by RB » Fri Mar 20, 2026 3:32 pm
I think if all of the polls we have seen in the last week are broadly accurate - with ON getting a bit above 20% and the Liberals a bit below, then ON have to be a chance at winning a seat in the lower house.
The problem is that in most rural or exurban seats where the ON vote is likely to be strong, you've either got an incumbent independent, or at least a high profile independent who possibly did OK last time. The same is mostly true for the Liberals. It's just hard to find a seat where either start favourite.
Looking across the regional seats, arguably the only straight fight between ON and the Liberals (i.e. where I'm sure one of the two will win) is Chaffey (Riverland). I tend to take polls seriously rather than literally, but assuming again that they're in the ballpark, ON would just about be favourites in that seat.
Hammond would seem an obvious ON pick-up opportunity but again local independents may win a lot of votes that would otherwise have gone to ON.
Flinders perhaps? Mackillop (surely McBride won't be re-elected but he may draw a big chunk of the vote)? Mount Gambier at a stretch?
Narungga would otherwise fit the bill for ON but I don't know that Ellis is likely to be defeated. Giles and Stuart are safe enough for Labor and Geoff Brock I think. Finniss I reckon the independent Nicholson starts favourite.
Ngadjuri could be an interesting 3-cornered contest between Labor, ON and the Liberals. Labor probably start favourite on the polling numbers.
Schubert (Hurn's seat) should be safe enough for her I think.
I agree that there could be some interesting primary vote results that mean it won't be immediately clear which two candidates will finish in the final two.
R.I.P. the SANFL 1877 - 2013