MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - SEPTEMBER 24: Callum Mills of the Swans looks dejected after a loss during the 2022 Toyota AFL Grand Final match between the Geelong Cats and the Sydney Swans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on September 24, 2022 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Daniel Carson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
After a disappointing conclusion to what was a sensational 2022 campaign, Sydney will be hoping to go one step further this year.
John Longmire's men managed to reach the season decider and fell to Geelong on the biggest of stages, but the result only had fans believing this group were destined for glory in the years to come, thanks largely to their youthful stocks.
The Swans backed in their core group over the off-season, bringing in just one experienced figure while the remainder of their list additions came through draft avenues.
Likely to see their most promising players reach new heights in 2023, the sky is the limit for the Swans this season.
Here we list five burning questions the Swans will hope to have answers for in 2023.
After an 81-point loss to Geelong in last year's decider, the obvious question that arises is; how will Sydney respond?
Such a damaging loss can do exactly that, damage a club, with previous examples showing us the impact a grand final drubbing can have.
In 2017, Adelaide lost to Richmond by 48 points, and since then, the club has spiralled badly in multiple facets on and off-field.
In 2019, GWS made their first decider but also lost to Richmond by 89 points, the third-biggest loss in a grand final. The following years saw them miss finals, make a semi-final and finish bottom three.
In 2021, the Western Bulldogs lost to Melbourne by 74 points, and the following season saw them lose in an elimination final, not as bad as previous teams, but a slide nonetheless. We wait and see what happens this year for the Dogs.
The Swans' loss last year was the fifth biggest ever in a grand final, but will we see a dramatic fall like teams of the past?
This Sydney team may be different.
Despite fielding a squad featuring established stars, John Longmire has a surplus of youth for selection, in fact, the Swans are the fifth youngest team in 2023.
Younger than rebuilding sides Gold Coast, GWS, North Melbourne, St Kilda and West Coast.
Perhaps they were ahead of themselves, but the experience put into the young players will hold them in good stead.
This isn't the first time Sydney was comfortably beaten in a grand final, you just have to go back to 2014, where they lost by 63 points and followed it up by making the top four the next year and another grand final berth in 2016.
It didn't bother them then, and it looks like it may not now. It would be a safe bet to say Sydney contends again very soon.
What does Lance Franklin bring to Sydney in 2023?
The Swans obviously know his importance, allowing him to continue for his 19th career season, but is his importance really significant?
Looking back to last year, Franklin had his best season since 2018, kicking 52 goals, but he was well beaten in finals, including the grand final where he only managed five disposals.
We all know he won't be playing every game, Longmire said it himself, and goals aren't the only thing they're banking on.
"His ability on the ground to be able to contribute to the team is important," Longmire said.
"But it's not just going to be measured on goals alone. It never is - we've never done that - but particularly in the towards the absolute back end of his career, it's what his match-ups might be able to allow others to do. All that will come into it."
So in what could very well be the final season for one of this century's greatest players, Buddy Franklin's importance to the team comes from his mere presence.
At the end of the day, if an opponent wants to leave Buddy alone inside 50, well they've got another thing coming, that being their other forwards.
A question that has its basis in the events of grand final day.
Heading into the grand final, Sam Reid, who was enjoying a late-career resurgence in 2022, was carrying an injury.
Longmire did not want to drop the veteran, so he played him, and promising young key forward Logan McDonald was dropped for Hayden McLean, who last played in Round 8.
And while the top-five draft pick watched on, Reid was subbed off with four disposals while McLean matched that disposal count while booting a goal.
It was all one giant mistake.
However, it can't be forgotten that the 20-year-old's form wasn't the best heading into the decider.
In the two finals he played, he averaged five disposals, 3.5 marks, and 0.5 goals.
Is there trust in McDonald now? Who is probably Sydney's most important future prospect, especially with Buddy soon to be gone, and Reid winding down.
Now is the time for him to cement himself in this team, and with the ageing forwards by his side he shall take the mantle as the number-one forward very soon.
The Swans' midfield is the most exciting aspect of their squad, with a balance of star names and young guns combining last year to help steer John Longmire's side to the grand final.
Complimenting Callum Mills and Luke Parker was Chad Warner in 2022, who enjoyed a breakout campaign and was among the small few highlights for the Swans on the last Saturday of September.
Looking to follow suit after a strong pre-season is Errol Gulden, the Swans' prized Academy pickup that looks likely to take his game to new heights in 2023.
Add in finals flourisher Dylan Stephens, hard-nosed onballer James Rowbottom and the defensive-minded Ryan Clarke, and you can see the depth the Swans are buoyed with.
So how do they get the best out of each player while remaining competitive?
Mills has shown an astute ability to slot back into a role in the defensive third, at times thrown onto the last line as an extra man in defence, while fellow co-captain Luke Parker can effortlessly add to Longmire's attack as a scoreboard threat.
Like Parker, Gulden can rotate through the forward half of the field while also working on the wing, with the young Swan flagged for all three roles this season.
Warner, perhaps, offers less versatility, but his run-and-gun ability can work off the half-back or as an outside midfield option, while his own impact in attack is well known.
Rowbottom is another that can shift across several lines and can add more grunt to their rearguard, while Clarke boasts the ability to lock down star players outside of the midfield, as seen with his tag on Nick Daicos last year.
The Swans are hoping they've prospected another diamond from the rough with the acquisition of Aaron Francis from Essendon, with the versatile target looking to reach his full potential after a disappointing tenure at Tullamarine.
Francis managed 54 games in the red sash after being selected as the sixth overall pick in the 2015 National Draft, often moved between either end of the field during his time as a Bomber.
The 25-year-old will be hoping his time at Sydney bears more fruit, with the club's recent list adjustments proving to be beneficial for those unwanted in the league.
Ruckman Tom Hickey is playing the best football of his career at his fourth club as 30-plus-year-old talent, while former Saint Paddy McCartin rapidly announced himself as one of the best tall defenders in his first season back in the league last year following a lengthy layoff.
Gaining inspiration from the aforementioned pairing, Francis will be hoping he can replicate a similar leap in form when he plies his trade for the Bloods in 2023.
Able to offer his services as a third-tall forward or intercepting option in defence, the West Adelaide native will hopefully see his best football unlocked as a Swan.