So my predictions for 2014 are tough. We know that the bottom four has seemed pretty self-explanatory, but to place them in any order is the rough part.
14th on the ladder may seem a long way off the top eight, but I think the distance between 8-14 on the ladder may only be a game or two.
Picking my 13th-14th-15th has been like splitting hairs, I like one clubs midfield, but they don’t kick enough goals.
I like one clubs forward line, but they don’t get enough of the ball. Another club has a brilliant list, but half of them are injured.
Too often this has happened and it is making it harder and harder to choose.
One thing is for sure – the Brisbane Lions will not feature in the finals.
Firstly, they have a tough draw. They only play one side from the bottom six twice.
Leppitsch has said he is looking forward to the challenge, wait-what? Justin Leppitsch? That’s right, the new coach.
Having another favourite son coaching them could be good. Although I really do like Justin Leppitsch, Michael Voss should be coaching this side. Voss was the victim of his rebuild. We all know what happened at the end of 2009.
He felt his club were on the cusp of something great, loaded up on mature bodies and blew up his following seasons as all those draft picks went to you know who.
Another selfish reason why I needed Voss to stay was that Leppitsch was helping develop my Tigers in an assistant role and doing so excellently.
But enough of the selfishness.
Leppitsch is going to be good for the club but for now he is going to need time to grow with them.
What about the clubs with good midfielders but not enough goal kickers I was splitting hairs about? Well I was referring to Brisbane.
I really like the midfielders Tom Rockfliff, Jack Redden and Daniel Rich (who should all be sponsored by Triple R, by the way).
Rich averaged a shade under 20 disposals last year however he gets heavily tagged and his kicks are worth two.
As a midfield they only ranked 15th in disposals and contested possessions for 2013. They will need more from Brent Moloney, Pearce Hanley and James Aish if they’re to be taken seriously.
It will be exciting to see No. 7 draft pick James Aish make his way into the AFL. After winning two senior premierships in the SANFL, Aish is ready-made for his step into the big time.
In what will likely be Jonathan Brown’s final season, the Lions must develop more forward line options.
They finished 15th in contested marks inside 50, leaving too much to do for Brown.
Former Tiger Luke McGuane is a useful acquisition and had a career-defining season as a third forward last year. But I still wonder who kicks the goals?
They did have an even spread of goal kickers, Dayne Zorko (26 goals) and Josh Green (24 goals) were handy but more options are needed as they only finished 14th in goals per game.
Daniel Merrett, Matt McGuire and last year’s Best and Fairest Joel Patfull do a solid job of holding down the back half but need some speed to assist them as Pearce Hanley begins to spend more time in the midfield.
Again (sorry for all the stat-bashing) they were a paltry 15th in scores against in 2013.
Hanley is a star and year-by-year he will get a little closer to that Jim Stynes being the best Irishman conversation. Oh! And Dane Zorko is a jet.
The Lions are reconstructing and need to take their time with this build. They’re still a few key position players off doing any real damage to the top 8.
So I guess I’m back to splitting hairs.
Lad-View Prediction: 15th
Individual Predictions
Best and Fairest: Pearce Hanley or Dane Zorko
Goal Kicking Award: Dane Zorko
Player You Need To Watch: Jack Redden
Thing Most Looking Forward To Seeing In 2014: James Aish
In The Hot Seat In 2014: Brent Staker, Stefan Martin, Matt McGuire
Novelty Blog Award: Getting through this article without mentioning Simon Black in season 2014 *sniffle*
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.
The Southport defender clapped his hands as the kick was taken, which the umpire seemed to think was the ball hitting his hands -…
"You want your key forward to be a beast."
Things heating up in Canberra!
We’re taking a look at one player from each team that needs to make a difference this week, starting with the ANZAC Day games.
It is time that the tribunal became more simplistic, closed defence loopholes, and became representative of the game that it is trying to serve.
Brisbane coach Chris Fagan has defended the AFL Tribunal's controversial decision to overturn star forward Charlie Cameron's one-match suspension for a dangerous tackle, as…
