- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Rewind to the end of the 2006 AFL season and footy followers in Victoria were feeling a little uneasy. The past three years had seen no Victorian side play in the AFL Grand Final, with the hallowed turf of the Melbourne Cricket Ground being filled with “inter-staters” come the last Saturday in September.
Thanks in part to Brisbane’s dominance in the early part of the decade, six seasons had passed since a Victorian side had won the AFL premiership.
AFL followers in the self-described “home of football” wondered how long it would be before one of their own would break the stranglehold of the non-Victorian sides.
They need not have worried.
The four seasons since West Coast won the 2006 premiership over Sydney have been dominated by Victorian teams. In the past three seasons no non-Victorian side has made even a preliminary final.
Last year, only two of the six non-Victorian sides made the finals (Fremantle and Sydney), with both teams falling in the second week.
The pressing question for those outside Victoria is which will be the first non-Victorian side to challenge for the premiership over the next few years?
Adelaide Crows
The Crows were the big let down of season 2010. After finishing the 2009 season with a flurry of wins and missing out on a preliminary final berth by less than a goal, big things were expected last year.
To the dismay of their supporters, the Crows started the year with six straight losses and their season was effectively done and dusted. The Crows may be best served by rebuilding their list over the next few years, with veterans Brett Burton, Simon Goodwin, Andrew McLeod and Tyson Edwards all retiring at the end of last season.
Brisbane Lions
Many have picked the Lions to finish with the wooden spoon this season, and it is difficult to see the Lions getting anywhere near finals football for some time.
Jonathan Brown’s body has been battered over the years, Luke Power and Simon Black have been workhorses in the engine room for the Lions, but they are also in the twilight of their careers. With last season’s best-and-fairest winner Michael Rischitelli joining the Gold Coast side this season and key forward Brendan Fevola sacked last month, it will be a long time before the Lions see September action again.
Fremantle Dockers
The one shining light for the non-Victorian sides last year, the Dockers were set to challenge for a top four spot until Michael Barlow broke his leg mid-season.
The Dockers will rely too heavily on their big three of Sandilands, Pavlich and Barlow to match the best Victorian sides this season, although they have several promising younger players who could help the Dockers challenge for silverware within the next three to five years.
Port Adelaide Power
The Power had a late-season resurgence last year after the club parted ways with premiership coach Mark Williams midway through the year.
Like Fremantle, the Power has plenty of promising youngsters, but Port Adelaide lack the gun players required to make serious in-roads against the big Victorian teams.
Sydney Swans
The Swans won the premiership in 2005, and did better than many expected last season by making it to the second week of the finals. New coach John Longmire will want to put his stamp on the side after being assistant coach to Paul Roos for the past three years.
The Swans rely heavily on dual Brownlow medallist Adam Goodes, and though they are the perennial over-achievers of the league, they look unlikely to win a premiership any time soon.
West Coast Eagles
The Eagles “won” their first wooden spoon in the club’s history last season, and the poor general skill level of the Eagles players suggests they will remain anchored towards the bottom of the ladder for several years. How far the mighty have fallen since their 2006 premiership.
Gold Coast Suns/Greater Western Sydney Giants
Given the poor standing of the six current non-Victorian sides, there is a very real chance that the next premiership won by a non-Victorian side will go to one of the new franchises entering the AFL over the next two years.
With a host of early draft picks and salary cap concessions, it is possible that either the Gold Coast or Greater Western Sydney will challenge for a flag in their first five years in the competition.
When running the ruler of the non-Victorian sides, it is difficult to find any of the other six that are likely to challenge in that timeframe. How the wheel has turned.
Who’s in your ultimate team? Pick the best team and compete with other fans for daily prizes on Draftstars. For the best odds on the game try out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Think. Is this a bet you really want to place? Set a deposit limit.