Damien Hardwick is a winner, and his arrival means a great deal to a club like Gold Coast. To get a three-time premiership coach and a two-time premiership player commit to your club is a huge boost to the young playing list.
After a stellar first season as captain individually, Jordan Dawson is determined for his second year as Adelaide skipper to be defined by the Crows getting back to the finals.
AFL: Sam Powell - Pepper could be in the sights of match review officials after a bump, while his side defeated the Crows in a high quality pre season hit out.
Gold Coast star Ben King says there’s “no ceiling” on what the Suns can achieve under new coach Damien Hardwick as he spurned interest from Melbourne clubs to recommit until the end of 2026.
West Coast will put number one draft pick Harley Reid on show against an AFL rival for the first time but have injury-prone defender Jeremy McGovern in cotton wool, resting him from the club’s first interclub practice match against Fremantle at Mineral Resources Park.
St Kilda’s new recruits Darcy Wilson and Riley Bonner put in slashing auditions for round 1 as a new-look Saints side impressed in a Moorabin practice match against Essendon.
It took less than 10 seconds of Ryley Sanders’ first match simulation against an opposition team to not only put the last down payment on a round 1 slot against Melbourne, but to also have him on the AFL Rising Star watchlist.
Sacked AFL footballer Tarryn Thomas doesn’t need to be banned from returning to the competition if he can display “radical change”, according to the head of the national peak body for male family violence.
Melbourne expects to secure salary-cap relief from Angus Brayshaw’s shock retirement, but the AFL isn’t set to change its concussion protocols for the upcoming season.
AFL: The Hawks lengthy injury list could have another name added to it, after new recruit Mabior Chol was in some distress following a marking contest.