AFL: All 18 clubs’ biggest pre-season positional battles ahead of February trial games
At this time of year, every player is trying to stake their claims for a spot in the side. But which roles are the toughest to fill? We take a look at all 18 clubs.
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Clubs always say the battle for spots is fierce, particularly at this time of year.
Match simulation at training is where teams will try different line-ups and positional tweaks as all members of the squad stake their claims.
With the pre-season games fast approaching, we have taken a look at the most intriguing positional battles at each club.
ADELAIDE
The Crows’ trickiest positional battle seems to be among their key defenders. With Nick Murray sidelined until late in the season and Tom Doedee now at Brisbane, which tall backmen will make the best 22? Jordon Butts is the most experienced of the contenders and a likely starter, while Josh Worrell looks a nice fit for a Doedee-like role. Add to that Irishman Mark Keane and four-gamer James Borlase, who both finished last season in the side, as well as swingman Elliott Himmelberg, who had been training in defence this summer. Then there are two recruits: pick 8 Daniel Curtin and ex-Gold Coast Sun Chris Burgess. Curtin is managing knee soreness but has impressed, while Burgess is an option though will perhaps be a back-up key forward. What that group lacks for backline experience at AFL level, it at least provides Adelaide with alternatives.
BRISBANE LIONS
Tom Doedee made the move to the Lions ahead of the 2024 season, however will miss the start of the campaign as he recovers from his ruptured ACL sustained while at Adelaide. The Brisbane back six was solid last season, conceding the sixth-fewest goals per game, but Doedee will add to it. Darcy Gardiner and Ryan Lester played in the grand final, while Jack Payne was left out with an ankle injury, but how many talls can fit into Brisbane’s back six, and who comes out for Doedee?
CARLTON
With some serious strength across every line, there will be genuine competition for spots in the Blues’ best 23 this year. Coach Michael Voss needs to squeeze returning half-back Zac Williams into the line-up, after he missed the entire 2023 season with an ACL. Williams can add some X-Factor to a line which includes fellow rebounders Adam Saad and Nic Newman and already ranked as the fourth-hardest defence to score against last season. Small forward Zac Fisher played 12 games last season before being traded to North Melbourne, but his spot was largely taken over by the likes of Jack Martin and David Cuningham in the second half of the year. Port Adelaide recruit Orazio Fantasia will be another player looking to fill one of those small forward spots if he can get his body right. Fantasia has taken to the field in just three AFL games in the past two years, but the Blues took a punt on him believing that he could “have an impact” this year.
COLLINGWOOD
Ash Johnson and Reef McInnes have spent much of summer locked in the race to replace Dan McStay. Johnson has hit 2024 notably fitter, while still with is usual spring. Grand final forward Billy Frampton has trained in defence. Fin Macrae is sure to see more gametime than the solitary match as sub he played last year. Track watchers have been avowed with his progress, with some midfield minutes to be filled after Taylor Adams’ departure.
ESSENDON
Recruit Todd Goldstein has been the top ruck at Essendon over summer with Sam Draper working through a groin injury. Brad Scott likes to play two rucks and Goldstein has barely missed a beat so looks ready for round 1 with or without Draper. The new-look Bombers forward line looks set to include Harry Jones and Jade Gresham, alongside Peter Wright and Kyle Langford. Draftee Nate Caddy is the wildcard here and will play some senior footy this year. Injury-prone big man Zach Reid appears set to start alongside recruit Ben McKay in defence. Half-backer Jake Kelly has been training on the wing.
FREMANTLE
When Sean Darcy went down with a knee injury late in the 2023 season, Fremantle fans got to see prized recruit Luke Jackson take the reins of the main ruck role. And he delivered, dominating the final six rounds of the season. But with Darcy set to feature round 1, albeit with limited pre-season conditioning, Jackson will be relegated back into a forward role. And with Darcy signing an extension until the end of the 2029 season, how will Jackson develop his game to dominate for the Dockers in a two-ruck system?
GEELONG
Young ruck Toby Conway shrugged off a foot stress fracture and has returned to full fitness as he pushes to supplant Rhys Stanley as Geelong’s No.1 ruck. The first-ruck question has swirled around the Cats for years and Conway has been seen as the long-term answer. Youngster Mitch Knevitt has continued to train in a wing role as he enters his third season at the Cats, with Isaac Smith now retired. Former Hawk Emerson Jeka has been locked in to training in defence. Keep an eye on superstar defender Tom Stewart, who spent some time in the midfield in 2023 and has continued to train there at times over summer.
GOLD COAST
There is plenty of change on the horizon for Gold Coast, with Damien Hardwick to lead the club in 2024. With any new coach comes a new game plan, and typically a new best 23. What Hardwick does with the Suns’ midfield will be one to watch, with former coach Stuart Dew preferring the same group playing in the centre square for the majority of the game. Will we get to see Sam Flanders continue his rise after Dew was sacked mid-season, having elevated into a dominant midfielder under Steven King?
GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY
Will former No.1 pick Aaron Cadman add an extra mobile marking target to the GWS attack? He has notably put on some size while still retaining mobility and could be the extra tall option Adam Kingsley is searching for. Brayden Preuss has been fit over summer as he aims to push Kieren Biggs for the No.1 big man role, while Phoenix Gothard is aiming to add some spark to the midfield.
