2026 lists have to be updated IRL first but I assume after the SSP end and before “Opening Round”
The new pro team season is 3 weeks, lines it up almost perfectly
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New rules have been added to the game. Not sure if they’ve tweaked the AI or not ? But running patterns seem better. Albeit I only played one 5 min qtr so was a very small sample size
So it’s in a test phase I’d say, This all seems to be in Play Now mode. I didn’t see it in PT @DRebie
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Centre bounce is gone
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Last disposal between the arcs is in
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Kick outs feel a touch faster to make a decesion i’d speed it up by 2 second i rkn
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Still have FF/FB starting in goal square which isn’t required
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Sub still active, which it’s just a 5 man bench now
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Stand rule not fully in forced can still double tap sprint to pull the player out from standing the mark
Not sure how they would in force the new ruck nomination rule, they would have to remove the cut scene but might be too hard to implement, maybe it’s just random and based on fatigue if your ruck is below 25% maybe he isn’t part of the ball up. tough one
Shrug rule - We don’t really the animation in game so maybe it just doesn’t get put in to avoid any issues.
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Anyone know the most efficient way to pack a Brent Harvey card? Thanks! 
When will we get an AFL / AFLW list update
When AFL lists are finalised mate @Lachlan2612
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Interesting, do we think this is just a tester before the season starts? Would love to see a few gameplay changes implemented alongside the new rosters
Contested ball and marking would be the biggest priorities in my opinion
It’s probably not a “tester” but with a 3 weeks PT season rather then 53 days whatever it is, i’d say there will be a few months of big upgrades to the game.
What exactly would you want to see changed with contested ball and marking? New animations ?
If you’re a AFL 23 OG, the devs were pretty good at drip feeding suggestions from us into the 2nd year of the game (Manual handballing, kicking etc) so I expect to see some new stuff over the next year with hopefully a AFL27/28 to drop in May 2027 ….. maybe !!!
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Personally I’d love to see more margin for error in the contest, mainly in stoppages. More scrappy gameplay, higher level of physicality/tackling would go a long way. I feel like the way it is right now there’s the hit-out, then usually only 2-3 possessions and then it’s deep inside 50
For marking I think I’d do my head in trying to work out a good way to do it lol. It is MUCH improved from AFL23 however. Maybe more of a manual style like we’ve seen with handballing and kicking. So for instance positioning matters way more etc. What do you think?
Yep you’re definitely right about how Big Ant updates its games in a big scale even through to the 2nd year. We saw how the day/night cycle came in at the end of last year. I do wonder if they’ve been working to make that where it is occurring throughout gameplay rather than changing at half time. Would definitely feel much more completed
How about you, what would you like to see improved?
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I harp on about manual marking and honestly that would complete the holy trinty of manualness (kicking handball and marking) which would be nice and maybe a bonus fo manual aim goal kicking??? For marking, positioning doesnt seem to actually matter atm and the random 3rdf man goingover the top of players is bloody annoying
Additionally, I wouldn’t mind seeing manual ball gathering. so like using R1 to ‘go get possession of the pill’, where you have to be in range to get it right. if you are too far from the ball, there is an animation which see the player ‘dive’ or get off their feet to get the ball and if you get tackled you get pinged for HTB. so introduce a bit of scrappyness to a game trying to be TOO polished to its own detriment
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@j_170 @itsandy09
Marking
So right now the way it seems to be coded is it will either drag your player to the drop zone or if it’s a deep 1 on 1 it puts you into their new jostle animation. I don’t mind the idea of being able to manually take your player to the drop zone, it would make the game harder and less predictable.
Contested play
I personally think it’s been majorly improved with bumps\ ai shepherds working a lot better in game. Drop marks and fumbles are more frequent which causes the crazy chaos we love about footy.
The stoppages could do with an overhaul with ruck timing if its not at all perfect the ball drops randomly at the feet which allows for tackles or even what i’d love to see is the speed being able to pick the ball and run it out of the stoppages.
I’ve noticed the one handed scoop animation lately which i’ve only seen a few times, stuff like that is great.
The biggest thing with a footy game is to make it less up and down and make you use the oval, which leads into a whole other discussion on smarter AI cutting off lanes and forcing you to take a different avenue to goal.
The bones of the game are great, so I can’t really fault the direction it’s going in !
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so with my idea of the manual ‘grab possession of the ball’. lets say you get it right in terms of timing and distance. that would allow such animations to occur and also allow the player to maintain their speed. whereas if the player doesnt get it right it slows them down and even a slower animation to get the ball.
