The pre-season has come and gone and now it’s time to get into the real stuff! The 2024 AFL season will get underway on Thursday, March 7th with the inaugural Opening Round.
With only a couple of days to go until it all begins it’s the perfect time to take stock and look at each team’s chances of success for the upcoming season. We provide a short analysis for the contending teams below as well as a couple of our favourite futures/outright bets.
And as always, Before You Bet will have you covered with a full preview and betting tips for every single game of the 2024 AFL season, so make sure to check out our AFL Tips regularly to keep up to date with all of our free AFL content.
AFL 2024 Season Preview & Betting Tips
Top Tier
Collingwood
It would be rude not to include the team that reached the pinnacle six months ago in our top tier. Collingwood have the perfect age profile to compete again in 2024 and still have some younger guys on the improve that can make them even more dangerous. Nick Daicos looks ultra-fit and will be in store for a massive third season in the competition and is currently the Brownlow Medal favourite, while Lachie Shultz is a nice inclusion to the forward line with Jack Ginnivan departing. Darcy Moore’s presence and leadership will be key in defence once again as he looks to lead his club to consecutive premierships.
Brisbane
Last season’s runner-up, Brisbane will be desperate to go one step further in 2024. They fell just four points short last September and their star players are still very much in their prime. Lachie Neale picked up his second Charlie after another fantastic season in 2023 and will lead the way in the guts once again. Star youngster Will Ashcroft has been rehabbing his torn ACL and will return to the field this season, while Kiddy Coleman looks set to elevate his game across halfback after a blistering 2023 finals series. The Lions have finished in the top 4 in four of the past five years and will likely finish there again this season.
Suggested Bet: Brisbane to Finish Top 4 - $1.65 at Ladbrokes
GWS
Another club that looks absolutely primed for a huge year is GWS. They stormed home in 2023 and came devastatingly close to making it to their second ever Grand Final, but unfortunately fell one point short against Collingwood in the Prelim. The Giants now seemingly have the perfect mix of experience and youth and are as talented as any team in the competition. If former #1 pick Aaron Cadman can improve in his second year in the AFL and provide some support up forward for the likes of Jesse Hogan and Toby Greene, they might just be the team to beat in 2024.
Suggested Bet: GWS Premiership Winner – $8 at Neds
Suggested Bet: GWS to Finish Top 4 – $2.25 at TopSport
Knocking on the Door
Carlton
After years in the abyss, Carlton finally got another taste of the finals action in 2023 and certainly didn’t embarrass themselves as they made it to the Preliminary Finals where they bowed out against the Lions. The general consensus is that the Blues are entering their premiership window and while you can certainly make a case for them being in the top tier, I still have others ahead of them at the current time. A key to their success again will be the form and health of superstar forward Charlie Curnow. He’s won the past two Coleman Medals and remains great value to make it a hattrick.
Suggested Bet: Charlie Curnow Coleman Medal Winner - $6.50 at Bet365
Melbourne
The Demons are one of the great unknowns as we head into season 2024 simply due to the turbulent off-season they endured. Their best is still very much good enough to compete with the top tier contenders, but whether or not we’ll see their best remains to be seen. On a positive note, Clayton Oliver will be suiting up in Opening Round and Max Gawn looked in terrific touch in their pre-season hitouts.
Port Adelaide
After missing the finals in 2022, Port Adelaide surged back up the ladder to finish third in 2023 and give themselves a double chance in the finals for the third time in four years. However, they went out in straight sets once again which led the list management team to be extremely aggressive in free agency. The Power added a pair of key defenders to try and sure up their defence, although it may take some time for the necessary chemistry to build.
Dark Horses
St Kilda
St Kilda are a team that I seriously thought about adding to the tier above, but they don’t quite have the runs on the board compared to the others. Nevertheless, I’m expecting big things from the Saints in 2024 in Ross Lyon’s second year in charge of the club in his second stint. They finished sixth in 2023 with a 13-10 record and should only improve on that with a clean bill of health. Jack Steele is injury free after struggling last campaign, while Mitch Owens and Mattaes Phillipou both look ready for big years. If Max King can stay on the park for 20+ games, there’s no reason why the Saints can’t at least equal their finish from a season ago.
Suggested Bet: St Kilda to Finish Top 8 – $2.75 at Ladbrokes
Adelaide
2023 finished in heartbreak for Adelaide as they were robbed of playing finals due to a clear and obvious umpiring error. That’s now behind them and they’ll be looking to put themselves in a position to play in September again in 2024. They’ll bring in a similar squad and will be hoping for progression from within, which looks highly likely on the back of their impressive pre-season, with both Matt Crouch and Sam Berry looking fit and ready to take some of the load off the likes of Laird and Dawson in the engine room. The Crows are another one that I think are good value to play finals this season.
Suggested Bet: Adelaide to Finish Top 8 – $1.75 at BoomBet
Sydney
Sydney are one of those teams that have flown a little under the radar this pre-season and it’ll be interesting to see how they come out of the blocks. They’re currently listed as the sixth favourite in the Premiership betting market after finishing eighth last season, and have a young list that could enjoy natural progression. Still, the Swans are a bit of a wait and see for mine as a have some queries about their forward line.
Western Bulldogs
After four years in a row finishing between 5th-8th and bowing out early in the finals, the Western Bulldogs missed September action completely in 2023 where they finished ninth. The beginning of the off-season was tough as well for the Bulldogs as they lost star midfielder Bailey Smith to an ACL injury. And with Jack Macrae also under an injury cloud heading into Round 1, it’s tough to be too optimistic about the Bulldogs rebounding back into the top 8. Still, the likes of Bontempelli, Liberatore, and English are ready to fire once more, which will always have them in with a chance of winning games.
