The 'go home factor' has become more and more prominent each year as player power continues to ascend in off-season negotiations.
Clubs across the competition will do what they can to retain their interstate stars - sometimes with no success - while others look to recruit local prospects and products by any means to build a foundation for their own premiership push.
Some sides even have a rich history with certain states despite residing in another, a narrative that saw South Melbourne given the 'Swans' nickname for their abundance of Western Australians in the 1930s.
With 440 of the AFL's 794-listed players for 2023, Victoria has a stronghold on the competition, with players from the 'Garden State' spread far and wide to make up the majority of all but two clubs.
145 Victorians currently ply their trade away from their home state, almost a third (32.95%) of the entire Victorian contingent in the AFL - compared to the figures set for South Australians (70.87%) and (60%) Western Australians playing away from their respective states.
Diving further, we break down each club's list profile state by state...
Note: Player origins are assigned to the state or territory they were drafted from, not where they were born. Example: Melbourne's Kysaiah Pickett is a South Australian representative.
| VIC | SA | WA | NSW/ACT | QLD | TAS | NT | OTHER |
| 21 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Outside of their local stock the Crows are heavily supported by a strong Victorian flavour, with 21 of their 45-listed players hailing from the footy-centric state to have the equal most Victorian players among the eight interstate clubs.
Adelaide have made an effort in recent seasons to bolster the amount of Croweaters that call West Lakes home, with the likes of Izak Rankine, Jordan Dawson and Jackson Hatly all arriving at the Crows in recent seasons.
Despite having Western Australia as a neighbour, the Crows haven't recruited any currently-listed players from out west, with forward Shane McAdam, a Halls Creek native, drafted out of Sturt.
The Crows are also just one of three clubs outside of Gold Coast and Brisbane to be home to multiple Queensland products, while Chayce Jones adds to their Tasmanian roots.
| VIC | SA | WA | NSW/ACT | QLD | TAS | NT | OTHER |
| 16 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
Brisbane are home to the most WA-recruited players outside of the two Perth clubs, with nine players having ventured to South East Queensland to add to Chris Fagan's list.
Charlie Cameron, Brandon Starcevich, Daniel Rich and Marcus Adams were all drafted out of the WAFL and either through the draft or trading having found themselves in Brisbane for 2023.
The Lions have 11 Queensland products on their list for the year ahead, two more than state rivals Gold Coast.
16 Victorians make up Brisbane's 45-man squad, making the Lions the third-lowest team for Victorian representation, while three Irishmen give them the equal strongest international flavour.
| VIC | SA | WA | NSW/ACT | QLD | TAS | NT | OTHER |
| 30 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
The Blues are one of five clubs to have 30 or more Victorians on their list, while their interstate recruitment has been shared quite evenly between SA and WA.
It's the latter where they're represented marginally stronger, with Patrick Cripps, Zach Fisher, Jesse Motlop and new recruit Blake Acres among those from Western Australia.
42 of their 45-listed players were recruited out of the three strongest represented states, while two players hail from NSW/ACT and rookie defender Lachie Cowan is their sole representative for Tasmania.
| VIC | SA | WA | NSW/ACT | QLD | TAS | NT | OTHER |
| 25 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Collingwood have the strongest South Australian representation for any club outside of Adelaide, with the magpies home to 11 croweaters in 2023.
Despite losing a trio of SA products through the off-season, Craig McRae's list proudly represents its western neighbouring state to have one in four players come from South Australia.
A further six players have ventured from WA to Olympic Park, while their tally of 25 Victorians is the equal lowest for all Victorian sides.
| VIC | SA | WA | NSW/ACT | QLD | TAS | NT | OTHER |
| 30 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Essendon have a predominant South Australian flavour outside of their 30 local figures, having added an array of South Australians in recent years.
The recruitment of Jye Menzie, Anthony Munkara, Rhett Montgomerie and Alastair Lord have all swapped SA for Tullamarine in the past 18 months to make up almost half of the club's croweater depth chart.
