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Who will bounce back from poor 2020 campaigns?

3rd February, 2021
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Roar Guru
3rd February, 2021
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A new AFL season is upon us, and with that is an opportunity for a swathe of players to put a horror 2020 season behind them.

Some of these players fell out of favour during the COVID-impacted season, while some were cut down by injuries. Let’s take a look at the host of names who are ready to make an impact in 2021.

Adelaide Crows
2020 get off to a fantastic start for dynamic Crow Wayne Milera, signing a five-year deal with the club in February. However, after featuring in his side’s opening two matches of the season (with an almost two-month gap in between games), Milera was sidelined due to a stress fracture in his foot. It would claim the rest of his campaign, so the exciting Indigenous talent will be wanting to perform strongly and repay the faith the Crows have showed in him.

Brisbane Lions
All eyes will be on Brisbane’s two boom recruits for the 2021 season. Joe Daniher, who starred with 191 goals over 108 games with Essendon, landed at the Lions via free agency at the end of last year. The gun forward has endured a torrid run with injury lately, playing just 15 matches over the past three seasons, including just four appearances in 2020. From all reports Daniher is flying on the training track, and adding him into an already dynamic forward line could be the edge Brisbane need to break an 18-year premiership drought.

Joe Daniher

(Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

Another name looking for a fresh start is ex-Cat Nakia Cockatoo. Since being drafted in the top ten of the 2014 national draft, Cockatoo has eked out just 34 matches while hampered by persistent hamstring, knee and health issues. After playing two matches early in the 2018 season, Cockatoo hasn’t been sighted since, missing the entirety of the last two years. He arrives in Brisbane knowing that 2021 is a make-or-break year in his AFL career.

Carlton
A number of highly talented youngsters at the Blues will be hoping to bounce back from horror 2020 campaigns. The one with the biggest question mark hanging over his head is gun forward Charlie Curnow, who continues to recover from a serious knee injury. Curnow has experienced a number of setbacks in his attempt to get back on the field, failing to appear in 2020. Carlton’s finals hopes will receive a significant boost if the generational talent can make a return to the forward line this year.

The 2017 AFL draft delivered a bunch of top-end talent who have gone on to establish themselves as budding superstars of the league. However, Carlton’s two selections in the top ten of that draft have failed to grasp their opportunity, with Paddy Dow (pick three) and Lochie O’Brien (pick ten) both well and truly on the outer of the Blues’ best 22.

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Dow, who injured his knee while the AFL was shut down due to the pandemic, was dropped after just two games following his return, sparking criticism from Carlton champion Greg Williams, who had coached Dow for a brief period. O’Brien slipped down the pecking order at the Blues last season, managing one late-season appearance, and will be hoping to fight back as he enters the last year of his contract.

Collingwood
Having made an outstanding start to the 2020 season, the Magpies were rocked when star defender Jeremy Howe was sidelined by a serious knee injury in the club’s loss to Greater Western Sydney in Round 4. The shortened season meant Howe had no time to return, and adding him into the back line will boost Collingwood’s prospects in 2021.

Jeremy Howe

(Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Media/Getty Images)

The departure of Adam Treloar could pave the way for Brayden Sier to make a permanent mark in the Collingwood midfield. After featuring in the Magpies’ grand final loss to West Coast in 2018, Sier has managed just nine matches over the last two seasons, including just three in 2020. Sier has an innate ability to win the ball at stoppages, which will be a skill Nathan Buckley will want to utilise on a full-time basis.

Essendon
The Bombers’ captain Dyson Heppell will be hoping to show his leadership on the field as opposed to off it in 2021, having endured a tough 2020 campaign dogged by foot injuries. After featuring in Essendon’s Round 2 win over Sydney, Heppell suffered a fractured ankle at training, ruling him out for just under three months. He returned to play two more games late in the season, and new Essendon coach Ben Rutten will be praying he has his skipper at full fitness heading into the new season.

One of the many new faces at Essendon in 2021 will be former Gold Coast forward Peter Wright. An original top ten draft pick from 2014, Wright scored 85 goals from 66 games with the Suns, but failed to make a senior appearance after a dismal 2020 campaign. This led to Wright seeking a fresh start, where he will be hoping to help fill the massive hole in the forward line left by Joe Daniher’s departure.

Fremantle
Not many players in the AFL have endured the injury troubles that have plagued gun Fremantle defender Alex Pearce in recent seasons. Pearce hasn’t featured at the top level since Round 11, 2019 since injuring his ankle. Since then Pearce has undergone three different bouts of ankle surgery, and a return to shore up the Dockers’ defence will ease plenty of headaches for second-year coach Justin Longmuir.

