Analysis by Paul
At a glance
Top 5 Scorers
| Player | Games | Average | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Will Ashcroft | 23 | 95.5 | 38 |
| Chad Warner | 23 | 88.1 | 66 |
| Jake Soligo | 23 | 82.8 | 98 |
| Sam Banks | 22 | 79.2 | 117 |
| Zach Reid | 10 | 75.4 | 143 |
Season Summary
I believe this had been said about the Pukekos in seasons past, but if this team’s objective was to secure the best possible draft picks and bide their time as their young talent develops (and one suspects this indeed was their objective) then they have smashed their KPIs with flying colours.
However, when the aim of the game is to win, a losing culture can be hard to shake and, given that the 2026 objectives and outlook may be similar to the 2025 ones; the fans will eventually get restless. But with trophies in the banks, and a successful draft and trade crop, I think the Soldiers will be happy with where their team is at. Trust the process.
Season Grade – B
All-Australians
Nil.
DangerGawn Votes
| Rank | Player | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| 30 | Will Ashcroft | 7 |
| 36 | Jake Soligo | 6 |
| 37 | Joel Jeffrey | 6 |
| 63 | Jase Burgoyne | 3 |
| 69 | Zach Reid | 3 |
| 78 | Sam Banks | 3 |
| 87 | Darcy Jones | 2 |
| 106 | Max Michalanney | 1 |
| 121 | Max Hall | 1 |
Pre-Season Draft
| Round | Pick | Player | GP | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Sid Draper | 6 | 38.17 |
| 1 | 3 | Jagga Smith | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | 4 | Harvey Langford | 18 | 64.56 |
| 1 | 7 | Tobie Travaglia | 7 | 46.57 |
| 1 | 9 | Finn O’Sullivan | 19 | 51.32 |
| 1 | 10 | Bo Allan | 4 | 38.5 |
| 3 | 23 | Luke Trainor | 19 | 58.68 |
| 3 | 24 | Jacob Hopper | 21 | 84.57 |
| 4 | 32 | Murphy Reid | 20 | 55.6 |
| 6 | 60 | Cooper Simpson | 1 | 64 |
| 7 | 62 | Aaron Cadman | 5 | 63.6 |
| 9 | 82 | Harry Boyd | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | 162 | Oscar Ryan | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | 167 | Henry Hustwaite | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | 182 | Marc Pittonet | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | 187 | Darcy Fort | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | 190 | Sam Banks | 17 | 79.82 |
| 20 | 197 | Logan McDonald | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | 199 | Liam Fawcett | 0 | 0 |
Most Inspired Selection
Pick 190 – Sam Banks
In a draft full of young talent, it was a 19th round pick that proved the best of the bunch. Banks had the ball in his third of the ground with the regularity of a game of ping pong, but stood up under the pressure with poise and was given increasing responsibility of the kick-ins and as the outlet from defensive 50. As Vlastuin and Short age, there is opportunity for his role to expand in this team, and he’ll get a fire-hose equivalent of opportunities over the next few seasons, as this team tries to remind itself of how to control games. And in true Alex fashion, demonstration of talent equals demonstration of trade value, and he promptly shipped him out, so I guess the Devils will get to discover how bright this kid’s star will shine.
A shout out to the Jagga Smith’s, Harvey Langford’s and Murphy Reid’s of this draft, as this was all about taking shots at long term high end talent, and coach Alex should feel confident he has achieved that objective. That being said, when you break up a championship potential team to do so, you’d seriously hope you’d tick that box.
Trades
| Team | Received |
|---|---|
| Soldiers | – Chad Warner – MSHB Round 3 pick |
| MSHB | – Lachie Neale – Ben Keays – Soldiers Round 10 pick |
| Vipers | – Joel Jeffrey – Max Hall – Aaron Cadman – Love Sparkles Round 1 pick |
| Soldiers | – Lachie Neale – Ben Keays |
| Vipers | – Darcy Fogarty |
| Soldiers | – Lethal Vipers Round 5 pick |
| Soldiers | – Josh Treacy |
| Devils | – Defenestrators Round 2 pick – Solomon’s Soldiers Round 5 pick |
| Soldiers | – Defenestrators 2026 Round 2 pick – Solomon’s Soldiers 2026 Round 11 pick (returned) |
| Defenestrators | – Sam Docherty – Solomon’s Soldiers 2026 Round 6 pick – Solomon’s Soldiers 2026 Round 7 pick |
| Soldiers | – Leo Lombard – Darcy Fogarty |
| Defenestrators | – Jacob Hopper – MaherShalalHashBaz 2026 Round 1 pick – Solomon’s Soldiers 2026 Round 11 pick |
| Soldiers | – Love Sparkles 2016 Round 1 pick |
| Sparkles | – Roughnecks Round 2 pick (pick 16) – Taxmanian Devils Round 2 pick (pick 19) |
| Soldiers | – Taxmanian Devils 2016 Round 1 pick |
| Devils | – Threat Level Midnight Round 2 pick (pick 14) – Love Sparkles Round 2 pick (pick 20) |
| Soldiers | – MSHB 2016 Round 1 pick |
| MSHB | – Caleb Daniel – Love Sparkles Round 3 pick (pick 30) |
| Soldiers | – Elijah Hewett – MSHB Round 17 pick (pick 167) |
| MSHB | – MSHB Round 5 pick (pick 47) – Soldiers Round 13 pick (pick 122) |
| Soldiers | – Jake Soligo |
| MSHB | – Solomon’s Soldiers Round 3 pick (pick 22) – Roughnecks Round 5 pick (pick 46) |
| Soldiers | – Taxmanian Devils Round 1 pick (pick 9) |
| Devils | – Solomon Soldiers Round 2 pick (pick 12) – Threat Level Midnight Round 4 pick (pick 34) |
The best staffed front office in the league was at it again, working the phones and finding value in a raft of deals. Not quite the fire sale of 2024, but there is plenty of interesting moves here and my 2 paragraphs cannot do it justice. The first thing to note is that none of their top 5 scorers were on their list prior to 2025. Talent like Soligo, Lombard and Warner are sure to be mainstays of the team. But this came at the cost of high end draft picks, as the Soldiers at one stage held four 2026 1st round draft picks. However they still hold 3 of the first 7 picks, and four 2nd round picks in 2027, so they have still positioned themselves well to get high end talent.
