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Burning questions ahead of the 2015 AFL season (Part III)

Roar Guru
4th March, 2015
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As the countdown to the 2015 AFL season continues, there will be some more burning questions asked of last year’s bottom six teams as they look to climb off the canvas this season.

In Part I, I asked some questions regarding last year’s top six, including whether Hawthorn can capture a rare hat-trick of flags this year, whether the Sydney Swans could put their grand final debacle behind them and just how high Port Adelaide can fly in 2015.

In Part II, questions such as how the Adelaide Crows and Gold Coast Suns would fare under new coaches, whether Essendon could move on from the ASADA scandal and whether Richmond could rise further up the ladder in 2015 were asked.

Here, in Part III, Carlton, the Western Bulldogs, Brisbane Lions, GWS Giants, Melbourne and St Kilda will come under the spotlight. The Lions, Giants and Demons recruited big during the off-season and all eyes will be on those three teams as they look to climb out of the bottom four this year.

There are, of course, some other issues that will be faced by last year’s bottom six. Here are the last of the questions fans will ask as we continue to count down to the season opener between Carlton and Richmond on April 2.

13. Will Mick Malthouse remain at Carlton beyond 2015?
After the sacking of Brett Ratten close to the end of a disappointing 2012 season, coaching legend Mick Malthouse was lured to Carlton in what was dubbed the biggest coaching appointment at the club for a long time.

While his first year brought about a finals appearance made only possible by Essendon’s demotion from September due to the supplements scandal, last year saw the Blues crash to just seven-and-a-half wins from a disappointing season.

This season will be the final year of Malthouse’s three-year contract at the club and if the Blues don’t improve on last year’s 13th-placed finish, then Malthouse won’t be coaching the Navy Blue after this season.

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In fact, his coaching future at Carlton could come down to the Round 22 match against GWS at Spotless Stadium, in the same manner that his predecessor Brett Ratten’s own future hinged on a match against the Gold Coast Suns late in 2012.

The 12-point loss to the Suns three seasons ago spelt doom for Ratten as he was moved on after more than five years at the club. Malthouse, on the other hand, survived his club’s loss to the Giants but that loss (and perhaps many others last year) may have served as an indication of where the club is currently at.

Another loss to the Giants could all but render Malthouse’s position at the Blues untenable, but there are many other issues the club will face well before that.

Despite a poor 2014 season, the Blues have once again received a commercially favourable draw which includes their mandatory double-date against Collingwood, matches in Perth (twice), Brisbane and Sydney (twice) and the fact that they will be the home team for their only meeting against Essendon in Round 3 this year.

The club has also regained its traditional MCG season opener against Richmond, the first time these two clubs have kicked off the season in their own right since 2011.

This season could possibly serve as the key indicator to where Carlton are at, and what kind of team Mick Malthouse’s successor will inherit if the veteran coach is moved on at the end of the year.

Round 1: versus Richmond, Thursday April 2, 7:20pm at the Melbourne Cricket Ground

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14. Can the Western Bulldogs move on from the departures of Brendan McCartney and Ryan Griffen?
No club has been rocked the hardest during the off-season more than the Western Bulldogs.

After their 2014 season concluded with a six-point loss to GWS at Etihad Stadium on August 31, the fallout from yet another season without finals football began, and it resulted in coach Brendan McCartney and captain Ryan Griffen leaving the club.

Griffen dropped a huge bombshell during trade week last year by requesting a trade to the Giants. That was then followed 24 hours later by McCartney resigning as Western Bulldogs coach after three unsuccessful years at the helm.

Communication issues between the captain and coach caused both parties to depart the club, leaving behind a trail of destruction at the Whitten Oval. Club veteran Daniel Giansiracusa had earlier on announced his retirement.

Therefore it’s no surprise that the club has been installed as wooden spoon favourites for season 2015, but new coach Luke Beveridge will want to ensure that the club doesn’t plunge that low this year.

In fact, despite the season-ending ACL injury suffered by Tom Liberatore, the club managed to win its NAB Challenge opener against Richmond by 22 points last week.

The club had also been crying out for a key forward since the retirement of Barry Hall at the end of 2011 and they got just that, landing 2013 top draft pick Tom Boyd from the Giants as part of the Griffen trade.

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Reaching his potential and forming a potentially dangerous forward partnership with Stewart Crameri, among other issues, will be key to the Bulldogs’ chances in 2015.

Round 1: versus West Coast Eagles, Saturday April 4, 7:20pm at Etihad Stadium

15. How loud will the Brisbane Lions roar in 2015?
One team that will enter 2015 with high hopes and expectations are the Brisbane Lions.

After a mostly difficult first year under Justin Leppitsch, a climb back up the ladder may be forthcoming if the club’s activity during the off-season is anything to go by.

The Lions caught a big fish when they successfully lured Dayne Beams back home from Collingwood, while they were also able to secure the services of Allen Christensen and Mitch Robinson from the Geelong Cats and Carlton respectively.

Beams will cop a baptism of fire when he opposes his old teammates at the Gabba in Round 1.

It could be the start of a return to better times for the club, which has made the finals just once since losing to Port Adelaide in the 2004 grand final.

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The club need not look past how Hawthorn grew from being an AFL minnow this time a decade ago to become the modern-day AFL powerhouse that it is today, for inspiration.