Matt Guelfi and Nic Martin combine to make up Essendon's entire Western Australian crop, while uncapped tall Cian McBride continues to give the Bombers some Irish representation.
| VIC | SA | WA | NSW/ACT | QLD | TAS | NT | OTHER |
| 15 | 4 | 22 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
While being able to fill an entire 22-man side with local talent, the Dockers fall five players short in WA names when compared to their cross-town rivals, West Coast.
More than half of the Dockers' squad hails from Western Australia, nine of which being products of Claremont, while a further 15 players have made the move to Cockburn from Victoria.
Just the four South Australians find themselves in purple, with Michael Frederick, Brennan Cox, James Aish and Tom Emmett making up the quartet.
| VIC | SA | WA | NSW/ACT | QLD | TAS | NT | OTHER |
| 29 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
Stunningly, the Cats have as many Irishmen on their list as they do Western Australians, with premiership pair Zach Tuohy and Mark O'Connor, along with new recruit Oisin Mullin, making up the international contingent at Kardinia Park.
16 players on Geelong's list developed through the Geelong Falcons, while Tom Stewart, Mark Blicavs and Tom Atkins were all part of the Cats' VFL program, adding to the local flavour.
The Cats have coverage in each state besides NSW/ACT, with Jack Bowes (QLD), Jake Kolodjashnij (TAS) and Brandan Parfitt (NT) all featuring for the Allies states.
| VIC | SA | WA | NSW/ACT | QLD | TAS | NT | OTHER |
| 20 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
With additional list spots the Suns have a total of 48 players in their squad for 2023, meaning they have at least three more players than every other club.
Outside of international recruits and Tasmanian products, the Suns' list is spread quite evenly with the relative percentages of each state or territory on show.
20 Victorians currently reside at Carrara, more than double their Queensland crop of nine players. A league-high four players have made the most from the Northern Territory, with the club's Academy and NGA access helping them secure first access to the best talent in the Top End.
| VIC | SA | WA | NSW/ACT | QLD | TAS | NT | OTHER |
| 21 | 4 | 5 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
The Giants have the equal most Victorians on their list among the eight non-Victorian clubs after adding five players from either Vic Metro or Vic Country through the 2022 off-season alone.
GWS have often faced a losing battle to retain Victorian talent and lost three midfielders to Victorian clubs last year, but new No.1 pick Aaron Cadman will lead their new charge of Victorians for the years to come.
A total of 11 players hail from New South Wales or the ACT to be considered as local products, while their SA and WA tally comes in at nine, split four and five respectively.
| VIC | SA | WA | NSW/ACT | QLD | TAS | NT | OTHER |
| 34 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
The Hawks have a strong local flavour to their list, with just seven players in danger of seeking a move 'home' and away from Victoria - five of which coming from either WA or SA, the lowest combined tally in the league.
Their tally of 34 locals is the second-highest in the AFL, falling one Victorian product short of North Melbourne's total.
After moving on Tom Mitchell (Claremont) and Jaeger O'Meara (Perth) from their list in the off-season, the Hawks are home to just a pair of WA natives in young duo Tyler Brockman and Denver Grainger-Barras.
Hawthorn are also among the club's represented by multiple Irishmen, with Conor Nash and Fionn O'Hara looking to bring some luck to Waverley.
| VIC | SA | WA | NSW/ACT | QLD | TAS | NT | OTHER |
| 28 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
After losing Luke Jackson to Fremantle last year, Melbourne's battle against the 'go home factor' will continue in 2023 as they look to retain gun forward Kysaiah Pickett, who is set to gain interest from both South Australian and Western Australian sides this year.
Melbourne have 14 players on their list that joined the AFL through either WA or SA, split 6 and 8 respectively, while no players on their list were plucked out of NSW/ACT, QLD or TAS.
