*NEW USERS WARNING*THE FOLLOWING PREDICTIONS HAVE BEEN MADE BY A PUNDIT WHO TIPS THREE WINNERS IN A GOOD ROUND AND IS MORE ONE EYED THAN LEELA FROM FUTURAMA* IN THE RARE ADVENT OF THESE PREDICTIONS BEING ACCURATE MIGHT I SAY I TOLD YOU SO, IF (WHICH IS THE MORE LIKELY) THESE PREDICTIONS ARE AS ACCURATE AS A PISSPOT'S AIM AT THE URINAL AT 1.30 IN THE AM, I SAY TO YOU...IT'S ONLY FEBRUARY!!
1. Port: Still the team to beat, now without that girl Schofield, that useless Ackland and the incredibly slow Hardwick. Won't lose any at Girlee Stadium.
2. Geelong: The Catters attack is underrated...they produced as many scoring shots as St Kilda last season but was the most innacurate team in the league. Ottens replaces Graham but Ottens is more versatile and adds to Geelong's ruck strength. Nathan Ablett is considered the great hope and if he gets in ahead of Kent 'pass it off' Kingsley late in the year,look out.
3. Brisbane: A few retirements and a few fringeys were cut but there is still a lot to like about this team. Many are predicting the fall but it won't happen this season.
4. West Coast: In recent seasons the Eagles have fallen in a hole without Michael Gardiner but last year the Egirls got on a huge roll without him in the side, which indicates a step up by the playing group. Tyson Stenglien will be a handy addition and perhaps this will be a (overdue)good year for Daniel Chick.
5. Melbourne: Will finally get rid of the up-down hoodoo that has dogged the club in recent years. Hard to say what affect Troy Broadbridge's passing will have but with the addition of Brent Maloney the midfield looks a little stronger and that has been a bit of a worry for the Dees since the departure of Powell and Woewodin.
6. St Kilda: This club has a great list on paper but I've got my suspicions regarding the Saints. I don't think they've addressed the ruck problem and Fiora for Black does not inspire. St Kilda rely on players like Guerra and Milne a bit too much for mine and I doubt if Hamill can remain the force he has been in recent seasons...he looks more battlescarred every year.
7.Fremantle: Must be the most frustrating outfit to coach. I'm still shaking my head at how they missed the finals last season. I'll bet not too many Docker's fans will remember that home loss to Collingwood all that fondly. Freo have improved their list but still lack a reliable marking forward in my books. Freo need to combine their excellent home form of 03 with their road form of 04 but with a large slice of goals coming from Farmer and Medhurst, a bottom of the eight finish looks the best bet.
8. Collingwood: I think Collingwood can pull a bit of a surprise and sneak into the top eight this year after a 2004 to forget. At every club you could name four guys who the club wouldn't want injured and last year it was Rocca, Tarrant, Fraser and Buckley who missed matches at crucial parts of the journey. The club would have redressed last year's 'laid back' approach to pre-season and will hit the ground running.
9. Sydney: It's no secret that I don't rate Sydney's list. What they do have though is one of the smartest coaches in the business, the underrated Paul Roos. Sydney do have some top players but the second tier does fall away a bit to often for this club to make the eight again. How they use Goodes could be the key. Last season they moved Goodes out of the ruck but the Swans appeared to lose a bit of drive. Like Port, won't lose many on their home deck...however, the jury's out on their Telstra Stadium form...and their top eight hopes.
10. Essendon: Any team with players like Lucas, Lloyd and Hird will be about the place but last year the Bombers looked decidedly vulnerable and lacking in leg speed. The Bombers have let experienced soldiers Mecuri and Misiti go but unlike past years, they haven't acquired any ready made replacements. The loss of Wellman especially will hurt the Dons in my book. Essendon won't fall in a massive hole but I can see a slight dip in their fortunes ahead.
11.Carlton: Could be in for a season of disappointment. I think the Blues did exceptionaly well last season.in fact they may have overperformed. Big Fev is the key. When the Blues got on that midseason roll the Big fellow booted 21 goals in three weeks..at their worst they lost to the Bulldogs at home with Fev looking disinterested. Maybe next year for the Blues.
12.Western Bulldogs: Looked to have bulked up a little and the next generation is about ripe to take over the reins from the experienced core of seasoned veterans. This is a big year for Chris Grant and the astute Rodney Eade could well be the man to get the best out of him. This season will mark the start of the long road back for the Dogs.
13. Adelaide: Have lost a lot of veterans last season and also Tyson Steinglien to the Eagles and I can't spell that guy's name. The Crows might be in the wilderness for the next few years after the failure of the 'Carey' experiment. Not a lot of good youngsters on the Blackbirds' list so the load once again will fall to Hart, Riccutio and McLeod..who looked like he couldn't be arsed last year. Will do ok at home so no spoon for Craig's men.
14. Richmond: Despite all the hype, the Tiges will take awhile to getting back to their '9th everyear' form of recent times. After spending over 10 weeks trying to secure that priority pick the Tigers have to learn how to win again. The key will be how they attack the sticks..if they continue to kick to Richo nearly every time then it's more pain for those at Tigerland.
15. Kangaroos: During coach Laidley's tenure at Arden Street it has become quite fashionable to write off the Roos. In recent seasons this would be fraught with danger but this season the Roos look a bit wobbly. Lance Picconie?? What club would possibly think that this player could improve their list? More experience has leached away from the club with the retirement of Stevens and King and the intense coaching style of the junkyard dog may fall on deaf ears this season.
16. Hawthorn: Last year's worst team has lost Nathan Thompson and gained an unproven coach. Looking at the Hawker list does not inspire one with confidence. With political infighting and a green looking list, the spoon looms large for the once all powerfull Hawks.
Cheers,
REB
― Rik E Boy (Rik E Boy), Sunday, 6 February 2005 09:45 (twenty-one years ago)