The pre-season competition has been revamped this year and there will be no cup to be hoisted. All teams will be involved in 18 matches across 18 consecutive days in a new format endorsed by the clubs, which will have fewer quirks to navigate than in previous years.
Click here for the 2014 NAB Challenge fixture
The new format provides the ideal preparation for round one, while also seeing the game played in selected venues in all nine states and territories including regional centres that rarely host elite-level football.
When it comes to preparation, some clubs are working to a proven blueprint this summer while others are backing their players and coaches to make a jump and rival Hawthorn, Fremantle, Geelong and the Sydney Swans.
For six clubs, the NAB Challenge will provide the first opportunity to play under a new coach. It's a chance not to be wasted.
The most intriguing team to watch under new leadership will be Essendon, with two-time Geelong premiership coach Mark Thompson taking the reins for 2014 after James Hird was banned for 12 months.
Click here for more news on the NAB Challenge
Opposition clubs view the Bombers as a talented and dangerous proposition, albeit with some mental challenges to overcome after the supplements saga. The pre-season competition will offer a good gauge on how Essendon has recovered from a tumultuous 2013.
Thompson has already spoken about tweaking the club's training philosophy and implementing a more flexible selection policy. He says the game plan is likely to change about 10 per cent under his direction.
Another club to change coach without bottoming out is West Coast. The Eagles finished fifth in 2012 and won 16 games, entering 2013 among the premiership fancies.
A disastrous 2013 season followed and John Worsfold was replaced by Adam Simpson, but the core of a talented and young list remains and the Eagles won't be moving through the NAB Cup in rebuild mode.
Simpson spent four seasons as an assistant coach with Hawthorn before his appointment, giving him an ideal perspective on how the 2013 premier operates.
He's declared West Coast won't become a clone of Hawthorn on-field, but there are plenty of points the new coach can implement from his former club to help drive the Eagles back up the ladder in 2014.
The new format provides the ideal preparation for round one, while also seeing the game played in selected venues in all nine states and territories including regional centres that rarely host elite-level football.
When it comes to preparation, some clubs are working to a proven blueprint this summer while others are backing their players and coaches to make a jump and rival Hawthorn, Fremantle, Geelong and the Sydney Swans.
For six clubs, the NAB Challenge will provide the first opportunity to play under a new coach. It's a chance not to be wasted.
The most intriguing team to watch under new leadership will be Essendon, with two-time Geelong premiership coach Mark Thompson taking the reins for 2014 after James Hird was banned for 12 months.
Click here for more news on the NAB Challenge
Opposition clubs view the Bombers as a talented and dangerous proposition, albeit with some mental challenges to overcome after the supplements saga. The pre-season competition will offer a good gauge on how Essendon has recovered from a tumultuous 2013.
Thompson has already spoken about tweaking the club's training philosophy and implementing a more flexible selection policy. He says the game plan is likely to change about 10 per cent under his direction.
Another club to change coach without bottoming out is West Coast. The Eagles finished fifth in 2012 and won 16 games, entering 2013 among the premiership fancies.
A disastrous 2013 season followed and John Worsfold was replaced by Adam Simpson, but the core of a talented and young list remains and the Eagles won't be moving through the NAB Cup in rebuild mode.
Simpson spent four seasons as an assistant coach with Hawthorn before his appointment, giving him an ideal perspective on how the 2013 premier operates.
He's declared West Coast won't become a clone of Hawthorn on-field, but there are plenty of points the new coach can implement from his former club to help drive the Eagles back up the ladder in 2014.
How the new NAB Challenge works
Although West Coast supporters look for clues through the NAB Challenge that their team is set for a quick bounce, St Kilda fans know they are locked in for a long rebuild.
New coach Alan Richardson will have been in the top job little more than three months when the Saints take on the Western Bulldogs in their first pre-season match, and it's hard to picture him wasting a day.
Perhaps more than any other club, the NAB Challenge will be about opportunity for fringe players at St Kilda, with the club entering a period where it must develop its next wave of talent.
Although West Coast supporters look for clues through the NAB Challenge that their team is set for a quick bounce, St Kilda fans know they are locked in for a long rebuild.
New coach Alan Richardson will have been in the top job little more than three months when the Saints take on the Western Bulldogs in their first pre-season match, and it's hard to picture him wasting a day.
Perhaps more than any other club, the NAB Challenge will be about opportunity for fringe players at St Kilda, with the club entering a period where it must develop its next wave of talent.
Lions players celebrate their win in the 2013 NAB Cup. Picture: AFL Media
The pre-season matches will provide many revelations for the Saints, who will be judged this year on the performances of their first- to third-year players.
It's a similar story at the Brisbane Lions, who will have a new batch of young players to assess after the mass exodus of 2013 which also saw club legend Michael Voss replaced by Justin Leppitsch in September.
The Lions lost five of their best young players selected in the 2010-11 NAB AFL drafts, with homesickness and a lack of opportunities factors in the players' decisions to leave.
Lining up for the Lions in the NAB Challenge will be six players selected in the first 34 picks at the 2013 NAB AFL Draft, and they can expect opportunities.
At Melbourne, the aura of premiership coach Paul Roos looms large after he took over from Mark Neeld last September.
The Demons won two games last year and finished the season with a percentage of 56, but no club has had a more dramatic change in leadership.
The NAB Challenge will offer insights into what Roos can draw out of players such as Jack Watts, once the most highly touted junior in the country.
No team has more high draft picks on its list than Greater Western Sydney, and as it enters its third season that talent should start rising.
Leon Cameron has succeeded Kevin Sheedy and drastic changes in the way the team plays are not expected given he was an influential member of the coaching staff through 2013.
Competitiveness, however, is a must. The NAB Challenge is an ideal chance for the Giants to take advantage of their long pre-season and produce some gritty performances.
Twitter: @AFL_Nathan
It's a similar story at the Brisbane Lions, who will have a new batch of young players to assess after the mass exodus of 2013 which also saw club legend Michael Voss replaced by Justin Leppitsch in September.
The Lions lost five of their best young players selected in the 2010-11 NAB AFL drafts, with homesickness and a lack of opportunities factors in the players' decisions to leave.
Lining up for the Lions in the NAB Challenge will be six players selected in the first 34 picks at the 2013 NAB AFL Draft, and they can expect opportunities.
At Melbourne, the aura of premiership coach Paul Roos looms large after he took over from Mark Neeld last September.
The Demons won two games last year and finished the season with a percentage of 56, but no club has had a more dramatic change in leadership.
The NAB Challenge will offer insights into what Roos can draw out of players such as Jack Watts, once the most highly touted junior in the country.
No team has more high draft picks on its list than Greater Western Sydney, and as it enters its third season that talent should start rising.
Leon Cameron has succeeded Kevin Sheedy and drastic changes in the way the team plays are not expected given he was an influential member of the coaching staff through 2013.
Competitiveness, however, is a must. The NAB Challenge is an ideal chance for the Giants to take advantage of their long pre-season and produce some gritty performances.
Twitter: @AFL_Nathan
