Why flag history is against the sole remaining undefeated side, plus early concerns over a Cats superstar and a star-studded Suns midfield.
Plus, more of the biggest talking points ahead of Round 5, as well as the commentators for every Fox Footy game, in Foxfooty.com.au’s ultimate weekly preview: The Blowtorch!
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AFL GATHER ROUND FIXTURE (all times AEDT)
ADELAIDE v CARLTON
Thursday April 9, 7.40pm at Adelaide Oval
How to watch on Fox Footy: From 6.30pm on Channel 504, hosted by Sarah Jones, Jason Dunstall and David King, with commentary from Matt Hill, Mark Howard, Jack Riewoldt, Mark Ricciuto, Eddie Betts & Jon Ralph
COLLINGWOOD v FREMANTLE
Friday April 10, 7.40pm at Adelaide Oval
How to watch on Fox Footy: From 6.30pm on Channel 504, hosted by Garry Lyon, Tom Hawkins and Jordan Lewis, with commentary from Gerard Whateley, Jason Dunstall, Ruby Schleicher, Brad Johnson & Jon Ralph
Daicos, Pendlebury to return | 02:55
NORTH MELBOURNE v BRISBANE LIONS
Saturday April 11, 12.35pm at Barossa Park
How to watch on Fox Footy: From 12pm on Channel 503, with commentary from Leigh Montagna, Jordan Lewis, Shaun Burgoyne & Sarah Jones
ESSENDON v MELBOURNE
Saturday April 11, 1.15pm at Adelaide Oval
How to watch on Fox Footy: From 1pm on Channel 504, with commentary from Adam Papalia, Jess Webster, Garry Lyon, Brad Johnson & Eddie Betts
SYDNEY SWANS v GOLD COAST SUNS
Saturday April 11, 4.15pm at Norwood Oval
How to watch on Fox Footy: From 4pm on Channel 504, hosted by Kath Loughnan, David King, Jack Riewoldt & Jay Clark with commentary from Mark Howard, Jason Dunstall, Alastair Lynch & Ben Dixon
MELBOURNE v GOLD COAST SUNS
Saturday April 11, 7.35pm at Adelaide Oval
How to watch on Fox Footy: From 7.15pm on Channel 504, hosted by Kath Loughnan, David King, Jack Riewoldt & Jay Clark with commentary from Anthony Hudson, Dwayne Russell, David King, Tom Hawkins & Nick Dal Santo.
GEELONG v WEST COAST EAGLES
Sunday April 12, 12.30pm at Norwood Oval
How to watch on Fox Footy: From 12pm on Channel 504, with commentary from Corbin Middlemas, Kelli Underwood, Mark Ricciuto, Ken Hinkley & Cameron Mooney
GWS GIANTS v RICHMOND
Sunday April 12, 3.15pm at Barossa Park
How to watch on Fox Footy: From 3pm on Channel 504, with commentary from Matt Hill, Dwayne Russell, Gerard Healy, Brad Johnson & Ruby Schleicher followed by Bounce with Jason Dunstall, Cameron Mooney, Ben Dixon & Bernie Vince
PORT ADELAIDE v ST KILDA
Sunday April 12, 7.15pm at Adelaide Oval
How to watch on Fox Footy: From 7pm on Channel 504, with commentary from Anthony Hudson, Gerard Whateley, Kath Loughnan, Alastair Lynch, Shaun Burgoyne & Nick Dal Santo
‘Not acceptable’ – Schofield on Eagles | 01:16
THE BLOWTORCH — ROUND 5
‘GOOD LUCK TRYING TO WIN THE FLAG’
The Western Bulldogs have made their best start to a season (4-0) since 2021 – the season when they last made a Grand Final. They’re now the only remaining undefeated team in the competition this year.
They look like a genuine premiership contender, right?
But if you back footy history and trends – like Champion Data’s Daniel Hoyne does – the early numbers don’t favour a 2026 Bulldogs flag.
The Dogs on Sunday recorded a 34-point win over Essendon. But after kicking 10 of the first 11 goals and leading by 54 points at half-time on Sunday night, the Bulldogs were surprisingly outplayed in the second half by the winless Bombers.
Coach Luke Beveridge post-game lamented his side’s fumbling and inability to handle pressure in the second half, as well as some poor disposal efficiency.
But it was instead one post-match comment from superstar skipper Marcus Bontempelli that piqued the First Crack Preview team’s interest.
“It probably became a bit of a turnover-turnover, ball movement game – which we can play at times, but we’d much rather keep things in the contest and score a bit more from stoppage,” Bontempelli told Fox Footy in the Bulldogs’ rooms.
