The 2023 AFL season will go down as one of the all-time greatest years of footy seen in our code, with countless high-profile storylines generated on the field and off the field.

On the field, we saw controversy, comebacks, clutch moments, big games and maybe the greatest Grand Final ever.

Off the field we saw drama, sackings, major acquisitions and a Brownlow Medal count out of a fantasy novel.

With endless headlines to pick from, see below what we picked as the top 10 AFL stories of the 2023 calendar year.

5. The Clayton Oliver controversy

Clayton Oliver's downward media spiral began on a wet and slippery Round 10 Friday night match on the Adelaide Oval. While it will forever be remembered as the Zak Butters break-out party, where he torched the Dees for 41 touches and two goals, folks may forget this was also Clayton Oliver's final game before a rather mysterious hamstring injury kept him out of action for the following 12 weeks.

Typically a 3-4 week sideline stint, fans and media were left perplexed by Oliver's lengthy absence, amplified by Melbourne's intriguingly ambiguous updates on the matter, providing little-to-no indication of his return, details of the injury, or comments on any circulating rumours.

His return to football in Round 22 seemingly spelt the end of the controversy, until Melbourne's shock semi-final exit, prefacing discussions over the club's recent finals performances record under Simon Goodwin and a deeper analysis of it's culture within.

Discussions continued well into the off-season before exploding completely with the sudden trade rumours involving Oliver and a potential move to the Adelaide Crows, where he would re-connect with high performance manager Darren Burgess.

Just as these rumours began a decline of sorts, news broke of Oliver being rushed to hospital by teammate Joel Smith after suffering a seizure.

Melbourne remained transparent, allowing rumours of all varieties to swirl through the media, most of which involved potential drug use.

It was the revelation of a positive drug test on Joel Smith, who was found to have consumed cocaine the week of Melbourne's Round 23 clash with Hawthorn, which finally forced Melbourne to front the media in an interview between Garry Lyon, Simon Goodwin and CEO Gary Pert on SEN.

Among a plethora of topical discussions, Goodwin and Pert were able to confirm the retention of Oliver as a contracted player for well beyond 2024, while denying allegations of any cultural issues infecting the club.

Extensive speculation declined, before returning to the fold once again last Friday with the superstar Demon found driving under a license which was suspended with regard to his recent medical episode.

Oliver will attend a court hearing in January where this seemingly perpetual story will continue.