Essendon are expected to meet the Suns on the Gold Coast in opening round before playing the emerging Hawks at the MCG in round one, a tough start to the season.

Superstar midfielder Bailey Smith will make a blockbuster start to his new life at Geelong while Hawthorn will be immediately thrust on to centre stage as part of the AFL’s Opening Round next season.

Throughout this process, I consulted various doctors to better understand cortisol and to answer the question: Should we all ...