With the season proper about to kick-off next week, we give a full rundown on how each club fared in the pre-season, and how they’re looking for 2008.

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St Kilda
It was pretty much a perfect lead-in to the season for the Saints. Their pre-season cup win provides form and confidence. More importantly, they were able to do it while gradually easing some of their big names into the team and avoiding any injuries of note. Fraser Gehrig strained his calf but is likely to be back for the start of the season. Brendon Goddard, Matt Maguire and Max Hudghton are yet to play for the senior team this year, but should be in round one, or soon after. New ruck duo Steven King and Michael Gardiner demonstrated they will improve the team’s structure, while Charlie Gardiner showed he will add depth in attack and Adam Schneider will add run.

Adelaide
The most significant incident of the Crows’ pre-season happened before they played a match, when ruckman Rhett Biglands went down at training with a season-ending knee injury. With Ben Hudson having joined the Western Bulldogs it left Adelaide relying heavily on youngsters in the ruck. The good news is that some of those youngsters impressed in the pre-season, particularly former basketballer Kurt Tippett. Ex-North Melbourne recruit Brad Moran, Ivan Maric and Jonathon Griffin also looked good. In another good sign for the Crows, Brad Symes, Brent Reilly and Jason Porplyzia impressed in the midfield, freeing up stars Andrew McLeod, Simon Goodwin and Tyson Edwards to be trialled up forward, to good effect.

Essendon
A glimmer of hope for Bombers supporters wondering where the team is headed after three years near the bottom of the ladder and new coach Matthew Knights taking the reins. Knights went heavily down the path of youth and pace, to exciting effect. It produced two wins and two narrow losses. Significantly, it also showed off players who could eventually lift the club up the ladder. Recruits Tayte Pears and David Myers showed talent, while other youngsters such as Alwyn Davey, Bachar Houli, Leroy Jetta and Kyle Reimers impressed. Jay Neagle looked classy in attack, while Angus Monfries and Ricky Dyson showed they could play greater roles in the midfield. Full-forward Matthew Lloyd and fullback Dustin Fletcher were eased back from injury in the final practice match. The one down note was the loss of promising key position player Scott Gumbleton to the latest in a long series of hamstring injuries in the opening minutes of the pre-season competition.

Read the Essendon Bombers 2008 season preview

Hawthorn
It was a mixed result for the Hawks. On the upside, Mark Williams and Tim Clarke returned successfully from major injuries, while recruit Cyril Rioli showed enormous pace and class. The Hawks played some superb football at times, particularly against Carlton in the second round, when skipper Sam Mitchell set up a scoring avalanche with some fine clearance work. But there were also some serious setbacks, the biggest being a major knee injury to Beau Muston. The highly rated youngster will spend his third year on the club’s list, but will have to wait until next year to make his debut. Also, Campbell Brown added his name to a high-quality list of suspended players. He will miss the opening round of the season proper, along with Shane Crawford, Jordan Lewis and Luke Hodge.

Read the Hawthorn Hawks 2008 season preview

Western Bulldogs
The brightest aspect of an unremarkable pre-season for the Bulldogs was the solid form of ex-Adelaide ruckman Ben Hudson. His presence significantly strengthened them in the ruck and enabled Will Minson to add some badly-needed height and strength up forward. Other encouraging signs were the return to top form of Jason Akermanis, while the addition of forward recruit Scott Welsh should be a big boost, although he only showed glimpses during the pre-season. On the negative side, the Bulldogs were woeful in being knocked out of the competition by Essendon in the second round. Another down note was a knee ligament strain to promising young defender Andrejs Everitt who will miss at least the first round.

Read the Western Bulldog’s 2008 season preview

Geelong
The Cats’ pre-season form did nothing to dampen expectations that they will again be the team to beat this year. Narrowly knocked out of the cup by the Saints, they went on to hammer Melbourne, Brisbane and Richmond. While some of their premiership stars were being eased back, players on the fringes staked their claims. Forwards Tom Hawkins, Tom Lonergan and Ryan Gamble, midfielder Brent Prismall and ruckman Trent West pushed hard for senior berths. The Cats enter the season with almost a full list of fit players, the only concern key defender Matthew Egan who is taking a long time to recover from a broken foot and is not expected back until mid-season.

Read the Geelong Cats 2008 season preview

Carlton
The Blues’ pre-season revolved around Chris Judd, first his naming as captain and then the former West Coast superstar’s return to football in the last practice game. Importantly, he did enough to demonstrate he had recovered well from groin surgery. The other good news story was the return of Nick Stevens from a neck injury and he is expected to play in round one despite the twinge that kept him out of the final practice match. There were a few other good signs, with No.1 draft pick Matthew Kreuzer looking assured, young key defender Michael Jamison settling in well at fullback and tall forward Jake Edwards also showing promise. The bad news was that Brad Fisher will miss the early rounds after breaking his thumb, while Andrew Walker has a shoulder injury.

Fremantle
The year started terribly for the Dockers when ball-winning midfielder Paul Hasleby was stretchered off with a season-ending knee injury in their opening match, a win over West Coast at Subiaco. Things did not improve much, with bad losses to Adelaide, North Melbourne and Port Adelaide to follow. In brighter news, though, recruit Rhys Palmer looked very good and could slot into the side in place of Hasleby. Ex-Essendon player Mark Johnson settled in well, while midfielder Des Headland had a very impressive pre-season to suggest he is in for a big year. Brett Peake, who missed much of last year with a broken collarbone, also performed well.

Collingwood
The Magpies’ pre-season involved a lot of travelling and not much winning. Firste was the training trip to South Africa before heading to Abu Dhabi, where they were annihilated by Adelaide. Next came Albany, in southern Western Australia, where they were soundly beaten by West Coast and lost youngster Brad Dick to a season-ending knee injury. A loss to Port Adelaide followed, before they finally scraped to their only win of the pre-season against Hawthorn. Among their brighter moments was the naming of universally respected veteran Scott Burns as new captain. They have also had a few encouraging signs on the field, notably the form of emerging youngster Chris Egan and the addition of ex-Brisbane ruckman Cameron Wood.

Richmond
The Tigers’ pre-season was bookended by bad losses to form sides St Kilda and Geelong. In between there were glimmers of hope for last season’s wooden-spooners with wins over Melbourne and Sydney. Most encouraging for Richmond was the return of midfielder Mark Coughlan from back-to-back serious knee injuries. There was some solid pre-season form from speedy youngsters Richard Tambling and Brett Deledio. Recruits Mitch Morton and Jordan McMahon showed enough to suggest they will be a boost.

North Melbourne
The Kangaroos lost Jess Sinclair for the opening month of the season with a thumb injury, while rookie Nathan Grima was sidelined for the entire year by a knee injury. But significantly, key forward Nathan Thompson looks in great shape after a year out with a knee injury and should be a massive boost. Fellow forward Corey Jones also looked good, after missing the final games of last season with a foot injury, while Leigh Harding slotted in nicely running out of defence, after also missing last season.

Port Adelaide
The Power had a solid pre-season, with many of their youngsters shining. Travis Boak and Robbie Gray continued to impress after their emergence last season, while Paul Stewart pushed hard for an AFL debut. Speedster Danyle Pearce showed outstanding form. Young key defender Alipate Carlile also impressed, suggesting he is capable of filling the hole left by the retirement of Darryl Wakelin.

Read the Port Adelaide Power 2008 season preview

Brisbane
The bright spot of the Lions’ pre-season was Daniel Bradshaw’s successful return in their final practice match, after a year on the sidelines. The quality key forward will remove some of the heavy load that last year rested on the shoulders of superstar Jonathan Brown. Silky ex-Melbourne midfielder Travis Johnstone showed solid form and will improve Brisbane. Importantly, after an injury-plagued season last year, the Lions hit the 2008 season with their list in good shape.

Read the Brisbane Lions 2008 season preview

Sydney
The major talking point regarding the Swans was the aftermath of their customary first-round pre-season loss, with coach Paul Roos eventually cleared of throwing the game against Hawthorn. Of far more significance is the serious knee injury suffered by Nick Malceski, robbing the club of one of their most important players, while youngster Kristin Thornton also went down with a knee injury. In brighter news, recruit Craig Bird has been shining in the midfield, while other youngsters Jarred Moore, Heath Grundy, Kieren Jack and Ed Barlow made strong pushes for more senior games and ex-Adelaide recruit Martin Mattner has been a plus.

Read the Sydney Swans 2008 season preview

West Coast
A low-key pre-season for the Eagles was largely devoted to preparing for life after Chris Judd and Ben Cousins. With Daniel Kerr out with a hamstring injury, that meant midfield roles for youngsters. Scott Selwood, Brad Ebert and Jamie McNamara showed some good signs, while Matt Priddis and Shannon Hurn also performed well. Another contender playing well is the club’s No.1 draft pick Chris Masten, but not for the Eagles after being suspended for disciplinary reasons. Masten has been outstanding for WAFL club East Fremantle and could be in line for opening round selection. The Eagles are another victim of the plague of knee injuries in the AFL in recent months, with likely starting defender Mitch Brown out for the year.

Melbourne
Dismal times for the Demons, the only club to lose all of their pre-season games, starting with a thrashing from the Cats and ending with a belting from the Kangaroos. Melbourne’s leadership group also had to suspend one of their own members. Brock McLean, touted as a future captain, was stood down indefinitely from a leadership role after several undisciplined acts while driving. There have been very few bright spots, although recruits Cale Morton and Addam Maric showed some promise and skipper David Neitz is in sound fitness after suffering from knee problems last year.

© AAP 2012

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