AFL season preview
A collection of our reporters’ best stories from the off-season and the biggest storylines heading into the new AFL season. Plus, expert predictions for 2024.
‘Hungrier than ever’: Our experts preview the AFL season
Brownlow and Rising Star predictions, ins and outs for each club, tips for who will rise and slide on the ladder and more – here’s everything you need to know ahead of the 2024 AFL season.
- by The Age footy team
Opinion
Why I’ve got Carlton finishing just ahead of Collingwood this season
Trying to select the premiership team before the first ball of the season is bounced is a difficult task. But the Lions have done their apprenticeship, have the right profile and are a safe bet at home.
- by Jake Niall
Analysis
The future of the AFL: Here are the game’s top 20 young players
Ranking players is always fraught with danger and a very subjective exercise, but we have attempted to sort the AFL’s best young prospects, from Nick Daicos to Jamarra Ugle-Hagan and Mattaes Phillipou.
- by Marc McGowan
The votes are in: AFL captains predict who will rise and fall in 2024
Collingwood and Brisbane are strong favourites to again clash in the grand final, and there is an overwhelming favourite to claim the Brownlow Medal, according to the 18 AFL club captains.
- by Jon Pierik
Analysis
Bringing the heat: The next step in the Blues’ quest for greatness
For Carlton to really make the September running this season, Michael Voss has indicated his team needs to make a statement through the home-and-away campaign, a point Harry McKay is keen to back up.
- by Jon Pierik
Updated
How do the Demons fill the hole left by Angus Brayshaw’s retirement?
Melbourne’s once overflowing midfield cabinet has suddenly become disconcertingly shallow.
- by Jon Pierik and Andrew Wu
The director’s cut: Watching Collingwood’s historic grand final win with Scott Pendlebury
The Collingwood great sat in front of a projector screen and revealed his fears - that this would 2018 all over again - and the conversations with coaches, teammates and umpires behind a modern classic.
- by Jake Niall
Exclusive
Hardwick on why he left Tigers, feeling reinvigorated and the Sun with potential to be ‘special’
After more than a decade at Richmond, Damien Hardwick has begun a new chapter at Gold Coast. He talks to Michael Gleeson about being reinvigorated by his new club, the young Sun with a licence to do a “Dusty” and why he doesn’t regret being open about his family life to build connections.
- by Michael Gleeson
The rival stars AFL club bosses most want on their team
A new generation has emerged, led by a brilliant forward and a precocious midfielder, with one key forward and midfielder no longer rated at the top.
- by Peter Ryan
Should the AFL get rid of the father-son rule? One club boss thinks so
The debate around the draft and player movement system is sure to heat up, with one club boss coming up with a radical suggestion to make it fairer.
- by Peter Ryan
‘Scrap it:’ Club bosses’ huge call on AFL score review system
The Age approached the 36 club CEOs and presidents to take part in an anonymous online poll on key issues facing the sport, with 19 responding.
- by Peter Ryan
Who will – and won’t – be calling the footy on TV and radio in 2024?
How the commentary teams will change for the 2024 season.
- by Andrew Wu
He plays like me: The bold comment that floored AFL recruiters in young Saint’s draft interview
He doesn’t touch alcohol and his intensity can put people off, but St Kilda’s Mattaes Phillipou is being tipped for big things.
- by Marc McGowan
‘It doesn’t faze me’: Dons skipper brushes aside Lloyd’s finals blowtorch
Essendon are preparing for another season of external expectation, with captain Zach Merrett cautiously optimistic – but also realistic – about finals.
- by Marc McGowan
From player culls to short-lived coaches: Can the Kangaroos bounce back from five years of hell?
North Melbourne’s decision to axe troubled former player Tarryn Thomas on Thursday could mark the final chapter of the club’s five-plus years from hell.
- by Marc McGowan
Original URL: https://www.watoday.com.au/sport/afl/afl-season-preview-20240306-p5fa8j.html