THIS time last year, Paddy McCartin was yet to sign with Sydney, Jack Hayes was a SANFL star still waiting to earn a shot at the next level, and Nic Martin was an intra-club performance away from cementing a spot at Essendon.
All three made a splash at AFL level in 2022.
After spending four seasons on the sidelines, McCartin played 24 games to help the Swans reach a Grand Final, Hayes polled a Brownlow Medal vote on debut before tearing his ACL and Martin finished fifth in the Rising Star.
This off-season, up to 20 players are looking to follow in their footsteps and have or are about to audition for a spot on a rookie list, with the pre-season supplemental selection period (SSP) opening on December 5.
Some names are familiar, like Liam Stocker and Quinton Narkle, while others were considered mighty unlucky to be overlooked in last November's NAB AFL and Rookie Drafts, like Mitch Szybkowski.
Already, five players have joined a new club since the SSP window opened in December; Liam Shiels landed at North Melbourne from Hawthorn, former Demon Oskar Baker moved to the Western Bulldogs, Brisbane signed Irishman Conor McKenna after the former Essendon defender announced his return to Australia, Gold Coast officially added Jed Anderson from North Melbourne before former Magpie Tyler Brown joined the Crows on Wednesday.
Adelaide, Brisbane, Collingwood, Essendon, Fremantle, Gold Coast, Hawthorn, Melbourne, Richmond and St Kilda have all invited players to train across the summer, while Geelong and the Western Bulldogs both have list spots available but aren't expected to trial anyone.
Carlton, GWS, North Melbourne, Port Adelaide, Sydney and West Coast do not have any list spots available.
Here's the state of play with less than a month to go until the SSP deadline on February 15.
Adelaide
The Crows didn't have a list spot available when they returned to pre-season training last week, but two opened up following the retirement of former top-10 pick Fischer McAsey and the decision to put wingman Paul Seedsman on the inactive list while he recovers from concussion. After inviting former Collingwood midfielder Tyler Brown to trial for a spot last week, the Crows signed the 23-year-old on Wednesday, months after he was delisted by the Magpies having played 27 games across five seasons. The Crows considered Brown during the delisted free agency period and the Rookie Draft, but ran out of spots before fortunes changed in the new year. List boss Justin Reid is understood to be considering defensive depth to provide security ahead of the new season.
Brisbane
After touring St Kilda, Port Adelaide and Essendon, Irishman Conor McKenna chose to return to the AFL with Brisbane after he had headed home at the end of 2020. The Lions might add a third player from the emerald isle – James Madden is also on the list – before the deadline after extending an invitation to Darragh Joyce this week. The 25-year-old was cut by St Kilda at the end of August after playing 13 games across six seasons. But with Marcus Adams moving to the inactive list on Monday, Brisbane list manager Dom Ambrogio is exploring adding another key defender to provide some coverage at that end of the ground.
Collingwood
With Brodie Grundy being traded to Melbourne in October, the Magpies are trialling West Adelaide ruckman Oscar Steene across the summer to add to their ruck stocks. The 19-year-old has trained with the club since the start of the pre-season in December and has impressed in match simulation. Collingwood is also looking at former Gold Coast and Richmond defender Oleg Markov having invited the 51-gamer to train with them after he was overlooked in the Rookie Draft. Markov was coached by Craig McRae and Justin Leppitsch during his time at Punt Road and was considered unlucky to depart Metricon Stadium in the off-season.
Essendon
New coach Brad Scott has been taking a look at Hudson O'Keeffe and Mitch Szybkowski during the first couple of weeks of 2023 after the Bombers invited the pair to train at The Hangar. O’Keeffe and Szybkowski were both considered unlucky to be overlooked in the NAB AFL Draft and Rookie Drafts and the Bombers have a spot available after placing injured father-son recruit Jayden Davey on the inactive list. Former Collingwood and Hawthorn wingman Tom Phillips has also been spotted completing sessions with the club once or twice a week after joining the VFL program late last year.
