It’s that time of year again, when lofty promises and resolutions are made to ring in a new beginning.
With 2023 now here, every AFL team will be looking for that added edge to achieve a particular feat or curb a particularly frustrating trend.
We’ve named one for every side — some more simple than others.
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ADELAIDE CROWS
Be better than 2022
It may sound overly simple, but improving on 2022 should be the goal for the Crows given the trajectory they are on. They’ve made incremental gains under Matthew Nicks, but the addition of Izak Rankine only increases expectations that 2023 will provide a bigger jump forward than the side has shown in previous years. Five out of their first seven games being played at Adelaide Oval gives them a great chance to start the season strongly and build from there, even when considering the steep opposition of some of those match-ups.
BRISBANE LIONS
Get over the prelim hump
No matter how well they’ve been placed in recent years, the Lions just have not been able to get through in the second-last week of the season. With the off-season additions they’ve made, they couldn’t be better placed to go at least a step further in 2023. Injuries are a big proviso on that, but they are for every club and there are very few excuses that will satisfy the Lions faithful given the side they’ll be putting out in 2023.
CARLTON
Avoid walking under ladders
It was somewhat ironic that, in the same week as Carlton president Luke Sayers said the club was working to address its spate of injuries in recent years, Sam Walsh underwent surgery on a bulging disc that has put at least the start of his 2023 season in doubt. The Blues can’t take a trick when it comes to their injury list and this season was littered with stars who were hampered or missing altogether from the field. There may not be a simple solution to it, but Sayers indicated the Blues were not only aware of the trend but had actively addressed it this off-season.
COLLINGWOOD
Prove the doubters wrong again
Doubt can be a powerful motivator and the Pies will have no shortage of that to work with heading into 2023. Plenty are sceptical of their ability to stay in the top four next season after so many close results in their favour throughout 2022. They proved all doubters wrong this season and were perhaps seconds away from a grand final, so the belief must be incredibly strong heading into 2023. Proving this year wasn’t one out of the box could be an added bonus to another premiership tilt for Collingwood next season.
McLachlan confirms umpire axing | 02:32
ESSENDON
Do not lapse
If there’s one thing that may’ve frustrated Bombers fans more than anything, it was the apparent week-to-week fluctuation in effort. The Bombers were one of the easiest sides in the competition to play against, with baffling lapses once the ball was in the hands of the opposition, with spikes coming only after several weeks of searing criticism. Ben Rutten’s exit was ugly, but the players under Brad Scott must resolve to set a baseline of effort expected in every match.
FREMANTLE
Score
The Dockers had arguably the best defence in the competition for a fair period of the season, but their forward woes reared their head in the backhalf of the year as teams began to stifle their counter-attacks with growing ease. There are reasons for optimism heading into 2023, with the arrival of Luke Jackson coupled with the fact they’ve barely had access to a fit and firing Nat Fyfe. Rory Lobb’s departure has the capacity to leave a hole up forward, so the onus is on Jackson and the Dockers as a whole to rejig their approach and maximise their scoring capability. Defence is a vital part of any premiership profile and the Dockers have nailed that, but fixing the other end is a must.
GEELONG CATS
Don’t be satisfied
The premiership was definitely a fairytale ending for Joel Selwood’s AFL career and there’s a danger it could feel like the perfect climax to a lot of the side’s veterans as well. While there’s nothing wrong with satisfaction having scaled the mountain, the side risks suffering a big drop off if it wanes in any way. Being the hunted is no easy task, as we saw with Melbourne this season, and the side’s veterans will still need to be pulling out all stops despite this year’s triumph if they’re to come close to repeating the feat in 2023.
Scott impressed by Heppell’s form | 01:45
GOLD COAST SUNS
No lapses in the back-end
It was a big improvement on years past, but the Suns still went 4-6 after the mid-season bye in 2022 and their tendency to suffer big losses in the backhalf of seasons has been a huge Achilles heel in their bid for a maiden finals berth. It’s a trend they’ve definitely begun to address, but more progress needs to be made in 2023. With top eight spots hard to come by, percentage could prove vital in the finals calculations, let alone the raw win-loss numbers.
GWS GIANTS
Don’t fall into the ‘rebuild’ trap
With the arrival of Adam Kingsley and the departure of Tim Taranto and Jacob Hopper, it can be easy to assume the Giants’ soft reset is really a decent rebuild. While managing expectations is all well and good, it can become a self-fulfilling prophecy if players approach the season with an air of inevitability about their place in the competition. The side’s veteran core need to lead the way, supporting the development of the young brigade while also pushing them to get the Giants somewhere near finals contention and earn redemption for what was a pretty bleak 2022.
