There is a whiff of optimism around all 18 AFL clubs in February. Fans have been fed puff pieces about “personal best time trials” and “new sports science departments” since October, and every club’s recruiting manager believes he cleaned up at the draft. Right now, there’s a spring in the step of every supporter.
With the NAB Challenge – in which each team will play three practice matches over four weeks – almost upon us, the time has come for each team to back up their membership-spruiking talk. With so much on the agenda – players returning from injury, players out of contract, rookies, veterans and the little issue that is the ASADA saga – we narrow down the one headline your club wants to see over the next three weeks.
Adelaide: new coach makes mark
Adelaide has certainly talked the talk this pre-season following the appointment of new coach Phil Walsh – even if that talk is largely in footy clichés (“team-first philosophy”, “play our role” etc). Walsh will test out his defence-oriented gameplan with a near full-strength line up in the Crows’ opening NAB Challenge clash against North Melbourne (sadly minus veteran defender Brent Reilly, who is still recovering from a sickening fractured skull sustained at training). Most eyes will be on Patrick ‘will he stay or will he go?’ Dangerfield’s every move, but the form of former Hawks Kyle Cheney and Luke Lowden will also be worth tracking.
Brisbane Lions: no Brown, no worries
For all the hype about Brisbane’s midfield – Dayne Beams, Allen Christensen and the returning Daniel Rich bolstering the Lions’ 2014 line-up – their forward line remains a bit of a mess heading into the NAB Challenge. Jonathan Brown’s days of crashing packs (and his own face) are over and impressive young forward Jonathan Freeman will miss three months, as will Irishman Pearce Hanley. The Lions’ pre-season forward line will revolve around great white hope Michael Close, while supported by veterans Brent Staker and Luke McGuane, both on the comeback from long-term injuries. Plan B? Good thing that midfield is stacked with goalscoring power.
Carlton: Blues rejuvinated
Coming off an underwhelming season, Carlton players have said all the right things this summer. If you believe the hype, a rejuvenated Chris Judd is moving like a 20-year-old and Dale Thomas, who appeared a shadow of his former self in his first season in navy blue, is pain-free for the first time in two years. The Blues take on West Coast in Mandurah first up, and both are expected to play. Carlton surprised by drafting mature-age Blaine Boekhorst with pick 19 (even if no due diligence was done on his Twitter account), and the 21-year-old is also on track for game time.
Collingwood: vintage Swan ponders pies
Clubs rarely talk up the importance of practice games, but Collingwood captain Scott Pendlebury has refreshingly bucked the trend. The Pies are itching to play, having lost seven of their last 10 games to miss the finals last year. While even the coach believes it would be “folly” to plan for the return of perennially injured Ben Reid, the club will unveil former top 10 draftee Nathan Freeman and recruits Levi Greenwood and Travis Varcoe in the NAB Challenge, possibly as early as its first game against Hawthorn. Fans will also welcome a fit-again Dane Swan, keen to make amends after a self-described putrid season.
Essendon: Bombers victorious
The ASADA saga may finally be reaching its climax, not a moment too soon, but not before significant interruptions to their season preparations with the Bombers withdrawing its entire 2012 list from practice matches to preserve provision suspensions. Essentially, Essendon’s NAB Challenge teams will feature mature recruits (Goddard, Chapman, Cooney, Gwilt, Giles), a handful of young players, rookies and top-up players. It may have been handed a soft NAB Challenge fixture, drawn to play St Kilda, Melbourne and GWS, but it will be a near miracle if the Bombers’ patchwork side is able to beat a team of full-time footballers.
Fremantle: Lyon cage stifles rivals
Given they should have put Port Adelaide away by half-time in last year’s semi final, Fremantle has been written off by many this pre-season. But there seems to be a renewed focus around the Dockers, evidenced by Ross Lyon not mincing words about banished midfielder Colin Sylvia. Generally, an angry Lyon means a determined team, so it’s a fair bet the Lyon cage will be in full effect from the Dockers’ first practice game. In what should be one of the better NAB Challenge games, Fremantle get a chance to extract some finals revenge on Sydney on 15 March.
Geelong: Mitch Clark the messiah
Despite bowing out of the finals in straight sets, Geelong has a brutal start to the home and away season, facing Hawthorn, Fremantle and North Melbourne early. Unsurprisingly, coach Chris Scott has already flagged his intention for the Cats’ veterans to play as many NAB Challenge minutes as possible to hit the season running. Most eyes will be on the Cats’ new-look forward line, with recruits Rhys Stanley and Mitch Clark set to support Tom Hawkins. The pair have both suffered minor setbacks this pre-season, but strong showings over the coming weeks will have fans hoping the Cats can defy all logic and contend yet again.
Gold Coast: guess who’s back?
The Suns’ finals aspirations last year were all but over when Gary Ablett crashed to the Metricon Stadium turf and immediately clutched his shoulder in round 16. Without their captain, the Suns lost six of their last seven games to finish 12th. In an omen for the rest of the league, new coach Rodney Eade says his superstar has taken his fitness “to another level” in the meantime. The Suns may have just 34 healthy players to pick its first NAB Challenge side from, but that will include former Swan Nick Malceski and the silky Jack Martin, whose debut season was ravaged by injury.
Greater Western Sydney: injury-free Cameron dominates
Now in their fourth year, GWS is expected to make some inroads this season. With winnable NAB Challenge games against Gold Coast and a depleted Essendon, the Giants will chase early wins. Leon Cameron admits star recruit and former Bulldogs captain Ryan Griffen will be nursed through practice games, though he is still expected to feature. Having lost Tom Boyd and with Jonathon Patton injured, GWS will be keen for the return of Jeremy Cameron who also hasn’t had the greatest luck. Speedy draftee Jarrod Pickett should also get a chance to stake a claim for a round one senior berth.
Hawthorn: business as usual for reigning premiers
When you’re coming off back-to-back premierships, you don’t really want anything from the pre-season except to escape without any injuries to key players or another Brian Lake brain fade. Running back Grant Birchall is already on the sidelines, but otherwise the Hawks are in great shape. Alistair Clarkson will likely give plenty game time to players trying to cement spots in the side and returning from injury, like Jed Anderson, and pre-season results will take a backseat to clever management of veterans. Fans will also get their first look at recruit James Frawley, who should seamlessly slot into a key back position.
Melbourne: young Demons make immediate impact
The Norm Smith curse lives on. Long-suffering Demons fans were two weeks away from the debut of highly touted teenager Christian Petracca, until the number two draft pick blew out his ACL, joining the high-flying Jeremy Howe on the sidelines. Coach Paul Roos would almost be tempted to keep the equally prized Angus Brayshaw and Jesse Hogan in cotton wool, but the pair seem set to play in at least one pre-season game. Former premiership Pie Heritier Lumumba should also slot straight into the side for its first NAB Challenge clash with Fremantle, so it’s not all doom and gloom.
North Melbourne: Waite turns back the clock
There’s good and bad news for Brad Scott’s men. The coach has admitted several key players are racing the clock to be fully fit by round one, effectively ruling them out of the NAB Challenge. But 32-year-old recruit Jarrad Waite, whose best is very good, and former Dog Shaun Higgins are expected to line up for the Kangaroos’ first practice game on 1 March. Interestingly, Scott has also flagged using the NAB Challenge to find a tagger, conscious of the need to stop opposition teams getting a run-on. It could be brilliant in hindsight, should the Kangaroos go one step further this season.
Port Adelaide: Power keep lid on
The hype about Port Adelaide has been almost insufferable since the Power’s narrow preliminary final loss to Hawthorn - and the club is embracing the excitement. The Power is laden with talent but in some ways it wouldn’t be a bad thing if it had a below-par NAB Challenge to hose down expectations. Former Essendon ruckman Paddy Ryder – regarded by many as the final piece of Port’s premiership puzzle – will miss at least the first two practice games due to the ASADA saga but in better news, Chad Wingard and Jackson Trengove should get some gametime on their comebacks from injury.
Richmond: Vickery repays faith
Every pre-season, without fail, a footballer talks about wanting to repay his club for supporting him through previous indiscretions. This year, it’s Tyrone Vickery, whose swinging fist earned him an early Mad Monday last year. The former top 10 draft pick is reportedly flying at training and, considering the forgettable way Richmond ended its season, will be given a chance to cement a spot alongside Jack Riewoldt in the forward line. The Tigers will approach the NAB Challenge with a distinct strategy of playing cubs in its first practice game against the Bulldogs, and senior players in weeks two and three.
St Kilda: Saints competitive
It sounds almost condescending to say that St Kilda’s main goal for the NAB Challenge is to be competitive – but coach Alan Richardson is on the same page. When you’re coming off such a low base – the Saints won just one of their last 17 matches last season – staying in games for longer periods starting this pre-season will demonstrate some improvement to fans. Number one draft pick Paddy McCartin is likely to play against Essendon on 28 February, while his older team-mates will share the strange experience of playing against former grand final Saint Clinton Jones, one of the Bombers’ top-up players.
Sydney: Swans start road to redemption
It’s still hard to fathom how un-Sydney-like the Swans’ grand final performance was. The demons still linger, but the best way for Sydney to prove they are out for redemption is with some typically hard-nosed NAB Challenge performances. Buddy should play in the pre-season opener against Brisbane, and coach John Longmire is pleased with the current form of Dan Hannebery, who was uncharacteristically poor in last year’s decider. The team will also unveil academy product Isaac Heeney, drafted at pick 18 despite being rated a top-three talent. If he stars from day one of the NAB Challenge, expect another COLA-style debate to rage on.
Western Bulldogs: Boyd justifies the big bucks
Bulldogs fans won’t have to wait long to check out $7 million man Tom Boyd, the former number one draft pick acquired from GWS in one of the biggest stories (and contracts) of the off-season. The forward will play in the Dogs’ NAB Challenge opener against Richmond, alongside former Cat Joel Hamling and former Swan Shane Biggs. The Dogs will field strong pre-season squads, sans leading goal kicker Stewart Crameri who will sit out, but you get the sense new coach Luke Beverage would love nothing more than a dominant Boyd performance or two (if only for the inevitable spike in membership sales).
West Coast: Nic Nat soars
Recent years haven’t been kind to West Coast, considered a premiership fancy just three years ago. Even Matt Priddis’s shock Brownlow win hasn’t helped the Eagles avoid pre-season pain, like Jack Darling’s foot woes which will likely hinder his entire 2015 campaign and Beau Waters’s untimely retirement. As Adam Simpson is well aware, the Eagles need to again turn Subiaco into a fortress. Hopefully a fit and firing Nic Naitanui helps, as the Eagles seem devoid of flair without the high-flying Fijian at his peak. The Eagles’ 22 March date with Fremantle is intriguing, given both teams are under pressure for different reasons.
