Every fan's question leading into the new season is 'What should I expect of my club in 2025?'
For some, it will be, and rightfully so, staking their claim as genuine contenders for the premiership.
For others, it will likely be to avoid the wooden spoon.
Irrespective of yesteryear's highs and lows, with the new year comes a new outlook that all 18 clubs can push for the ultimate glory, and 2025 is no different.
Thus, we examine where each side sits in terms of their respective 'premiership window' on various levels: wide open, opening, closing, and locked shut.
St Kilda
Locked shut
Similar to Essendon, the Saints sit somewhere in the middle of the competition but don't pose a real threat to the flag race.
A finals team in 2023 and 2020, St Kilda had become used to being a club littered with mediocrity since the last 2000s.
And it's hard to see how they dramatically rise up the ladder to seemingly open the premiership window.
One thing working in the Moorabbin club's favour is the youth and age demographic of the list.
St Kilda boasts one of the younger and more inexperienced lists in the competition, and yet are still able to compete with the league's best, albeit without making finals.
Ross Lyon has always had a knack for getting more out of his players than most and his current crop of Saints have been no different.
But to take the next step and open the premiership window, the Saints will need to tuck into its war chest and fish out some big stars from rival clubs.
Not only will it accelerate its intention to contend for a flag, but also improve the bottom three or four in the senior side, which is the difference between finals or an extended holiday.