Hoyne on Wednesday night pointed out the Dogs last year scored more from stoppage than any team had previously done.
But over the past two decades, AFL premiers have almost always been among the competition’s best teams at scoring – and defending – off turnover – something the Bulldogs aren’t doing well four games into the 2026 season.
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“History says – and I’ll back history until it changes – if you can’t compete in the turnover game, you will not have success,” Hoyne told Fox Footy’s First Crack Preview.
“Four weeks into the year, they (the Dogs) are the sixth-easiest team in the comp to score against off turnover. Nineteen of the last 20 premiers have been top six in that component.
“And they’ve had a pretty reasonable draw in that time. I just want to have a look at it, because in the next four weeks they now dive into hawthorn, Geelong, Sydney and Fremantle.
“I’m really excited by what they’re doing offensively. Defensively they have changed, so hats off there. But how it looks against the best in the next four weeks, that’s going to be on notice – because if that (trend) stays after Round 8 and after Round 12 and Round 16, good luck trying to win the flag.”
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TOO MUCH ‘EASY BALL’? CURIOUS CAMERON CASE
He came into the season as a hot favourite to claim a third Coleman Medal and second in a row.
But three games into his 2026 campaign and Geelong superstar Jeremy Cameron has 4.8 to his name.
The eight behinds suggest Cameron has had ample opportunities in front of goal, plus he’s amassed 23, 11 and 16 disposals across his first three games. So he’s getting his hands on the ball.
On top of that, Cameron barely took part in contact training throughout the pre-season after his nasty arm injury suffered in last year’s Grand Final loss. Then he suffered a quad strain in February that ultimately sidelined him from the Cats’ Opening Round loss to Gold Coast.
But what caught Tigers legend Jack Riewoldt’s eye on Easter Monday was where Cameron was accumulating the ball. Champion Data indicated 38 per cent of Cameron’s disposals against the Hawks were won in Geelong’s defensive half – a high number for a player that kicked 88 goals last year and 740 overall.
Speaking on Fox Footy’s On The Couch, Riewoldt suggested Cameron “looks like he’s off” at the moment, adding: “At the moment, from my viewpoint, I think he’s trying to get too much easy ball and I’d love to see him down the line a little bit more.”
Cats great Tom Hawkins, who played the final four seasons of his AFL career alongside Cameron at Geelong, said Cameron “clearly has a licence” to win the ball up the field, but questioned whether the balance was out of whack in recent games.
“His asset is his ability to cover the ground, get up and beat his opponent back the other way. But is that putting too much exhaustion, too much effort into actually getting up there to get connected?” Hawkins posed on On The Couch.
“Because at his very best, where would you not want to, as an opposition, have Jeremy Cameron? That’s inside 60, where he can hit the scoreboard.”
Cats coach Chris Scott was asked straight up on AFL 360 whether he was concerned by Cameron’s start to the season.
“No, but his standards are so high,” Scott told AFL 360.
“We did move him around a little bit (against Hawthorn) … I’m not sure how old he is now – but I know he’s got a lot of footy left in him – but I think I’m a bit of a pragmatist with these sorts of things and I’m not absolutely surprised when a player is not ‘on’ in Round 4. It’s a relentless season and we’re going to need him at different times.
“If there’s a little bit of an ebb and flow to his season, that’ll be OK. I think I’m more worried when you see guys not able to do things that they used to do – and I just don’t see that at all with him.”
Scott’s assistant Nathan Buckley also defended Cameron’s high defensive-half disposal portion, telling On The Couch: “Jeremy’s no different to any other player. They play the roles they’re asked to play … He was asked to play a role at different times up the field and he did that to the best of his ability.”
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‘ALARMING’: CONTENDER’S HIDDEN FLAW EVERYONE THINKS IS A STRENGTH
On paper, Gold Coast should be a top-four AFL side with a top-four AFL midfield.
But there are early alarm bells around the Suns’ on-ball brigade, which were clearly exposed in the shock loss to Melbourne last week.
Against a new-look Demons midfield, the Suns lost both the contested possession (-22) and clearance (-11) counts convincingly.
It was the second time from four games this season where the Suns had lost a clearance count by double figures. Compare that to last year when they only lost the clearance count by double figures in three of their 24 games.
And just once last season did the Suns lose the contested possession count by more than 20.
Overall, the Suns midfield is struggling compared to last season. While they remain one of the best teams in the competition for hit-out win rate, they’ve dipped from second to 17th for clearance differential, seventh to 16th for first possession rate and second to 12th for first possession to clearance rate.
Tigers great Jack Riewoldt labelled it “a severe drop-off”, telling On The Couch: “Those numbers there are alarming for Damien Hardwick’s centre bounce men.”