Reward good timing and judging of distance and if a player doesnt get it right a bit of a scrap and fight to win the stoppage.
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Yeah I don’t mind it, I try to use the tap along the ground too. The animation is too slow and clunky though. Stuff like that just makes those loose ball scenarios heaps better
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yeah the being dragged into position is annoying especially when i play player career, where taking control of a single player, I wouldnt mind being able to work on different positioning in marking contest. I play Jack henry (DEF) and not being able to hone my craft in positioning and cutting off space in marking and defensive work was a missed opportunity.
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Good ideas. Would also work well if AI got this programmed in. I think they had what they called it archetypes such as lockdown, intercept etc for defenders. Would make those more realistic and important if just say an interceptor archetype played off their man more often then not. Or I think that’s even a tactic now to have an interceptor. Not sure how well it works though
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We all seem to have pretty good suggestions, at the end of the day we are all probably playing the game more than the devs. So most suggestions are all coming from a good place.
Hopefully we can get a bit of a roadmap/feedback what’s in the pipeline, we haven’t had patch notes for about 6 months compared to their other titles. So let’s just hope with the 2026 season approaching the player base gets a bit of clarification on everything.
Keen as though to see what may be on the way for us all !!!
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A few things I’d like to see improved after getting back into it over the last few days:
- Ai is terrible at kicking out and will almost always turn it over - I think this has been improved in today’s update but it still feels like the Ai almost never go long down the line when there’s no short pass options.
- I feel like there could be a fair bit more variety in tackling, at the moment it’s either you successfully tackle or you don’t:
- I’d love to see a missed tackle animation that slows your player a little.
- It also needs a “half-tackle” of some sort, one where you don’t quite get your timing/positioning right so you manage to get a hand on your opponent which slows them down slightly but the tackle slips so you don’t stop them completely.
- Game could also really use a ‘steady step’ button, basically a speed between sprinting/jogging and being stopped that allows you to make quick/sudden moves but makes you move at a slower pace overall while pressing it.
- Would be handy for defending a player without getting sucked into the tackle/guarding space between the ball carrier and a teammate or when you’re running in a direction while in possession but then want to slow up cause your options have been closed down.
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Good suggestions.
Also I think player positioning before a contest is a big one. Right now it feels like a tiny window where you are effectively choosing which animation of the contest you’re going to see with a modifier on certain types. e.g. if you’re running back with the flight it’s almost certainly a grab; if it’s a long ball drop and two players are waiting then standing behind seems to increase your chances for some reason.
Which is fine, there are worse systems, but there is a definitely a feeling that you are choosing your poison each time.
Maybe that looks good on paper but the consistency of the ‘modifier’ feels a little repetitive after a while
Does anyone know if BigAnt releases patch notes any more? It’s hard to get excited for updates when I have no idea what’s coming. It seems like they stopped adding patch notes on steam in September last year.
Also, how do BigAnt not have a checklist of things to do with each new pack drop? They never add the filter for the new card pack (state of origin in this case)
I’ve unlocked the level 5 Michael Voss reward but it’s no where to be seen in my unlocked cards. This game continues to frustrate me. It’s the simple things…
There’s still wind in marvel stadium. There’s no filter for player number in pro team. Cards still duplicate when scrolling through them. Instead of fixing the filter for each players state of origin they just remove it and hope we don’t notice? The insane and random wait times when I select into or back out of any menu in pro team because it’s “downloading data”. There’s no ladder leaders on day 1 of the new season. What’s with that? Key Forwards not counting as a “forward” when it comes to completing forward-based objectives but they still appear in the “forwards” tab when viewing your player cards. There’s no tab for “rucks”. It’s the simple stuff that makes a world of difference.
This game needs a dedicated season for fixing things and adding genuine quality of life updates. All we get is new objectives, packs and updated coach battles. Give us a bit more I am BEGGING.
I understand being passionate about AFL and video games but we shouldn’t support these poor standards in QA. The QA is truly deplorable. Comment deleted by the moderator in 3…2… 1… because god forbid they actually listen to my feedback and instead they will delete my comment to protect their reputation.
I’d love to see this game succeed but it still fails to do so many simple things not even from a gameplay perspective.
I’m not mad. Just severely disappointed. It really does seem like there’s only one person still working this game. Really disappointed with this season.
Heres a question, how do you stop players from speeding up or teleporting to you to tackle you when you are running with the ball. I find often especially if I try kick too fast from a mark, I will be instantly tackled and give away a free for incorrect disposal