Opinion Bottom 4 and top 4 teams in 3 years

Remove this Banner Ad

Feb 25, 2013
51,178
58,212
AFL Club
Brisbane Lions
GC bottom 4? WTF?

Don't really see all of Geelong, Hawthorn and Freo remaining in the Top 4 either.
I would say that none of those teams will be bottom 4, Melbourne might be depending on what happens, I think Geelong and Hawthorn are a fair hanse to still be top 5, Freo will be hit or miss, GWS will be around top 4 along with GC. Brisbane and St. Kilda will have progressed
 
Apr 16, 2014
10,374
23,288
AFL Club
Fremantle
GC bottom 4? WTF?

Don't really see all of Geelong, Hawthorn and Freo remaining in the Top 4 either.
The way clubs are getting better at managing team structures through retirements plus free agency benefiting the top clubs more. I think this allows clubs to stay at the top for longer than they used to be.

GWS might be a long shot for top 4 but in three years they will have the best forward structure in the AFL plus a fairly younger 70-100 game average team.

Ablett leaving the GC will hurt them. Maybe saying bottom 4 was a bit harsh though.
 
Jan 13, 2001
15,892
6,917
Waiting at the door for the pub to reopen
AFL Club
Brisbane Lions
Other Teams
Man City
Top 4
Geelong - continue to show you don't have to bottom out, just consistently blood players and tell older ones when to retire
Gold Coast - midfield is amazing and really only need a key forward to top it off.
Port Adelaide - amazing young list, with as good a coach as any club has at the helm
Hawthorn - Buddy leaving is the best thing that has happened to Hawthorn since they drafted him and Roughead together. Frees up money and allows them to follow the Geelong model.

Bottom 4
Carlton - overestimated their list and in for a lot of pain under a new coach.
Brisbane - continue to waste opportunity and ineptitude off the field will ensure on field success can't happen.
Melbourne - Paul Roos is not the messiah and the appointment of Neeld will haunt the club for years to come.
St Kilda - whilst there is a marked improvement this year, still too reliant on the old stagers who will be retired by then.
 

Log in to remove this ad.

Yelle

Club Legend
Aug 22, 2011
1,073
1,159
Melbourne
AFL Club
Richmond
Other Teams
Chelsea FC
Top four:
Fremantle
Port Adelaide
GWS
Essendon

Bottom four:
Carlton
St Kilda
Brisbane
Adelaide
 

TheHoneyBadger

"I lost my phone"
10k Posts Western Bulldogs - Cordy, Honeychurch, Prudden, Dale Player Sponsor 2015
Sep 17, 2012
13,060
18,201
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
Other Teams
Footscray
Dec 21, 2012
19,927
15,687
AFL Club
Adelaide
Other Teams
Chelsea, Redbacks, Adelaide United
At this point in time I would say
Top Four:
Port Adelaide- in a better position than the two expansion teams imo, and most players will be in prime in 3 years and upcoming retirements won't influence too much
Gold Coast- Should be in top 4 by now, GWS may take a bit longer
Geelong- will they ever drop?
Fremantle- decent young list, will be influenced by McPharlin, Pavlich and Sandilands. Need young key position players to stand up to avoid dropping.
Around the mark: Hawthorn, Western Bulldogs, North Melbourne

Bottom Four:
Carlton- From the outside looking in the club needs to be revitalised
Brisbane- Will struggle for a while yet, I expect them to be competitive at least
St Kilda- Won't be too bad, good youngsters but retirements of Riewoldt, Hayes and co. will mean the list will be stagnant for a couple of years but youth will be solid.
Richmond- Just not that impressive, AFL will get tight down the bottom I reckon as a lot of clubs seem to have good young lists.
 

TheHoneyBadger

"I lost my phone"
10k Posts Western Bulldogs - Cordy, Honeychurch, Prudden, Dale Player Sponsor 2015
Sep 17, 2012
13,060
18,201
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
Other Teams
Footscray
So were Port, 18 months ago
Port turning it around after accumulating 5 years worth of top draft picks (without any taking flight) in a traditional Australian football state is completely different to the way Brisbane are in at the moment.
 

(Log in to remove this ad.)

Pavlovs Cat

Premiership Player
Sep 19, 2012
4,176
5,037
AFL Club
Geelong
Other Teams
Norwood, Aston Villa
Did you read the Age "From drawcards to duds" re essendon, Carlton and Ricmond??

No I didn't Bill. I just think some of these sides that get stuck in the middle a bit could eventually get overtaken by some of the teams that are down there now. I reckon Brisbane will take an extra year than Melbourne and that Melbourne will take an extra year than the Bullies and the Giants. I can't even pick a winner of course so there you go.....
 

Pavlovs Cat

Premiership Player
Sep 19, 2012
4,176
5,037
AFL Club
Geelong
Other Teams
Norwood, Aston Villa
So were Port, 18 months ago

One thing people are forgetting about Port is how they are suddenly getting injury free runs from talented players. Your 'Port' still has Warren Tredrea playing or them and there's no Westhoff looming on the horizon. Leppa's rebuild will take awhile.
 
Feb 25, 2013
51,178
58,212
AFL Club
Brisbane Lions
One thing people are forgetting about Port is how they are suddenly getting injury free runs from talented players. Your 'Port' still has Warren Tredrea playing or them and there's no Westhoff looming on the horizon. Leppa's rebuild will take awhile.
Maybe but we have a nice Pavlich/ Riewoldt on the horizon
 

Remove this Banner Ad

Back