As much as I love watching Australia smash the Poms in the cricket, it will never replace AFL action.
To pass the time until the AFL season kicks off (under 100 days until Round 1) I thought I’d talk about some huge story-lines heading into the 2014 AFL season.
Will Buddy help or hinder Sydney’s culture?
The biggest move of the off-season was obviously Lance Franklin signing a huge nine-year deal with the Sydney Swans.
This is one of the club’s biggest risks since relocating from South Melbourne.
It could make or break Sydney’s future.
Franklin, when on, is the most dangerous and athletic player in the league. He can change the outcome of a match off his own boot.
If Buddy has a great pre-season and stays out of the headlines the Swans will be raring to go come Round 1 and full of confidence in their new star recruit.
If the opposite happens and he gets caught up in Sydney’s night life, Sydney might already be regretting their long-time commitment to Buddy before the season begins.
Franklin and Kurt Tippett will have a busy off-season learning each other’s leading patterns and also knowing when to give the other person space to lead into a better position.
If Franklin and Tippett make it through 2014 un-injured and unified the Swans may well just be on their way back to that last Saturday in September.
Can Richmond go one step further and finally win a finals game?
If there were ever a year that the Tigers look set to break their long drought without a dinals win, 2014 is it.
Richmond have been handed a very favourable draw for the upcoming season; playing only one 2013 top four side once – Sydney. The other teams they take on twice are: Brisbane, Greater Western Sydney, St Kilda, and Essendon.
This favourable fixture definitely adds pressure and expectations for the team, and the big question is can they cope with that pressure.
They played their first final in 12 years and came up against the old enemy Carlton. The unexperienced Tigers were unable to produce the goods in the second half as Chris Judd wound back the clock and got Carlton over the line.
Richmond’s fate in 2014 may be decided on whether Dustin Martin can take his game to the next level. Dusty had a good season in 2013, but struggled with consistency.
If he can fix that major flaw and build up his endurance over the pre-season, he could well be just as lethal as anyone in the league.
Can Tom Boyd live up to the hype?
Tom Boyd is a Giant in more ways than one. At only 18 years of age he is 199cm tall and listed at over 100kgs.
While it will probably take a couple of years for Tom Boyd to completely find his feet in the AFL system I definitely think we will still see plenty from the #1 pick in season 2014.
He is strong, can mark anything within sight, and his work rate is second-to-none. Boyd isn’t afraid to work up the ground and to present as an option outside of the forward 50 arch.
Perhaps the most interesting part of next year for the Giants will be seeing how Jeremy Cameron, Jonathon Patton and Boyd can operate in the same forward line.
Patton is aiming to be ready for Round 1 after sustaining a season-ending ACL tear in Round 3 against St. Kilda earlier this year.
If these three young stars can work as one and not go out in search of individual success then the rest of the competition will have their hands full for many years to come.
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.
But will it be enough for an AFL recall?
At least they could see the funny side!
Tom Hawkins returns to familiar surroundings of Geelong - but is it the tonic he needs to regain some of his confidence back after a goalless four games.
Jeremy Finlayson should be a welcome addition to the Port Adelaide forward line after kicking four goals in the SANFL last week.
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.
