Local footy: The top 10 local footy teams to beat in 2023

The start of the 2023 local footy season is edging ever closer and there's several standout teams to keep an eye on. Here's who you should be looking out for.

Who are local footy’s teams to beat in 2023? Find out below.

JUST four teams completed perfect seasons at senior level across country and metropolitan footy in 2022 – a testament to how difficult a feat it is.

Meanwhile, a host of teams fell agonisingly short of unblemished records with some claiming flags to atone for the minor hiccup.

Here are the teams to beat in local footy in 2023 …

UNBEATEN

Leongatha, Gippsland league

2022 record: 20-0

Finished the regular season with an unblemished record from 18 starts, before Wonthaggi Power almost quashed the perfect run in the second semi-final, running the Parrots to four points. But Leongatha went on to claim the flag by 22 points, defeating Sale in a tight decider.

The Parrots defeated Sale in the decider. Picture: Yuri Kouzmin

Point Cook Centrals, Western Region FL

2022 record: 20-0

Capped off the home-and-away season with an 18-0 result and a percentage of 269.32 before winning the decider by 16 points over Parkside, marking the club’s second flag in four years. Centrals will take on Division 1 in the WRFL next season.

Point Cook Centrals celebrate the 2022 flag.

Langwarrin, Mornington Peninsula Nepean league

2022 record: 19-0

The Kangaroos claimed their first senior flag since 2005, bouncing Karingal in the Division 2 grand final by 51 points to complete a perfect season. The main event capped a memorable afternoon for the club with its reserves and under-19 outfits also winning premierships – the three teams only losing one match between them this season. Remarkably, former AFL Bomber Mark Baguely would feature in both senior premierships 17 years apart.

Three cups for the ‘Roos in 2022. Picture: Valeriu Campan

Bambill, Millewa

2022 record: 17-0

Won the grand final in a canter by 63 points over Cardross, after finishing the home-and-away season with a percentage of 648.99. Average winning margin was 149 points, with its highest score and biggest win coming against Meringur in Round 10 – 358 points.

The Saints did it again in 2022 - and playing co-coach Luke Stanbrook (right) won the league best and fairest. Picture: Megan Verstappen

ALMOST PERFECT

Neerim South, Ellinbank and District

2022 record: 19-1

Finished the season 18-0 result with a percentage of 350.75 before a 15-point loss to Buln Buln in the qualifying final threw the flag race wide open at the business end of the year. But a response came in the form of a heart-stopping grand final win by a solitary point over Buln Buln, courtesy of midfielder Nathan Bayne who edged the Cats in front inside the final five minutes. Not a bad way to exact revenge.

The Cats dropped just one match this year. Picture: The Gazette

Ararat Eagles, Mininera and District

2022 record: 18-1

Had a perfect season sewn up with 16 wins on the trot before a 27-point loss to Taytoon in the qualifying sent it into a cut-throat prelim – which it won by 13 points. The Eagles would again meet Taytoon in the decider and exact revenge on the biggest stage of all, winning the flag by 35 points – the club’s first senior premiership.

The Eagles won their first-ever senior flag this year with a near-perfect record. Picture: Kaye Bulger

Frankston Dolphins, Southern league

2022 record: 18-1

It’s an all-too-familiar tale in Australian rules football. The Dolphins fell at the final hurdle to Lyndhurst following an unbeaten record leading into the grand final. They had lost just five quarters of footy for the year heading into the finals in the Southern league’s Division 4. But the Dolphins’ eight-point loss in the decider will drive the club in 2023.

“You’ve got to take it all in and let it burn inside you to want to get back to the big day and hopefully be on the other side of the ledger,” Frankston Dolphins playing coach Rich Mathers told Leader following the loss.

On a mission: the dejected Dolphins will use 2022 as motivation this season. Picture: Valeriu Campan

Narre Warren, Outer East

2022 record: 17-1

The pacesetter of the Outer East’s top-flight recovered from a nine-point, Round 15 loss to Woori-Yallock, never dropping another match for the season on the way to the premiership. Its adversary in the grand final? None other than Woori, with the Magpies turning the tables and getting the job done by 14 points to deliver a second-consecutive flag, with the club last saluting in 2019. Will be tough to beat again in 2023.

Another flag for Narre Warren in 2022. Picture: BH Photography

Waverley Blues, Eastern league

2022 record: 17-1

Didn’t lose a game for more than five months in Division 3 on the way to claiming their first senior premiership since 2008 – and even then, the solitary loss suffered in Round 1 came to the tune of two points to Warrandyte, who finished the season in second. Finishing three games clear on top of the ladder, the Blues exacted revenge on the Bloods in the semi-final, edging them out by nine points before a two-point heart-stopper over Donvale in the decider. The Blues will take on the Eastern league’s Division 2 in 2023.

The Blues lost just once in 2022 – by only two points. Picture: Davis Harrigan

South Belgrave, Eastern league

2022 record: 16-2

The Saints have suffered just two losses in more than three years as it stands, losing to Mulgrave twice in Division 2 this season before winning the grand final comfortably over Ringwood – the club’s second-consecutive premiership after an unbeaten run in 2019. It’ll take on Division 1 in 2023 with a swag of gun names. Look out.

2022 marked South Belgrave’s third flag in the past seven completed campaigns. Picture: Davis Harrigan