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As the AFL season draws ever closer once again I felt I should examine each team and attempt to predict just what’s going to happen in 2014.
Some I feel have a shot at the eight but might not be strong enough towards the end of the season and may fall away. In the end it’s all speculation, so enjoy.
Adelaide
Despite a downer season in 2013 things are looking up for 2014.
Even though Taylor Walker is not fully fit and firing, the investments in Eddie Betts and James Podsiadly will no doubt pay off.
With the likes of Patrick Dangerfield leading the midfield, the Crows will come charging back into the eight in 2014.
Brisbane
Big things were tipped for the Lions following their breakout 2009 season but those hopes were all in vain as the team crumbled, and three years later club champion Michael Voss has been given the flick.
So what happens now? Despite losing a lot of talent during the last trade period the Lions still have a lot to show in 2014.
If Daniel Rich can show more consistency and if Jonathon Brown can prove his doubters wrong the Lions will scare the unexpected.
They can push for the eight but they need to play together more consistently.
Carlton
Despite getting a golden ticket to the finals last year, Carlton will not be featuring this year.
Dale Thomas is a good get for the Blues in arresting an ageing midfield problem but that does not address the inconsistently shoddy forward line.
Andrew Walker always plays well but he needs support and Carlton just does not have it.
Although they can move the ball well and rebound when necessary when the opposition defence crowds the forward line Carlton has no answer and goals suddenly become hard to come by.
They can hold on to the ball but they can’t find enough targets to hit up.
Unless they address this problem they could struggle for years to come, Andrejs Everitt may aid this to some degree but He can be out positioned to easily, particularly by bigger defenders.
Collingwood
As stated by coach Nathan Buckley, 2013 was a failure for the Pies. At times they looked unstoppable tearing teams apart but not regularly.
Early in the year they looked a shadow of their former selves, being blitzed by the Hawks and suffering a humiliating loss to the fledgling Gold Coast Suns outfit.
They need to bounce back and Buckley’s no-nonsense approach needs to show results. Personally I think it can – even with the loss of Daisy the midfield is still strong.
Dane Swan, Scott Pendlebury and Dayne Beams on their day can be unstoppable, moving the ball quickly and out-muscling opponents.
If they work together along with more support for the rampant Travis Cloke, Collingwood will challenge for the top four.
Essendon
The drama queen of 2013, losing its coach and being banned from playing finals, things did not turn out the way they should for the mighty Bombers, but there is light at the end of the tunnel.
With Premiership coach Mark Thompson taking over and with pretty much the entire list fit and firing the Bombers will be hard to beat, expect them to contest for the top two as long as ASADA stays away.
Fremantle
Although last year was the best season in Fremantle’s history they still did not achieve the ultimate glory and that would burn.
The time will never be better for the purple haze to charge again and it would not be a great shock if they once again make it to last day in September and this time walk away with the flag.
Geelong
No one will forget the heartbreak of the preliminary final loss to Hawthorn, it was an amazing fight but when the siren sounded and Geelong’s season ended people instantly began questioning whether Geelong will be as good in 2014.
Surely not this year, although they have defied the expectation of many to stay competitive and come within a goal of their fifth Grand Final appearance in seven years, they surely can’t do it again.
Ousting several veterans in order to bring in more youth is not a bad plan but it means the team is made up of more inexperienced players then not.
This will as always benefit them in the long but for this year they will slide down the ladder and may be hard pressed to make the eight.
Gold Coast
The suns are coming and they are looking scary. During a busy trade period the suns did nothing, the young team with another year under their belts are looking good, and their fearless leader is in fine form.
Coming of a Brownlow Medal-winning season Gary Ablett Jr is not slowing up even if he does throw support for Charlie Dixon in the forward line he can still greatly influence the game and to take over his midfield duties is non-other than the prodigious Jack Martin.
Things are looking up for the lads up north.
Greater Western Sydney
We will always foresee pain for the fledgling Giants but maybe not so much this year.
