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I've never heard a conversation about footy or cricket that I haven't wanted to join in immediately. If you disagree with me, you'll be made to work very hard to change my mind!
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Rarely have we seen a Round 1 like it in terms of throwing the early part of the season on its head.
Golden Slipper day is always a feature of the Sydney autumn carnival, the only race day in Australia that has five Group 1 races on the card.
Welcome to the last of The Roar’s AFL preview series for 2019. We’re only a day away from the opening of the season, and it’s a magical time of nervous anticipation.
Collingwood were a surprise packet of the 2018 season, rocketing from a 13th-placed finish in 2017 all the way to leading a grand final with five minutes to play.
From 2007 to 2013, from the end of the Neale Daniher era to the end of Mark Neeld, Melbourne finished 15th on the ladder on average – and a large part of this period of time was in a 16-team competition.
In an era of unexpected premierships, West Coast’s 2018 flag wasn’t as storied as the Western Bulldogs in 2016 or Richmond in 2017.
The inaugural running of the All Star Mile is here, notwithstanding its share of controversy along the way.
Richmond’s charge towards back-to-back premierships, seen as almost a foregone conclusion by some due to the Tigers’ overall dominance in 2018, came to an abrupt and gruesome end against Collingwood on preliminary final weekend last year.
No team has more heavily spruiked in the off-season than Essendon despite the club not having won a final for 5302 days (@EFCFinals is a wonderful Twitter account for those who don’t follow the Bombers).
After finishing fourth on the ladder in both 2016 and 2017, and losing their preliminary final to the eventual premier each time, GWS fell back to a seventh place finish in the home and away rounds last year.
What to make of Geelong heading into 2019? Contender or also-ran? Their time is over, or only just beginning?
Super Saturday at Flemington in the autumn is always one to look forward to, with the Newmarket Handicap and Australian Cup the two best races in Melbourne at this time of year. This years fields do not disappoint.
North Melbourne were a surprise packet of season 2018, rising above doom and gloom predictions to be in the finals hunt all year.
The Sydney autumn carnival is in full cry now, and even with no Winx on the Randwick card there are still eight black-type races to be run and won, headlined by two Group 1 events.
Several of the 2018 finalists met an inglorious end last September. It was almost a theme of the finals series.
Last year saw a gaping chasm between the top 12 teams in the competition and the bottom six. But can the Lions break away from the bottom in 2019?
Hawthorn surprised most by finishing fourth on the ladder at the end of the home and away rounds last year, but were not a particularly strong side.
The Australian Guineas is the Group 1 feature at Flemington this Saturday, as the headquarters of Australian racing kicks off their three-week autumn carnival.
Are Port Adelaide any good? It seems to have been the eternal question under Ken Hinkley. The other one is, can the man actually coach?
Group 1 racing returns to Sydney for the first time since early October, and there is no better way than for such an event to be headlined by the greatest of our time, and probably the greatest of all time, Winx.
Simpson does seem to like a tall side though, and Waterman played 16 games last year. Although a lot of those one or both of Kennedy / Darling were out. I prefer Vardy for around the ground, but neither he nor Hickey are Dean Cox, let’s face it.
2019 AFL season preview: West Coast Eagles
I’m pretty convinced they’ll bounce back hard. Hard to split the top five, but obviously at least one of them is going to miss out and possible more if there are some surprises in store, which there often are.
2019 AFL season preview: West Coast Eagles
Fair commentary Gordon. Personally I think WC and Collingwood showed they were better both against Richmond and over the season, so they are automatically ahead given I see no reason why both won’t improve again.
2019 AFL season preview: Richmond Tigers
It might, but I think it’s a punt worth taking for a player of his quality. Even with the addition of Lynch, it’s likely the Tigers will still be shorter than most teams.
2019 AFL season preview: Richmond Tigers
Yeah, I don’t think Richmond are a top four lock by any stretch. It’s not as simple as “finished top + Lynch”.
