Burning questions ahead of the 2015 AFL season (Part 1)

With less than a month until the 2015 AFL season kicks off, there are many burning questions before 18 teams start level on zero points in their pursuit of the flag.

Can defending premiers Hawthorn become the first team since the almighty Brisbane Lions side of 2001-03 to capture a hat-trick of flags?

Will the Sydney Swans bury the demons of last year’s humiliating grand final loss to the Hawks?

After reaching the preliminary finals without needing the double chance, can Port Adelaide and North Melbourne live up to expectations? And how quickly are Geelong and Fremantle’s premiership windows shutting?

These are some of the questions fans will ask as we count down to April 2, when Carlton and Richmond kick off the season at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Each question (18 in total) will focus on one club. Here, we will look at Hawthorn, the Sydney Swans, Port Adelaide, North Melbourne, the Geelong Cats and Fremantle.

1. Can the Hawks make it a hat-trick in 2015?
Emulating Leigh Matthews’ Brisbane from over a decade ago will be the Hawks’ goal as they continue to cement their status as the greatest side of the modern era.

Their 63-point demolition of the Sydney Swans in last year’s grand final takes pride of place alongside flags won at the expense of the Geelong Cats and Fremantle in 2008 and 2013 respectively.

And just when you thought they couldn’t get any better, the club secured the services of Melbourne defender James Frawley via free agency during the off-season. He will slip into one of the best defences in the competition, led by Josh Gibson and 2013 Norm Smith Medallist Brian Lake.

Sam Mitchell and Luke Hodge are showing no signs of slowing down and again they will be relied on, as well as go-to forward Jarryd Roughead.

All in all, it’s hard seeing any of the other 17 teams knocking the Hawks off their perch this season.

Round 1: versus Geelong Cats, Monday April 6, 3:20pm at the Melbourne Cricket Ground

2. Can the Sydney Swans rebound from last year’s grand final debacle?
After dominating the regular season thanks in part to the resurgence of Adam Goodes from a knee injury which cut short his 2013 campaign, and the performances of twin towers Lance ‘Buddy’ Franklin and Kurt Tippett, the Sydney Swans failed to turn up for grand final day last year.

It was an anti-climactic end to what had otherwise been a great year for the club, their controversial acquisition of Buddy Franklin paying off massive dividends as he claimed his third Coleman Medal.

In the off-season they lost premier defender Nick Malceski to the Gold Coast Suns via free agency, and were banned from trading in for any players for seemingly no reason.

Despite the adversities the club has faced since the last Saturday of last September, the Swans remain genuine contenders for another premiership in 2015, with Goodes in particular showing no signs of slowing down, if his form in the recent intra-club match is anything to go by.

Expect the Swans to come out all guns firing in 2015, using last year’s grand final humiliation as motivation to claim another flag this season.

Round 1: versus Essendon, Saturday April 4, 4:35pm at ANZ Stadium

3. How high will Port Adelaide fly in 2015?
Last year the Power proved to be one of the most entertaining teams in the competition as they surged to the top of the ladder at the halfway point of the season, on the back of some spectacular on-field results.

They supplied last year’s Mark and Goal of the Year awards, won by Chad Wingard and Matthew White respectively. Wingard’s mark against St Kilda in Round 12 will continue to be played in the highlights reel for years to come.

While they could only settle for a fifth-place finish at season’s end, wins over Richmond at home and Fremantle in Perth saw the club progress to its first preliminary final since 2007. There they fell short of reaching the grand final, losing to Hawthorn by just three points.

The heartbreak of last year’s preliminary final defeat will thus spur the Power to even greater heights in 2015, and with the addition of Paddy Ryder from Essendon, the side that lost to Gold Coast and GWS in 2011 and 2012 respectively shapes as a serious premiership contender.

Round 1: versus Fremantle, Sunday April 5, 4:40pm AWST at Domain Stadium

4. Are North Melbourne contenders or pretenders?
Last year we saw the best and worst of North Melbourne, and this year fans expect to see more of the best.

The Roos were good enough to conquer some of the most difficult tasks in the AFL, winning in Perth twice, winning at the SCG for the first time in a decade, and completing a clean sweep of each team that finished above them on the ladder during the 2014 regular season.

However, they were also bad enough to lose to the likes of Carlton, the Brisbane Lions and Gold Coast Suns, while not one Kangaroos player polled the maximum three Brownlow Medal votes from any of their two wins against lowly Melbourne.

If North are to crack the top four in 2015, they need to be consistent and not become complacent against the lowly teams like they were against Carlton in Round 18 last year, when coach Brad Scott claimed that he was hoping the club would “bank four points and move on”.

Their squad has been bolstered by the additions of Jarrad Waite and Shaun Higgins from Carlton and the Western Bulldogs, respectively.

Given their impressive run to the preliminary final last year, I rate the Kangaroos as being the second-biggest hope (behind only Hawthorn) of the premiership staying in Victoria this year.

Now, it’s time for the Kangaroos to deliver on a consistent basis.

Round 1: versus Adelaide Crows, Sunday April 5, 2:50pm ACST at the Adelaide Oval

5. Is the end of an era looming at Kardinia Park?
After crashing out of last year’s finals series in straight sets, many believe that the dynasty that delivered the Geelong Cats three premierships from four grand finals might be coming to an end.

While they were still good enough to finish in the top three for the seventh time in eight years, it seems the ageing playing list, and Hawthorn’s ability to finally crack the so-called Kennett curse, is finally catching up to Chris Scott’s men.

They copped losses by 110 and 40 points to the Sydney Swans and Gold Coast Suns in the middle of last season, and lost to Hawthorn in a regular-season match for the first time since 2007 (and at the MCG for the first time since 2002).

The Cats were very active during the trade period, landing ex-Demons pair Mitch Clark and Sam Blease, as well as Rhys Stanley from St Kilda. The two major losses were Allen Christensen and Travis Varcoe to the Brisbane Lions and Collingwood respectively.

But all good things must come to an end. And so, after years dominating the AFL, could the Cats be bound for a slide down the ladder in 2015?

Round 1: versus Hawthorn, Monday April 6, 3:20pm at the Melbourne Cricket Ground

6. Could Fremantle’s premiership window be about to shut?
With the oldest playing list in the AFL, do Fremantle still have any petrol left in their tank as they continue to pursue a maiden flag?

Twelve months after contesting, and losing, their first grand final, the Dockers were hit by injuries to key players at the wrong time of the year and losses to the Swans in Sydney and Port Adelaide at home saw the club crash out of the finals series in straight sets.

Ross Lyon’s men will get the chance to exact some revenge on the Power with the two sides set to clash in the opening round of the season on Sunday, April 5. The Dockers also face an early season trip to Geelong the following week, which makes for a challenging start to the club’s season.

Ninth-year captain Matthew Pavlich is 32 and time is running out for him and fellow Fremantle stalwart Aaron Sandilands to lead the success-starved club to the premiership. I have a gut feeling that one or both of the two will call it quits at the end of the 2015 season. Thus, the lure of being part of the club’s first premiership will spur them on to perform well this season as the club’s window continues to lower.

Round 1: versus Port Adelaide, Sunday April 5, 4:40pm AWST at Domain Stadium

Part 2 will cover the middle-six teams from 2014: Essendon, Richmond, the West Coast Eagles, the Adelaide Crows, Collingwood and the Gold Coast Suns.