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When we think of looking into crystal balls, we think of lunatics. Well, I have become a lunatic waiting for the AFL season to return.
Going through who’s playing who, how the interchange will work, speculating on this video review technology speeding things up, by how much though?
It’s all a big guessing game – one bad day could ruin a side, one bad injury could ruin a year.
It’s hard to say Gary Ablett Jr will win three Brownlows without thinking of his still-dodgy calfs.
Is Jobe Watson going to get a notice from ASADA? Or are the Bombers going to make the top four on the back of no more bad news?
I had a dream the other day through biased eyes of yet another Hawthorn flag – they beat Richmond by four points and it was a heart-stopper.
It’s a serious possibility we could see those teams battling it out in what I believe would be their first final against each other.
There’s lots of exciting questions around, but here’s just 10 sneak peaks…
Will Buddy Franklin and Kurt Tippett work together?
Will Port Adelaide continue to run out games so well?
Will Collingwood regret the decision to get rid of Heath Shaw, Alan Didak, Andrew Krakouer and Darren Jolly?
Will Hawthorn go back to back?
Will Paul Roos lead Melbourne to over five wins?
Will Brad Scott be sacked if North Melbourne fail again?
Which of the new coaches will continue the good luck of it?
Which player/coach will cause the most controversy?
Will the review system have a bad or great season this year?
Will there be a huge umpiring decision that costs a team a grand final berth?
As with most pre-season questions, you can’t even get the answer until the very end of the year, but it’s usually worth it.
Which leads me to a widely-debated ladder predictor. I hate doing these but I will stick my head on the line right now:
1. Fremantle
2. Hawthorn
3. Geelong
4. Richmond
5. Sydney
6. Port Adelaide
7. North Melbourne
8. Essendon
9. Carlton
10. West Coast
11. Gold Coast
12. Bulldogs
13. Adelaide
14. Collingwood
15. Melbourne
16. Brisbane
17. GWS
18. St Kilda
Last year’s poor show from Brisbane after the NAB cup has probably made them that low for me, but also it’s the prediction I will surely get wrong.
Collingwood will fall – they went one to many with the players they got rid of.
Richmond will finally be assured of being in the second week of the finals, it could be the big chance they need to make the grand final.
Geelong versus Hawthorn qualifying final? You beauty!
North Melbourne are the interesting one for me. I rate them the best team when on – and I mean the best team! – but when they’re off it’s simply awful. They need to bridge the gap big time.
Most of this I expect to be wrong, but it’s always great to look back and see how wrong you were at season’s end.
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.