A good trade period with Heath Shaw and Shane Mumford coming to the club and the selection of Tom Boyd in the preseason draft things are looking a little more even for the playing list.
The biggest problem will always be whether they can play out the four quarters, if they can then look forward to a lot of closer games from the young guns of the Harbour City.
Hawthorn
Do they have another flag tilt in them? of course, despite the loss of their number one man the Hawks will be feeling pretty confident, the defence is to die for, with Josh Gibson and Brian Lake leading the way.
With Luke Hodge charging ahead in a hard-nosed midfield there is not much wrong with this side, and there will be no shocks if they go all the way again.
Melbourne
How has this team survived everything that they’ve gone though is a mystery, to many sacked coaches in to short a time, it wasn’t that long ago that the Demons were considered the team on the up and up.
With a solid list involving several top draft picks that were developing nicely, fast forward two years and nothing could be further from the truth.
Jack Watts is a shadow of what he could be, the co-captain experiment failed and more than anything Melbourne lack conviction. They don’t know how to win.
Enter Paul Roos. The man knows how to get a team going.
Because of his ongoing success with Sydney he has achieved legend status among coaching ranks and if he can apply his successful methods to Melbourne’s team and get them to work together then they will rise.
Being more competitive and stringing together more wins against teams on the same level as them is vital.
North Melbourne
Anything short of a top-six finish will be failure for the boys from Arden Street and if they don’t make the eight it will surely spell the end for Coach Brad Scott.
The time has never been better as long as the team can play out games and not fall apart at critical moments, and the addition of Nick Dal Santo will help this no end.
Port Adelaide
The surprise packet of 2013 despite not being able to beat their boogie team the Western Bulldogs the power had a break out year, can they go around again and improve in 2014?
A young team with another pre-season under their belts have every chance of being there in September once again and maybe even go further than before.
Chad Wingard and Justin Westhoff are growing as a forward line combination and the acquisition of Jared Polec will only improve their stocks.
Richmond
The Tigers charged into the finals for the first time in 11 years only to be ousted in the first week by Carlton, an anti-climax in many ways for the Tiger Army.
If they can’t improve on that it’s going to spell trouble for Damien Hardwick. He has been at the helm since 2010 but has not much to show for it apart from that one finals appearance.
Although his list has room for improvement there is still a lot to like about them, Jack Riewoldt continues to dominate the forward line and will once again push for the Coleman Medal and the midfield combination of Cotchin, Martin and Delidio will always fight for Brownlow votes.
St Kilda
There is a lot of pain in store for the Saints, the list is a total mess and although they acknowledged this and have made moves to improve it in last year’s draft, the climb back will be a long one.
Still their talisman Nick Riewoldt is in fine form and will continue to lead them.
The biggest problem for St Kilda is the lack of experience across the field, particularly in the ruck. Tom Lee has no support what so ever and will found out regularly by the opposition.
Sydney
The red and the white were known for a list of half decent players, a couple of stars and a culture everyone wanted to be a part of.
Now they have Buddy, they have Kurt Tippett and they have stamped themselves as a team not to be messed with.
Nothing will be left to chance for the Swannies, anything less than a grand final appearance would be considered a failure for them and it could be a 2012 grand final rematch.
West Coast
Once touted as Premiership certainties, 2013 was a down year for West Coast.
Injury and close losses hurt the Eagles and when it came to season’s end club hero John Worsfold retired from the coaching game, citing burnout.
So in 2014 with a new coach at the helm things will get interesting for the Eagles.
Some on-field changes in the off season will certainly help them though it is yet to be determined what kind of influence Elliot Yeo will have. The Eagles gave up a decent draft pick for him when ultimately his ability is not yet fully known.
Western Bulldogs
The boys from the West need a big year. Brendan McCartney needs to start showing results after two years in charge, particularly after a promising end to the season last year.
With the addition of Stewart Crameri in the forward line, the development of young forwards Liam Jones and Tory Dickson plus good signs from injury prone midfielder Adam Cooney things can only get better for the Doggies. The contract extension for Daniel Giansiracusa will only help this developing young forward line.
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