In part two of my 2011 AFL season preview, the crystal ball reveals top eight and the 2011 AFL Premier.
8th Adelaide (Last season 11th)
After a horror 2010 season, the Crows are aiming to recoup lost ground.
With Burton, Goodwin, Edwards and McLeod gone, the young Crows are looking quite exciting. A Rutten, Otten, Van Berlo, Walker and Tippet spine has premiership written all over it.
However I agree with the feeling that the Crows have lost ground on the best and will take time to get it back. Could do some damage in the finals.
7th Fremantle (Last season 6th)
Nobody would have guessed that the Dockers would be so good in 2010. When they played well, they were fantastic. Barlow was a fantastic recruit and will be aiming to impress again in 2011. Stephen Hill, Matthew Pavlich and Michael Johnson provide such wonderful class to the Dockers side.
However, once bitten twice shy, the Dockers won’t get away with what they did last year so expect a small fall this year.
6th Western Bulldogs (Last season 4th)
For the first time in 16 seasons, the club doesn’t have its spiritual leader Brad Johnson in its side. Also saying goodbye were motor mouth Akermanis and Nathan Eagleton leaving huge gaps in standard and experience in its squad. Filling them up will take time and effort.
The Bulldogs still have class with Griffen, Cooney and Barry Hall still in good form. Brain Lake is the premier fullback in the comp and he will make the defence hard to score against. Eade is desperate for a Premiership and so are his chargers but the club is moving closer to a rebuilding phase than a premiership.
5th Geelong (Last season 2nd)
Yes they have lost Ablett and yes Thompson is gone but people forget the Cats are built around more than one player and they are still a dam good side. The Cats still have quality players like Selwood, Ling, Chapman, Ottens, Scarlett, Stokes and Bartel that can win matches. Chris Scott isn’t coming into a club on its knees but they are not the dominant team from Kardina Park anymore. The competition has caught up with Geelong and they are no longer immortal so expect a fall.
4th Sydney (Last season 5th)
Many expected them to fall in 2010 but Sydney were the surprise packet of 2010 nearly making it to a preliminary final. New coach John Longmire has inherited a promising squad with players like Kieran Jack, Gary Rohan and Heath Grundy developing into good footballers.
They are backed up with experienced players Jude Bolton, Daniel Bradshaw and Ben McGlynn who are playing well. This is the surprise team of 2011 and their boundaries are limitless.
3rd Hawthorn (Last season 7th)
Clarko is under pressure in 2011 and so are his side. The 2008 premiers have fallen from grace with injury and poor preparation hampering them. But with a solid preseason, the Hawks are ready to fly again.
No other team has as much X Factor as the Hawks with Franklin, Rioli, Hodge and Lewis all providing the razzle dazzle a good team needs. The question remains whether they can turn it on but if they can expect plenty of thrills.
2nd St Kilda (Last season 3rd)
Despite a horror pre season, this team is a magnificent unit and can challenge for a flag. Riewolt and co need to silence the critics their best football will certainly challenge the best teams. From Dawson at the back to Riewolt up forward, there are quality players in all parts of the team. One thing that needs to improve is their scoring.
A high scoring team usually wins a premiership and St Kilda is a low scoring side in general. But the Saints have few other weaknesses and are a strong chance of winning the 2011 Premiership.
1st Collingwood (Last season 1st)
Who else but the Magpies? After a brilliant 2010, 2011 will reap more rewards for this side. From back to front, few teams can match the talent of the Magpies. Dane Swann will want to show umpires he is the best player in the AFL and more importantly, Mick Malthouse will want to go out a winner.
Couple this with the skill of Thomas, the strength of Cloke (Imagine if he could kick straight) and the tenacity of Ball, I find it hard to not pick Collingwood as premier in 2011
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Big Mason strutting his stuff on the MCG!
What a moment for Lachie Sullivan!
Not sure this is what Brayden Maynard intended!
Last, year in the second showdown, Adelaide destroyed Port by 47 points with a staggering 20 marks inside 50 with Tex Walker the main star.
There’s no disputing that Cam Guthrie will be important against Melbourne, given Patrick Dangerfield is set to miss due to injury.
Multicultural round was changed in 2018 showing that the AFL have not been as committed to multiculturalism as they should be.
