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Prior to the commencement of the 2014 AFL season, most pundits had three teams ahead of daylight: Hawthorn, Sydney and Fremantle. The season is far from over, but it’s safe to say the start has not gone as predicted.
Hawthorn has certainly lived up to the billing, jumping out to a 4–0 start. Despite dropping a game to arch rival Geelong, Hawthorn still sits comfortably at 5–1 – well in control of their own destiny.
Sydney started off the season with losses to GWS and Collingwood before notching up their first win against the floundering Crows. They followed with a dreadful loss to North Melbourne, a solid win against pre-season premiership fancy Fremantle, and an unimpressive win against the Demons, which see them sitting at 3–3 after six rounds.
While Sydney players are returning after injury and righting the ship, the team is far from a lofty position in the top three, and is now desperately pushing to merely get into the top eight.
Fremantle started the season well, demolishing Collingwood and taking out a good win against the Suns, but then fell flat against the Hawthorn juggernaut. After that resounding defeat, the Dockers cleaned up Essendon, but then fell to Sydney and the Kangaroos. Their inconsistent season also sits at 3–3.
Questions being asked about Fremantle are growing harder to ignore: does the coach have a plan B? Are they simply lacking in depth? Is the game plan to blame?
The season is far from over but, like Sydney, Fremantle are far from sitting on a comfortable perch head and shoulders above the rest of the competition. While it is too early to say definitively that all the predictions are wrong, it’s clear that the race for the premiership is still very much open.
My club, Geelong, is sitting at 5–1, despite the fact that most predicted the Cats would slide down the ladder yet again and not be contenders for the 2014 premiership. Port Adelaide also sit at 5–1 and must be considered contenders now.
Hindsight being 20/20, if you could go back and change your pre-season ladder predictions, would you? What would your changes be? Let us know below.
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