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Fremantle defender Alex Pearce

(Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)

Geelong
After batting away speculation that he would be seeking a trade from the Cats back home to Western Australia, young defender Jordan Clark goes into 2021 hoping to play a lot more than the three games he managed last year. As Geelong continue to top up with the hope of claiming a flag before the likes of Tom Hawkins and Joel Selwood retire, Clark will have to fight the likes of Shaun Higgins and Isaac Smith for a spot in the Cats’ best 22.

Gold Coast
One of the biggest injustices of the 2020 season was the serious shoulder injury that cut short Matt Rowell’s incredible start to his AFL career. The gun number one draft pick was simply superb in his opening four matches, but a tackle sustained against Geelong in Round 5 saw his shoulder dislocate, forcing him out for the remainder of the season. Rowell is fighting fit and will attack 2021 as the raging favourite for the Rising Star Award, while he is also a Brownlow Medal fancy.

Matthew Rowell of the Suns celebrates a goal

(Photo by Jono Searle/AFL Photos/via Getty Images )

After falling out with the Crows following 101 appearances, Rory Atkins signed a lucrative five-year deal with Gold Coast at the end of last year. He will slot into the young Suns’ midfield and should appear a lot more than the four games he managed in 2020.

The careers of Jordan Murdoch, Will Brodie and Rory Thompson are also hanging in the balance, after the trio managed a combined total of just one game last year. Murdoch is out of contract at the end of 2021, while Brodie and Thompson have longer-term deals.

GWS Giants
One of the brightest young prospects at the Giants, Sam Taylor experienced a horror 2020 season, which saw him suffer from an infection that potentially could have claimed his life. After playing in the Giants’ win over Collingwood in Round 4, Taylor began experiencing severe pain in several parts of his body, soon diagnosed as septic arthritis. The key defender lost ten kilos due to not being able to eat, but a meticulous rehabilitation has the highly promising youngster ready to fight his way back into the team.

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Arriving at his third club after a failed stint with the Dockers that yielded just 19 games and 18 goals, Jesse Hogan will be hoping to put his hand up to fill the giant chasm left in Greater Western Sydney’s forward line by Jeremy Cameron’s defection to Geelong. The highly talented but somewhat troubled Hogan managed just seven appearances in 2020, a number Leon Cameron needs to be much higher if the Giants are to return to finals footy this year.

Jesse Hogan

(Photo by Will Russell/AFL Photos/via Getty Images )

Hawthorn
After suffering a torn ACL late in the 2019 season, Jarman Impey was one of the few benefactors of the AFL’s decision to shut the season down while the country dealt with the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing him to return much earlier in the season than he normally would have. After making his comeback in Round 9, Impey made just four more appearances with the Hawks, hampered by injury to his ribs. After completing a full pre-season, the dangerous Impey will be a weapon for Hawthorn in 2021.

Melbourne
It was a tough year for Melbourne speedster Jayden Hunt, with the defender-turned-forward managing just six senior appearances in 2020. From that he managed an impressive ten goals, including a haul of four in the Demons’ final match of the season against Essendon, which will hold him in good stead as he enters his eighth year on the list.

Having made a positive impact with nine matches in his debut season, Oskar Baker fell back down to earth last year, contributing just three senior games, all of them coming in the final weeks of the home-and-away season. The big-bodied midfielder possesses elite speed but has a challenge to break into a solid Melbourne line-up, with his contract set to expire at the end of 2021.

North Melbourne
One of the most underrated players in the league, Ben Cunnington showed his importance to the North Melbourne side when he was indefinitely sidelined with a back injury from Round 5 onward last season, with the club winning just one game without his presence on the field. Cunnington has enjoyed a near flawless pre-season and will be looking to bounce back strongly from what was his first ever injury-interrupted season.

Ben Cunnington handballs

(Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

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After exploding onto the scene in 2019 and announcing himself as one of the most exciting young players in the AFL, Tarryn Thomas endured a much tougher sophomore year in the AFL. After featuring in the Kangaroos’ opening six games, he was forced out for the remainder of the season due to an ankle injury. Gaining Thomas back will be a huge boost for new coach David Noble, as the Indigenous Tasmanian is arguably the most talented player on the young North Melbourne list.

Other Roos who were plagued by injury in 2020 are small forward Kayne Turner and midfielder Dom Tyson. Turner injured his toe in a pre-season match against the Western Bulldogs on the eve of the season, ruling him out for the entire year, while Tyson could never shake a persistent calf niggle. It shapes as an all-or-nothing season for the former number three draft pick, with Tyson’s contract due to run out at the end of 2021.

Port Adelaide
Having played ten impressive matches in his debut season with the Power, Willem Drew would’ve been hoping to build on that in 2020. However the 22-year-old midfielder dealt with injuries in the pre-season, slotting him down the pecking order as the season began.

With Port Adelaide spending every week of the season on top of the AFL ladder, it began almost impossible for Drew to break into the starting midfield featuring the likes of Ollie Wines, Travis Boak and Zak Butters. However the club showed their faith in the youngster by extending his contract for a further two seasons despite not featuring at the senior level at all last season. Drew will be hoping to repay that faith entering 2021.

