A new season brings a clean slate for certain players who have unfinished business to attend to.
Whether it’s overcoming injury, addressing indifferent form, performing on the biggest stage or impressing in new colours, 2021 signals a fresh start for players who didn’t quite hit the heights expected of them at certain points last season.
Who from your club has a point to prove in 2021?
Taylor Walker
Considering his overall career, Taylor Walker has zero to prove.
He is a former Crows skipper who has played more than 200 games, kicked over 400 goals and was twice named the AFLPA’s best captain. It’s a CV that many would be proud of, and no doubt ‘Tex’ is.
But for his legacy, he may have a point to prove this year.
Many have written him off over the past couple of seasons. Some have even tried to retire him prematurely. And there are some expecting young bucks Darcy Fogarty and Elliott Himmelberg to swiftly go past him.
But with the club in a rebuilding phase and being a proud man who could still have some good footy left in him, there’s no doubting Walker will be keen to stand tall and prove a point in 2021.
Andrew Slevison
Joe Daniher
The obvious choice and also one written about constantly this pre-season, Joe Daniher heads into 2021 as one of the game’s most intriguing storylines.
He has reportedly had an outstanding summer, getting through every session and dominating the club’s intra-club skirmishes.
For Daniher, a full season in itself would be a win, but a part of him would want to prove wrong those who have given up on him.
He hasn’t been seen as much more than an injury update or a trade rumour over the last three years. Back at full force, he has the opportunity to remind the general fan just how potent he is at his best.
It could take Brisbane over the top if all the pieces fall into place.
Nic Negrepontis
Paddy Dow and Lochie O’Brien
A lot of Carlton fans have already made up their minds on Dow and O’Brien after a tough start to their respective careers.
Both midfielders were selected with top 10 picks in the 2017 National Draft and neither has forced their way into the club’s best 22 just yet.
O’Brien spent all of 2020 in the reserves, playing one game in Round 17, while Dow had his injury issues at the start of the season, but ultimately was only seen twice after the Round 1 loss to Richmond, unable to break into the side.
Both players are only 21 and Dow in particular has had a few injury interrupted pre-seasons.
Carlton’s midfield has been bolstered in recent years by the likes of Zac Williams, Jack Martin, Jack Newnes and Will Setterfield, but there remain openings for the likes of Dow and O’Brien if they’re able to earn them.
The Blues need someone with Dow’s ability to break lines and don’t have all the answers on the wings either, where O’Brien could feature.
For the Blues, if Dow and O’Brien, or even just one, lives up to the draft hype, it could greatly change their midfield dynamic in 2021.
Nic Negrepontis
Brodie Grundy
A towering ruckman with a midfielder’s grace, the South Australian signed a seven year contract in January 2020, and few could argue he wasn’t worth it. Fast forward to October, and he was watching back-up Darcy Cameron taking critical centre bounces in finals.
Grundy’s point of difference as an elite ruckman ebbed; his disposal average tumbled from 21.3 to 14.4, and his clearance figures from 6.1 to 3.2. Concerns his contract would put the Pies under salary cap pressure also materialised, with a flock of first team players pushed out.
In an evolving Collingwood outfit, the dual All-Australian will be determined to reassert his standing in the game, and validate the trust the Magpies have placed in him as a player and leader.
Nathan John
Dylan Shiel
Arriving at Essendon at the end of 2018 with plenty of surrounding hype, Shiel’s second season at Tullamarine was solid, if not a touch underwhelming, given his undoubted elite talent.
Still averaging 23 touches and playing all bar two of the side’s games last year, it’s his 10th-placed finish at the club’s best and fairest that tells the tale of a season which looked good on the stat sheet, but didn’t overly deliver. He has also been pushed out of the leadership group this year.
He remains signed until the end of 2024, the 27-year-old has plenty to prove this year with some sense of normality resuming across the competition.
Shiel has the potential to become his side’s most important midfielder this year, with his influence on the side magnified as captain Dyson Heppell continues to struggle with injury.
Laurence Rosen
Rory Lobb
Rory Lobb is a marking machine, taking the third most marks of any player in the competition last year.
But there remains a question whether he’s the man alongside Matt Taberner who will spearhead Fremantle’s attempt at adding a more attacking element to their game in 2021.
Playing every game last year and still having another two years of his contract left means Lobb’s place in the side is secure, the question remains in which part of the ground he’ll be best suited to flourish.
Sean Darcy seems to have made the first-choice ruck spot his own for the medium term, so it’s up to Lobb now to cement himself as a damaging key forward option this year.
Kicking just 10 goals in 17 games last year, if he can hit the scoreboard more often, he’ll add another element to a rapidly improving Dockers outfit.
