The results are in! Yesterday I asked you to help us predict the 2017 AFL ladder. We’ve crunched the numbers, and here they are.
Alongside The Crowd’s predicted position for each team I’ve included my own personal prediction for each side, along with a few comments.
At the bottom of this article you can find the complete ladders from both The Crowd and myself.
Adelaide Crows
The Crowd says: 5th
I say: 9th
Believe me, this wasn’t an easy decision – I really rate the Crows. However, the combination of a lack of midfield depth and some early injuries has me putting them as the unlucky team to miss out. The Crowd says otherwise.
Brisbane Lions
The Crowd says: 17th
I say: 14th
The common expectation is for the Lions to be a cellar dweller once again, and that’s fair enough. Personally, I’m tipping them to enjoy the classic ‘new coach bounce’ under Chris Fagan and do a little better than expected.
Carlton Blues
The Crowd says: 18th
I say: 18th
The Blues are headed for the spoon and The Crowd agrees.
Collingwood Magpies
The Crowd says: 11th
I say: 15th
Some people say Collingwood can or should play finals, most think they’ll be middle of the road again. I reckon they’re still a work in progress and won’t have a great year on the win-loss ledger.
Essendon Bombers
The Crowd says: 12th
I say: 6th
Probably the team where I differ most from the consensus opinion, the Bombers have everything they need to be finals force. However, it wouldn’t surprise if they took another year to really gel.
Fremantle Dockers
The Crowd says: 13th
I say: 11th
I honestly expected The Crowd to give Fremantle a little more favour – there are plenty of people out there who think they can jump back into finals, but the consensus seems to be that they won’t be much better in 2017 than in 2016.
Geelong Cats
The Crowd says: 6th
I say: 8th
The Cats didn’t do a lot to convince me last year, they were one of 12 teams I ruled out of flag contention after Round 2 and I stood by that – nervously – during the year. They still squeeze into finals but it could be close.
Gold Coast Suns
The Crowd says: 10th
I say: 17th
Many are tipping the Suns to finally rise in their seventh season, I just don’t see it. They still need more of a shake-up off the field.
GWS Giants
The Crowd says: 1st
I say: 3rd
Look, maybe I’m the village idiot to not be tipping a GWS premiership. But there are a few good reasons to believe they might fall short. Should have a very good year at the worst though.
Hawthorn Hawks
The Crowd says: 9th
I say: 7th
The Crowd reckons the Hawks slip out of the finals – Cam Rose would be proud. There’s still plenty of life in this team yet, in fact they would’ve gone Fourthorn last year if they had Jarryd Roughead. With him back and Jaeger O’Meara and Tom Mitchell arriving, they’ll play finals again.
Melbourne Demons
The Crowd says: 7th
I say: 10th
One of the tougher calls to leave out of the finals, I’m a big fan of what Melbourne are building but with a new coach and a list that still has so many important jobs being done by young players, but say they’ll fall short. The Crowd disagrees!
North Melbourne Kangaroos
The Crowd says: 15th
I say: 12th
Everything you think you know about North Melbourne is wrong, and I’m their biggest booster you’ll find – but even I’m not mad enough to put them any higher than this.
Port Adelaide Power
The Crowd says: 16th
I say: 16th
David Koch says he expects Port Adelaide to be playing deep into September every year. If the predictions of myself and The Crowd are correct – and we’ve lined up perfectly here – he’s about to get a rude awakening.
Richmond Tigers
The Crowd says: 14th
I say: 13th
Richmond could certainly do a lot better than this if everything they’ve done over the off-season comes together, but other sides are improving too and appear to be doing so at a faster rate.
St Kilda Saints
The Crowd says: 8th
I say: 5th
The Crowd sees the Saints sneaking into finals, I think they’ll arrive in style. All I know for sure is that one of these days I’m going to wake up with a headache and a copycat Tim Membrey palm tree tattoo.
Sydney Swans
The Crowd says: 2nd
I say: 4th
The Swans have made the top four five years in a row, played three grand finals in that time but only have the one flag to show for it. The view of most is that it’ll be close, but not close enough again this year.
West Coast Eagles
The Crowd says: 4th
I say: 1st
I’m tipping the Eagles to win the flag this year, but the view of most is that they’re one notch begin the Giants-Swans-Bulldogs trifecta at the top.
Western Bulldogs
The Crowd says: 3rd
I say: 2nd
The Bulldogs haven’t technically finished in the ‘top four’ after the home-and-away in a few years, despite winning the flag last year. With their excellent depth, they’ll hit that mark this year.
The Crowd’s ladder
1. GWS Giants
2. Sydney Swans
3. Western Bulldogs
4. West Coast Eagles
5. Adelaide Crows
6. Geelong Cats
7. Melbourne Demons
8. St Kilda Saints
9. Hawthorn Hawks
10. Gold Coast Suns
11. Collingwood Magpies
12. Essendon Bombers
13. Fremantle Dockers
14. Richmond Tigers
15. North Melbourne Kangaroos
16. Port Adelaide Power
17. Brisbane Lions
18. Carlton Blues
My ladder
1. West Coast Eagles
2. Western Bulldogs
3. GWS Giants
4. Sydney Swans
5. St Kilda Saints
6. Essendon Bombers
7. Hawthorn Hawks
8. Geelong Cats
9. Adelaide Crows
10. Melbourne Demons
11. Fremantle Dockers
12. North Melbourne Kangaroos
13. Richmond Tigers
14. Brisbane Lions
15. Collingwood Magpies
16. Port Adelaide Power
17. Gold Coast Suns
18. Carlton Blues
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