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Who finishes higher in 2018? Collingwood, Fremantle, West Coast, Hawthorn

Roar Guru
5th February, 2018
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Collingwood President Eddie McGuire and Nathan Buckley. (Photo by Robert Prezioso/Getty Images)
Roar Guru
5th February, 2018
220
2445 Reads

We love to banter and argue in pre-season, but when all is said and done, the question of “who’s going to be better?” is at the heart of every debate.

This week, we’re dividing the AFL up into five groups of roughly equivalent teams and asking you that vital question for 2018 – who’s going to finish highest on the ladder of them?

Yesterday our voters tipped that Carlton would finish higher than Brisbane, North Melbourne and Gold Coast, the Blues winning 38.3 per cent of the vote, with the Lions a close second.

Vote in our poll and let us know in the comments who of these four teams you think is going to finish higher on the ladder in 2018, and why.

Collingwood

AdelaideDocker

Let me be honest: picking where Collingwood will finish is all but impossible. And trying to decide where they’ll finish in a group with Hawthorn and the two West Australian clubs is much, much harder.

I’ll wager that most will say that their three competitors – with the exception of Freo – will probably better them, and that’s probably an appropriate bet.

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But, while Collingwood besting those three might seem unfathomable, I believe it will a combination of Collingwood’s improvement and the decreasing fortunes of the others.

With the WA teams languishing in rebuilds and Hawthorn being a mystery to me, Collingwood’s backs-to-the-wall approach and classy midfield will see them rise just enough to be top of its group. Probably.

Jaidyn Stephenson

(Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

Hawthorn

Josh Barnstable

After missing the finals for the first time since 2009, Hawthorn are set to rise back up the ladder in 2018 thanks to the new breed of Hawks coming through.

With scoring power up forward in the form of skipper Jarryd Roughead and the returning Cyril Rioli, they won’t find it hard to pile on the points.

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West Coast are expected to slide down the table due to a mass exodus of veterans and no real youth coming through, while Collingwood and Fremantle both lack personnel up forward and down back.

Fremantle

Josh Elliott

The Dockers just haven’t been the sum of their parts over the last two seasons, but there’s no reason why that can’t change in 2018.

For starters consider the good form Nat Fyfe ended the year in, and then displayed again in the International Rules Series. If it’s at all indicative of what we can expect from him in 2018, he may very well have another Brownlow come September.

He’s surrounded in the middle by Brad and Stephen Hill, and Lachie Neale – a four-man midfield that doesn’t belong in the bottom section of the ladder.

With Griffin Logue, Darcy Tucker, Connor Blakely and Cam McCarthy all ready to have an impact – and maybe Andrew Brayshaw and Adam Cerra too – the Dockers could do big things this year.

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Andrew Brayshaw Adam Cerra

(AAP Image/Brendan Esposito)

West Coast

Johnathan Thompson

Three reasons.

Optus Stadium – a brand-new stadium brings a chance to create another fortress. With bigger crowds and coming off a semi-final appearance, the Eagles have the chance to cause other sides to fear visiting Optus Stadium.

Josh Kennedy – the Eagles’ spearhead missed five games with a calf injury last season, but still managed to finish second in the Coleman medal race and if it wasn’t for Sydney’s Lance Franklin having a day out against Carlton, booting 10 goals, Kennedy would have won his third straight Coleman medal.

With a cleaner run on the injury front, Kennedy can slot a few more majors and help the Eagles over the line more often.

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Nic Nat – the return of Nic Naitanui is huge. While Drew Petrie and Nathan Vardy provided excellent coverage last season, Nic Nat remains one of his side’s most important players and his return adds another string to Adam Simpson’s bow.

Thanks for voting in our poll! Final results:
1. Hawthorn Hawks 42.1 per cent
2. West Coast Eagles 26.2 per cent
3. Colllingwood Magpie 17.4 per cent
4. Fremantle Dockers 14.3 per cent

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