Laurence Rosen
Patrick Dangerfield
Patrick Dangerfield’s wait for that elusive premiership goes on.
The pain of last year’s Grand Final loss against nemesis Richmond would burn in the stomach of Dangerfield and Geelong’s playing group through the pre-season.
The Cats superstar’s impact was minimal in the premiership decider, finishing with 12 disposals and a goal as the Tigers ran away with the match in the second half.
Dangerfield admitted he fell in a “dark cave” following the defeat, so the hunger to get to another Grand Final and deliver a better performance on the game’s biggest stage would fuel the Brownlow Medallist.
Jeremy Cameron
Boom Geelong recruit Jeremy Cameron is coming off a career-worst season.
Cameron kicked just 24 goals in his final year at GWS – a season-low tally since debuting in 2012 – before sealing a big-money move to the Cats with the Giants securing three first-round picks – 13, 15 and 20 – in exchange.
Geelong’s response to losing last year’s Grand Final was adding Cameron, Shaun Higgins and Isaac Smith in a bumper off-season haul that has them well placed for another flag tilt.
Much is expected of the star forward in 2021 – can he strike a formidable partnership with fellow Coleman Medallist Tom Hawkins?
Alex Zaia
Stephen Coniglio
2020 was not at all the year any of us expected. COVID-19 almost derailed things, forcing clubs to live interstate just to get the season away.
It did, however, start with plenty of hope for the Giants who had just played off in their first ever Grand Final. They had secured their star midfielder Stephen Coniglio to a massive seven-year deal and had also installed him as captain, taking over from foundation skippers Phil Davis and Cal Ward.
GWS was expected to return as a genuine contender in 2020 but it did not pan out that way as they failed to qualify for finals while the struggling Coniglio was dropped by Leon Cameron.
That is why the classy on-baller will want to bounce back by making a statement and leading the Giants back to the top eight in 2021.
Andrew Slevison
Brayden Fiorini
Brayden Fiorini would be the first to admit that 2020 wasn’t his best season.
Coming off a career-best year in 2019, where he averaged 25 disposals and finished fifth in the best and fairest, Fiorini fell behind Matt Rowell, Noah Anderson and Hugh Greenwood in the Suns’ midfield pecking order.
The 23-year-old, who is contracted until the end of 2023, made just five senior appearances last season, averaging 13 touches and under two tackles per match.
He’ll be eager to atone as the Suns look to climb the ladder in 2021.
Alex Zaia
Chad Wingard
Internally, the Hawks have been pleased with Chad Wingard who finished third in the Peter Crimmins Medal. He played every game in 2020 and the injury niggles that struck him down in his first year at the club seemed to have disappeared. But Wingard should enter this season with a chip on his shoulder.
Most outside Hawthorn and quite a few Hawk fans as well think the club should not have traded fan favourite Ryan Burton and the No.18 draft selection, which turned out to be the exciting Xavier Duursma, to Port Adelaide for Wingard at the end of 2018. But Wingard has been outstanding throughout the summer and track watchers have been raving about his work both as a midfielder and a medium forward.
Hawthorn head of development said of Wingard on hawthornfc.com.au this week, “The thing with Chad is, when he turns it on, there is no one as special as him at the moment.” He also said there is friendly competition between Brendon Bolton (midfield coach) and Craig McRae (forwards coach) who both want more of him.
Wingard’s leadership and his presence has also stepped up considerably this summer, giving every indication that he is ready to remind the competition why he is a dual All-Australian and a proven match-winner.
Ashley Browne
Tom McDonald
Melbourne made no attempts to hide the fact that they put Tom McDonald up for trade at the end of last year, but after he remained at the club there’s no one at the Dees who has a bigger point to prove coming into 2021.
Sam Weideman’s expected lengthy injury layoff adds an added element of intrigue to McDonald’s situation, with the 28-year-old likely to get first crack at cementing a spot in Simon Goodwin’s best side.
Playing just nine games last year with a return of seven goals, the uncertainty around both Weideman and new recruit Ben Brown, who underwent knee surgery earlier this month, could play into McDonald's favour.
If McDonald can grasp early-season opportunities, he could completely reinvent himself at the club that he almost left a few short months ago.
Laurence Rosen
Jaidyn Stephenson
This was the easiest team to fill of the 18, with Jaidyn Stephenson openly declaring his hopes to prove Collingwood wrong for jettisoning him in the trade period.
The Magpies made the shock decision to put the young forward on the trade table, with North Melbourne happily snapping him up and giving him another shot.
On the night of the move, Stephenson told AFL Trade Radio: “I am a little bit hurt. I was obviously very happy at Collingwood … to be told almost in a way that you’re not wanted, it does hurt.”
