Everyone wants to win the flag but the reality is that at least half the competition is almost no chance every season. That doesn't mean there's nothing to hope for though.
Every club's situation is different, for some it's more wins, for others it's finals and for a select few, only the premiership will do.
With the AFL's unpredictability being one of its major draws, there's always the chance of a miracle season or a sudden upswing in form. Likewise, there's just as much chance of a nightmare campaign in terms of both form and injury.
As we look across the competition, the passing marks for the year will all be different. Simply saying premiership or bust is not reflective of where the majority of clubs are placed.
With that in mind, here are our pass marks for each AFL team for 2023.
West Coast
The Eagles have a nice low bar to jump over, just win more games than last season and avoid COVID outbreaks in the squad. Following an injury and off-field controversy ravaged 2022, there is pressure on an imbalanced list not to have another shocker.
If they can keep star players like Elliot Yeo, Luke Shuey and Jeremy McGovern fit, they will at least see an improvement on the sort of availability issues that saw them have just 22 players available at one stage in season 2022.
While they are clearly in a rebuild phase, they should still be aiming to be far more competitive than 2022, with a view to avoiding the wooden spoon.
Achieve this and they can consider it a pass mark for what is shaping as a long season for Eagles fans.
Pass Mark: 4-6 wins and avoid the wooden spoon.