A player and a future 1st for Lombard raised eyebrows at the draft, while Treacy for a 2nd and 5th feels steep. But the Soldiers got great returns for Caleb Daniel and Docherty, and essentially got Chad Warner for a 1st round pick, so on balance I think they’d be happy with how their trades have turned out.
List at end of 2025 season
| Player | Age | GP | Avg | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Will Ashcroft | 21 | 23 | 95.5 | 38 |
| Chad Warner | 24 | 23 | 88.1 | 66 |
| Jake Soligo | 22 | 23 | 82.8 | 98 |
| Sam Banks | 22 | 22 | 79.2 | 117 |
| Zach Reid | 23 | 10 | 75.4 | 143 |
| Jase Burgoyne | 22 | 20 | 74.2 | 154 |
| Rhylee West | 25 | 23 | 65.6 | 220 |
| Hugo Garcia | 20 | 17 | 65.5 | 221 |
| Cooper Sharman | 25 | 21 | 63.6 | 238 |
| Harvey Langford | 19 | 22 | 62.7 | 250 |
| Josh Treacy | 23 | 23 | 62.7 | 251 |
| Hayden Young | 24 | 8 | 62.5 | 255 |
| Darcy Jones | 21 | 22 | 62.1 | 263 |
| Elijah Hewett | 21 | 20 | 61 | 278 |
| Mani Liddy | 23 | 9 | 58.7 | 303 |
| Murphy Reid | 19 | 23 | 55.4 | 349 |
| Will Graham | 20 | 8 | 55.3 | 350 |
| Clay Hall | 20 | 13 | 55 | 355 |
| Luke Trainor | 19 | 21 | 55 | 356 |
| Nick Coffield | 25 | 4 | 55 | 357 |
| Max Michalanney | 21 | 19 | 54.8 | 363 |
| Caleb Windsor | 20 | 17 | 53.9 | 374 |
| Finn O’Sullivan | 19 | 22 | 53.7 | 379 |
| Nate Caddy | 20 | 17 | 53.5 | 385 |
| George Stevens | 20 | 2 | 52.5 | 396 |
| Elijah Tsatas | 20 | 5 | 49.8 | 432 |
| Harry O’Farrell | 19 | 6 | 47 | 464 |
| Cooper Harvey | 21 | 7 | 46.3 | 473 |
| Sam Marshall | 19 | 7 | 46 | 479 |
| Tobie Travaglia | 18 | 11 | 45.6 | 485 |
| Ethan Read | 20 | 19 | 43.2 | 510 |
| Calsher Dear | 20 | 8 | 42.9 | 514 |
| Tom Sims | 19 | 11 | 37.5 | 559 |
| Finnbar Maley | 22 | 7 | 35.7 | 572 |
| Tom Gross | 19 | 8 | 34.9 | 578 |
| Zane Duursma | 20 | 10 | 31 | 605 |
| Sid Draper | 19 | 10 | 29.3 | 620 |
| Bo Allan | 19 | 6 | 26.7 | 633 |
| Leonardo Lombard | 18 | 4 | 23 | 650 |
| Jagga Smith | 19 | 714 |
Player to watch in 2026
Jagga Smith
You could throw a blanket over a number of players who all have potential to make a statement and show they can be fantasy stars. But Smith arguably came into the draft with the highest fantasy ceiling, and the Blues midfield is desperately crying out for class and speed. How does he bounce back from the injury and how much do Carlton ease him into the side are the questions which shape how his scoring will come along, but given one suspects the Soldier’s aspirations for 2026 are not high, they won’t need to see high scoring just the glimpses of the junior talent that give sufficient hope that he can become the fantasy star he was so highly drafted to be.
Ashcroft is poised to be the alpha of the Brisbane midfield. While others like Banks, Draper, Langford, Reid, Travaglia, Lombard… and many more all have cases to be made that a window of opportunity could open for them and they have the talent to take hold of it and blossom. Just a matter of seeing which of these babies can turn into real Soldiers, and/or how long it takes to realise that potential. Good thing coach Alex has time.