Richmond
There aren’t too many players Richmond are yearning out for the return of, given they’ve added three premiership cups to the trophy cabinet at Punt Road in the last four years.

Richmond players with the 2019 premiership cup

(Ryan Pierse/AFL Photos/via Getty Images)

However two youngsters will be hoping to continue their development in the hope of one day replacing some of the ageing Tigers stars. One is midfielder Pat Naish, who managed just one senior appearance in 2020. The son of former Tiger Chris, Naish looms as the potential replacement of skipper Trent Cotchin, who will turn 31 early in the 2021 season.

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The other is key defender Ryan Garthwaite, who failed to add to his nine career games last season. An emergency for Richmond’s 2019 grand final side, Garthwaite is the ideal next man in once Dylan Grimes and David Astbury, who are both approaching their 30s, call time on their stellar careers.

St Kilda
Despite polling one Brownlow Medal vote in St Kilda’s Round 1 loss to North Melbourne, Luke Dunstan found himself on the outer for the Saints’ next game, dropped from the best 22. Forced to compete in organised scratch matches to earn back his spot, Dunstan suffered a torn pectoral muscle, which put his season in doubt. The tough midfielder failed to make it back for St Kilda’s finals campaign, making 2021 a huge year for the 104-game midfielder.

Hard-running defender Jimmy Webster also endured a tough campaign, failing to play a senior match as he battled with form and injury. The 27-year-old last played in Round 8 of the 2019 season, so it will be a welcome return to action if Webster can break into an experienced St Kilda line-up.

Another Saint who didn’t feature at all last season is defender Daniel McKenzie. The courageous 49-gamer couldn’t back up a career-best season in 2019, which earned him a three-year contract extension. After pondering a trade last November, McKenzie committed to working his way back into the Saints’ best team.

Sydney Swans
As he enters the twilight of one of the most extraordinary careers the AFL has seen, Lance Franklin faces a number of fitness issues to overcome if he is to get back to the field and dazzle us for one last time. Franklin missed the entire 2020 season with hamstring and groin complaints, so the Swans will have their fingers crossed Franklin can recover and add some serious bite to a young forward line.

Another star who the Swans sorely missed last year was Isaac Heeney. The high-flying midfielder managed just six games before suffering a horrific ankle injury against Richmond. Recovery has been slow for Heeney, but he is expected to take his place in Sydney’s Round 1 team.

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2020 was a whirlwind in more ways than one for dependable midfielder George Hewett. Runner-up in Sydney’s best and fairest in 2019, Hewett and his partner Alice welcomed the arrival of their son Henry, born 12 weeks premature in January. After being left out of Sydney’s Round 1 side, Hewett returned to the senior line-up once footy resumed in June, but would manage just six games before a back injury ruled him out for the rest of the season. He is yet another player who will strengthen a young Sydney team with a return to full fitness in 2021.

West Coast
With the return of star ruckman Nic Naitanui in 2020, back-up big man Nathan Vardy found himself on the outer for much of the season before a nasty injury sustained in a practice match ended his season prematurely. Approaching the age of 30, the premiership Eagle will be hoping to form a one-two punch with Naitanui in 2021.

Collingwood West Coast

(Photo by Will Russell/AFL Media/Getty Images)

One of the more intriguing sub-stories of the 2020 season was Brisbane keeping Alex Witherden out of the best side for much of the year. A regular contributor in 2018 and 2019, Witherden managed just six appearances last season, ending it with a trade to the Eagles. The skilful 22-year-old will be a regular contributor on the vast expanses of Optus Stadium this year.

A quality foot soldier in his eight years with West Coast, Mark Hutchings managed a career-low three matches with the arrival of Tim Kelly in 2020. The premiership Eagle still has a role to play as a defensive midfielder if he can work his way back in.

Western Bulldogs
The career of former number two draft selection Josh Schache remains on the brink after the key forward made just two senior appearances for the Bulldogs in 2020. With the arrival of gun youngster Jamarra Ugle-Hagan, Schache has a fight on his hands to command a spot in the forward line this year.

After being trialled as a forward during the pre-season competition, promising young tall Lewis Young played in the Dogs’ Round 1 match against Collingwood. It would be his solitary game for the entire season, with the soon-to-be out-of-contract swing man facing a make-or-break 2021 campaign.

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Injuries have followed Lin Jong throughout the entirety of his AFL career, but the resilient midfielder will suit up again in 2021 as he tries to put a difficult past behind him. Having not featured at all in 2019, Jong made a long-awaited return early in the 2020 season, but an ankle injury soon ruled him out yet again. The 27-year-old is desperately due for a change of luck, and this season might be the year it arrives.

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