Which player will jump out of the ground at your club in 2023?
They could go from being a fringe player who has been in and out of the team and nails down a spot in the best 22.
The player in question might not have debuted at AFL level yet or could be very inexperienced at senior level.
Or they might have been recruited in the off-season after limited opportunities at their previous club.
Geelong’s Sam De Koning is the prime example of this category from 2022.
With all this in mind, SEN’s The Run Home’s Josh Jenkins and Adam Cooney nominated a few players they believe could potentially jump out of the ground this year.
Jenkins’ players
Tanner Bruhn (Geelong)
“A guy I’d hardly seen but I love the look of him - Tanner Bruhn - the young gun from the Giants who joined the Cattery this year.
“It’s going to be a tough midfield to break into. Whenever you’ve won a premiership it’s because you’ve got pretty good players.
“Maybe (he rolls into Joel Selwood’s position), there’ll be a few others going for that spot.”
Ollie Henry (Geelong)
“He moves and looks a lot like Connor Rozee.
“They don’t play that similarly, but they’re both very springy and agile and very hard to tackle.
“It’s a pretty good forward line that he’s going to have to break into with (Gary) Rohan, (Tom) Hawkins, (Jeremy) Cameron and others.”
Ash Johnson (Collingwood)
“He is a nice type, very athletic.
“They’re building that type of forward line, Collingwood.
“You’ve got (Brody) Mihocek there as your hard-working, grunt man. You’ve got Johnson and (Nathan) Kreuger, who they love.
“Then you’ve got your (Jamie) Elliotts, (Jack) Ginnivans and those types nipping around.
“It’s a pretty dangerous forward line.”
Cooney’s players
Jordan Boyd (Carlton)
“I played a bit of footy with him at Spotswood.
“He is a beautiful kick. One of the best kicks of the prune you’ll ever see.
“If he can get more opportunity, get himself fitter, he can go to another level.”
Sam Banks (Richmond)
“I’ve been hearing about him in the off-season and over the last few months.
“He’s a Richmond player who hasn’t had a lot of opportunities given that he’s only young and just come into the system.
“Sam Banks. They tell me that he’s going to be an absolute star.
“Might not be in 2023, but he will be one of the best players at Richmond in the next decade. That’s what they tell me.”
There were also some suggestions from SEN listeners (and The Run Home panel op*).
See the list below:
Tom De Koning (Carlton)
Jesse Motlop (Carlton)
Josh Carmichael (Collingwood)
Jye Caldwell (Essendon)
Harry Jones (Essendon)
Nic Martin (Essendon)
Archie Perkins (Essendon)
Shannon Neale (Geelong)
Lloyd Meek (Hawthorn)*
Will Phillips (North Melbourne)
Tom Sparrow (Melbourne)
Jacob van Rooyen (Melbourne)
Tyler Sonsie (Richmond)
Marcus Windhager (St Kilda)
Sam Darcy (Western Bulldogs)
Jamarra Ugle-Hagan (Western Bulldogs)
Oscar Allen (West Coast)