Tom Mitchell's way too early AFL flag favourite

Brownlow Medallist Tom Mitchell has named his extremely early flag favourite ahead of the 2027 season.

With just over 24 hours remaining in the 2026 AFL Trade Period, club lists are far from settles, facing a number of potential shifts in the coming days.

That said, Mitchell has seen enough across the player movement period to crown his premiership favourite five months out from the start of the new season.

Active in the trade period, Geelong remain steadfast in their quest to send off captain Patrick Dangerfield with another premiership.

And having acquired three top talents to add to their already elite depth, Mitchell believes Chris Scott’s men are primed for yet another flag charge.

“I think they’ve got the most depth of any team in the competition across their list,” Mitchell told Trade Radio.

“Obviously with an ageing list, they are the pioneers of resting players every two to three weeks.

“They’ve got a clear schedule which allows them to use a tonne of players on their list. I think they’ve got 30 players that could all be consistent AFL players, which is what they need.

“Is it too early to go a premiership favourite? I think Geelong will win the premiership next year.

“Ideally, landing Zak Butters would have been unbelievable, but it’s also great that they’ve got Jordan Ridley - some more support down back, Rowan Marshall – a ruck that they needed, and Toby Greene – arguably one of the best forwards of this generation.

“They were 15-8 (this year) but I remember watching a couple of games where they lost by a couple of points.

“(They lost) by two goals to Fremantle who were humming and hadn’t lost at home pretty much all season - they got pretty close without these three players.

“I reckon they are going to be right around the mark. They are clearly getting this senior support in because they’ve got one last big crack at it with Mark Blicavs, Patrick Dangerfield and Jeremy Cameron.”

Listen to Mitchell's full Geelong audit on Trade Radio's Trade Mornings with Tom Morris below: