The 2026 footy tipping market splits into official competitions, editorial tipsters, and prediction models. The challenge is figuring out which platform or tipster actually gives you a decent read on the game.
Correct tips in Squiggle 2026 overall comp: 163 ·
Self-described reach of ESPN Footy Tips: Australia’s largest tipping site ·
Official AFL tipping competition host: tipping.afl.com.au ·
SEN Tipping sports covered: AFL and NRL
Quick snapshot
- Run on tipping.afl.com.au
- Create or join a league via the Official AFL Tipping app
- Official AFL competition with prizes (tipping.afl.com.au) (tipping.afl.com.au)
- The Age AFL Expert Tipsters — round-by-round tips
- 2026 season coverage from named AFL expert tipsters (The Age)
- Published AFL expert tipsters, updated weekly (The Age)
- ESPN Footy Tips covers AFL and NRL
- SEN Tipping covers AFL and NRL
- League play with family, friends and workmates (ESPN, SEN) (ESPN Footy Tips)
- Squiggle is an AFL prediction and analysis tool
- 2026 overall comp correct tips tracked on Squiggle
- Models assessed with MAE and Bits on Squiggle
Five core platforms dominate the footy tipping landscape in 2026, each serving a distinct role.
| Label | Value |
|---|---|
| Official AFL tipping competition | tipping.afl.com.au |
| AFL expert tipsters in editorial | theage.com.au/sport/afl/expert-tips |
| Large AFL/NRL tipping site | footytips.espn.com.au |
| AFL prediction and analysis | squiggle.com.au |
| SEN footy tipping platform | sentipping.com.au |
What is the best footy tipping app?
What should a footy tipping app include?
- Free entry to competitions
- Weekly tip submission
- League creation and tracking
- Prize eligibility
The Official AFL Tipping app, refreshed for the 2026 season, covers all of these. It is free for all users on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store and allows users to submit weekly tips and follow results as they happen. AFL.com.au’s Round 2 tipping article writes: “Make your own call via the Official AFL Tipping App, which is free in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.”
- Decide whether you need AFL-only or AFL + NRL coverage.
- Confirm the competition is free and lets you create a league.
- Check whether the tipsters are named or the accuracy metric is disclosed.
- Cross-check the official app’s results with editorial experts when you want context.
Which apps cover AFL and NRL tipping?
AFL only: Official AFL Tipping ·
AFL + NRL: ESPN Footy Tips, SEN Tipping
The distinction is important for fans of both codes. ESPN Footy Tips self-describes as Australia’s largest AFL and NRL tipping site, offering an app where users can follow expert tips (ESPN). SEN Tipping offers AFL and NRL tipping competitions with prizes (SEN Tipping).
How do AFL.com.au and ESPN Footy Tips compare?
- AFL.com.au runs the official tipping competition, directing users to the app for submissions (AFL.com.au).
- ESPN Footy Tips promotes itself as a larger platform covering both codes with editorial integration (ESPN).
- SEN Tipping adds a gamified prize structure for sustained play (SEN Tipping).
The implication: if you only care about AFL, the official app gives you the straightest line to the competition’s official results. If you want NRL as well, ESPN or SEN are your only free options among the major platforms.
Who are the best free football tipsters?
Where can I find free AFL tips and predictions?
- The Age AFL Expert Tipsters — round-by-round for 2026
- ESPN Footy Tips — expert picks for Opening Round, Wildcard Round, Grand Final
- AFL.com.au — season predictions for premiers, wooden spooners, Brownlow
Free AFL tips and predictions are published by several established outlets. The Age runs a round-by-round expert tipster series for the 2026 season, with named tipsters making weekly picks (The Age AFL Expert Tipsters). AFL.com.au publishes its own expert predictions package for 2026, including premiers, wooden spooners, the Brownlow Medal, and Rising Star (AFL.com.au predictions).
Which AFL expert tipsters are named in 2026?
- AFL.com.au tipsters are named in articles like Expert Predictions for 2026 (AFL.com.au).
- ESPN names its analysts in round-by-round tipping articles across the 2026 season (ESPN).
- Fox Footy surveyed 13 named experts for its 2026 AFLW predictions (Fox Sports).
What are the best expert predictions for over 2.5 goals today?
Over 2.5 goals is a soccer betting metric, not an AFL statistic. Footy tipsters predict margins, head-to-head winners, and awards, not goal counts.
The phrase ‘over 2.5 goals today’ refers to a soccer betting format, not Australian footy tipping. Tipsters typically predict match winners, margins, or head-to-head results. Sportsbet’s AFL Wildcard Round 2026 page, for example, included specific head-to-head predictions like Collingwood by 3 points and Carlton by 14 points (Sportsbet tips).
The catch: free tips vary wildly in depth. A named expert from The Age provides context and reasoning. A betting website tip table provides numbers. Neither is inherently better — they serve different decision-making styles.
Who is the best AFL tipper today?
Who tipped what AFL 2026?
- Squiggle tracks 163 correct tips in its 2026 overall comp (Squiggle).
- Sportsbet tipped Collingwood by 3 points and Carlton by 14 points for Wildcard Round (Sportsbet).
- AFL.com.au described Brisbane as the overwhelming favorite to win another premiership and West Coast as the clear favorite to finish bottom of the ladder (AFL.com.au predictions).
The question implies a single named leader, but the sources in the 2026 ecosystem don’t crown one. Squiggle’s 2026 overall comp data provides one hard number — 163 correct tips — but the site uses Mean Absolute Error and Bits to assess serious prediction models, not just raw win counts (Squiggle).
How does Squiggle rank AFL tipsters?
Squiggle ranks serious prediction models using MAE and Bits, not just the number of correct tips. A model with a low MAE is considered more reliable over a season than one with a high raw tip count. As of 2026, Squiggle tracks 163 correct tips in its overall comp.
What metrics matter in AFL tipping accuracy?
- MAE (Mean Absolute Error): average error of tip margin
- Bits: information gain over baseline
- Correct Tips: raw number of wins
- Expert Strike Rate: percentage of tips correct
What this means: the best tipper title depends on your preferred metric. Squiggle’s MAE probably says more about long-term skill than a single correct call does, but no unified leaderboard across all platforms exists to crown an overall winner.
What is the most accurate football prediction site?
What metrics measure football prediction accuracy?
MAE: Average error of tip margin ·
Bits: Information gain ·
Correct Tips: Raw wins
None of the top sources in this space claims to be the single most accurate site. Instead, accuracy is measured using established metrics. Squiggle applies MAE and Bits to evaluate its prediction models (Squiggle methodology). ESPN and AFL.com.au use straightforward correct-tip leaderboards, while the editorial press reports on strike lines without a formal accuracy score.
How can I compare AFL prediction sites?
- Check if the site publishes its accuracy metric (Squiggle does) (Squiggle).
- Compare sample size: a tipster with 100 tips is more reliable than one with 10.
- Look for disclosed methodology rather than just promotional win claims.
What is the best source for football predictions?
No source in the current landscape claims to be the single most accurate prediction site. Squiggle provides the most transparent methodology, while editorial sources like The Age provide the most context. A site without a disclosed metric is marketing, not a prediction model.
Why this matters: a site that only reports Correct Tips is telling you what it won, not what it missed. Squiggle’s use of MAE and Bits gives a more honest picture of long-term prediction skill.
Can AI accurately predict football games?
What are football prediction models?
- Statistical models (e.g., Squiggle) use historical data and probability (Squiggle).
- Betting market models use real-time odds (e.g., Sportsbet) (Sportsbet).
- Editorial models use expert consensus (e.g., The Age).
AI and statistical models are increasingly applied to AFL predictions, but they are probabilistic, not deterministic. Squiggle is a prime example — it uses data models to generate forecasts and tracks its performance with MAE and Bits. Sportsbet’s Wildcard Round predictions combined data with betting market movements for its Collingwood by 3 and Carlton by 14 forecasts (Sportsbet methodology).
What are the limits of AI football predictions?
- AI can output probabilities, not certainties.
- Upsets are frequent enough that no model claims perfect foresight.
- Context (injuries, weather) is hard for pure data models to integrate.
How do prediction models compare with expert AFL tipsters?
Models: Probabilities, metrics (MAE/Bits) ·
Tipsters: Reasoning, context, named accountability
The trade-off: expert tipsters explain why they think something will happen. AI models just tell you the probability. The choice depends on whether you want a reason or just a number. Neither method outputs guaranteed results, which is why the most honest prediction tool is one that publishes its track record.
What are some good footy tips for this week?
What are the AFL Round 17 tips and predictions for 2026?
- The Age publishes round-by-round expert tips for the 2026 season (The Age).
- ESPN and SEN publish tips for each round ahead of game day (ESPN).
For Round 17 of the 2026 AFL season, the most reliable sources are the ones that publish round-by-round tips. The Age AFL Expert Tipsters provides weekly tips. AFL.com.au runs its own tipping competition where users can submit picks. The source ecosystem for Round 17 tips depends on the week’s specific matchups, but the pattern holds: editorial sites publish named picks, while tipping platforms generate their data from user leagues.
What are some hot football tips for today?
Check ESPN Footy Tips or SEN Tipping for the latest expert selections. No source in the provided data guarantees a winning tip for any specific round — tipping remains a game of prediction, not certainty.
Where can I find AFL expert tips 2026?
- The Age — theage.com.au/sport/afl/expert-tips
- ESPN Footy Tips — footytips.espn.com.au
- AFL.com.au — afl.com.au/news
- SEN Tipping — sentipping.com.au
- Squiggle — squiggle.com.au
The pattern: the best tips for this week come from sources that have a track record you can check. A tipster from The Age publishing for 22 rounds is easier to trust than a tip with no attribution.
Footy Tipsters Comparison: Official, Editorial, and Prediction Models
One glance at how the major tipping options stack up reveals a clear pattern: no single platform does everything.
| Platform | Type | AFL | NRL | Cost | Prizes | Accuracy Metric |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Official AFL Tipping | Official League | Yes | No | Free | Yes | Correct Tips |
| ESPN Footy Tips | Large Platform | Yes | Yes | Free | Yes | Correct Tips |
| SEN Tipping | Large Platform | Yes | Yes | Free | Yes | Correct Tips |
| The Age Expert Tips | Editorial | Yes | No | Free | No | Expert Consensus |
| Squiggle Predictions | Data Model | Yes | No | Free | No | MAE / Bits |
| Sportsbet Tips | Betting Platform | Yes | Yes | Free | No | Market Odds |
The pattern: formal tipping leagues track correct tips, data models track error, and editorial tips track consensus. A user who cares about their scorecard should look at Squiggle’s MAE, not just the win column.
Accuracy Metrics in AFL Prediction Sites
The two standard metrics for rating AFL prediction models are Mean Absolute Error (MAE) and Bits, but most tipping sites don’t publish them.
| Metric | What It Measures | Who Uses It | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| MAE | Average error of tip margin | Squiggle | Punishes consistent small misses |
| Bits | Information gain over baseline | Squiggle | Measures skill vs random chance |
| Correct Tips | Raw number of wins | All platforms | Simple but doesn’t account for margin |
| Expert Strike Rate | % of tips correct | The Age, ESPN | Context dependent on sample size |
The implication: a site that only reports Correct Tips is telling you what it won, not what it missed. Squiggle’s use of MAE and Bits gives a more honest picture of long-term prediction skill.
