Opening Round kicks off on Thursday and the pre-season has provided plenty of answers, but certain questions can't be answered until the real stuff starts.
Zero Hanger has outlined a topic likely to garner plenty of discussion at each club in the first month of the season.
2West Coast Eagles
Can they establish an identifiable brand?
There will be plenty of eyes on certain individuals at West Coast - can Willem Duursma live up to the hype, where is Harley Reid at, how important an acquisition is Brandon Starcevich - but Eagles fans will most of all be desperate to see a brand of footy. The pre-season smacking at the hands of Port Adelaide would not have inspired great confidence and it's hard to know what is a realistic expectation for this year given they are the outright favourites for another wooden spoon. But if they can start to play a style that fans can resonate with and give fans hope that it's a sustainable, exciting way of playing that can take them into the future, that will be a big step forward. If they're able to do that, it likely means the young players are starting to show some glimpses of upside and they're able to compete for longer periods more consistently - all important steps back to relevance.
