Digby Beacham’s AFL Season Preview

Posted on March 9, 2023March 28, 2023 | Posted by Digby Beacham

PREMIERS – Geelong @ $4*

There are sides that defy the odds and then there is Geelong. The Cats just keep on keeping on and unsurprisingly, enter the 2023 season favourites to win another premiership and establish themselves as one of the great teams of the modern era.

The retirement of four-time premiership hero Joel Selwood soon after last year’s grand final triumph against Sydney wasn’t totally unexpected. The loss of such a revered figure and leader would normally cause a bit of angst within a football club.

As we know, Geelong aren’t your normal football club. A 16-game winning streak they are currently riding illustrates as much. They more than offset Selwood’s departure by acquiring former first-round draft selections Tanner Bruhn (GWS), Jack Bowes (Gold Coast) and Ollie Henry (Collingwood).

If you thought (perhaps hoped as an opposition supporter) that the Cats would be content with a flag after contending for most of Chris Scott’s reign, then you were sadly mistake. And if the word on the east coast is correct over summer, these Cats don’t have full bellies … they remain extremely hungry.

Granted, they are an ageing group with many of their senior personnel boasting a lot of miles on the clock. But they did go 18-4 throughout the home-and-away campaign last year and were unbelievably clinical on the big stage opposed to the Swans.

We also must acknowledge that Scott is one of the finest coaches of the modern era. He boasts two flags and 200 wins (two draws) and 84 losses, giving him a win-loss percentage of 70.28. His latest success came off a desire to alter the Cats’ game plan, one that was rewarded with the ultimate prize.

The challenges will come from the likes of Brisbane, Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs, not to mention Fremantle, but Geelong remain the benchmark and are seemingly not interested in resting on their laurels.

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BROWNLOW MEDAL – Andrew Brayshaw @ $11*

It is little wonder Fremantle’s premier midfielder is the price he is with TABtouch to take home the game’s most prestigious individual award.

In only his fifth AFL season last year, Brayshaw polled 25 votes to share fourth place with Clayton Oliver behind only Patrick Cripps (29), Lachie Neale (28) and Touk Miller (27). Insatiable in his approach to hard work, Brayshaw played all 22 matches in the home-and-away series, amassed 640 possessions, while showing a refreshing willingness to work hard defensively and apply enormous approach on the opposition’s ball carrier.

If Brayshaw isn’t already at the peak of his powers, he is fast approaching the summit. The recruitment of Jaeger O’Meara is going to prove beneficial, as is the fact Fremantle are expected to again play finals football. There have been examples of players winning the Brownlow without their side being active in September, but it certainly helps to be a key plank in a finals-bound outfit.

Brayshaw was voted by his peers last year as the best player in the competition. Don’t be shocked if the umpires follow suit in 2023.

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COLEMAN MEDAL – Jeremy Cameron @ $8*

You could throw a blanket over the leading contenders in this year’s Coleman Medal count … much like we did 12 months ago.

Charlie Curnow was the league’s No.1 marksman in 2022, finishing with 64 goals to finish four majors clear of Richmond key forward Tom Lynch. Next on 59 were Geelong pair Jeremy Cameron and Tom Hawkins, six ahead of Essendon spearhead Peter Wright.

With Hawkins advancing in years and no guarantee to feature in round one as he battles a foot issue, Cameron will carry a lot of expectation in the Cats’ forward half. That won’t worry him. He led Greater Western Sydney’s goalkicking in all nine seasons he spent at the club and has already returned more than 100 goals for the Cats from just 39 appearances.

Expect Cameron to again use his mobility to advantage, with his ability to push up the ground and then work hard back towards goal proving a tactic difficult to negate. Geelong’s desire to move the ball with greater urgency in 2022 also worked in his favour.With a career-best season accompanying a maiden flag, what’s to say Cameron won’t elevate to an even higher standard this year?

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RISING STAR – Sam Darcy @ $10*

The Western Bulldogs don’t need to be told how good Sam Darcy is. The same applies to every other Australian Rules fan.

However, is the son of former ruck-forward Luke Darcy going to be afforded enough opportunities to stake a legitimate claim to be regarded as the best young talent in the competition?

Only time will tell, but I’m happy to be getting double figures with TABtouch to find out. We saw glimpses of Darcy’s undeniable talent in four matches in his rookie season last year and given what he has produced over summer, it wasn’t a shock he received a two-year contract extension this week.

Brisbane father-son selection Will Ashcroft is all the rage and looks like he has already played five seasons of senior football. He deserves to be short, but at $2, we will steer away from him and focus in on Darcy.

The 208cm teenager is going to start the season in attack and when you think Aaron Naughton and Rory Lobb are likely to attract the opposition’s two main key defenders, Darcy is going to prove a nightmare match-up.

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LADDER PREDICTION

1. Brisbane

2. Geelong

3. Western Bulldogs

4. Fremantle

5. Melbourne

6. Port Adelaide

7. Collingwood

8. Richmond

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9. Sydney

10. Carlton

11. Gold Coast

12. Essendon

13. St Kilda

14. West Coast

15. Adelaide

16. GWS

17. North Melbourne

18. Hawthorn

*Odds correct as at 2pm, 9th March 2023

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