With the new season, comes new hope, of course. Until the final siren goes in the now-traditional Carlton-Richmond season opener, every team is on zero points, the fors and againsts are even and optimism is the common currency among fans dreaming about what their team can achieve. On Friday morning, either the Blues or the Tigers wil be on top of the ladder. That'll be new.

The Carlton-Richmond clash is a prime example of the "newness" sweeping across the league. No fewer than eight players will run out for their clubs for the first time at the MCG on Thursday night. Caleb Marchbank, Sam Petrevski-Seton, Billie Smedts and Jarrod Pickett have been named by Carlton and Richmond will unveil Dion Prestia, Josh Caddy, Toby Nankervis and Dan Butler.

Carlton youngster Harrison Macreadie is listed as an emergency but was strongly rumoured to make his debut for the Blues too as a late inclusion.

In a sign of the times, more 40 players found new homes in the off-season, meaning it could take footy fans a while to fully adjust to seeing so many players wearing different colours in the first few weeks.

Of particular interest this weekend will be Bulldogs forward Travis Cloke, West Coast big man Drew Petrie and Gold Coast speedster Pearce Hanley coming up against former clubs Collingwood, North Melbourne and Brisbane Lions respectively for the first time.

Other noteworthy new faces at new clubs to look out for are Sam Mitchell (West Coast) and Jordan Lewis (Melbourne) after the duo were sensationally traded by Hawthorn, Joel Hamling (Fremantle) who is fresh from a premiership with the Dogs, Bradley Hill (Fremantle), new Hawthorn duo Tom Mitchell and Jaeger O'Meara as well as Jake Carlisle who finally gets to play for the Saints after serving a year-long doping ban.

Speaking of which, Essendon will relish the chance to finally head into a season free of controversy and scandal as the majority of their previously banned players return to face Hawthorn in what looms as an emotion-charged encounter at the MCG. And how good will it be to see Jarryd Roughead back in action for the Hawks after overcoming his cancer scare?

The Dons-Hawks clash is just one of a host of blockbuster matches penciled in for round one with league executives bullish about the prospect of attracting a record 400,000 fans this weekend.

Ten captains will lead their team for the first time - Dayne Beams (Brisbane), Dyson Heppell (Essendon), Nat Fyfe (Fremantle), Steven May (Gold Coast), Tom Lynch (Gold Coast), Roughead, Jack Viney (Melbourne), Jack Ziebell (North Melbourne), Jarryn Geary (St Kilda) and Josh Kennedy (Sydney). A couple of rookie coaches will strut their stuff for the first time as well in Melbourne's Simon Goodwin and Brisbane's Chris Fagan.

But three of colleagues head into 2017 well and truly under the pump. If either of Richmond's Damien Hardwick, Collingwood's Nathan Buckley or Port Adelaide's Ken Hinkley doesn't get off to a satisfactory start, the heat will rise very quickly.

And, of course, a new season wouldn't be a new season without some rule changes. Yes, the game's ever-fiddling law committee has outlawed the third man in ruck contests this year while ball-carriers deemed to be initiating high contact in tackles will not receive free kicks. The deliberate rushed behind rule has also been tightened up.

Bring on the footy!