While the top eight might be a bridge too far given where the Lions are at, a middle six finish will show some genuine progress for the club going forward.

Round 1: versus Collingwood, Saturday April 4, 6:20pm (Queensland time) at the Gabba

16. How much impact will Joel Patfull and Ryan Griffen make at Greater Western Sydney?
Another team expected to improve in 2015 is the Greater Western Sydney Giants.

The club went from just one win in 2013 to six in 2014, as they finally overcame their fear of playing on the road (three of their six wins in 2014 were away from home) and continued to improve against the AFL’s heavyweight clubs.

And there is more reason to believe that the club can continue to climb up the ladder in 2015, with experienced defender Joel Patfull and ex-Western Bulldogs captain Ryan Griffen finding their way to Spotless Stadium during the off-season.

Griffen’s arrival, however, came at the expense of Tom Boyd, who headed the reverse direction and headed down to the Whitten Oval after struggling to adjust to life in Sydney.

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While he is no Gary Ablett, Griffen will arrive at the Giants aged 28 and still with a few good years left in his body, if his All-Australian selection in 2013 is anything to go by. His experience, as well as that of Patfull’s, will help the Giants significantly in their development.

The pair will slip into a young and talented side which has had plenty of challenges in their first few seasons. While there were improvements in the win-loss column, there were times when the club fell back to bad habits and lost some matches by heavy margins, exposing the gulf between their best and their worst.

The big question remains, however, whether the pair’s arrival can fast-track their rise up the ladder, or whether there is still a long way to go before they can consider themselves to be genuine finals contenders.

Round 1: versus St Kilda, Sunday April 5, 1:10pm at Etihad Stadium

17. Can Melbourne continue to improve in 2015?
After a wretched two-and-a-half seasons under Mark Neeld, and a half-season under Neil Craig, season 2014 brought about some much needed improvement and a spark in confidence for the Melbourne Demons under the coaching of Paul Roos.

The club won four games last year and improved their percentage from 54.07 in 2013 to 68.37 last season, but still finished 17th, showing that, as the AC/DC song goes, “it’s a long way to the top if you wanna rock ‘n’ roll”.

Again the club has copped a commercially tough draw with their biggest home game for the year once again being their annual Queen’s Birthday clash against Collingwood. Other than that, they will have to contend with playing home games against weaker Victorian opposition such as St Kilda and the Western Bulldogs.

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On the flipside, however, the club’s travel won’t be as brutal as some of the other Victorian clubs. The Dees will not have to travel to Sydney, Brisbane or the Gold Coast for the second consecutive year, while as was the case last year, the long trip to Perth won’t come until the penultimate round of the season.

In addition, there will only be one trip to Adelaide for the club.

There are, however, two home games sold to the Northern Territory with matches against Port Adelaide and West Coast scheduled for Alice Springs and Darwin in Rounds 9 and 14 respectively.

As far as player transfers are concerned, the club was once again very active during the off-season, landing the likes of Jeff Garlett, Heritier Lumumba and Sam Frost from Carlton, Collingwood and GWS respectively.

The arrival of Lumumba will cancel out the loss of James Frawley, who joined Hawthorn as a free agent last October. His run out of defence will be very handy as the Dees look to continue to become hard to play against in that area.

The bad news however is that Bernie Vince is carrying a hamstring injury and will almost certainly miss their season opener against the Gold Coast Suns on April 4. That comes hot on the heels of the more devastating news that their highest pick in last year’s draft, Christian Petracca, will miss the entire 2015 season after picking up a dreaded ACL injury during pre-season training last month.

Again it will remain to be seen whether Melbourne can continue to improve in 2015.

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Round 1: versus Gold Coast Suns, Saturday April 4, 1:45pm at the Melbourne Cricket Ground

18. Can St Kilda become an AFL powerhouse again?
Crashing to last year’s wooden spoon completed a spectacular fall from grace for St Kilda, who just five years ago came to within a wobbly bounce of winning that would have been only their second AFL flag and first since 1966.

That, and the 56-point thrashing they copped in the subsequent replay, signalled the beginning of a painful decline for the Saints and it culminated in the club finishing last on the AFL ladder for the first time since 2000 last season.

Compounding their recent state of woes, the club has also lost their inspirational leader Lenny Hayes to retirement while the likes of Leigh Montagna and Nick Riewoldt will almost certainly descend into their final years.

However, the arrivals of number one draft pick Paddy McCartin, and Tim Membrey, who couldn’t crack into the powerful Sydney Swans side which finished on top of the ladder last year, could fast-track their rebuild.

The impressive form shown by Luke Dunstan (who by the way has inherited Hayes’ number seven guernsey for this season onwards) before succumbing to a season-ending shoulder injury late last year will also give Saints fans reason to believe that the club can one day return to the upper echelon of the ladder.

While there is still a long way to go in their rebuild, the Saints also showed the ability to turn it on against quality opposition, such as when they thrashed Fremantle by 58 points at Etihad Stadium last year.

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The Saints will enjoy a light opening to 2015, with matches against the GWS Giants and Gold Coast Suns preceding a tough Round 3 showdown against Collingwood at the MCG.

However, the burning question remains whether St Kilda can climb the ladder in 2015, and just how long there is to go before they reclaim their status as an AFL powerhouse.

Round 1: versus GWS Giants, Sunday April 5, 1:10pm at Etihad Stadium

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