Victoria
South Australia
Western Australia
Nick Dal Santo has posed the biggest questions that he is asking of the 18 AFL clubs leading in to the 2020 season.
These are questions that we will not know the answers to until the end of 2020 but will be interesting to watch unfold nonetheless.
The former All-Australian midfielder has started with burning queries for the Crows, Lions and Blues.
1. Can Matty Nicks get the cultural formula right?
“It hasn’t been there for a couple of years now.”
2. Does Bryce Gibbs have a role to play?
3. Can Tex Walker get back to somewhere near his best?
“I think the Tex Walker that Adelaide supporters want to see isn’t the Tex Walker that we saw a few years ago.
“I think the way he plays needs to adapt and change with what they’ve got going on around them. He loses Josh Jenkins. How does their forward line operate?
“His best is having a presence. We don’t need to judge him on marks, goals and disposals. I’d like to see the influence and presence back.”
1. Are they a one hit wonder?
“Are they the Baha Men (Who Let the Dogs Out) of 2020?
“Can they back up after what they did last year?”
2. Can they keep their home ground record at the ‘Gabbatoir’?
“They were 10-1 during the regular season then got rolled in two home finals.”
3. Is a 50 goals a pass mark for Eric Hipwood?
“He’s their key forward, their main man. He kicked 35 goals last year.”
1. Is the hype finally real?
“I’ve been reading every summer, feels like for a decade - ‘They’re coming’, ‘green shoots’, their slogans and all their catchcries - is it finally real?”
2. Does Levi Casboult have to play in defence?
“He was better in defence (last year). They’ve got a solid defence but I think that needs to be answered.”
3. Can Patrick Cripps and Sam Walsh have the same output as they had in 2019?
“Do these two players need more support?”
Three big questions that we can watch play out over the course of the coming season continues on Wednesday with Collingwood, Essendon and Fremantle.
Listen to Dal’s three burning questions below: