2026 AFL Round 10 Tips & Preview

Should be one of the better midfield battles you’ll see all season with Lachie Neale and Bailey Smith in serious Brownlow Medal form. The Lions have played with their food at times and shifted back into third gear after establishing healthy leads against the likes of Carlton and Essendon in recent weeks, while the Cats have won four of their last five on the back of outstanding pressure and their ability to find forward half targets with precision. Hardly anything separates these two sides statistically, although the Lions have been a better team at winning clearances and limiting turnover. Again, the batlte through the middle of the ground is key, but with the Cats showing some questionable form away from Melbourne this year, the edge belongs to Brisbane. 

Hardly the primetime game the AFL would have hoped for when they originally set the fixture. The ladder-leading Swans are the team to beat with a 4-0 record at the SCG to their name, while the Pies are seemingly going backwards with all four of their losses this year coming against teams sitting above them on the ladder. Even if Scott Pendlebury were to play, he really wouldn’t move the needle that much for Craig McRae’s side in what shapes as a very comfortable win for a Swans outfit averaging 10 more inside 50 entries a game compared to their opponent. 

No shock to find the Suns at short odds as they remain in Darwin for another week. As their name suggests, Gold Coast relished the hot conditions last week in a dominant win over a Saints side that simply ran out of gas in the second half. The likes of Zak Butters and Connor Rozee are capable of keeping Port in this contest like they have all season, but whether they have the attacking options to match the Suns is another question entirely. Question marks remain over Gold Coast’s finals credentials with their own attack hit and miss at times, but after holding their last two opponents to under 70 points each, it feels like the Suns are finding midseason form yet again. 

Big watch on North on Saturday afternoon as they continue to match it with some of the top teams in the competition. Alastair Clarkson would like some reward for effort at some point, and it feels like the Crows might be the perfect prey after cutting it close against an equally feisty Richmond outfit last week. Adelaide required the absolute best from Josh Rachele in the second half to get the job done with Taylor Walker still on the sideline. On the back of a spirited three quarters against Geelong a fortnight ago, and a a game they might have won last week if they kicked straight against Sydney, North Melbourne has enough talent on the park to really expose some of Adelaide’s defensive weaknesses. 

Potential game of the round contender between 7th and 3rd. The Dees are a fast-moving team that could put pressure on the Hawks through the middle but given how quickly Hawthorn can rebound and find targets like Jack Gunston in transition, this has all the makings of a shootout. Sam Mitchell will have plenty of positives to draw from last week’s blown loss to Fremantle, and you could argue the Hawks will benefit from getting back to Melbourne after a big month of travel. With Mabior Chol and Calsher Dear both a chance to play back from injury, the bookies might have this one right. 

Surprisingly, Michael Voss made the decision to resign on Tuesday despite the Blues putting up a decent second half fight against the Lions a week ago. Patrick Cripps played arguably his best game of the year, while it was great to see Jagga Smith with his hands all over the footy. For the Dogs, Marcus Bontempelli is in career-best form and leading the Brownlow market, but there’s a case to be made for the Baggers if they can build on last week’s second half 

Tough one to get a feel for with the Dockers away from home and the Bombers showing signs of life (again). The jury is still out on Freo after finding themselves behind against the Hawks last week, but as they’ve shown repeatedly, they are capable of knuckling down to win the territory battle when it counts. As far as this week goes, the likes of Zach Merrett and Nate Caddy might keep the Bombers in it early, but I think the Dockers have too much talent through the middle of the ground. After winning the fourth quarter last week by 30 points, the Dockers get the job done in another low-scoring affair. 

The Tigers have plenty to feel good about after going down swinging to the Crows last week in Adelaide. Sam Cumming and Jack ross shone bright in the eventual 37 point loss, a margin that doesn’t do Richmond justice after leading at half time. The Saints lost by a similar margin up in Darwin, a result that was soured further with Jack Higgins suffering a concussion and Dan Butler picking up a hamstring injury. After playing up in the heat with a few key chips now missing, Richmond is a definite sniff on Sunday to at least keep this tight with a monster head start on offer. 

Tough week on the injury front for West Coast with Jamie Cripps suffering a devastating knee injury in the WAFL and Harry Edwards sustaining a concussion in last week’s loss to Melbourne. Glass half full, the Eagles started well and got the very best version of Jake Waterman once again, but this still shapes as a tall task against a GWS side looking to improve its Wild Card chances sitting 13th. While a trip to Perth is imposing for some, but the Giants have relished heading west in recent years, winning their last two visits to play West Coast by an average score of 62 points. The Giants aren’t quite the same side they were 12 months ago, but with Jesse Hogan a great chance to return from a hip issue, it’s easy to side with the orange tsunami.