces for the year but his numbers were much higher towards the end of the season, correlating with an increased scoring output. Based on pre season reports, he looks like he’ll be one of the main guys in there for 2026 so I’m thinking a breakout to the next level is on the cards. Oh, and he was recently dumped for prioritising footy over his girlfriend which surely must add some value for the commitment.

Levi Ashcorft is another one who will be featuring in a lot of U22 sides this year. Less enticing than his brother, Levi will still be decent. I just expect it will be hard to justify his midfield position when some other players start breaking out with an extra season or two under their belt. He did get some CBAs towards the end of the season but nowhere near enough to get excited.

Jaspa Fletcher is one I genuinely am excited for though. Hotly tipped to pick up some of the points left behind as Zorko slowly rides off into the sunset, Fletcher should see a more profitable role in 2026.

With an average of 98.39 last season he currently sits as the number 2 defender for selectable U22s. What I like more than that though is his ceiling. He managed multiple 120+ rounds and capped it off with a 163 in round 23. If he can bring those 120 scores out with a bit more regularity, he might feature in more than just our youngens comp. 

Finally I’ll quickly mention Daniel Annable. Picked up with a sneaky academy pick match, Annable finds himself in a team already filled with superstars. Although Brisbane have been able to fit their young draft superstars in over the last couple of seasons, I genuinely don’t see how they manage that with Annable (which has nothing to do with his ability). Definitely one to stash for the future, just maybe not one for opening round.

Under 22 Eligable Players

Name	Position	Team
Tai Hayes	MID	Brisbane Lions
Ben Murphy	DEF	Brisbane Lions
Daniel Annable	MID	Brisbane Lions
Cody Curtin	FWD	Brisbane Lions
Koby Evans	MID	Brisbane Lions
Jaspa Fletcher	DEF	Brisbane Lions
Levi Ashcroft	MID	Brisbane Lions
Logan Morris	FWD	Brisbane Lions
Luke Lloyd	FWD	Brisbane Lions
Reece Torrent	MID	Brisbane Lions
Sam Marshall	MID	Brisbane Lions
Shadeau Brain	DEF	Brisbane Lions
Ty Gallop	FWD	Brisbane Lions
Will Ashcroft	MID	Brisbane Lions
Will McLachlan	FWD	Brisbane Lions
Zane Zakostelsky	DEF	Brisbane Lions

Fixtures and scoring Profile

A bad opponent for any of our players to face across the board. It doesn't look like it will get any easier in 2026 so avoid the matchup with every chance you have.

Byes rounds: 2 + 15

First 5 Fixtures: Bulldogs, Sydney, Bye, St Kilda, Collingwood.

PODs and Breakout Potential 

It wouldn’t be a pre season without talking about Keidean Coleman. The kid has proven time and time again that he can play, he’s just had so many unfortunate injuries that have set him back.

After recovering from an ACL injury, Coleman looks to be training as a half back in a very GDS friendly role. In his last full season Coleman averaged ~90 points as a 22 year old and was almost guarenteed a break out the next year. Unfortunately he has only managed 2 games in the two seasons since due to two seperate injuries. Regardless of GameDay Squad, I think the whole community will be rooting for him and once we give him a couple of weeks to settle in, I can see him coming into consideration. 

Zac Bailey is training with the mids. How he will fit in there, I have no idea, but its very interesting to see. Averaging 99.5 over the season, Bailey was a surprisingly reliable option for us. After round 15, he didn't go below 95 points which is a great result for a forward.

My one concern is that midfield time isn't always a good thing, even though it might seem like it. If you go from being an essential cog in the forward makeup to a expendable player in a midfield already oozing with class, it may actual be a step backwards.

Definitely one to look at if the new competitions, pay close attention during pre season!

Risky Picks

Dayne Zorko

Zorko is a an interesting one and I'm going to choose my words very carefully to avoid looking like a fool at the end of the year.

Yes, he's old. Second oldest in the league in fact, only behind Pendles. But he's been “old” for a while now. His age and ability aren't what scare me with going all in on Zorko. Its the abundance of quality lurking around him! 

Coleman, Fletcher and Wilmot are all knocking on the door for that GDS friendly role and as resilient as Zorko is, the Lions will need to start planning for the future.

Although I can't see Zorko completely falling from relevance, there is the risk that he could be used elsewhere for periods of the season. There is also the risk that the new five man bench leads to a decreased time on ground in an effort to extend the lifespan of this future hall of famer.

One thing I would like to point out is the narrative around Zorko's end to the season with a huge finals series. People are using this as reassurance that he still has what it takes to compete for another full season as one of our locks. A less talked about stat is the fact that he averaged 16.3 points less in the second half of the season compared to his start. Yes he was playing through injuries and possibly preserving himself for finals but going from a elite defender at 132.2 points per game to a good defender for the back end at 115.9 points per game is something to think about.

Regardless of all this… Zorko will remain an elite player until Zorko doesn’t want to be an elite player. It's probably too late to invest in him and there will be weeks where you wish you didnt play him, but he's still one of the best GDS scorers we've seen.

Lachie Neale

Off field, everything seems to be going wrong for the dual Brownlow medalist. Thankfully GameDay Squad points are scored ON field so there's still hope of a good season.

Good is about as much as I would hope for though. A combination of attracted attention and not suiting the gds scoring system has led Neale to just sit outside of relevance for a while. He will likely be alright for the new competitions, but he could be a trap for new players. Pre season reports have him looking incredible, but the guy being incredible isnt the thing we have to consider, its where do the points come from.

Final Word

The position Brisbane find themselves in is borderline unfair, but they will no doubt feature in every single one of our competitions this season. Load up where you can on their youth, because its going to be a while before Brisbane fall from discussion.