After being told he wasn’t a required player by Magpies coach Nathan Buckley and the club, the 22-year-old will have a point to prove at the Kangaroos whether it’s inside 50 or pushing through the midfield.
All reports are that he has had a strong pre-season and is ready for his fresh start and for the Kangaroos, a prodigiously talented prospect fell right into their laps.
Nic Negrepontis
Orazio Fantasia
Long linked with a return to South Australia, Orazio Fantasia got his wish with Port Adelaide and Essendon agreeing to a trade for the forward.
Now settled in his home state, Fantasia hopes to get his body right after being riddled by injury throughout his time at Essendon.
At his best, the 25-year-old can be an electrifying crumbing forward, capable of producing flashes of brilliance, best exemplified during his 39-goal season in 2017.
Fantasia adds to an already exciting Power small forward brigade - can he get back to his best?
Alex Zaia
Jake Aarts
After spending six years in the VFL, Jake Aarts finally broke through with the Tigers last year. He put together 14 games, returning 14 goals, and acquitted himself well at the top level.
However, the hard-tackling and tenacious small forward was dropped after the Qualifying Final loss to Brisbane and subsequently missed the remaining finals, including the club’s successful Grand Final showing.
Aarts will no doubt be working tirelessly this pre-season as he eyes a starting position in Damien Hardwick’s side this year to cast aside that disappointment.
Josh Caddy may also have a point to prove.
He was the only Tiger (bar Brandon Ellis) who played in the first two flags only to miss the third. He does not have a position locked down and has seen a few go past him of late.
It’s a big year for the 28-year-old.
Andrew Slevison
Brad Hill
Brad Hill will demand more from himself after a subdued first season at the Saints.
Entering the second year of a lucrative long-term contract, the star wingman will enjoy being back under the roof at Marvel Stadium as well as the return of 20-minute quarters, where his running power and elite endurance comes to the fore.
St Kilda was often guilty of not rewarding Hill’s run last year, but another pre-season gelling with teammates should improve that on-field connection.
While several Saints improved last season, Hill has a lot more to give and should be primed for a big year.
James Frawley
The Frawley name returns to Moorabbin in 2021.
James Frawley was lured out of retirement by St Kilda and will vie for a key defensive post with Dougal Howard and Jake Carlisle, who formed the spine of the club’s defence last season.
St Kilda coach Brett Ratten says the former Hawk has a “point to prove” after hanging up the boots at the end of last season.
“He thinks he still has a year or two left in his body,” Ratten told SEN Breakfast on Tuesday.
“He’s a proud man and I think he’s going to put his best foot forward.”
Alex Zaia
Nick Blakey
After impressing in his debut season in 2019, Nick Blakey somewhat regressed last year.
It may be seen as a bit unfair to cast that shadow on a developing player, but there is no doubting his ability and to experience that drop-off in output could be seen as disappointing.
Blakey was also shifted around more in 2020, and he’d be hoping he can prove to John Longmire just exactly where he is best suited, whether it be as a leading forward, through the midfield or perhaps even off half-back.
Lance Franklin is another who has nothing to prove over his career, but he would want to convince himself and the club that he still has some quality footy left in his body.
'Buddy' missed all of 2020 and has played just 10 games in two years. Can he prove that his best is still elite?
Andrew Slevison
Alex Witherden
The Brisbane Lions moved on pretty quickly from Alex Witherden who only played six games in 2020 after 44 across the previous two seasons.
He fell right out of favour, with the Lions turning to the likes of Grant Birchall, Brandon Starcevich, Noah Answerth, Callum Ah Chee and Ryan Lester across half-back.
Witherden went from a best 22 player in a top four team, to a player traded for a late exchange of picks.
Regardless, West Coast has themselves a young rebounding defender and a number of ageing players who will eventually need to be replaced in the position.
Witherden will likely get every chance to prove the Lions wrong for not only moving beyond him in 2020, but trading him to a fellow contender.
Nic Negrepontis
Adam Treloar
After 94 games in black and white, Treloar was informed by Collingwood in October that he was no longer wanted, nor trusted to maintain his form while partner Kim Ravaillion linked up with the Queensland Firebirds for the Super Netball season.
Luke Beveridge and the Bulldogs swooped, and will blend the 27-year-old into an already fearsome midfield rotation featuring Marcus Bontempelli, Jack Macrae, Bailey Smith, Josh Dunkley and beating heart Tom Liberatore.
With his protracted exit from the Pies fresh in his memory, premiership success once again within his grasp and engine room minutes going at a premium at Whitten Oval, expect to see Treloar play with a chip on his shoulder this season.
Nathan John