I don’t agree on Butler, I think he’s safe. And I do think the chemistry between he, Castanga and Rioli is underrated and a required element in our forward half pressure game. Menadue will never make it. I’ve got time for Markov, but this is a bit of a crunch year for him. Bolton and Balta are still 12-24 months away in my eyes.
2019 AFL season preview: Richmond Tigers
Sometimes I don’t get the tone quite right in aligning the write-up with the finishing position.
I like your paragraph about the odd weaknesses of the midfield – they’re all decent players, but nothing that especially defines them. McGrath could be the one that separates himself, given his pace and class, and I think Merrett and Shiel have the same traits, so perhaps as a collective they will rise.
I think the other key phrase there is “on paper” and I agree with you. They looked pretty ordinary in the JLT, but the problem with that is that the pre-season form can only be known as true or false down the track.
2019 AFL season preview: Essendon Bombers
It is funny how it happen sometimes though. Melbourne looked better without Hogan, and Essendon started winning once there was no Daniher. Once Daniher gets his confidence up and assuming he is 100% fit, I think we’ll see him be a star once again.
Hurley was stiff, no doubt. We could have easily had him in, and probably should have.
2019 AFL season preview: Essendon Bombers
I’m not a big Ambrose fan myself, but I think he’s versatile to give options when someone goes down. He’s certainly no forward, which is where he started.
2019 AFL season preview: Essendon Bombers
I think the side as I’ve named it above is balanced, and shouldn’t be too tall. Playing Stringer as a permanent forward will help this, given he is a power forward in a smaller package. But I agree, putting him in the middle for five minutes here and there is a good idea.
2019 AFL season preview: Essendon Bombers
I think most people have roughly the same order at this time of year, because the surprises when they come are just so huge. I’ve got Port in 13th and Essendon 6th for instance, but they could absolutely be the other way around.
2019 AFL season preview: Essendon Bombers
Perhaps uniquely was a poor choice of adjective.
2019 AFL season preview: Essendon Bombers
That’s fair. But what the Dons lose in centre clearances, they may gain by having a number of marking backmen, so will be more adept at winning the ball back than others.
2019 AFL season preview: Essendon Bombers
I must confess, I hope you’re right on both counts Paul.
2019 AFL season preview: Essendon Bombers
I’m a Merrett fan, I think he’s a touch underrated by most actually, but I think the knock on him was worth mentioning.
Good comments on Heppell, but I’m not sure about plenty of updside. I think he is and will be a solid AFL player, but I don’t see great heights for him.
2019 AFL season preview: Essendon Bombers
I would think Shaun Burgoyne is a perfect example actually. He was an amazing moment player in Hawthorn’s premiership run.
Yep, more than any other team, I feel their midfield needs to mitigate its weaknesses in order for them to be there at the end. I guess the question is how well they can do it against the best teams.
2019 AFL season preview: Essendon Bombers
Adding two discards, and two guys who’ve played eight games between them – please forgive me if I don’t quake in my boots.
2019 AFL season preview: Geelong Cats
They’ve got a much tougher slate at home this year, as mentioned in the piece. I think this will define them. If the home ground advantage holds up, then it will work in their favour. If not, then the great many games they usually bank there will be lessened.
2019 AFL season preview: Geelong Cats
I would certainly enjoy seeing that last line.
If the Cats can win their first three at GMHBA, that will be huge.
2019 AFL season preview: Geelong Cats
They were nowhere close to contending last year, and frankly despite some top four finishes haven’t been a legitimate premiership threat for some years. Their home and away results usually flatter them, as we’ve seen by their finals record.
2019 AFL season preview: Geelong Cats
Robin Nahas the spark of Richmond’s 2017 flag, now that is a new one. I did hear something similar about Matt White when he went from the Tigers to Port – he was the best time trialler at Richmond, but was only mid-pack at the Power.
2019 AFL season preview: North Melbourne Kangaroos
I did think about putting Allen in ahead of Waterman. Masten clearly the stiffest, but I moved him out at the last second given it seems Petrucelle is going to play. With Gaff and Cripps missing early, Masten will play and no doubt keep his spot.
2019 AFL season preview: West Coast Eagles