Each GFL club’s New Year resolution revealed
From recruiting a new ruck to breaking into finals for the first time since 2016, each club has a different New Year’s resolution. Read them all here.
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It is the time of year where people around the world make their New Year’s resolutions to help better their lives in 2023.
It’s not all about diets or giving up the grog, with football clubs already setting goals for the upcoming season.
The Geelong Advertiser has listed each club’s New Year’s resolution for the upcoming 2023 season, and how they can achieve their goals.
St Mary’s
Complete a three-peat of GFL premierships
The Saints have won back-to-back flags in 2019 and 2022, and with their list mostly intact ahead of next season, coaches Glenn Keast and Travis Robertson will push for a third-straight premiership in 2023.
The defending premiers have lost star midfielder Ben Moloney, key back Josh Jaska and star forward Tom Lang, with St Mary’s likely to promote from existing players in the reserves and colts programs, rather than turning to new recruits.
They have shown that they are incredibly hard to beat, and the loss of a few premiership players should not turn the tide on their fortunes.
Leopold
Make it back to the grand final
The Lions were somewhat a surprise packet in the finals series, finishing fourth on the ladder and beating St Joseph’s, Colac and Newtown & Chilwell on the way to the grand final.
Leopold was outplayed by a rampaging St Mary’s in the last game of the season, but making it back to the big dance will give the Lions plenty of enthusiasm approaching 2023.
Star midfielder Jai Thompson has left the club, but the rest of the grand final side is relatively intact, meaning finals is still on the cards for the Lions.
Newtown & Chilwell
Find more consistent avenues to goal
Forward Lachlan Bond had a great season for the Eagles, kicking 37 goals in 15 games and finishing seventh in the league’s overall goalkickers.
But outside of Bond, Newtown & Chilwell did not have a consistent avenue towards goal, instead relying on one-off big bags from other players.
Braden Hocking kicked 23 goals in 20 games, but 10 came in a single game against Grovedale, while Matthew Boag kicked seven goals against Lara and six against Colac in his 20 majors for the season.
If the Eagles can find more consistency from their forwards, a grand final berth is on the cards in 2023.
Colac
Replace departing champions with ready-made options
Colac has suffered a mini exodus of talented footballers either retiring or moving clubs after a straight-sets exit from the 2022 finals series.
Star midfielder Brody Mahoney, matchwinner Travis Woodmason and forward Dean Felekos have all moved on from the Tigers, leaving holes across the field ahead of 2023.
But Colac still has a list full of talent, with former AFL pair Darcy Lang and Jon Simpkin enjoying dominant years for the Tigers in 2022, while the majority of the list will play on next season.
The Tigers were expecting to go further in the finals campaign than they did, with the club still firmly in the premiership window.
St Joseph’s
Blood youth into the senior side
Joeys made the finals in 2022, but the successful club is set for a downward trend next season with a number of players moving on in the off-season.
Star midfielders James Gow and Riley Ferguson, utility Luke Webb and coach Paul Carson have left the club, while Riley Kershaw has retired after another ACL injury, leaving gaping holes in the St Joseph’s senior side.
Incoming coach Ron Watt has an extensive coaching history littered with success across multiple leagues, but he conceded in the off-season his main focus was bringing through some of the under-18 players that made a grand final in the junior grade in 2022.
South Barwon
Find a new senior ruck
The Swans copped one of the major departure blows in the off-season when star ruck Luke Davis announced he would return to BFL premiers Barwon Heads.
Davis is a hard player to replace, but it is likely the Swans will turn to reserves ruck Ryan Bell, who dominated in the earlier games throughout the season.
Bell played 15 games for the South Barwon reserve side, being named in the best seven times and winning multiple awards for his efforts in 2022.
He claimed the club best and fairest, the league best and fairest, and was named best-on-ground in the Swans’ 20-point win grand final over Newtown & Chilwell.
Bell has a chance to lock down the senior role in 2023 with a big pre-season.
Geelong West
Round out the midfield depth
The Giants suffered a major blow when Broadbeach poached star midfielder Baxter Mensch out of Geelong West.
Mensch finished fourth in the league medal count after a dominant campaign that saw him average 34 disposals a match.
Tanner Lovell, Noah Gribble and David Handley had strong games in the 2022 season and more emphasis will be placed on their performances, but Geelong West will need to fill the Mensch hole.
Emmanuel Ajang, who spent time in the midfield but mainly played on the forward flank in 2022, may get a chance to play a permanent midfield role next season.
Grovedale
Make the finals
Grovedale has not made finals since 2016, when it made the preliminary final, but with Joeys losing a number of key players the Tigers would like their chances of making the top five.
The Tigers had a competitive 2022 season, challenging some of the league’s top teams and beating mid-table sides around them.
Ruck star Ryan Abbott will be important again for Grovedale, while coach Daniel Fraser would be hoping Tom Gillett is more readily available next year after spending the majority of the year playing for the Geelong Falcons.
Bell Park
Have a smooth transition to new coach’s game style
Bell Park was destined to play finals in 2021 before the season was called off because of Covid, but a steep drop down the ladder in 2022 saw Shane Jack step away from the coaching role.
Incoming coach James Saker has experience as an assistant coach for Werribee in the VFL, as well as a playing-coach role at Lavington.
Saker said at his announcement that he was not looking for any miracles early, but he wanted to get to know the playing group and develop the young list.
North Shore
Replace Nick Dixon
Superstar midfielder and co-coach Nick Dixon announced he was leaving the club to ply his trade in Melbourne at the end of the season.
While there is plenty of emerging young talent on the Seagulls’ list, Dixon was one of the best players in the league and will be hard to replace, especially considering he also helped coach the side.
North Shore is yet to formally announce its coaching structure in 2023, but it is expected to find a playing co-coach to help Darren Winter.
Lara
Learn from star recruit
It was Lara’s biggest signing in recent history, with former Giant and Bomber Devon Smith returning back to his junior club for a playing and co-coaching role.
Smith struggled with injuries late in his AFL career, but co-coach Shayne Stone says he has been influential during the pre-season, training with the young squad and passing on wisdom about the game and driving standards.
The Cats missed out on recently-retired Josh Walker, who went to Balwyn in the Eastern Football League, but one former AFL player is enough to mount a surge up the ladder.
St Albans
Continue the development of its young core
The Supersaints have not won a game for two years now, but 2023 is the year to break that drought.
St Albans has a talented young list with plenty of future GFL stars littered throughout, including players like Jacob Russell and Sam Donegan.
The midfield pair of Donegan and Russell was dominant despite the winless season, with the pair polling well in the league best and fairest.
If the club can continue to develop its list around these two young stars, a few wins might be on the board in 2023.
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