Fremantle
Fremantle has one spot up for grabs and two players gunning for the vacancy in the form of Gippsland Power key position prospect Liam Serong and Perth forward Sam Stubbs. Both started at the Dockers on day one of the pre-season and are expected to train until the deadline. Serong, who is the brother of Dockers midfielder Caleb and Hawthorn forward Jai, experienced an injury-interrupted 2022 but has made an impressive start to his time in the west. Stubbs, meanwhile, put himself on Fremantle's radar with an eye-catching season in the WAFL, where he led the goal-kicking for Perth despite missing a chunk of the year due to injury. The 25-year-old is also a TikTok star with more than 130,000 followers and was about to head to Sydney for a marketing opportunity when David Walls invited him to train. Born in Kalgoorlie, Stubbs spent a large part of his adolescent years in Queensland and played a season for Wodonga before heading back to WA. He is raw but has big upside. The Dockers are hoping to get as much match simulation opportunities into this pair before the SSP deadline.
Gold Coast
After adding five players with AFL experience during the trade period and Rookie Draft, the Suns secured the services of former North Melbourne and Hawthorn inside midfielder Jed Anderson at the start of the pre-season. Since then, Gold Coast has also looked at Southport star Boyd Woodcock, academy product Brinn Little and Frankston forward Brodie McLaughlin, but only McLaughlin remains at the club. The 25-year-old produced an impressive VFL season in 2022 after an injury-interrupted few years. Another AFL club has monitored his progress at the Suns and could offer him a trial if he doesn't earn a spot before the deadline.
Hawthorn
Tasmanian small forward Brandon Leary was invited to train before Christmas and has continued with the Hawks to start the new year. Hawthorn will continue to assess the 19-year-old but is understood to be open to exploring other prospects before the deadline next month. Hawthorn has enjoyed plenty of success adding players from Box Hill via the SSP or NAB AFL Mid-Season Rookie Draft and Sam Mitchell has also invited a handful of VFL-listed players to train during the pre-season; former Collingwood midfielder Callum Brown, ex-Dog Cal Porter and Patrick Naish, who joined Box Hill having been delisted by West Coast after one season at the club following an SSP lifeline last year, have all been training at the Hawks.
Melbourne
Former Port Adelaide father-son recruit Trent Burgoyne was invited to train with Melbourne at the start of the pre-season in a bid to earn another shot at AFL level. The 21-year-old had been restricted to training away from the main group due to a hamstring issue, but joined a full session for the first time on Wednesday. Burgoyne spent two seasons at Alberton before being delisted at the end of 2021 and played for the Port Magpies in the SANFL last year before a hamstring injury ended his season early. The Demons are also considering VAFA star Kye Turner, the 20-year-old key defender who played 14 games for Old Haileybury in B-Grade last year and has played twice for Frankston in the VFL. Melbourne is stacked full of key defenders, but like Burgoyne, the club is expected to give Turner until the deadline to show what he's capable of.
Richmond
Quinton Narkle is one of the biggest names hoping for a second chance at AFL level after being delisted by Geelong following 41 games across six seasons. The West Australian trained with the Tigers in December and has made a strong impression to start the new year after losing eight kilograms and finishing third in the second heat of the 2km time trial last week, recording a time under seven minutes. The Tigers are also looking at country football star Kaelan Bradtke, who started with the club on December 5. The 21-year-old kicked 39 goals in the Ovens and Murray League last year and also made two appearances in the VFL for Sydney's reserves. Richmond also looked at Oakleigh Chargers product Luke Teal before Christmas.
St Kilda
The Saints currently has two spots available on its rookie list and are trialling delisted pair Liam Stocker and Josh Eyre, who both started at the club in early December. Stocker was delisted after four years at Carlton while Eyre wasn't offered another contract at the end of season two at the Bombers, although the club did offer him the chance to train during the SSP. With Max King and Jack Hayes set to miss the start of the season and St Kilda’s key forward stocks low, Eyre is considered to be in a strong position to land a lifeline. Former list manager James Gallagher was a big fan of Eyre, but has now departed the club. The Saints are expected to keep the door ajar for both players up until the deadline and could select both rather than leaving a spot open for the Mid-Season Rookie Draft later in the year.
Players signed during the SSP (Dec 5 to Feb 15)
Liam Shiels - North Melbourne
Oskar Baker - Western Bulldogs
Conor McKenna - Brisbane
Jed Anderson - Gold Coast
Tyler Brown - Adelaide