Superstar Swan’s sneaky slide; Brownlow star disappears: Every AFL club’s player who must lift

For one reason or another, some of the game’s brightest talents didn’t have the season they would’ve liked.

Be it positional switches, injury or just plain old bad form, there’s certainly a lot of upside when it comes to 2024.

Foxfooty.com.au looks at a player from each club who’ll be desperate for a better season come next year.

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ADELAIDE

Jordon Butts

A foot fracture in round 20 ended his season prematurely, but Jordon Butts will need to lift in the Crows’ defence next year, especially with an injury-enforced absence for Nick Murray and the departure of Tom Doedee. The Crows are desperate for some more consistency in the back six and Butts’ player rating dropped by 69 per cent year-on-year. The good news is he’s set for a full pre-season despite the injury blow. A fit and healthy Butts could prove crucial in Adelaide’s attempt to break into the top eight under Matthew Nicks and take the next step in the side’s rebuild. It’s that growth from within that could prove the difference in the finals run.

BRISBANE LIONS

Brandon Starcevich

To be fair, it’s hard to find many people who need to lift in a side that nearly won the premiership. Still, Starcevich’s ratings dropped 35 per cent this year. With Tom Doedee set to be fit to play in the backend of the 2024 season, a good first half of the year is important for him. He played all 26 games for the Lions this year, but the former top 20 pick turns 25 next year and should be looking to up the ante again next season and try help the Lions bridge the small gap between them and the premiers. We’re clutching though given how impressive the Lions were this year.

CARLTON

Harry McKay

One of the most high profile players to have battled with form in 2023, with his goalkicking woes plain to see. Resetting over the pre-season should do him a lot of good, as it appeared to be a mainly confidence issue for the former Coleman medallist throughout the year, with the fluctuation between drop punts and snaps seemingly always a dilemma. His player ratings dropped 32 per cent compared to 2022 and a lot of the heavy lifting was left to Charlie Curnow as a result. Curnow thrived under that pressure until the finals, but a side with both of them firing in tandem is far more fearsome than only one. He’ll be 26 at the start of next season and should be at the peak of his powers. George Hewett also gets a mention, having recorded a 54 per cent drop in 2023 after some very impressive performances in 2022.

COLLINGWOOD

Pat Lipinski

Pat Lipinski looked to be a shrewd recruit for the Pies before injury struck and turned his season upside down. He returned to the field in the middle of the year and is now a premiership player, but getting a full body of work in ahead of 2024 could be vital to the midfielder, who did cause a scare or two when he copped an ankle injury at pre-season training recently. His ratings dropped by 27 per cent this season. Veteran teammate Jeremy Howe’s numbers dropped by 37 per cent, but he like Lipinski endured an injury-interrupted campaign. Both should be better for the run and the form slumps certainly haven’t been too much of an issue for the reigning premiers.

ESSENDON

Jade Gresham

He’s one of Essendon’s marquee recruits and looks to be putting in the off-field work already, which is understandable given his 2023 was stagnating despite patches of brilliance. Gresham can be one of the most damaging mid-forwards in the competition at his best, but this season saw him drop 37 per cent compared to 2022. There’s plenty of upside in Gresham and at just 26 years of age the Bombers could benefit in a big way from bringing him across. He can add more midfield scoring power, but he needs to become a more consistent force than he is currently. Do that, and Essendon becomes a more dangerous prospect.

FREMANTLE

Nat Fyfe

Perhaps no one else is in need of a consistent, solid pre-season than Nat Fyfe, who has endured injury setback after injury setback in recent years. Firstly, the Dockers need to figure out whether he’s a forward, a midfielder or a combination of the two. There still seems to be an expectation he can perform somewhere near his best, with Andrew Brayshaw saying recently the dual Brownlow Medal winner is, when at his fittest, the club’s best player. Getting back to that point is the challenge for Fyfe and the pre-season is once again crucial. He’s 32 years of age, but the amount of footy he’s missed in recent years mean he could have a fair bit left in the tank if he’s able to get out on the park again.

GEELONG CATS

Tyson Stengle

Stengle was a microcosm of Geelong as a whole, struggling to replicate the feats of 2022 while also marred by injury at stages. It was a 34 per cent drop off in player ratings for him this season and he kicked just 27.9 compared to 53.27 in 2022. There’s no shortage of Cats who need to lift in 2024. On the veteran side, Zach Tuohy will need to make an improvement after deciding to go again in 2024, having recorded a 38 per cent drop. Despite an incredible start to the 2023 season, Jeremy Cameron’s rating actually dropped by the close of the year, although he was hampered by injury for stages. In any case, there’s plenty to work on for the Cats.

GOLD COAST SUNS

Brayden Fiorini

Damien Hardwick has form in getting players to embrace their role for the benefit of the team and Brayden Fiorini has a chance to do just that in 2024. He’s never been able to truly cement himself in the senior side despite showing an ability to rack up the ball at will. The midfield is stacked, but Fiorini seems to be too good to be languishing in the VFL. Signed until the end of 2025 after considering his future ahead of last year’s trade period, there’s a chance he finds a new lease on life under Hardwick, but he has to show promise in the lead-up to the season in order to win the approval of the premiership coach.

GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY

Jake Riccardi

He’s re-signed for three years and finished the year really well, so it’s less of him needing to lift and more of him having to take that form into 2024. Riccardi has shown he has the ability to be an imposing force up forward and he is an important figure in attack given the relief he can provide to Jesse Hogan, who did a lot of heavy lifting this year along with Toby Greene playing as a sudo key position player despite being undersized. Riccardi plays an important role structurally and even though he kicked 35 goals this season he still has the capability of taking another step up as a key forward. Being a relatively sound set shot means he maximises his opportunities when he gets them and he finished 2023 well, so he should capitalise on the momentum.

HAWTHORN

Denver Grainger-Barras

He’ll turn 22 early next season and surely still has growth in front of him as a player, but it’s hard to shake the feeling it’s now or never for the former No.6 draft pick, who has been unable to lock down a key position post in a side that has scaled back its experience significantly. His contract expires at the close of 2024 and he’s yet to prove himself as someone integral to the long-term build under Sam Mitchell. Mitch Lewis and James Sicily are both in need of support, so there are opportunities in the key position posts, but he’ll need to get a wriggle on and make this his season.

MELBOURNE

Clayton Oliver

Lets be clear: Clayton Oliver has nothing to prove. He has established himself as one of the best midfielders in the competition and is a force to be reckoned with. Still, he has found himself in the spotlight this off-season for all the wrong reasons and would be desperate to return to his consistent best given the lengthy injury lay-off he endured for a large part of 2023. Ratings only show a 13 per cent drop this season, but that coupled with the amount of time he missed mean it’s vital he gets more consistency in his body next season in order to try and help the Dees get back on the winners list come September. Just getting continuity back in his body will be important given how foreign a long lay-off would’ve been for someone who had been so consistent to that point.

NORTH MELBOURNE

Luke McDonald

With the departure of Ben McKay and retirement of Jack Ziebell, the North Melbourne defence is in need of some steadying, so co-captain Luke McDonald will need to up the ante next year to try and help his side remain competitive. McDonald was a bit all over the shop in 2023 and dropped 24 per cent. At 28 he should be leading the way given the significant amount of youth coming through as the side regenerates its list under Alastair Clarkson. Realistically, there’s no shortage of players at North Melbourne that need to lift, but it starts at the top.

PORT ADELAIDE

Ollie Wines

It was a down year for Ollie Wines as his numbers took a noticeable dive as he moved onto a wing to allow the likes of Connor Rozee and Zak Butters to play a bigger role in the middle. Still, it’d be a surprise if Wines didn’t get more midfield time in 2024 given what he is capable of when given the opportunity. Plus the Power will be looking at what they can improve after the finals series went pear-shaped for them following an impressive home and away campaign. Few players can match Wines in the middle of the ground when he’s up and running, so it makes sense he returns to that role in 2024.

RICHMOND

Dylan Grimes

It was a down season for Richmond and Dylan Grimes was one of the many who struggled to perform to the lofty standards he has set over the years. His rating took a 38 per cent dive this season and the Tigers’ defence struggled as a result. Kamdyn McIntosh was another, dropping 47 per cent. It’s part of the reason the Tigers are desperate to get Josh Gibcus back to full fitness, given the promise the high-end draft pick has shown when he has been out on the park.

ST KILDA

Seb Ross

The Saints need more bite in the middle of the ground and Seb Ross is someone who can give them that if he’s able to improve next season. His performances varied in 2023 and ultimately he dropped off by 25 per cent. But this is a player who has won two best and fairests at the club and knows how to perform at the top level. This year showed there is promise in the young crop coming through, but they need to be supported by the veterans as they develop, so more output from Ross would go a long way next year.

SYDNEY SWANS

Isaac Heeney

Taylor Adams and James Jordon add to the midfield mix, but Heeney at his best is a force to be reckoned with. He has split time between the midfield and forward 50, drifting more towards the latter in recent seasons. He was good enough this year after some early struggles with injury, but good enough isn’t what most see for Heeney. The 27-year-old has threatened at stages to be one of the best players in the competition and his ceiling is sky high. He arguably should be a far bigger weapon for the Swans than he is currently. Finding the right position for him and improving his consistency are both musts for the star Swan.

WEST COAST EAGLES

Dom Sheed

Injury hasn’t been kind to Dom Sheed, with the latest setback the discovery of a hotspot in his foot and being put onto a modified training program. Still, at 28 he should be somewhere near the peak of his powers and needs to be in a side desperate for some leadership and consistency. Harley Reid’s arrival and the development of Reuben Ginbey means the next wave of talent will begin to come through, but improvement from Sheed could help them be more competitive in 2024.

WESTERN BULLDOGS

Bailey Smith

Since the publication of this article Smith tore his ACL at training and will miss the 2024 season. His ratings dropped by 27 per cent from 2022 to 2023 but now he will head out of contract without a potential improved season on his resume.