The Demons are also just one of two clubs home to multiple players recruited out of the Northern Territory, with star defender Steven May and uncapped youngster Andy Moniz-Wakefield hailing from the Top End.
| VIC | SA | WA | NSW/ACT | QLD | TAS | NT | OTHER |
| 35 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
North Melbourne have managed to build the richest Victorian-talent-based list in the AFL with a total of 35 local names manning Alastair Clarkson's list.
Just six players come from either WA or SA, one of them being Swan Districts product Griffin Logue, who opted to depart his home state for a new opportunity at Arden Street.
Their quartet of National Draft pickups all came out of the NAB League, as well as Rookie Draft recruit Blake Drury, while ex-Hawks Daniel Howe and Liam Shiels further strengthen their local roots.
| VIC | SA | WA | NSW/ACT | QLD | TAS | NT | OTHER |
| 18 | 17 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Like their city rivals in the Crows, the Power are home to more Victorians than South Australians this year, despite only adding one recruit from the footy-centric state in the off-season.
Delisted free agent Francis Evans was the only Victorian to make the move to Alberton, while a total of five croweaters landed on Ken Hinkley's list along with one WA product and a singular Tasmanian.
Jason Horne-Francis' move was among the headlining switches, while Junior Rioli returned to South Australia six years after being drafted out of Glenelg.
| VIC | SA | WA | NSW/ACT | QLD | TAS | NT | OTHER |
| 25 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
The Tigers have the strongest Tasmanian representation in 2023, with a total of four products from the Apple Isle currently residing at Punt Road.
With a combined 11 players from either SA or WA, just 58% of Richmond's list are from Victorian - the equal lowest among their state rivals.
Damien Hardwick's talent stretches far and wide, covering all areas of Australia outside of the Northern Territory.
| VIC | SA | WA | NSW/ACT | QLD | TAS | NT | OTHER |
| 33 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Out of the 124 Western Australians in the AFL, Brad Hill is the only one to be part of St Kilda's squad, with the West Perth product the solo WA representative at Moorabbin following the retirement of Paddy Ryder.
The Saints have seemingly placed some focus on recruiting out of the SANFL in recent seasons, with eight croweaters currently occupying a spot on St Kilda's list. Their past two first-round selections have come in the form of young SA stars Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera and Mattaes Phillipou.
St Kilda's total of 33 Victorians places them on the podium for the most local talent, with that sum making up three quarters of Ross Lyon's squad.
| VIC | SA | WA | NSW/ACT | QLD | TAS | NT | OTHER |
| 20 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Sydney are spread quite evenly when considering the 34 players currently residing away from their home states, aligning with a similar ratio of Victorians, South Australians and Western Australians that are scattered across the AFL.
Less than half of their list come from Victorian, while a dozen names have made the move to the Harbour City from either SA or WA.
The Swans' Academy program has been a key feature of their exciting young list, adding to their promising local roots to be home to 10 NSW or ACT players.
| VIC | SA | WA | NSW/ACT | QLD | TAS | NT | OTHER |
| 14 | 3 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
To no surprise, West Coast's list is predominantly Western Australian. Over 61% of Adam Simpson's list hail from the western state, many of which were key pieces in their 2018 premiership run.
Jeremy McGovern, Tom Barrass, Elliot Yeo, Nic Naitanui, Dom Sheed, Liam Ryan and Jack Darling have all managed to remain close to home, while West Coast have only continued to strengthen their local list, adding six WA draftees across the past two National Drafts alone.
The Eagles' tally of 14 Victorians is the lowest in the league, as is their trio of South Australians.
| VIC | SA | WA | NSW/ACT | QLD | TAS | NT | OTHER |
| 26 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
The Bulldogs are home to the smallest list in the league with just 42 players pulling on the blue, white and red this year.
62% of their playing contingent is made up of Victorians, while the Dogs cover almost every state in the country beside the NT.
Luke Beveridge's list is one of just three to have multiple Tasmanians, while the Dogs have at least one representative from NSW/ACT and QLD.