Following the conclusion of another hectic, fast-finishing home and away season, it's time to prepare for finals football once again.
While eight teams' hopes of holding this year's premiership cup aloft remain alive, ten clubs' seasons are officially over after failing to qualify for September football.
Despite all the attention rightly being on the contenders, each bottom-ten side faces pertinent list management decisions that will shape its future.
Taking into account draft hands and off-contract commodities, we explore those impending decisions facing 2023's bottom ten.
Gold Coast
Indicative draft hand: 4, 28, 31, 42, 56, 60, 65, 69, 78
The Suns' draft hand is set to look quite different, at least at their earlier end as they plan to part with Pick 4. That call will come as they look to stockpile a heap of later selections in order to have a wealth of draft points that will secure a trio of Academy kids destined for the first round of the draft.
They could move back into the draft on the night, but they'll be rapt with their trio of top prospects at the very least.
Off-contract players:
Jed Anderson, Connor Blakely, Sandy Brock, Levi Casboult, Charlie Constable, Sam Day, Jy Farrar, Oskar Faulkhead, Sam Flanders, Hewego Paul Oea, Alex Sexton, Jeremy Sharp, Jake Stein, James Tsitas, Bodhi Uwland
15 players are yet to have their future confirmed by the Suns, many of which have struggled to feature commonly in 2023, leaving incoming coach Damien Hardwick with a number of cut-throat calls to make.
Sam Flanders is said to have rival interest and would garner a decent package in return if he looked to depart, while Jeremy Sharp would be in a similar position.
Levi Casboult is likely to be retained for another year, while James Tsitas, Jy Farrar and Alex Sexton could each earn new deals.
Charlie Constable is in an intriguing position after dominating at VFL level all year but was unable to make more than two appearances in the AFL.
Sam Day could call time on his career, while mature-aged recruits Jed Anderson, Connor Blakely and Jake Stein have failed to have an impact in their first seasons at Carrara.
List decisions
The Suns will be busy through the trade period, however their primary focus will be on listening to offers for their opening draft pick and then splitting that selection into a suite of later picks.
That'll give Gold Coast a stronger chance of securing all three of their top Academy prospects who are in consideration for the top 10 on the draft board. A handful of second and third-round selections will be needed to match any early bids for Suns Academy stars Jed Walter, Ethan Read and Jake Rogers.
After being given an extended list size over recent seasons, the Suns will be forced to make more list cuts than most, with Hardwick's influence likely leading to a very busy off-season for the Suns.
It's unlikely 'Dimma' will bring any Tigers players north with him, but there seems to be some chance Dustin Martin gains some interest from the Queensland club.
