Nick Dal Santo has posed the biggest questions that he is asking of the 18 AFL clubs leading into the 2020 season.
These are questions that we hope to have answered and will watch with interest over the course of the year.
The former All-Australian midfielder has asked the following of the Hawks, Demons and Kangaroos.
THREE QUESTIONS FOR ADELAIDE, BRISBANE AND CARLTON
THREE QUESTIONS FOR COLLINGWOOD, ESSENDON AND FREMANTLE
THREE QUESTIONS FOR GEELONG, GOLD COAST AND GWS
THREE QUESTIONS FOR PORT ADELAIDE, RICHMOND AND ST KILDA
THREE QUESTIONS FOR SYDNEY, WEST COAST AND WESTERN BULLDOGS
1. Does Tom Mitchell step straight back in?
“Does he step straight back to being the clearance and ball magnet that he was two years ago?”
2. Can James Sicily get it together and be the All-Australian defender he should be?
“A tiny bit of discipline (is stopping him), but I’m in the camp of you need a little bit of that crazy to be as good as he is.
“He’s a little bit mad so you’ve got to take the good with the bad with some of these players. He plays right on the edge and I like that about him.
“I’m a massive fan. I’ve got him, being conservative, in the top five field kicks in the competition. When he has the ball in his hands he is just a delight to watch.
“But can James Sicily get it together to be the All-Australian defender he should be?”
3. Can the young brigade take the reins?
“(Harry) Morrison, (Oliver) Hanrahan, (Mitchell) Lewis and I’ve put (James) Worpel in even though he was brilliant last year.
“But Worpel’s role may change as well now Tom Mitchell is back. You’ve got to fit those jigsaw pieces back in the midfield.
“We continually speak about their older players and how good they’ve been or when the next one is going to be retired. I look at an Isaac Smith who won’t be there forever so these young guys need to start filling the void more consistently, that’s the key.”
1. Who is going to step up to be a key forward?
“It doesn’t necessarily mean you have to be the big person, the big body even though that would be perfect.
“It’s to kick goals. They averaged 10 goals a game last season. (Christian) Petracca was the most with 22 for the year. That’s not enough.
“That’s why you win five games for the year.”
2. Who will be the polish and the balance in their midfield?
“(Jack) Viney, (James) Harmes, (Clayton) Oliver and (Angus) Brayshaw all have a different surname but play football in a similar way.
“I love variety, balance and ball use. They are all good at what they do but who is going to be the distributor that is going to kick the ball to someone wearing the same jumper?”
3. What will the new game style look like?
“It has to be different. You can’t kick the ball inside forward 50 as often as they do and just watch it bounce back out.
“Something has to change. It can’t be what it was two years ago, dish up what it did last season and expect it will just turn and go back to what it was 24 months ago.”
1. Will Mason Wood fulfil the expectations we’ve had on him for so long?
“He has all the attributes that you would want to be a footballer.”
Jack Heverin said: “He nearly went to Sydney. You just wonder whether that might be enough of a catalyst to get things going in the right direction more consistently.”
2. Can the young midfielders share the workload?
“(Tarryn) Thomas, (Cameron) Zurhaar, (Luke) Davies-Uniacke and (Jy) Simpkin.
“(Ben) Cunnington has a huge workload in midfield, (Shaun) Higgins, it has been (Jack) Ziebell at times, (Jed) Anderson had been going through there but I’d love to see more young guys.
“Some of these young guys have shown great signs. Can they do it more and relieve some of the pressure?
“They can’t rely on just a couple, it doesn’t win them enough games.”
3. Where does Jack Ziebell play his best football in 2020?
“Under Brad Scott he had gone forward and was in a really difficult position, in my opinion, being the captain and not being able to have a huge influence on the game.
“He went back to where he plays his better football just prior to Rhyce Shaw taking over. He wasn’t doing a great deal in the forward line, it wasn’t working.
“His best position is as a midfielder. He’s their Joel Selwood.
“They’ve got (Ben) Brown and (Nick) Larkey as their two talls, where does Ziebell go?”
The three big questions continues on Monday with Port Adelaide, Richmond and St Kilda.
Listen to Dal's three big questions below: