2024 Ladder Predictions

[NeutralFan]

Genuinely impossible task.

1-14 from last year could go anywhere. Average 3 teams from outside the 8 jump in every year, one of them jumps directly into Top 4.
Gold Coast, Hawthorn, North and West Coast whether through development or injury list should get closer to the pack.
Need to pick who might fall to make way for those teams to rise up the ladder and every team will have reasons why they'll stay out of the bottom 4.

IF those bottom 4 teams improve on trajectory then next year could be the 'best performing' bottom 4 we've had.

 

[Reb_Soss]

1. Brisbane
2. GWS
3. Blues
4. Pies
5. Sydney
6. Port
7. Saints
8. Gold Coast

9. Dogs
10. Adelaide
11. Melbourne
12. Hawthorn
13. Essendon
14. North
15. Fremantle
16. Richmond
17. West Coast
18. Geelong


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[Lsta062]

SEN ran a survey on which clubs people think will finish in the top 8. Apparently over 60,000 fans responded and here are the results:

 

[benji2]

Here goes:

1. GWS
2. Carlton
3. Sydney
4. Collingwood
5. Adelaide
6. Brisbane
7. Melbourne
8. Port Adelaide
9. Essendon
10. Western Bulldogs
11. Gold Coast
12. St Kilda
13. Hawthorn
14. Richmond
15. Geelong
16. Fremantle
17. North Melbourne
18. West Coast


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[Mags98]

1. Brisbane - too good at the gabba, their best players still at the top of their game should be top 4 safe bets
2. GWS - got on a roll to end the season last year, expect that to continue
3. Collingwood - premiership hangover? probably not, still too clutch youd think
4. Freo - one team always makes a big leap from no finals to top 4, so i pick my team
5. Sydney - brought in some experienced pieces, should be there abouts again this year.
6. Carlton - curnow and walsh have big years
7. Port - Butters, JHF, Rozee combo should get them past most teams, ken rolls on another year to the dismay of pear fans
8. Crows - really strong team across the board tbh, shouldve made finals last year
9. Melb - culture breaks down, goody goes
10. Dogs - Bevo gets sacked after 6 rounds
11. Saints - just not enough A grade talent there
12. Suns - expectations are high and pressure gets to them
13. Dons - Mckay doesnt move the needle
14. Tiges - enough top end talent, but missing the depth
15. Hawks - another year or two off making large improvements
16. Geelong - bruhn, holmes, clark midfield isnt going to impact
17. North - signs from their midfield, but that backline is just painful to look at
18. Eagles - just about hit rockbottom

 

[Goggin Our Best]

Here goes:

1. GWS
2. Carlton

14. Richmond
15. Geelong
16. Fremantle
17. North Melbourne
18. West Coast


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app

A hell of alot potting Richmond and Geelong , i think they might end with egg on their face , 2 sides who have still got quite a bit
of talent on their lists

Where as quite of a few of these other teams being talked up , well to use a bit of horse racing parlance , they are like Stony Creek maidens , and for a very good reason

I might end up with egg on my face , but it is a free world and you can do what you like , and yesterday on TAB.Com i put $100 on Rich @ the $5 on offer to make the top 8 . I looked up their draw , they have got 7 of their 1st 9 games at the MCG - not all home games , but they are at the MCG that is the important bit , and 1 of the other games , 1st up they have got Gold Coast at Metricom Stadium . Well when the Tigers won the flag in the COVID year in 2020 in Qld , Hardwick when he had the choice of ground in the early finals he allways nominated Metricom and for a very good reason , they allways play that ground exceptionally well

Interesting year coming up in 2024 , and i think there will be wild flucuations to quite a few of the ladders being nominated in this thread

 

[Mags98]

A hell of alot potting Richmond and Geelong , i think they might end with egg on their face , 2 sides who have still got quite a bit
of talent on their lists

Where as quite of a few of these other teams being talked up , well to use a bit of horse racing parlance , they are like Stony Creek maidens , and for a very good reason

I might end up with egg on my face , but it is a free world and you can do what you like , and yesterday on TAB.Com i put $100 on Rich @ the $5 on offer to make the top 8 . I looked up their draw , they have got 7 of their 1st 9 games at the MCG - not all home games , but they are at the MCG that is the important bit , and 1 of the other games , 1st up they have got Gold Coast at Metricom Stadium . Well when the Tigers won the flag in the COVID year in 2020 in Qld , Hardwick when he had the choice of ground in the early finals he allways nominated Metricom and for a very good reason , they allways play that ground exceptionally well

Interesting year coming up in 2024 , and i think there will be wild flucuations to quite a few of the ladders being nominated in this thread

i think theres plenty of teams who have a real shout at making the 8 and also a real shout at rounding out the bottom with north,eagles hawks. its really tough to predict, especially with how even the season was this year. naturally youd think the tigers and cats might have finally come to the end after a massively successful period for the both of them, but could go either way

all i know for sure is the eagles are ****ed

 

[Fadge]

SEN ran a survey on which clubs people think will finish in the top 8. Apparently over 60,000 fans responded and here are the results:

View attachment 1866735

And the 5.5% of those picking Richmond were Richmond supporters...

 

[Orange crush]

And the 5.5% of those picking Richmond were Richmond supporters...

5.5% were Aristotle Pickett

 

[Fadge]

5.5% were Aristotle Pickett

Nah, there are a lot more deluded Richmond supporters in these parts than just him!

 

[Lsta062]

And the 5.5% of those picking Richmond were Richmond supporters...

lol oh Fadge, your club won the 2023 Premiership and Richmond’s still at the forefront of your mind. Whatever can Collingwood do to take over that spot if even a Premiership doesn’t do it?

 

[Makeshift Park]

1. GWS. Too much class all over the ground and a sustainable game plan that's demonstrably effective against the league's best.
2. Collingwood. Slight drop-off due to ageing Pendles, Howe, Sidebottom. A few games they just won in 2023 will go the other way.
3. Brisbane. Home advantage + incremental improvements by the likes of Ashcroft and Coleman will ensure they remain a force to be reckoned with.
4. Adelaide. Bolters of the 2024 season. AO will be a fortress, their forward line will be among the most exciting in the comp.
5. Sydney. Best collection of kids in the comp get better in 2023. Defence remains biggest liability.
6. Carlton. Holding steady... or will the comp's most uneven list surprise the doubters and become a true contender?
7. Melbourne. Should be contending with this list, but the playing group has spent the year finding new and exciting ways to fracture.
8. Gold Coast. I've been proven wrong before, but a list this good can't stay out of finals forever.
9. Port Adelaide. Lots of promising youngsters will keep them competitive.
10. St Kilda. The comp's most quintessentially midtier list returns to the status quo.
11. Geelong. The promise of SDK, Holmes et al won't ameliorate Hawkins, Danger, Blicavs, and Tuohy all reaching the end.
12. Western Bulldogs. First coach departure of 2024.
13. North Melbourne. Will enjoy having a single - and demonstrably competent - coach for a whole season. Great midfield core of LDU + Thomas + Wardlaw will build consistency. Heavy reliance on youth and list gaps will prevent climbing higher.
14. Essendon. Even after their busy trade period, they still don't have an elite core of players to progress yet, notwithstanding Merrett and Martin.
15. Fremantle. Would not be that surprised if they finished 5 spots higher, but still losing players at a decent clip, and very reliant on youngsters.
16. Richmond. Yze will need a couple years to get this list back in shape.
17. Hawthorn. Out performed expectations in 2023, thanks in part to excellent coaching. So-so list is still very reliant on Sicily and Breust.
18. West Coast. Will be better than 2023, but there's a long way to go.

 

[Scritchyscroony]

lol oh Fadge, your club won the 2023 Premiership and Richmond’s still at the forefront of your mind. Whatever can Collingwood do to take over that spot if even a Premiership doesn’t do it?

It was a casual drive by. Hardly at the forefront of his mind.
You can enjoy winning the flag and still enjoy disparaging Richmond's special breed of supporters you know. The two aren't somehow mutually exclusive.

 

[Lsta062]

It was a casual drive by. Hardly at the forefront of his mind.
You can enjoy winning the flag and still enjoy disparaging Richmond's special breed of supporters you know. The two aren't somehow mutually exclusive.

I’m just bantering.

Richmond supporter base has a special breed of supporters. Collingwood supporter base are a special breed of supporters

 

[VicBased]

I have no idea who will be in the top 8 or win the GF but I predict 2024 and 2025 teams will begin to become nervous about travelling over West again.

 

[Scritchyscroony]

The

I’m just bantering.

Richmond supporter base has a special breed of supporters. Collingwood supporter base are a special breed of supporters

So am I.

Easily the two most "special" supporter bases.
Port supporters try hard but they're just not at our level.