HAWTHORN
Minimise the damage
It may be a pessimistic outlook, but given the cuts the Hawks have made to their veteran stocks, it looks like being a year of few wins in the hope of long-term pay-off. As a result, there could easily be a host of blowouts in 2023. The good news for Sam Mitchell and company is that the side’s fans are under no illusions as to expectations for next season. Still, the same could be said for North Melbourne heading into 2022, but the reality is heavy defeats draw scrutiny. Minimising the damage will be key in the short-term as they build towards a premiership profile in the years ahead.
Newcombe extends at Hawks till 2026 | 00:26
MELBOURNE
Make the Gawn and Grundy experiment work
A lot is riding on the backs of Max Gawn and Brodie Grundy for Melbourne’s premiership hopes in 2023. If the tag team works, it will be an opposition’s nightmare. It will well and truly offset the loss of Luke Jackson and could finally shore up the Dees’ forward line, which has been a sore spot for the side over the journey. It may not click straight away, but the Dees can’t really afford for this experiment to fail.
NORTH MELBOURNE
Give Nick Larkey everything he needs to shine
Nick Larkey’s ceiling is considerable, but he hasn’t truly been able to get near it amid the turbulence at North Melbourne in recent years. Turning 25 in 2023, Larkey is primed to explode into the top tier of AFL forwards, but needs the proper support up the field, around him and in the coaches box. Maximising his talent should be a key focus for Alastair Clarkson in his first year at the helm.
PORT ADELAIDE
Start with a bang
Port Adelaide needs a good start more than any other side in the competition and the scars of the 2022 season should drive them. They don’t necessarily have to go 5-0, but 0-5 this season was a horror show and one the Power never managed to recover from. If they fail to fire early, the pressure will come and come hard. Brisbane, Collingwood and a Showdown are not exactly walkovers, to be fair, but the win-loss ledger simply must look better than it did in 2022.
RICHMOND
Turn the tide in the close ones
It’s pretty crazy to think Richmond didn’t lost a game by more than a goal after round six. The issue for the Tigers in the end became the number of tight losses, which ultimately cost them a better chance at going deep in September. It proved the biggest hindrance to a season that looked to indicate the Tigers were back with a vengeance after a year out of the finals. Now with the addition of Jacob Hopper and Tim Taranto and the possibility of their veteran stars getting a clean run at it, the Tigers have everything they need to turn those close losses into their favour and launch up the ladder as a result.
Hipwood signs monster 6-year deal | 00:42
ST KILDA
Hold each other to account
Part of St Kilda’s sweeping review of its football department found players and coaches needed to demand more of each other. Clearly, the decision to sack Brett Ratten with two years remaining on his contract was in part driven by a desire for a more ruthless approach to standards, which the Saints powerbrokers believe Ross Lyon will provide in the role. The club’s on-field leadership credentials have been questioned over the last couple of years, so the onus is on everyone at Moorabbin to challenge each other and get the most out of a list that to this point appears under-utilised, at least by the club’s own expectations.
SYDNEY SWANS
Don’t be daunted by one bad day
Losing a grand final is one thing, but losing one in the manner Sydney did could easily prove costly to a side’s belief in the following season. Many a side has struggled to recover from a grand final thumping the following year, so it’s imperative the Swans cast that out of their mind and instead follow on with the form that got them to that point. The fact remains the Swans were on a nine-match winning streak heading into that fateful day against Geelong and were clearly one of the top two sides in the competition.
WEST COAST EAGLES
Dispel any doubts about fitness levels
The Eagles had a horror run in many ways throughout 2022, but key among the setbacks were a plethora of injuries to and fitness queries over star players. The club has since appointed a new strength and conditioning coach (their former left for a role in Queensland) and CEO Trevor Nisbett has spoken openly about the side’s desire to turn over a new leaf when it comes to fitness and durability. Doing so will be crucial to redeeming what was a nightmarish 2022 season and restoring faith in the club’s future direction.
WESTERN BULLDOGS
Double up in September
It was hard to come any closer to a top-four spot than the Dogs did this year, but yet again they missed out on the double chance. It’s been a long wait for another top-four finish since 2010 and given the talent on this list, the side should be well and truly aiming to break that drought in 2023. If there’s one thing that could prove the difference between the 2021 grand final run and going all the way, the breathing room afforded to clubs in the top four might be it.
