Up the Guts

The Melbourne Football Club has hit the full reset button, appointing a new Senior Coach & shipping off star players to new homes. Stephen King has shown what he is looking for with his new team and wasted no time putting this into place and making some brutal calls. King is opting to go for Younger Players who will buy into the Club. He had no hesitation show Star Midfielder Clayton Oliver the door as someone he doesn't want around his club and comfortable letting Christian Petracca make his move to the Gold Coast Suns.It's definitely going to be a long year for the Demons, as they learn to play the Stephen King way, and younger players develop with more AFL experience. But, can a game-changing Midfield-Forward have another electric season, but do it more often and back up his All-Australian year last year? Can a Key Forward finally take control of this forward line after a disappointing 2025 season?Watch along as we answer and analyse all the questions and concerns for the Melbourne Football Club ahead of the 2026 Season! Like always thank you for listening to the show, if you did enjoy this episode, make sure to leave a like and comment, Turn on the Notification Bell so you don't miss an upload, hit the Subscribe Button!!Follow us on Instagram & Tik Tok for all our clips from the show and other news - @Uptheguts_

The Hollywood Hawks are back to showboat and excite the competition in 2026. A big body Midfielder from the Rookie Draft is already tearing up Pre Season & A Young Key Defender is ready to stand up and impact if called upon!With the absence of Will Day for at least 3-4 months, we discuss the Midfield options that the Hawks have. There's a player who has all the attributes to be a star and we have labelled as "The Wildcard", whose magnet can be thrown anywhere and make it a impact. Why Jai Newcombe being added as a Co-Captain could take some stress off James Sicily who needs to improve on his 2026 Season.

The GWS Giants are one of the most frustrating teams in the competition! On their best day they can look like the best team in the whole comp and then they can dish out performances that make them look like a bottom 10 side. What Giants will show up in 2026? Watch along while we discuss how they will look to shape the Midfield with the inclusion of Clayton Oliver, a Forward who must stay fit because of his importance to the side and a former First Round Draft Pick who is going into a Career Defining season!

After arguably, their best win in the Club's History winning their First Final away in Perth, the most exciting team in the Comp, just got even better with the huge inclusion of Christian Petracca!. They also just decided to add another quality forward in Jamarra Ugle-Hagan who could provide them anything. Things are only going to go up for the Suns in 2026 but just how good can they be and how far will they go? Will a 2024 First Round Draft Pick explode in 2026? Tune in to find out.

The team that I backed in to go all the way season, the Geelong Football Club, unfortunately came up short at the last hurdle. How will they respond? While they have superstars in their Midfield and across the ground, their Midfield is still searching for the next Midfielder to stand up, as it's a spot that could still use some boosting. Listen along as we preview the Cats Season and talk about that young Midfielder who needs to show a bit more & a defender who could cover Tom Stewart for him to float around from defence to the Midfield.