Some clubs look set to launch into 2024, well prepared to meet and even exceed expectations.
Others will be under pressure to atone for the mistakes of 2023 or it may be business as usual for several clubs after a relatively quiet off-season.
Foxfooty.com.au assesses every AFL club and ranks them 1-18 on the pre-season hype ladder.
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1) CARLTON
The Blues finished the season in extraordinary fashion and so there’s rightly some optimism around how things could go in 2024. Despite losing six consecutive games during the season, they still somehow threatened to snatch a top four finish before ultimately finishing fifth and making a preliminary final. In that context, Blues fans may finally have reason to believe things have clicked and a talented list is finally starting to realise its potential. The confidence gained from this year’s charge has to create a lot of promise for 2024 and the prospect of going even further next season, with what’s about to become a 29-year premiership drought hanging over the club.
2) ADELAIDE CROWS
Recent history shows at least one team often jumps from outside the top eight into the top four the following year. From this year’s crop, the Crows look comfortably the best chance of doing that in 2024. Close losses this season, coupled with natural development from a maturing list, has them placed well to launch next season. They didn’t land Harrison Petty but it wasn’t for lack of trying. Their back half is a question mark, but there must be a lot of belief in the Crows getting themselves into September next season and potentially even doing some damage once they’re there given what they’ve shown to this point.
3) SYDNEY SWANS
The Swans didn’t mess around in the trade period, landing all of their targets in quick succession. It speaks to a club that was aware of its deficiencies and aggressively targeted players who could help address them. True, the Taylor Adams move came about late in the piece, but ultimately the players they’ve brought in, coupled with the considerable talent already at their disposal, means a big lift in 2024 is on the cards. Sydney fans would likely be expecting a big bounce back after a middling 2023 campaign and what they’ve added since.
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4) COLLINGWOOD
It’s hard to get too much more hyped when you fulfil your potential and win a premiership, hence why the Pies don’t top this list – they’re already at the peak on the field. Still, there’ll be hype coming in as the defending champions and with a list that doesn’t look like dropping off the pace anytime soon. The arrival of Lachie Schultz adds an element of freshness to the squad. They should be right up to their neck when September comes around. Unlike most sides however, its expected for them as opposed to a hope.
5) BRISBANE LIONS
The Lions were so close in 2023 and there’s reason to hope they’ll be even better next season. Key to those reasons will be the return of Will Ashcroft and arrival of Tom Doedee. We won’t see them until the second half of 2024, but there’s enough runway there for them to hit the finals at full tilt. Both add to a side that already firing on all cylinders and meeting the lofty expectations held at the start of the year. Like Collingwood, it’s just about maintaining that level next year. Teams will have bigger rises than the Lions in 2024, but few can match the consistent form they have shown.
6) GOLD COAST SUNS
The Suns have brought in Damien Hardwick and a suite of Academy prospects, so there has to be an air of considerable expectation about next season being one in which they finally cement a finals berth. Everything is in place for them to thrive next year and anything less than a September appearance would be a disappointment. They’re primed for a jump up the ladder and there’s rightly a fair bit of optimism that they are set for the next step in their journey. No more waiting!
7) GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY
They started slow, but the Giants came home with a wet sail and there’s plenty to be excited about heading into 2024. It feels like it has clicked under Adam Kingsley after an initial teething period and the way they play is more than enough reason to get excited for what could come next. If anything, they should only improve next year given the emerging talent combined with veterans near the top of their game. It will be a hard feat topping the orange tsunami that surged into the preliminary final, but the outlook is far rosier than it was this time last year.
8) PORT ADELAIDE
The Power brought in all their trade targets and will be setting their sights higher than a straight sets exit in 2024. The main conjecture around the side is whether their recruits can perform at a higher level than at their previous clubs. If they do, the club should be more of a genuine premiership threat. The jury is still somewhat out on them given the way they bowed out this season after an impressive home and away campaign, but the additions this off-season have to provide at least some optimism something can change in 2024.
9) HAWTHORN
They may be a fair bit further down this list based on pure output, but there’s some genuine optimism about the Hawks’ rebuild given the glimpses on display in 2023. Another pre-season under Sam Mitchell will help some already impressive youngsters develop further and if they can shore up their defence then the rest of the game is well intact. As far as rebuilding sides go, the Hawks are comfortably the one with the most optimism heading into next season and one that could rise the most.
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10) MELBOURNE
The Dees will be keen to bounce back next season, but they enter with eyes on them for all the wrong reasons after what has been a torrid off-season. Their ability as a team is at the top end, but the hype levels aren’t exactly sky high given how the year finished for the second consecutive finals series. Getting Harrison Petty back from injury will help, but there haven’t been huge trade gambits to get intrigued or excited by and it’s less hype and more pressure on the club to do more damage in September next year given the calibre of talent they have at their disposal.
11) ESSENDON
This ranking could well change if the Bombers start the season well, given a lot of the players seem to have committed to getting themselves in prime shape over the off-season so they can hit the ground running in their second season under Brad Scott. Many a team has spruiked its fitness levels heading into new years, so it’s best taken with a grain of salt until actual results are on the board, but they’ve been active at the trade period and the new faces that will be on display add another element of intrigue to how they’ll shape up in 2024.
12) GEELONG CATS
Nothing ever truly clicked for the Cats this season as their premiership defence quickly fell by the wayside, but there’s at least some hope next season could be a bit more forgiving. Injuries wreaked havoc on them throughout the year and they’ll be hoping that the footy gods are kinder next year and help them return to September. There’s not a whole lot of hype about the Cats given there may not be huge leaps and bounds in 2024, but a better year than this year is definitely in the frame.
Bailey Smith suffers ACL injury | 00:26
13) ST KILDA
To their credit, the Saints made the finals in 2023 despite a chorus of doubters predicting they’d drop out. Despite that, there’s a sense Ross Lyon got about as much as he could out of the side he inherited, with not a whole heap more expected next season. Max King’s fitness will be key and there were some very encouraging signs from the young brigade, but it’s likely more of a gradual build Lyon is performing in his second stint at the helm as opposed to the Saints in recent years that hit the trade period hard but never truly got the mix right.
14) WESTERN BULLDOGS
There’s certainly pressure on the Western Bulldogs to improve next season, but whether there’s genuine belief they will is another matter entirely. News of Bailey Smith’s ACL rupture has also put a significant dampener on 2024. It’s less about them exceeding expectations in 2024 and more about them being back somewhat near what their expected output is, which is definitely not languishing outside the top eight.
15) FREMANTLE
There have been some big shows of faith from stars this off-season with contract re-signings, but in terms of the actual on-field output there isn’t a whole lot of hype around the side. They need to hit the scoreboard more but have lost their best half-forward to Collingwood and don’t have that much to be excited about based on exposed form. An uptick in performance from some of their stars will help, but there’s pressure on Justin Longmuir heading into 2024 and not a whole lot of hype.
16) RICHMOND
It was the end of an era with Jack Riewoldt and Trent Cotchin retiring, not to mention the departure of Damien Hardwick. There’s plenty to like about Adem Yze, but the side is in a different phase to the one it was perhaps in heading into 2023. Tom Lynch won’t be rushed back and it’s hard to shake the feeling it might be a year of development under Yze rather than a return to the barnstorming premiership-contending Tigers.
17) WEST COAST EAGLES
While Adam Simpson is still at the helm, there has been a fair bit of change at the Eagles over the off season and the addition of Harley Reid adds a fresh element to the senior side given he will slot straight in. It’s hard to predict a whole heap of improvement for them, but there’s now at least a feeling they’re heading in the right direction as opposed to wandering aimlessly without taking action.
18) NORTH MELBOURNE
The Eagles finished last in 2023, but the acquisition of Harley Reid means they can at least get somewhat excited about the rebuild to come. North Melbourne has many talented youngsters, but the picture remains quite bleak for them after another dour season and one that felt like somewhat of a false start under Alastair Clarkson given the four-time premiership coach’s extended leave. There’s a bit of development still ahead for the Kangaroos and there won’t be much hope of a surge up the ladder.
