South Warrnambool will look to claim back-to-back premierships next year but one difference to its line-up will be the return of former league best-and-fairest Ally O'Connor. The Victorian Fury player returns after a season away, and while she was on the sidelines with coaches during the Roosters' breakthrough premiership win in September, she'll undoubtedly be keen to add her own name to a premiership cup in 2023.

When Cobden defender Remeny McCann clinched the Dot Jenkins Medal for the league's best-and-fairest this year, coach Sophie Hinkley jokingly asked her team who would take it out next season. The Bombers have won three of the past four league medals, including dual winners Hinkley and Nadine McNamara in 2018. Will another Bomber take out the league award in 2023 or will a rival team's star stake their claim?

Russells Creek had one of the unluckiest starts to a season you could imagine in 2022, including a season-ending injury in round one and several more to follow. It was a rocky start to Stacy Dunkley's tenure as coach but the side responded and had a stronger second half of the season. It would be intriguing to see what the Creekers could do with a season of clean air.

South Warrnambool ended a 32-year premiership drought when it defeated Cobden in the Hampden league grand final in September. Could another club with a long drought, such as Terang Mortlake, break through, or perhaps even better, a team with such as the Bombers or Camperdown, which has had several near-misses in recent history, secure their clubs' their maiden open flag?

Typically most years a dark-horse rears its head and makes a run up the ladder. In recent years, South Rovers has emerged, while Hamilton emerged late in the season to pressure the top five teams after an earlier run of bad injuries. Who will be the biggest riser in both competitions next season?

Another year brings about new talent in the competition, with Old Collegians last season the standout side to feature several new faces in its A grade side. One player on our radar for next year is new Eagles recruit Maisie Barlow, who will fill a key role in defence for Maddy Vardy's side. With her brothers past footballers at the Eagles, we're excited to see the impact another Barlow can have in the league.

Several players have returned to former clubs to lead the way. Laura Bourke has returned to Kolora-Noorat, and reunited with brother and senior football coach Nick, while at Terang Mortlake Sharni Moloney is back to lead the Bloods up the ladder. As clubs try to reengage past players, could we see more people on the move to former clubs in the future?

Can the bottom half of the ladder bridge the gap between their league's perennial ladder-leaders in 2023? Last season the gap between the top-three Warrnambool and District league teams and the rest was noticeable while the Hampden league finals played out similarly with the top-three arguably a step ahead of most.

Both leagues held games this year that recognised and celebrated indigenous players and culture. But while senior footballers were front and centre in ceremonies at North Warrnambool Eagles and Merrivale-hosted games, it would have been nice to see their open grade netballers included in such ceremonies. The way Russells Creek held its smoking ceremony ahead of its clash with Kolora-Noorat should be the blueprint, with all players involved.

More clubs are investing in their junior pathways, with several clubs' senior coaches acting as an 17 and under mentor to help players make the step from junior to senior netball. Junior academies are also popping up at clubs, including South Warrnambool and North Warrnambool Eagles. While development is key to most programs, one thing that lets netball down compared to football is a clear pathway to the top grades.

Nirranda goalie Amanda Gilbert, a former Hampden player, led the Warrnambool and District league with 558 goals in her first season at the Blues. It was a three-pronged shooting team with Steph Townsend and Chelsea Quinn. Could Quinn's departure open up the door for Gilbert to cement herself in the shooting circle and sink even more goals next year? Coach Lisa Arundell thinks so and so do we.

Who doesn't love a fairy-tale finish? For a number of players, 2023 may be their last chance to win a flag, including Merrivale playing coach Elisha Sobey. The midcourter has confirmed next season will be her last, with a premiership sure to be the cherry on top of an already stellar playing career.

It divided the national playing competition but is it worth having a conversation about introducing the super shot into the Hampden and Warrnambool District leagues? An upside is rule tweaks and ideas could breathe life into the competitions and make for a more competitive finish but would it take away from what grassroots netball is all about?

The off-season has been one of movement in the coaching ranks with at least six of the 10 Hampden league clubs appointing a new coach. In the Warrnambool and District league, there has been two outright changes and a third club elected a new co-coaching structure. It will be fascinating to see who hits the ground running and how long some teams take to get going under a new system.

At Warrnambool, the club has appointed two off-court co-coaches. It's a structure you don't often see, with dual coaches often playing into the complementary on-and-off court dynamic. At Hamilton, it will be the opposite with Kellie and Emma Sommerville both on-court co-coaches, with the Kangaroos appointing assistant coach Amanda Hicks to help bring an off-court perspective.

Could we see another individual achieve what Nirranda star midcourter Jo Couch did in 2022? A runaway victory in the Wilma Wallace Medal count saw Couch poll 43 of a possible 54 votes to finish with a 14-vote buffer ahead of runner-up Jemmah Lynch. Could Couch, or another player, go on such a run again in 2023?

Can new Portland coach Ellen Zeunert lead another team to a premiership? Zeunert led the Portland Coasters to a CBL championship in the 2021-22 season and will attempt to do a similar thing with the Tigers in the Hampden league. The Tigers are yet to win an open Hampden league flag but showed signs of promise this year.

Will Cobden get over the proverbial hump in 2023? It will be one of the biggest questions hanging over the season after the Bombers fell short for the third time. Speaking after their latest grand final loss, coach Sophie Hinkley said her team would be back and it would be all the sweeter when it reached the pinnacle.

Who doesn't love to see a good sister pairing on court. At Hamilton the Sommerville sisters, who couldn't be split in the Kangaroos' club best and fairest this year, are taking on co-coaching duties while at Panmure, new Bulldogs coach Rebecca Mitchell joins sister Jess Rohan, with the pair looking to form a deadly defensive pairing later in the season.

Port Fairy and Kolora-Noorat found themselves in the unfortunate position of not winning a game in 2022. While both sides were competitive in matches, we're hoping to see the Seagulls and Power put it all together on the netball court and break through for some wins in 2023.

Could a club clean-sweep all six grades of netball in 2023? You could make a case for Koroit, which had all six grades feature in finals this season, while five of a possible six junior league best-and-fairest awards were won by a Saint.

One thing a post-COVID playing scheme showed us is that players need to be as versatile as possible when it comes to positions. Those who can play more than one position are gold for coaches and can help a team become a difficult proposition by throwing up different looks on match-ups.

Will any side end Nirranda's dominance? The Blues went undefeated in 2021 and 2022 before clinching this year's premiership flag. While the side will look slightly different without Katie Ryan and Chelsea Quinn in 2023, it still has the experience and depth to cause havoc in the league.

Reigning premiership coach Will Jamison has said South Warrnambool needs to continue to evolve and will challenge his group to "change up our game plan". What this looks like is still unknown but could we see players take up a change of role? Isabella Rea was one player to do so in 2022, with her aggressive play through the midcourt a central reason for the Roosters' success.

There is some serious talent in the south-west. From juniors playing open and A grade netball to a number of players celebrating state interleague success this year, there is plenty to like in the calibre of young talent in the Hampden and Warrnambool and District leagues. It will be interesting to follow those players' improvements while new faces are sure to come to the fore.

Every year injuries rear their ugly heads so there is little doubt we will see some unfortunate injuries in 2023. While we're hoping for nothing too serious, the occurrence of injuries are sure to throw a spanner in more than a few teams' plans throughout the year. What will determine a club's success is how it adapts and work around them.

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