What are the main strengths and weaknesses of each of the 18 clubs heading into the 2024 season?
Whether it be a stacked forward line, a bevy of gun youngsters, a lack of top-end quality or a paper thin defence, each club has their positives and negatives.
See our assessments of every club below:
Strength: Stacked forward line.
The Crows have plenty of scoring options at their disposal which Matthew Nicks used to great effect in 2023.
They were the highest scoring team across the home and away season, averaging 95 points per game with Taylor Walker (76), Izak Rankine (36), Darcy Fogarty (34), Luke Pedlar (25), Josh Rachele (23) and Ben Keays (22) all kicking 20 goals or more.
Attack is Adelaide’s greatest weapon and Nicks should again look to base his game style around it.
But they do require a little bit more balance, especially when it comes to defence.
Weakness: Queries on defence.
Adelaide’s defence appears a bit thin, from the outside looking in.
The Crows will be without Nick Murray (ACL) for the majority of the season while Tom Doedee is no longer there after departing for the Brisbane Lions.
That situation seemingly leaves Nicks without an abundance of key defensive options.
Top draftee Daniel Curtin looks a very good player in the making, but you can’t exactly ask him to be the answer in his debut season. He’ll more likely provide support for Jordon Butts and second-year prospect Max Michalanney.
While the Crows’ attack is the cornerstone of their game, the defence is less reliable.
Andrew Slevison
Strength: Small/medium forwards.
Brisbane have a seriously potent forward line and that’s thanks mainly to their small and medium attackers.
While Joe Daniher is a star and Eric Hipwood provides great structure, it’s the work of the likes of Charlie Cameron, Lincoln McCarthy, Zac Bailey and Cam Rayner that truly scare the opposition. All of those smalls kicked at least 23 goals in 2023, with Cameron leading the group with 59 of his own.
Given that the opposition typically have one or two genuine lockdown smalls, Brisbane’s forwards often have mismatches inside 50 and that will be the same again in 2024.
Weakness: Midfield depth.
While Brisbane have star midfielders in Lachie Neale and Josh Dunkley, they don’t bat as deep on-ball as some of the other sides in premiership contention.
That was proven in the Grand Final with the Lions using Neale, Dunkley and Hugh McCluggage most often at centre bounces.
Even though that’s a gun trio, they then had to look toward forward Zac Bailey as the man who was next up. The small attacker attended 30 per cent of centre bounces during the decider, but in an ideal world, he’d be your seventh or eighth on-ball option.
In contrast, Collingwood used Jordan De Goey, Scott Pendlebury, Nick Daicos, Tom Mitchell and Jack Crisp at centre bounces as the larger group was able to overwork Brisbane’s triple threat.
Will Ashcroft’s return late in the 2024 season will help resolve this, but to start the season at least it’s an area of the ground the Lions will have to manage.
Lachlan Geleit
Strength: The starting 18.
Depth conversations aside, Carlton’s starting 18 (at full strength) is as good as any other team in the competition.
Charlie Curnow up one end and Jacob Weitering up the other provides stability, while Patrick Cripps, Sam Walsh, Adam Cerra and George Hewett is a great midfield core. They have intercept markers down back and found a great mid-forward mix late in 2023.
They inject Zac Williams back into the side that made the Preliminary Final last year, while young players like Tom De Koning, Ollie Hollands and Jesse Motlop should go to another level.
On paper, the Blues have everything they need to contend – but they will be hoping for better injury luck than previous years.
Weakness: Forward line depth.
Carlton hasn’t had a player other than Charlie Curnow or Harry McKay kick over 30 goals since 2017. Curnow hasn’t missed a game in the last two seasons, but what happens if he has a down season or suffers an injury?
The Blues need a more diverse array of goal kickers in 2024 to take the next step. That starts with hoping Jack Martin continues on where he finished 2023, hoping Jack Silvagni can play 22 games and hoping Jesse Motlop makes the leap from 24 goals to 35.
The sneaky aspect to this is Orazio Fantasia. Can he get through a full pre-season and be a factor for the club out of nowhere in 2024? It would certainly go a long way.
Nic Negrepontis
Strength: Foot skills.
The reigning premiers pride themselves on their ball movement, and while a lot of that strength is built on speed and pressure, it’s their kicking that allows them to execute those plans.
In 2023, the Pies were the fifth-best side by foot in terms of percentage, but that doesn’t take into account the risks Craig McRae’s side is happy to take by foot and their constant willingness to take the game on.
On each line there are players who kick well. Darcy Moore, Jeremy Howe, Isaac Quaynor and Brayden Maynard from defence. Jordan De Goey, Steele Sidebottom, Scott Pendlebury and the Daicos brothers through the middle. While Bobby Hill and Jamie Elliott are exquisite up forward.
Overall, it’s a team that can cut you to ribbons by foot, and it’s one skill that the Magpies are more than willing to put to the test against any opposition.
Weakness: Key position depth.
Collingwood are solid with key position players in their senior side, but they might struggle for depth in 2024.
With Dan McStay sidelined with an ACL injury, the Magpies will go with Darcy Moore and Nathan Murphy down back and likely Brody Mihocek and Ash Johnson up forward.
While those players are proven at AFL level, behind them there’s not a heap of AFL-ready options apart from Billy Frampton and maybe Nathan Kreuger.
The Magpies would hope to not have many more injuries in these positions, or they could be found wanting.
Lachlan Geleit
Strength: Controlling possession.
When the Bombers were flying in the early days of 2023, it was rare to see them without the ball in their hands.
Essendon finished fifth in both kicks per game and overall disposals last season, displaying their desire to play the game at their own pace and chip their way through an opponent’s defence.
With the bulk of their list remaining unchanged and Brad Scott at the helm for his second season, the Bombers look to be a possession-heavy team once more in 2024.
Weakness: Defensive issues.
Essendon was one of the worst defensive teams in the competition last season, conceding the fourth most points per game in the competition.
This was clearly an issue the Bombers were aware of, bringing in Ben McKay to replace the undersized Brandon Zerk-Thatcher as the primary key defender.
While this is clearly an upgrade, is McKay capable of singlehandedly bringing this backline up to scratch? Is this the year Zach Reid emerges?
Considering the Dons’ defensive woes cost them a finals berth in 2023, their fortunes this season may depend entirely on the answer to that question.
Jack Makeham
Strength: Midfield class.
Hayden Young stepping into the midfield for Fremantle is exciting because pairing him with Caleb Serong and Andrew Brayshaw creates one of the best starting on-ball trios in the league.
Add in likely the best ruck combination in the league with Sean Darcy and Luke Jackson and you have a lot to work with.
Jaeger O’Meara will do the tough, inside work – can they get anything out of Nathan Fyfe in 2024?
Weakness: Goal kickers.
Jye Amiss looks like a star key forward of the future, but after a quiet trade period and losing Lachie Schultz, their forward line might have less talent on paper after struggling in 2023.
Can Matt Taberner put a solid season together? Will Josh Treacy go to another level? How much do Fyfe and Michael Walters have left in the tank?
Fremantle has a lot to work out in 2024, but their best forward mix is chief amongst them.
Nic Negrepontis
Strength: Scoring power.
Two proven tall forwards, an array of smalls at their feet and a number of midfielders who love to push forward. Chris Scott has the personnel to constantly kick over 100 points in 2024 should his forward line fire.
Tom Hawkins and Jeremy Cameron would both expect to kick over 60 goals this season, while Tyson Stengle was an All-Australian just two years ago. Gryan Miers broke the all-time record for goal assists in 2023 and Gary Rohan, Ollie Henry and Brad Close all command a spot.
Put them together and the Cats have plenty of options forward of the footy and enough firepower to send shudders down the spines of opposition defenders.
Weakness: Key defender depth.
Geelong will have an unhealthy reliance on 5th-year player Sam De Koning in 2023, a 22-year-old with just 43 games of experience.
He finished 2nd to Nick Daicos in the 2022 Rising Star award before an interrupted 2023 campaign showed on occasions. On Scott’s whiteboard, there’s little doubt De Koning will be pegged to take the opposition’s best key forward in more games than not.
The problem is, who is his depth? The Cats have an array of versatile defenders but likely wouldn’t fancy any of Tom Stewart, Jake Kolodjashnij, Jack Henry, Mark O’Connor or Zac Guthrie on the no.1 forward.
Former Hawk Emerson Jeka was recruited for this reason, yet he only has seven games of AFL footy to his name.
Strength: Midfield depth.
If Damien Hardwick doesn’t have the best midfield in the competition at his disposal in 2023, it’s hard to say who does.
The likes of Touk Miller, Noah Anderson and Matt Rowell pick themselves and complement each other. Anderson boats an attacking flair, Rowell is as tough as they come and Miller presents as a perfect combination of both.
Beyond that, however, is where the Suns’ true strength lies. Sam Flanders enjoyed a breakout campaign in 2024, Bailey Humphrey has shown more than enough to suggest he can be a star of the future, while David Swallow, Lachie Weller and more can all chime in.
There’s plenty to like about the Suns’ on-ball unit.
Weakness: Lack of goalkicking options.
Outside of Ben King, Jack Lukosius and Ben Ainsworth, who – of the Suns to have debuted – can be expected to kick over 20 goals?
Levi Casboult was the only other Sun to kick 20+ in 2023 and looks likely to lose his spot to one of the Suns’ top draftees.
King and Lukosius kicked 40 and 39 goals in 2023 respectively. If those numbers stay the same and no other players take the next step, it shapes as a difficult prospect for the Suns to kick big scores.
Seb Mottram
Strength: Key defence and overall back six.
GWS’ defence emerged as one of the competition’s best in 2023.
That was led by Sam Taylor, who easily would have made a second All-Australian side if he hadn’t missed a chunk of the season due to injury.
Supporting him is Jack Buckley, who developed into an elite lockdown defender as the duo suffocate opposition talls.
Connor Idun has also turned into an elite medium defender, while Harry Himmelberg offers great intercepting ability in the air.
With all of their defensive markers ticked off, Lachie Ash and Lachie Whitfield use the ball exquisitely coming out of defensive 50.
The Giants truly have a near-perfect backline.
Weakness: Tall forwards.
The Giants don’t have many weaknesses and that was proven last year as they finished one point away from a Grand Final berth.
In saying that though, the Giants are very reliant on Toby Greene up forward and that’s partly because they lack a true star key forward.
Jesse Hogan is no doubt quality, but behind him is Jake Riccardi and neither player is a real gamebreaker.
Last year’s No. 1 pick Aaron Cadman could become that player, but that likely won’t be the case just yet in 2024.
Lachlan Geleit
Strength: Midfield emergence.
The Hawks have a fairly promising midfield unit that is beginning to build nicely.
It consists of Will Day (aged 22), Jai Newcombe (22), James Worpel (24) and Conor Nash (25), Karl Amon (28) on the periphery, with the likes of Finn Maginness (22), Josh Ward (20) and Cameron Mackenzie (20), among others including Josh Weddle (19), pushing through.
The on-ball unit appears in good order and is the foundation of Sam Mitchell’s side. As a collective it should continue to improve as the team itself gets better.
The foot stress fracture injury sustained by Day isn’t ideal, but with crisis comes opportunity and the chance for someone else to force their way in.
Weakness: Reliance on Sicily and Lewis.
James Sicily’s presence is so critical for the Hawks.
He runs the show from defence and his influence on games is enormous with his intercept marking and ball use out of the backline.
The captain missed four games in 2023 and the Hawks lost by 55, 67, 60 and 13 points.
Likewise, Mitch Lewis is a crucial element in the forward line.
He booted 36 goals in 15 games (second behind gun veteran Luke Breust’s 47) and is a constant presence when he’s fit.
The Hawks seem to struggle if either of these two don’t play and their reliance on the duo has been evident.
Which key position players can stand up and ease the load in 2024?
Andrew Slevison
Strength: Defence.
For the past three years, the Demons have been ranked top five in points allowed and have consistently been viewed as possessing one of the best backlines in the competition.
And after a rocky off-season that saw a little bit of movement in the trade period, plus some unwanted off-field attention, the backline has remained the same and only looks to improve further with continuous growth from players like Trent Rivers, Jake Bowey and Judd McVee.
Established stars such as Steven May and Jake Lever will be prominent in helping the team’s defence stay as strong as possible, which will be further helped by the likes of Christian Salem and Adam Tomlinson who have proven they can hold their own when required to.
Expect another strong season down back from the Demons, who will look to bounce back after a disappointing end to their 2023 season.
Weakness: Ruck depth.
A year ago today, this wasn’t seen as an issue at all. Now, with the departure of Brodie Grundy in the off-season, this has become a glaring problem that could hinder the Demons’ chances of success if Max Gawn was to go down injured.
Even though they recruited Tom Fullarton from Brisbane to help fill the void if the skipper was to go down, the contrast in quality at the position is significantly worse compared to what the club had up their sleeve in 2023.
Gawn should be placed in bubble wrap after every game this season to ensure that the six-time All-Australian doesn’t miss any footy in what seems to be one of the Demons’ last chances at a premiership run.
Zac Sharpe
Strength: Core of young midfielders.
Luke Davies-Uniacke, Harry Sheezel, George Wardlaw, Colby McKercher, Zane Duursma, Dylan Stephens, Will Phillips, Tom Powell… the Roos certainly don’t have a shortage of top draftees to inject through the midfield in 2024.
Sheezel and Wardlaw look like stars of the future, Davies-Uniacke is already a gun and the raps on McKercher out of pre-season training are next level.
When you add in Jy Simpkin as the leader of the unit, the Roos have a great midfield to build around.
Weakness: Key defensive stocks.
With Ben McKay departing for Essendon and Griffin Logue suffering a torn ACL, the Roos will essentially have to rebuild their backline from scratch in 2024.
They were certainly active in the off-season to try and address this, drafting Will Dawson at pick 22, trading for Bigoa Nyuon from Richmond and signing Toby Pink as a delisted free agent.
They also have Aidan Corr who can play taller, Charlie Comben who will likely swing into defence and Kallan Dawson on their rookie list.
None are filling you with an overabundance of confidence, but expect Alastair Clarkson to work some magic with the Kangaroos’ back six.
Nic Negrepontis
Strength: Key forward stocks.
Of Port Adelaide’s four key forward standouts, all can reasonably expect to kick 35+ goals in 2024.
Can Charlie Dixon, Todd Marshall, Mitch Georgiades and Ollie Lord all play in the same team? It’s unlikely. But the quartet are 2+ goals per game types and would fancy their chances to feature for most of the year in Ken Hinkley’s best side.
The dynamic of the forward line remains an important watch over the pre-season. If they get it right, watch out for the Power to average well over 100 points per game in 2024.
Weakness: An unproven backline.
The defensive 50 was Port’s undoing in 2023, conceding scores of 123 and 93 respectively while going out of finals in straight sets. They conceded the most points of all top 10 sides last year, with an injury-decimated backline that was already suffering for talent unable to contain the best sides.
To solve this problem, the Power went to work and recruited Brandon Zerk-Thatcher and Esava Ratugolea over the off-season. Both have the scope to be important players for Hinkley, yet are also unproven with their consistency at the top level.
Aliir Aliir is a star and he has some support, but if Zerk-Thatcher and Ratugolea flounder, it’s set to be a difficult watch down back again.
Seb Mottram
Strength: A new era with a new coach.
Richmond enters the Adem Yze era after the curtain was officially closed on the successful Damien Hardwick years.
Yze has been a breath of fresh air since his arrival at Punt Road and is set to implement a new game style which might just equal unpredictability.
It’s an exciting time for the club to see what can be achieved in the wake of Hardwick and the three premierships.
The Tigers also boast some legitimate top-end talent led by veteran Dustin Martin, who continues to deliver at the top level.
Throw Shai Bolton, Tim Taranto and a fit Tom Lynch into the mix, plus the experience of multiple premiership players, and there remains enough quality to win games.
Weakness: Lack of key forward options.
The Tigers have been unable to replace Jack Riewoldt which leaves them short when it comes to key forward options.
Tom Lynch is the colossus up forward that any team would want, but he needs to get out on the park and play consistently after an injury-riddled 2023.
If he struggles to play regularly in 2024, or fails to regain form, then it falls away quickly. The jury is out on what Jacob Koschitzke can bring to the side, while Samson Ryan is continuing to develop.
Short of Lynch, the genuine key forward options appear thin.
There is also an unknown surrounding the club’s younger players.
A large chunk of them could not break through during the premiership era and as a result don’t have the experience behind them right now.
They’ll need to step up at senior level in order to take the club forward.
Andrew Slevison
Strength: Back six.
St Kilda’s back six is one of the most underrated backlines in the competition and it’s certainly a major strength.
Ross Lyon’s side conceded the least number of points in 2023, finishing ahead of the likes of Melbourne, Collingwood and Carlton all of which played in Preliminary Finals last year.
Callum Wilkie and Jack Sinclair lead the charge back there and with the likes of Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera and Josh Battle improving year on year, it’s slowly becoming one of the best backlines in the game.
Weakness: Midfield talent.
St Kilda’s midfield is one of the worst in the competition and it’s been that way for some time.
There’s no doubt they’re trying to add more talent in there but with the likes of Jack Steele, Brad Crouch and Seb Ross set to carry a lot of that midfield load this year it would no doubt have fans worried.
Expect Lyon and midfield coach Brendon Goddard to inject more of their younger talent in there.
It’s a tough one as they don’t have much to work with at the moment but there are some nice signs with some of their recent draftees and recruits in Mattaes Phillipou, Liam Henry and Darcy Wilson.
Hugh Fitzpatrick
Strength: Midfield depth.
Sydney’s midfield is absolutely stacked with talent.
In what was an already packed midfield group, the Swans added Brodie Grundy, Taylor Adams and James Jordan to couple with their younger stars.
Grundy will slot in as their number one ruck and both Adams and Jordan will provide extra needed grunt alongside Luke Parker, Callum Mills and Chad Warner.
They have so much young talent and with their veterans still performing so consistently, we should expect big things from this midfield group in 2024.
Weakness: Goal kicking forwards.
With Lance Franklin retiring, it’s time for Logan McDonald, Hayden McLean and Joel Amartey to take that step and become a consistent key forward group.
The trio have been in the AFL system long enough to start dominating games on a more consistent basis.
Isaac Heeney, Tom Papley and Will Hayward are dangerous in their own right but you can’t bank on them to kick goals consistently.
They get a lot of support from their midfielders but to be competing deep into September, you do need that forward that can give you a chop out down the line and in front of goal.
Hugh Fitzpatrick
Strength: Their spine.
If Tom Barrass, Jeremy McGovern, Harley Reid, Jack Darling and Oscar Allen are the spine of your football club, then you've got a bit to work with. It is something that Eagles fans should be excited about for 2024.
A nice mix of youth and experience puts the Eagles in a great position to try and quickly climb back up the ladder this season, after enduring a nightmare 2023 campaign which saw them finish as wooden spooners.
Expect premiership players McGovern, Barrass and Darling to have a major say in any Eagles’ success in 2024, while new co-captain Allen can become a star and no.1 draft pick Reid is expected to make an immediate impact.
Weakness: General quality.
On paper, this side’s best 23 doesn’t appear to be all doom and gloom, but it remains a while off the pack.
However, with injuries most likely to interrupt some players again this season, the Eagles’ quality of depth presents as a major issue.
Unfortunately, the lack of experience from a lot of their reserves players will be a significant issue when searching for those to help fill key voids throughout the season.
It is something the club will have to deal with as they attempt to rebuild themselves into a premiership contender again, just like they were in 2018.
Zac Sharpe
Strength: Star-studded midfield.
With the likes of Marcus Bontempelli, Tim English, Tom Liberatore and Adam Treloar manning the engine room, this is easily one of the best midfields in the competition.
While the Bulldogs put together a disappointing 2023 campaign, their group of All-Australian on-ballers did everything they could to drag the club into finals, with Bontempelli leading the charge with arguably the best season of his career.
The Bulldogs added to this group in the 2023 National Draft, taking top prospect Ryley Sanders sixth overall, with the Sandringham Dragons star viewed as a pivotal part of the future at the Whitten Oval.
Weakness: Subpar defence.
The backline was by far the biggest problem for the Bulldogs in 2023, and they come in to 2024 largely unchanged in that part of the ground.
Liam Jones has been solid since returning to footy, however the absence of any other major names down back is a real concern, with the Bulldogs’ only defensive off-season addition coming in the form of Nick Coffield.
A breakout campaign for top prospect Sam Darcy could alleviate plenty of these concerns, however considering he has been spending his pre-season up forward, it doesn’t look likely that he’ll be the saviour.
Jack Makeham