Footy Tips: Unanimous Swans Call, Fremantle Edge and Grlj’s Thursday Debut

All 12 experts have picked the Swans to overrun Brisbane in Round 1, a unanimous signal that shapes the early running in this season’s tipping race. These footy tips point toward a Round 1 where injuries and debutants could matter as much as form, with Fremantle favoured at the Cattery and Sam Grlj confirmed to debut for Richmond at the MCG.

Swans’ unanimous pick and Brisbane absences

Twelve experts selecting Sydney to beat Brisbane is the clearest confirmed state in the context. The Lions will be missing Harris Andrews, Hugh McCluggage and Zac Bailey, and the consensus among the panel is that those absences leave Brisbane vulnerable to an Opening Round defeat and an early 0-2 start to the season. The experts’ alignment on the Swans contrasts with more split views across other fixtures listed by the panel.

Footy Tips: Josh Gabelich’s lone Richmond call and Fremantle favour

Within the same set of tips, Josh Gabelich is the lone panellist picking Richmond to defeat Carlton in the Thursday night clash at the MCG, while Fremantle are favoured to give last year’s grand finalist Geelong a hard time at the Cattery. The tip lines carried individual margins and club selections, and the list of Round 1 matchups underpinned those judgments.

For readers using these footy tips, two drivers stand out: personnel availability and preseason form. Brisbane’s named absences are explicit within the tips, and Fremantle’s status as a challenger for Geelong appears in multiple expert selections. That combination of player-level detail and consensus picks is steering early sentiment among the panel.

If the experts’ current consensus on Sydney continues, the immediate direction points to the Swans opening the season with momentum and Brisbane beginning 0-2, reinforcing the panel’s early leaderboard tilt.

Should Richmond’s selection choices and debut dynamics shift—specifically if Sam Grlj’s inclusion alters Richmond’s structure or if Nick Vlastuin’s conditioning shortfall persists—Thursday night at the MCG could produce an upset relative to the lone Richmond vote highlighted by Josh Gabelich.

Grlj to debut for Richmond at the MCG on Thursday night

Sam Grlj has been confirmed to make his AFL debut for Richmond against Carlton at the MCG on Thursday night. He will pull on the jumper for the first time in the Round 1 clash scheduled for 7: 30pm AEDT, which is 4: 30am ET. Coach Adem Yze delivered the call-up, and Nick Vlastuin has fallen short of the required conditioning to play against Carlton.

Grlj was selected with pick eight in the 2025 AFL Draft and impressed across the pre-season at the Swinburne Centre. The context notes his leadership as a captain for Vic Metro U18 and at Camberwell Grammar, and his usage mostly through midfield and across half back suggests a role that will test Carlton’s structure on Thursday night.

Grlj also stood out in VFL appearances in Round 19 and 20 last season. The file lists him as a 182cm Canterbury product who impressed with speed and an ability to break lines, including a noted pass that led to a goal in a practice match against Essendon.

For Thursday night specifically, the confirmed milestone in the context is Richmond versus Carlton at the MCG at 7: 30pm AEDT (4: 30am ET), when Grlj will make his debut and when early-season footy tips will meet the scoreboard. What the context does not resolve is how these expert selections will translate on-field: the tips reflect panel views and player availability, but they do not establish which single factor—injuries, debut form, or matchup nuances—will decide each result.

Still, the next confirmed signal is clear in the provided material: the Round 1 results, and especially the MCG clash on Thursday night, will resolve whether the unanimous Swans pick, Fremantle’s favoured status, and Grlj’s debut align with the experts’ footy tips or produce surprises that reshape early-season consensus.