HAWTHORN
The surprise of the summer at Waverley has been Blake Hardwick shifting to a forward role and he has impressed in his run there. That puts the squeeze on, with Luke Breust and Mitch Lewis locked in to the forward line, while Dylan Moore has been one of the best high forwards in the league over the past two years. Mabior Chol is likely to start down there, as is Jack Ginnivan, can the Hawks fit in Nick Watson? At the other end, Sam Frost remains most likely to pair James Sicily, given Denver Grainer-Barras has been largely training as a forward. Josh Weddle has been firing off half-back, while Changkuoth Jiath has spent some time on the wing.
MELBOURNE
Not much changes on the back of ruckman Brodie Grundy’s move to Sydney, given the two-time All-Australian featured in just one of the Demons’ final nine matches last season. It just means that Max Gawn – at 32 years old – will have to shoulder the ruck duties for an entire season, largely one-out. Melbourne grabbed 200cm Brisbane Lions key forward Tom Fullarton after Grundy’s trade went through last October, with the 24-year-old shaping as some back-up for Gawn. Fullarton may have a delayed start to the season however after suffering what seems to be a serious hamstring injury at training. Forward Jake Melksham produced a strong second half of last year before going down with an ACL injury in round 24, which will sideline him for most of this season. However, the Demons picked up former Adelaide forward Shane McAdam during the trade period and will hope he can fill the void. McAdam also finished last season in good form for the Crows, kicking 11 goals from his final six matches. Harrison Petty could also provide some more potency forward of centre this season. The defender put his abilities on show against Richmond in round 21 last year when he kicked six goals after switching ends.
NORTH MELBOURNE
The Roos will have no choice but to try some things in defence with Ben McKay gone and Griffin Logue injured. Kallan Dawson and Charlie Comben have both been training back there, along with Bigoa Nyuon and Toby Pink. Expect Comben to get first crack. North Melbourne is over the moon about draftee Colby McKercher and he is set to set up at half-back, with Harry Sheezel potentially looking at more midfield time.
PORT ADELAIDE
Power assistant Tyson Goldsack this month described the team’s wing spots last season as a revolving door that it could not quite nail. Evergreen Travis Boak is in line to lock in one of the two positions. Xavier Duursma’s departure to Essendon and Port’s plan to have Ollie Wines return to the midfield full-time ensure an interesting battle for the other. Auditions are being held and the candidates include a surprise, long-time key defender Tom Clurey, along with father-son duo Jase Burgoyne and Jackson Mead, and third-year midfielder Hugh Jackson. Wines and Willem Drew may still have to spend a little time on the wing, but primarily will be in the centre square.
RICHMOND
Jacob Koschitzke has slotted in as favourite to pair Tom Lynch up forward, if Lynch is fit. But coach Adem Yze appears open to swinging Noah Balta from defence to attack. Youngster Josh Gibcus is poised to drop back into defence upon his return from hamstring troubles after a carefully staged training plan.
ST KILDA
One position up for grabs at the Saints this year is the one formerly held by Jade Gresham. After playing 23 games for St Kilda last year – averaging 17.6 disposals and 0.9 goals per match – the half-forward defected to Essendon as a free agent last October. His departure leaves an opening for draftee Darcy Wilson, who was quick to catch the eye at Moorabbin. Coach Ross Lyon has already indicated that Wilson is expected to “play a fair bit of footy” this year, given he has been “blowing the running apart” on the training track. Wilson played wing and half-forward in his under-18 year and hit the scoreboard. After an impressive 23-game debut season, forward Mattaes Phillipou is expected to only get better, as are fellow young stars Mitch Owens and Anthony Caminiti. A fit Max King would also help a side which ranked fourth-last for scoring last season. King booted just 28 goals from 11 games last season, after slotting 52 from 22 matches in 2022.
SYDNEY
Sydney faces a few selection quandaries, namely what does their post-Buddy key forward set up look like and what happens to the midfield mix to accommodate Taylor Adams and James Jordon? Franklin was restricted to 13 matches in his swan song last year, so Sydney got a glimpse into what life would look like without him. Logan McDonald, Joel Amartey and Hayden McLean should all get plenty of opportunities, while veteran Sam Reid remained an option if he could get on the park. Just how Adams and Jordon fit into a midfield that already has Luke Parker, Chad Warner, James Rowbottom, Errol Gulden and Callum Mills getting stints will be interesting to watch. Mills will be absent for the first part of the season as he recovers from a shoulder injury.
WEST COAST
Harley Reid was destined to play round 1 once the Eagles landed the first overall pick in the draft. The question became ‘where does he play?’ pretty quickly, with Eagles coach Adam Simpson suggesting early he would play off the half back flank while rotating through the midfield. He has spent time in match simulation in both positions, showing reasons why he was touted as a generational talent coming out of the draft. But is he West Coast’s number one rebounding option? Shannon Hurn retired, and while Liam Duggan has shown he is more than capable in that role he is likely to rotate with Reid through the middle. Alex Witherden and Jeremy McGovern, if fit, could be the answer for the Eagles.
WESTERN BULLDOGS
The Dogs will ponder how to get Sam Darcy into the team. He has largely trained as a forward-ruck but might still be behind Rory Lobb for that spot. Liam Jones has had a strong summer and will play in defence. It’s hard to downplay the talent of Ryley Sanders when teammate Jason Johannisen compared him to both Tom Liberatore and Scott Pendlebury. He seems certain to fill almost all of Bailey Smith’s minutes and will debut in round 1 unless something goes wrong from here.
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