 

[hawkman]

I have no idea who will be in the top 8 or win the GF but I predict 2024 and 2025 teams will begin to become nervous about travelling over West again.

Think Fremantle will improve?

 

[VicBased]

Think Fremantle will improve?

Have they ever???

 

[WalshistheGOAT]

6. Carlton. Holding steady... or will the comp's most uneven list surprise the doubters and become a true contender?

Would love to hear ur explanation of this? Wouldn't have thought we are that uneven these days. Still a couple of plodders but no more than any other finals team

 

[Makeshift Park]

Would love to hear ur explanation of this? Wouldn't have thought we are that uneven these days. Still a couple of plodders but no more than any other finals team

To be fair, I probably should have said "most uneven of any contender".

Because what I meant was you've got among the highest volume of A-graders in the league.

But that just heightens the contrast to the flakiness of your roleplayers.

eg. Look at the forward line.

In Curnow you've got one of the two or three best forwards playing today.

Yet there were so many games were your forward line seemed pretty inefficient in spite of him.

So many games given to the likes of Martin, Owies, Durdin, Cottrell.

 

[WalshistheGOAT]

To be fair, I probably should have said "most uneven of any contender".

Because what I meant was you've got among the highest volume of A-graders in the league.

But that just heightens the contrast to the flakiness of your roleplayers.

eg. Look at the forward line.

In Curnow you've got one of the two or three best forwards playing today.

Yet there were so many games were your forward line seemed pretty inefficient in spite of him.

So many games given to the likes of Martin, Owies, Durdin, Cottrell.

I'd say we have 3-4 poor/mediocre players in our best 22. Wouldn't say that's any more or less than other contenders. Only issue is all of them are in our front half next to Curnow who's a superstar in comparison and McKay who at his best is a gun too which makes them stick out like a sore thumb. Other teams can hide some of their spuds a bit easier due to the role they play and who's around them.

But... While our small/half forwards on current form remain a hole in our list, if one of Martin, Fantasia, Motlop, Durdin or Moir come good next year we have arguably the most even list in the comp along with Brisbane and GWS imo. Backline was the stingiest in the comp the 2nd half of the year and our midfield is as strong as any when fit and healthy.

Don't really lack anywhere but that half forward role, could do with some more speed and class around the ground but no real major holes if the list is fit and available.

 

[Makeshift Park]

I'd say we have 3-4 poor/mediocre players in our best 22. Wouldn't say that's any more or less than other contenders. Only issue is all of them are in our front half next to Curnow who's a superstar in comparison and McKay who at his best is a gun too which makes them stick out like a sore thumb. Other teams can hide some of their spuds a bit easier due to the role they play and who's around them.

But... While our small/half forwards on current form remain a hole in our list, if one of Martin, Fantasia, Motlop, Durdin or Moir come good next year we have arguably the most even list in the comp along with Brisbane and GWS imo. Backline was the stingiest in the comp the 2nd half of the year and our midfield is as strong as any when fit and healthy.

Don't really lack anywhere but that half forward role, could do with some more speed and class around the ground but no real major holes if the list is fit and available.

A lot of that sounds pretty fair.

I think a large part of success is being able to identify limited players with very specific skillsets and casting them in very streamlined roles where they can succeed because they only have to do 3 or 4 things well. Collingwood under McRae are elite at it.

If Voss can find a way to do that with your small and medium forwards, consider my prediction revised.

 

[imagifED]

1) GWS
2) Sydney
3) Port Adelaide
4) Collingwood
5) Carlton
6) Geelong
7) Essendon
8) Brisbane
9) Adelaide
10) Gold Coast
11) Melbourne
12) St Kilda
13) Fremantle
14) Western Bulldogs
15) Hawthorn
16) Richmond
17) North Melbourne
18) West Coast

So so hard where I had Melbourne 2nd then slid them to 11th. Imagine the top 14 have making finals as a realistic pass mark so 6 teams will have a failed season.

 

[imagifED]

Have a feeling 2024 will be dominated by non-vic/melb teams.

 

[EBERT THE KING]

1. Brisbane
2. Carlton
3. Collingwood
4. Port Adelaide
5. GWS
6. Western Bulldogs
7. Adelaide
8. Gold Coast

9. Melbourne
10. Sydney
11. St.Kilda
12. Geelong
13. Essendon
14. Richmond
15. North Melbourne
16. Fremantle
17. Hawthorn
18. West Coast