Which AFL club has the best list going into 2026?

Cam Mooney and Julian De Stoop have listed their top four AFL lists ahead of the 2026 season.

With just 51 days until the season starts, Mooney and De Stoop have scoured each club's talent to determine which four enter the season in the best shape.

Whilst the best talent isn't always conducive to wins and premierships, these clubs have found themselves with access to all the necessary tools to compete deep into September.

Naming four clubs each in no particular order, Mooney and De Stoop agreed on two clubs that deserve a place in the top four, with two unique choices as revealed on SEN Breakfast.

See their lists and explanations below!

Mooney's top four

Exclusions:

Adelaide, Hawthorn, Geelong, Western Bulldogs and Sydney

“I could have flipped them up in the air and if they landed in (the top four), I would have been pretty happy.”

In no particular order:

GWS Giants

“(Clayton) Oliver – question mark. Does he help a midfield that isn’t an elite midfield, but has elite players? (Finn) Callaghan and (Tom) Green, elite midfielders.

“I think the backline is arguably the best backline in the competition. (Connor) Idun, (Sam) Taylor, (Jack) Buckley, (Lachie) Ash, (Lachie) Whitfield and (Harry) Himmelberg. It’s a really, really good backline.

“Forward, obviously you’ve got (Toby) Greene, (Jesse) Hogan, and you’ve got a young (Aaron) Cadman. (Brent) Daniels, I’ve got him here as well. He is a massive one, don’t underestimate!

“I’ve put a little bit of recency bias because I did spend some time up there and I love the coach. I think he is a fantastic coach, and I think he’s got them on the right track.

“I’m also concerned that with this list, obviously Kelly is out for the year, but with this list, are they getting towards the end of the window? Is the window starting to close for this list in particular?

“We saw them go out in straight sets – that was huge blow to them, and last year, injuries… we could say that about a lot of teams.”

Brisbane

“Brisbane, no doubt. They’ve added (Sam) Draper, who I think is a very good ruckman, (Oscar) Allen – question mark. Who knows, but he is a guy that can kick 50 goals.

“(Keidean) Coleman to come back, (Jack) Payne to come back and they’ve got a couple of young kids.”

Gold Coast

“They bring in (Christian) Petracca – A-Grade. (Jamarra) Ugle-Hagan, question mark.

“My biggest one here is (Jed) Walter and (Ethan) Read. What can those two boys do on the top of what (Ben) King did last year?

“Obviously, they’ve got (Noah) Anderson and (Matt) Rowell through the midfield, two of the best to go about. Their backline is strong, they’ve got good running backs, so they’re another one.”

Fremantle

“They’ve got the big three up forward in (Josh) Treacy, (Jye) Amiss and (Patrick) Voss, and I’ve got the big five in the midfield.

“(Hayden) Young, (Andy) Brayshaw, (Caleb) Serong, (Shai) Bolton and (Luke) Jackson. Their defence is pretty strong as well.”

De Stoop's top four

In no particular order:

Brisbane

Gold Coast

Hawthorn

“I don’t think they want for much, the Hawks. They’ve got two outstanding key defenders in (Tom) Barrass and (Josh) Battle. They’ve got an outstanding intercept defender in (James) Sicily.

“They are probably still a mid short, but (Jai) Newcombe and (Will) Day are both elite. Their small forwards are elite, (Jack) Ginnivan and (Nick) Watson are excellent.

“(Jack) Gunston is an excellent medium forward, they’ve got a good ruck in (Lloyd) Meek.

“They don’t have an elite key forward. (Mitch) Lewis is not there, (Mabior) Chol is not that player even though he was very good last year.”

Mooney: (Calsher) Dear will be, in my opinion. Gunston has been, and probably was last year, but you can’t be expecting (the same)… he is going to be 35.

“An incredible season, and I couldn’t have been happier for him, but you just can’t expect that again. If you can get 30-40 goals out of Gunner, (great).

“In saying that, if you are Hawthorn, as great as Gunner’s been, you actually want Lewis and Dear to push him out. That’s when you know you’re going really well.”

Geelong

“Tom Stewart is an elite intercepter. Jeremy Cameron is the best key forward in the comp. They have two of the best ball carriers in the competition in (Bailey) Smith and (Max) Holmes.

“I think they’ve got the best small forward brigade in the comp. (Gryan) Miers, (Brad) Close, (Shaun) Mannagh and (Tyson) Stengle is a great combination.

“(Patrick) Dangerfield is the medium forward, and I think (Tanner) Bruhn and (James) Worpel are going to help. Midfield depth is a bit of a problem, but those two come in.

“Do they lack a rebound defender? An elite, running defender, when you look at the other contenders out there?”

Mooney: “Stewart is kind of a rebound defender; he’s a little bit of both. (Lawson) Humphries is the one I’m thinking that they are really going to put some massive time in, for him to be that man.

“It would almost be a (Daniel) Rioli type. That’s who you want him to be for Geelong. You want him to be a Rioli coming off half back, 500 metres gained a game.

“That’s what you’re looking for.”

Listen to the full discussion below: