2023 AFL Season Review

As we approach the start of the 2024 AFL season we thought it would be fitting to recap the 2023 season with some of the biggest stories. Not only does this provide a concise summary for seasoned fans but provides Irish ex-pats with enough knowledge to impress everyone at work. 

Think of this as providing you with the AFL equivalent to “the thing about Arsenal is they always try to walk it in.”

Collingwood Reach Sweet 16

Collingwood completed one of the quickest rebuilds in AFL history under head coach Craig McRae having come from 17th in 2021 to premiers in 2023. This latest premiership put them joint top of the all time winners list with 16 flags alongside Essendon and Carlton. Given the struggles both those other sides have experienced in the last number of years it wouldn't be unfathomable to see Collingwood out on their own at the top of the all time list by the end of 2024. The biggest story out of the Magpies in 2023 was the sensational form of Nick Daicos in only his second year in the league and despite an injury late in the home and away season returned to play his part in the Finals series alongside his brother Josh.

Tasmania Granted AFL Licence

The AFL loves to call itself the only All-Australian game having teams across 5 of the 6 states. However the glaring omission to this was always Tasmania, a footy state that has produced greats of the game including Alastair Lynch, Matthew Richardson and Darrel Baldock. Finally in May 2023 Tasmania was granted the 19th AFL licence and will join the competition in 2028. The, as yet unnamed, Tasmania team will play their games in Hobart with a new stadium to be built at Macquarie Point in the city.

Buddy’s Farewell

Lance Franklin or simply ‘Buddy’ called time on his distinguished 19 year AFL career in 2023. While it was generally accepted the 2023 season would be his last, an unfortunate calf injury part way through the season accelerated his decision and he retired with a lap of honour at the SCG with his wife and children. Franklin's goal kicking record in the modern, defensive era will be near impossible to match as he kicked a total 1066 goals for Hawthorn Hawks & Sydney Swans and was the most recent player to kick over 100 goals in a season (113 for Hawthorn in 2008).

Gather Round in SA

The AFL Gather Round debuted in 2023 with some skepticism however the four day festival of footy in South Australia was a resounding success! This nine game festival saw all 18 AFL teams and over 250,000 fans descend on Adelaide and South Australia and brought the Australian Rules community together in one city and state for the first time. Given the success of the event in 2023 it has been re-commissioned and will be held in SA until 2026 with the potential of traveling to other parts of Australia after that.

Head Coach Controversy

There were two big Head Coach stories in 2023 involving two multiple premiership winning managers. The first involved Alastair Clarkson who stepped away from his role at North Melbourne after round 9 citing that he required time to concentrate on physical well being following investigations into racism during his time at the helm at Hawthorn. Clarkson did return for the round 21 win against the Gold Coast Suns. The second story involved Damien Hardwick who stepped away from Richmond in May 2023 when “it just all became a little bit too much”. However, more sensationally Hardwick accepted the role as Gold Coast Suns new head coach for the 2024 season.

For an in depth review of the main Irish stories from the AFL in 2023 please see "Irish in the AFL - 2023 Review" at irishintheafl.com