Personnel issues haven’t helped, with Christian Petracca missing last week’s game due to injury, Bailey Humphrey currently serving a suspension and Brownlow Medallist Matt Rowell clearly rusty upon return.
But what concerned four-time premiership Hawk Jordan Lewis the most was the Suns midfielders’ poor positioning against the Demons and their lack of understanding around their opposition’s set-up.
“Their midfield is on watch because they haven’t had the continuity that they’ve had in the past with Rowell out and a few changes in there – (Wil) Powell playing a little bit more midfield – so that is a challenge,” Lewis told Fox Footy’s On The Couch.
The Suns face a massive test against the in-form Sydney Swans on Saturday at Norwood Oval.
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‘BRUTAL’ 11-YEAR BEST HAS ‘COMPLETE’ FREO PRIMED
They have the list and talent, goalkicking firepower, defensive discipline and (finally) offensive gears.
But now the Dockers have a toughness and edge that further enhances their premiership credentials.
Four games into the season and the Dockers have an impressive total contested possession differential of +79. According to Champion Data, it’s the Dockers’ best contested possession stretch over a four-game period since 2015.
Triple premiership Tiger Jack Riewoldt said the Dockers were now a “brutal type of team”, while seven-time All-Australian Nathan Buckley said the team has “really strong players on all lines”.
“Their tall forwards help – when they’re competing the way they are, it brings the small forwards into the game,” Buckley told Fox Footy’s On The Couch.
“They’ve been a strong stoppage team for a long time with (Caleb) Serong, (Andy) Brayshaw and we haven’t even seen Hayden Young – it’s going to be scary when he comes back into the team.
“They’ve got players who are prepared to put their head over it, they work hard, they’re quite structured but they definitely are opening up with their forward handball and attacking the game more so.
“You can do a lot when you’re winning contested ball by those sort of numbers, whether it be from defence or attack. It’s a great platform.“
Four-time premiership Hawk Jordan Lewis said Freo’s toughness had surprised him this year.
Asked how far the Dockers could go this year, Lewis told On The Couch: “They’re a top-four side. Then you need a little bit of luck, you need the players to be available at that time of year, your form needs to be at a level where you can compete.
“If you look at their list right now, it seems to me they’re relatively complete.
“The finals experience counts for a lot, I think, and they know through that experience what it might take to get there.”
‘RECKLESS ABANDON’: ROO DRAWS COMPARISON TO SWANS GREAT
Luke Davies-Uniacke might be North’s No. 1 rated player, Nick Larkey might be the captain and top goalkicker, Luke Parker might be the much-needed experienced head and Charlie Comben might be the key North can build its defence around.
But George Wardlaw might be the Kangaroos’ most important player.
Which makes his luckless injury issues since arriving on the AFL scene more frustrating.
Since being drafted with Pick 4 in the 2023 draft, Wardlaw has played just 41 of a possible 73 games, primarily due to a history of soft tissue injuries. His most recent setback came in late February when he strained his hamstring in a VFL practice match, which kept him out of North’s first two games of the season.
But Wardlaw’s past two matches have been eye-catching and influential. He had seven clearances in the win over the Bombers, while his infectious energy and desperate defensive pressure in his 16-disposal game against the Blues were breathtaking.
It reminded seven-time All-Australian Nathan Buckley of a fellow Brownlow Medallist.
“I look at him (Wardlaw) play – and I’m an old footy head – and when Paul Kelly ran around the Sydney Swans, he had is socks down, guernsey out and he used to just play with reckless abandon. That’s what I see with this young bloke,” Buckley told Fox Footy’s On The Couch.
“He’s missed a lot of footy in the last couple of years, but if he’s able to get a full season out, North Melbourne to me are a totally different challenge than they would be without him in the side.
“He’s got enormous competitiveness. Even though he’s not clean with ball in-hand, he creates space for his teammates and puts them in space – whether it be by hand or by foot. I’d love to be a forward line player because you’re going to get ball come towards you with George Wardlaw in the middle that defenders aren’t expecting to have to defend.”
Australian Football Hall of Fame member Garry Lyon described Wardlaw on AFL 360 as “the embodiment of what they (the Kangaroos) want to be”.
The Kangaroos face Brisbane this weekend off the back of consecutive wins over Essendon and Carlton. It’s the first time the Roos have won two straight matches since 2023 and just the third time they’ve recorded back-to-back wins this entire decade.
Lyon said there was a profound sense of excitement in the victorious Kangaroos rooms after the comeback win over Carlton.
“They’ve been kicked in he head for four years. Now they’ve got a taste of back-to-back victories … I think Clarkson’s got a group there he can work with,” Lyon told AFL 360.