The Back Pocket

Round 23 edition of This Week in Football is up!

This week in football:
- Jack Turner on mental health and hypocrisy
- Emlyn Breese on slingshot footy in the W
- Lincoln Tracy on the AFL's attempts to generate excitement
- Sean Lawson on Sydney's footy revolution

This Week in Football: Round 23, 2026 A collection of the best independent football writing available, Round 23 of the 2026 AFL Season edition. This week in football: Administration, Attack, A New Competition

Read about Clash Policies, Bad Rucks vs No Rucks, Mean vs Median Age Profiles and If Opening Round's Competitive Advantage is Real in This Week in Football for Round Four:

https://thisweekinfootball.com/twif/round-4-2026/

Will be writing semi-frequently for This Week In Football again this year, and I encourage you to check it out and subscribe to the newsletter for weekly articles from some of the most insightful and smartest voices not just in independent footy writing, but in the enture AFL media landscape.

Read my thoughts on the AFL's changes to the Brownlow Medal (along with some historical context), two great pieces from Emlyn Breese - first on the Dees and Saints, and how they've changed their game in 2026, and second on some new data modelling to expect this season - and also Joe Cordy writing about elite footballers, and what makes them so hard to replace or replicate.

Round 2, 2026 – This Week In Football This Week In Football is a collection of some of the best in football currently outside the walls of AFL clubs or broadcasters. Each week a curated grab bag from regular contributors and special guests will provide insight into and beyond the game on subjects of their choosing. For more about our c...

And that's a wrap for the Home & Away Season 2025.

We may have an episode or two as the finals roll on, but join us as we announce the Scarlett-Silvagni medal winner, chat how fun the W has been so far, and give a little finals preview.

Listen to AFL Round 24 - The Finale? wherever you get your podcasts:
🎙️https://spoti.fi/3xoZYv5
🍎https://apple.co/3VktnQZ
📺https://bit.ly/4cLXyqn

🔗https://linktr.ee/thebackpocket

New Episode "Footy, eh?" out now.

We chat the launch of AFLW S10, the Prelimination Final this weekend, the fallout from last weekend's games, and who we're freezing all stocks on for one week.

Listen wherever your podcasts:
🎙️https://spoti.fi/3xoZYv5
🍎https://apple.co/3VktnQZ
📺https://bit.ly/4cLXyqn

🔗https://linktr.ee/thebackpocket

New Episode live now wherever you get your podcasts.

We talk Silly Goose Round, the next two weeks of top nine chaos, the AFLW season launch and more.

Listen to Round 22 - The Moose Missile II:
🎙️https://spoti.fi/3xoZYv5
🍎https://apple.co/3VktnQZ
📺https://bit.ly/4cLXyqn

🔗https://linktr.ee/thebackpocket

Recently I've been doing some writing for This Week In Football, which is a collective of some of the best independent footy writers and analysts across the country, aiming to bring you a more in depth look at trends and stats from across the league.

If you are interested in more interesting footy stuff than you might get on the weekly slop panel shows or surface level articles written to meet quotas, then subscribe to This Week in Football for a weekly dose of footy articles with no agenda.

Our latest piece is live below, and this week you can find something from me about Bevo, a farewell to Goodwin from Emlyn Breese, an in depth breakdown of last weekend's Brisbane win over Collingwood and an analysis of AFLW ground sizes from Sean Lawson from HPN Footy.

Round 22, 2025 – This Week In Football This Week In Football explores insights from contributors on various topics, including game analysis and coaching narratives. Key discussions include Brisbane's adaptability at the MCG, Luke Beveridge's unique coaching journey, and the implications of smaller AFLW fields on gameplay. The content emp...

Lizard! Lizard! Lizard! Lizard! 🦎

Okay we were late this week because there is a monster flu going around, but despite Jack's voice almost falling apart the new episode is now live on all platforms.

We talk defenders votes, our top five in an open draft, premiership seedings and more.

Listen to Round Twenty One - Full Support of the Boys wherever you get your podcasts:
🎙️https://spoti.fi/3xoZYv5
🍎https://apple.co/3VktnQZ
📺https://bit.ly/4cLXyqn

🔗https://linktr.ee/thebackpocket

New Episode Messiah Wanganeen-Milera out now.

We talk one of the more forgettable weekends of football in recent memory outside of some records being set, the Jeremy Coleman century hunt, Greg Swann getting on our bad side already, and if Clarko has lost his edge.

Listen wherever you get your podcasts:
🎙️https://spoti.fi/3xoZYv5
🍎https://apple.co/3VktnQZ
📺https://bit.ly/4cLXyqn

🔗https://linktr.ee/thebackpocket