ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA - AUGUST 13: Aidan Corr of the Kangaroos after their loss during the 2022 AFL Round 22 match between the Adelaide Crows and the North Melbourne Kangaroos at Adelaide Oval on August 13, 2022 in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by James Elsby/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
With the 2023 AFL season officially just weeks away from kicking off after a competitive, and entertaining, 2022 edition, predictions on who will be atop the table come season's end are aplenty.
While there is plenty to be said about those in-form teams in the competition, there's also plenty to make of the race for the wooden spoon.
North Melbourne claimed the unwanted prize in 2022 after a rough season, with West Coast only narrowly missing out.
As the countdown to the season continues, we've named our five likely contenders for the 2023 wooden spoon.
North Melbourne claimed the wooden spoon last season for the second consecutive year and will be hoping to avoid a repeat in 2023.
With new coach Alastair Clarkson at the helm, Roos fans will be eager to see some improvement this season after a lengthy rebuild, but shouldn't expect the master coach to be able to pull off a miracle.
The addition of Griffin Logue, Darcy Tucker and Liam Shiels adds much-needed depth for North, while draftee Harry Sheezel is already impressing after just one pre-season at the club, managing three goals in North's match simulation over the weekend.
With their established talent, the likes of Ben McKay, Nick Larkey and Jy Simpkin, getting yet another season under their belts, it is reasonable to conclude that North will be a better outfit in 2023, but not necessarily a good one.
Despite this being a year of development, and hopefully improvement, down at Arden Street, North are still unfortunately one of the leading contenders for yet another wooden spoon.
The Hawks are squarely in their rebuild under Sam Mitchell, who is heading into his sophomore season at the helm.
2022 saw the Hawks finish in 13th position with eight wins on the board, but an off-season exodus indicates that wins may be harder to come by this season.
As veterans were shown the doors at Waverley Park at the conclusion of the season, Hawthorn lost over 1000 games of experience as they decided to prioritise their youth, leaving a big task on very inexperienced shoulders.
Hawthorn are the youngest side in the competition heading into 2023, with an average age of just 22.9 years, while they also rank 18th in terms of experience, with an average of 42.6 games played. Just seven players on the list have over 100 games of experience, while 30 have less than 50 games to their name.
While this list management might pay off in the long run for Sam Mitchell and co, for 2023 at least, the Hawks should be expecting to deal with the consequences of having the youngest list in the competition.
The Giants are entering a new era under incoming senior coach Adam Kingsley, heading into his first year in charge of the club after the mid-season departure of Leon Cameron last year.
GWS saw an exodus of talent in the 2022 trade period, with the likes of Tanner Bruhn, Jacob Hopper, Tim Taranto and Bobby Hill departing the club.
Incoming, the Giants received Toby Bedford and prized number one pick - Aaron Cadman - but development will take a while for a young key positional player, leaving GWS in a tricky position this season.
The Giants managed a 16th-place finish last year, beating out the Eagles and Kangaroos, but may not be so lucky this year as they try to juggle some key holes in depth after a busy trade period.
The Eagles are a bit of an enigma heading into the 2023 season. After a disastrous 2022 campaign that saw the club produce their worst result on record, it would be fair to temper expectations on the side this year.
2022 produced its fair share of obstacles for the Eagles though, with crucial injuries and COVID-19 chaos leaving the team in tatters. With a much healthier list heading into 2023, it is fair to assume that those on-field issues that plagued the team last year could be easily rectified in 2023, but there are few guarantees when it comes to a rebuild.
Key inclusions of injured talent from last season will aid West Coast this year, but after an uncompetitive 2022, there are still simmering concerns surrounding the Eagles outfit.
Adelaide are continuing their rebuild after a disappointing few seasons, finishing last season in 14th position with eight wins to their name.
There are few pundits who are expecting the Crows to do big things this season, but fans will be eager to see some form of improvement to the side after no finals footy since their 2017 grand final appearance.
The developing Crows have the second youngest list in the competition with an average age of 23.7, with an average of just 51.7 games played. Though there is some young talent emerging at West Lakes, bolstered by the inclusion of new recruit Izak Rankine, there is still plenty of ground the Crows need to cover.
Darcy Fogarty looks primed for a big season, while the return of veteran Rory Sloane from injury will be a big benefit for the young team.
Adelaide have been hovering around the lower rungs of the ladder for three seasons now and shouldn't be expected to drastically climb out of the bottom six, but of all the teams in contention for the wooden spoon, look best placed to avoid it.