2026 AFL Tipping Timeline
The 2026 season has already produced several key moments for footy tippers.
| Period | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 AFL season | The Age publishes AFL 2026 season match tips and round-by-round predictions | The Age |
| AFL Wildcard Round 2026 | ESPN publishes expert tipping coverage for wildcard round | ESPN |
| AFL Grand Final 2026 | ESPN publishes expert tipping coverage for the grand final | ESPN |
| 2026 tipping competitions | AFL.com.au, ESPN Footy Tips, and SEN Tipping run AFL and NRL tipping leagues | Multiple platforms |
The pattern: editorial sites are best for round-by-round context, but official competitions remain the reference point for verified results.
What’s Clear and What’s Unclear in 2026 Footy Tipping
Confirmed facts
- tipping.afl.com.au is the official AFL footy tipping competition (AFL.com.au).
- ESPN Footy Tips runs AFL and NRL tipping competitions (ESPN).
- SEN Tipping offers AFL and NRL tipping with prizes (SEN Tipping).
- The Age publishes AFL expert tipsters for 2026 (The Age).
- Squiggle tracks 2026 AFL tips and uses MAE and Bits (Squiggle).
- Sportsbet published specific head-to-head predictions for the 2026 AFL Wildcard Round (Sportsbet).
What’s unclear
- Who is the single best AFL tipper today.
- Which football prediction site is the most accurate.
- Whether AI can accurately predict football games with guaranteed results.
- Winning tips for AFL Round 17, 2026.
- The exact source of ‘over 2.5 goals’ AFL data.
- Whether any footy tipster can guarantee a winning tip.
Confirmed facts outnumber open questions here, but the open questions are precisely the ones that require trusting a named methodology.
What the Platforms Say About Themselves
“The Official AFL Tipping app is free for all users and allows users to submit weekly tips and follow results as they happen.”
– Official AFL Tipping app, Google Play listing
“ESPN Footy Tips is Australia’s largest AFL and NRL tipping site.”
– ESPN, self-description in tipping coverage
“AFL.com.au expert predictions for 2026 include Brisbane as the overwhelming favorite to win the premiership and West Coast as the clear favorite to finish bottom.”
– AFL.com.au, 2026 expert predictions
For anyone looking to make smarter tipping choices in the 2026 AFL season, the landscape is fragmented by design. Official apps offer verified competition data, editorial tipsters provide narrative and reasoning, and prediction models bring statistical discipline. The best approach is not to ask which single source is best, but to decide whether you value a trackable metric, a trusted name, or a free league with prizes. For the average footy fan, the consequence of relying on a single source is real: you might miss the broader narrative that informs the tip. Tapping the official AFL tipping app for your league picks and reading The Age’s experts for context covers both bases without locking you into a single source of truth.
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Frequently asked questions
Are AFL tipping competitions free to play?
Yes. The Official AFL Tipping app, ESPN Footy Tips, and SEN Tipping all offer free entry competitions for the 2026 season.
How do I create a footy tipping competition?
Platforms like tipping.afl.com.au, ESPN Footy Tips, and SEN Tipping allow you to create or join a league with family, friends, and workmates.
What prizes can free footy tipping competitions offer?
AFL.com.au, ESPN, and SEN all promote prize-based tipping competitions for the 2026 season.
When are AFL expert tips published each round?
The Age and ESPN publish expert tips for each round ahead of the weekend. AFL.com.au publishes its weekly tips on the platform as well.
Why should I compare multiple AFL tipsters before choosing one?
Accuracy metrics vary. Comparing Squiggle’s MAE with an expert’s strike rate gives a fuller picture of prediction reliability than relying on any single number.
Do footy tipsters guarantee correct tips?
No. No source in the current landscape guarantees a winning tip, and all predictions remain probabilistic.
The pattern: free-to-play is standard across all major platforms; the real differentiator is the source behind the tips.
James Mitchell is Editor-in-Chief at Aussie Insightly, overseeing editorial standards, publication decisions and corrections.