For years both West Coast and North Melbourne have battled for the mantle of worst team in the AFL. But with both teams continuing to replenish their young stocks in an effort to climb back up the ladder, there could be a new challenger on the rise ready to follow in their footsteps.
Just a year after being one win away from a Grand Final berth, the direction of the Port Adelaide Football Club is unclear.
On one hand, a handful of decisions over the past couple of years would indicate a side on the cusp of finally capitalising on their premiership potential. On the other side however, the departure of experience and talent in recent months - which could only exacerbate further next year - suggests the power might be running out at Alberton.
For a side that at the conclusion of the 2024 season had featured in September in four out of the last five years, it's an unusual spot they find themselves in. Especially when their list boasts arguably the best player in the competition in superstar midfielder Zak Butters. But arguably every Power fan's biggest source of hope heading into 2026 may also end up being their biggest source of anxiety.
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As Carlton fans learnt with Tom De Koning this year, nothing holds a team back on-the-field like an out-of-contract star flirting with the idea of leaving. Butters, whose contract expires at the end of the 2026 season, has been courted by a number of Victorian clubs over the past 12 months, discussions that will continue to heat up - and in turn become a bigger distraction - as the calendar year flips over.
For a side that in 2025 fell woefully short of their premiership expectations with a 13th-placed finish, it's hardly a narrative they can afford to have derail their 2026 campaign before it's even begun. But it may be inescapable.
For Butters, a boy from Bacchus Marsh in north-west Victoria, there's not much left pulling for him to stay in Alberton, South Australia - 700km away. The Power side that made a Preliminary Final just over a year ago is already vastly different.
A botched 2024 trade period that saw them effectively give up Dan Houston and their 2025 first-round pick (which was slated for pick six before compensation, academy and father-son selections compromised the draft) for Jack Lukosius foreshadowed the Power's downfall.
Consequently, at last week's national draft the sixth-worst team in the competition in 2025 shockingly did not make one single selection - the first team to ever do so in the history of the AFL draft. They would eventually add some 'young' talent in the rookie draft, bringing in Jack Watkins, who is due to turn 25 in December.
The real reason behind the pick though of course is that Watkins is a close mate of Butters, something the Power are hopeful will help convince the two-time All-Australian to remain in the black, white and teal. Convincing Butters to stay is a tall task for the rookie-listed Watkins though, especially when he'll have to fight off interest from Victorian powerhouses that are genuine contenders for a flag, and can offer Butters a chance to play closer to home.
Perhaps more importantly though, it's less about who is arriving at Alberton ahead of 2026, and more about who is leaving.
387-game legend Travis Boak officially hung up the boots in 2025, leaving a massive void. While the peak of his playing days were behind him as Boak entered his late 30's, he still was hugely important in driving the culture of the Power, and his absence will be noticeable next year.
Then there's the coaching change. The controversial succession plan has somewhat been a success so far. Ken Hinkley saw out the year without stepping down, giving clear air for the Josh Carr era to begin at Port Adelaide.
It arguably already had started though, with many believing by the end of the season Hinkley had mostly stayed on for the optics, allowing Carr to handle the bulk of the tactical responsibility away from the prying eyes of the media. In which case, the results were hardly anything to be optimistic about. In the last six weeks of the season, the Power lost five games, including a heavy 98-point Showdown defeat to Adelaide.
Inheriting an already struggling team, while dealing with the unclear future of Butters is hardly an ideal way for Carr to begin his official senior coaching career. Then there's the fact that Hinkley, who Butters is widely considered to be very close to, is the only senior coach Butters has ever had during his AFL career. Will his absence provide just another reason for Butters to cut the lights on his tenure with the Power?
Couple that with the fact that long-time Port Adelaide football boss Chris Davies was poached by Carlton, and it's clear the club is in a period of transition off-the-field, which is often reflected on-the-field, too.
If Butters does indeed depart though, then he will undoubtedly be the biggest domino to fall. And if he does, he will leave them depleted, after they elected not to maximise his value in this year's trade period despite his looming free agency.
Alongside Boak, other regulars of their finals sides in recent years, such as Charlie Dixon, Willie Rioli and Jeremy Finlayson, have retired, and stars such as Aliir Aliir and former Brownlow medallist Ollie Wines aren't getting any younger.
Their recent approach of forgoing draft picks in order to hand mammoth six-year deals to low-impact players such as Jack Lukosius has unsurprisingly left them without much youth coming into support the likes of Jason Horne-Francis, Mitch Georgiades and Jase Burgoyne.
All of it could mean that if the Butters decision doesn't go their way, the Power are destined for a tedious rebuild right as Tasmania are set to enter the competition.