2023’s burning questions for six of Geelong’s biggest athletes
This handful of Geelong athletes had a huge year in 2022. So what is around the corner as we step into 2023?
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It has been another monster year for our local athletes, with AFL premierships and Olympic gold medals being brought home by our biggest stars.
As their huge 2022 comes to a close, we ask the burning questions about how 2023 will shake out for some of our biggest names.
Will Jakara Anthony ever stop winning?
This has been a truly dominant year for the Barwon Heads skier, it doesn’t really get better than a World Cup title and an Olympic gold medal in the same 12 months.
After such a brilliant run, the 24-year-old has no plans to slow down.
“Yeah, 2022 has been an absolutely wild year. It’s hard to summarise it in words,” Anthony said this week.
“It’s interesting coming off such a strong year results-wise. We’ve kicked a lot of goals with that last season, so coming into this season our goals are around how I want to ski – the jumps I want to perform, the times I want to ski and the things I need to improve on.
“So, we’re just going out there every day focusing on those bits and pieces we’ve identified we need to work on.”
Anthony is right on track to carry on winning, having already picked up three gold medals in this current world cup season and sits atop the standings at the new year break.
If she keeps carrying on at this pace, Anthony could soon be Australia’s best current athlete in any sport.
What’s next for Joel Selwood?
Speaking of complete years, the Geelong champion couldn’t have scripted a better 2022.
Selwood ticked through the milestones – most games as captain in VFL/AFL history, first Geelong player to 350 matches, most finals appearances in league history – and capped it off with his fourth flag, his first as captain.
When I asked the midfield great in March whether this was to be his last year, he appeared more open to talk about retirement than ever before, and so it came to pass when Selwood hung up the boots after the grand final.
Selwood is so respected he could walk into just about any job in Australia and he will start his post-playing life doing some part-time work in leadership on football operations at the Melbourne Storm.
We will all watch with interest to where he goes next.
How good can Georgie Prespakis be?
Teammate and housemate Amy McDonald is convinced Georgie Prespakis will be the best player in the AFLW, and soon.
Given her trajectory, it’s hard to argue.
Prespakis almost pinched the coaches award in the second season of 2022 despite copping a suspension and was named All-Australian for the first time.
And she believes she will be better off for pushing through two campaigns this year.
The midfield bull is still only 19 and if she keeps improving, she can carry Geelong deep into the finals for years to come.
Is this the end for Aaron Finch?
When reporters threw up the idea earlier this month that this current BBL season could be his last, Finch was having none of it.
“Hopefully people don’t write me off too quick,” he quipped.
Geelong’s greatest modern batter and one of Australia’s finest ever white-ball openers, Finch, 36, retired from ODI cricket in September but officially remains the nation’s T20 captain.
Australia doesn’t play another T20 until August, so whether Finch is still among the team’s plans by then remains to be seen.
Beyond national duties, the powerful opener will surely have some juice on the domestic T20 circuit for a couple more years.
Can Liam Blackford and Paris Bowdler continue to rise?
Geelong hasn’t had a genuine homegrown player earn a state contract in more than a decade.
Given Aaron Finch was raised in Colac and Geelong Cricket Club players Tom Jackson and Brody Couch were raised elsewhere.
But among a range of up-and-coming budding stars, Blackford and Bowdler could be on the way.
Geelong City’s Bowdler made her debut with the Melbourne Renegades in the WBBL this year and appeared sure behind the stumps and is set for the under-19 World Cup in South Africa next year.
North Geelong’s Blackford has continued to fulfil his potential, with a superb start to his Victorian Second XI career and has been named in the Australian under-19 squad to face England early in 2023.
The sky is the limit for this pair.
Originally published as 2023’s burning questions for six of Geelong’s biggest athletes
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