2002 Predictions.

[kaysee]

Probably already been a few of these types of topics discussed over the preseason... but I normally wait until just prior the season commencing to start posting.

Anyway these are my AFL 2002 predictions for the end of the H&A rounds.

NOTE: I am Port biased.


1) Port - to continue the form from last year using the finals disaster as motivation and getting Lade back.

2) Richmond - Suprise team... finally have a good run with injuries and Ottens has a corker of a year.

3) Brisbane - best home ground advantage in the league will seem them end up high.

4) Hawthorn - Will improve more this year.

5) Essendon - Yep will slip a little loosing their invincability tag... will be exploited in their very crap in the Ruck.

6) Collingwood - Getting better under Malthouse... have youth and experience over the ground.

7) Sydney - Locket and Hall combo will be hard to combat.

8) Carlton - Their stars will keep them in the 8 but not see them much further.

9) Northern Kangaroos - Carey playing most games wont be enough for this aging team.

10) Adelaide - Midfield will again show glimpses of brillence but forwards and defenders are suspect.

11) St Kilda - Get slightly better and will be stable for the year.

12) Fremantle - Will improve but not by much... must start winning a few at home.

13) Melbourne - Good midfield but not much elsewhere.

14) Geelong - Don't seem to have the cattle

15) Western Bulldogs - Almost the same list as past years... how long can Wallis flog a dead horse.

16) West Coast - Crap player depth ... will be exploited again by even a few injuries. No forwards.


These predictions are made without too much thought about drafts, trades pre-season form etc.... and I don't know too much esle about the other clubs. They are an honest assessment in my own mind and my mind will probably change by the time this is uploaded

Cheers
SKC

 

[windyhill]

Briz are home,the other 15 are making up the numbers.

 

[CowboyFromHell]

Melb not having much elsewhere??

I'm sure our forward line of Neitz, Schwarz, Robertson, Vardy, Bruce, Green etc is pathetic??

Our backline is good too, but I don't wanna mention Ellis in there in case I get into trouble!

 

[Yafuggin]

This time of the year every team gets a win under their belt and thinks that their gunna win the flag. T.A.G.H.L.A.Y.S . March champions . HA HA HA

 

[daddy_4_eyes]

You don't know much about footy, do you Kaysee?

 

[sabre_ac]

Originally posted by daddy_4_eyes
You don't know much about footy, do you Kaysee?

Because he tipped the eagles for the spoon?
I think u will find that many people tipped them for the spoon and with good reason.

 

[daddy_4_eyes]

Originally posted by sabre_ac
Because he tipped the eagles for the spoon?
I think u will find that many people tipped them for the spoon and with good reason.

Thats one of the reasons, heres a few others:

1) Essendon 5th? Pfffft, i doubt it. They may lack a quality ruckman(not that Alessio is a poor player either), but the rest of their team makes up for it.

2)Richmond 2nd. Sure they have a strong team, but no way in hell are they stronger than Brisbane, Essendon or Hawthorn.

3) Freo 12th. They recruit a handful of established forwards and suddenly they will improve from 2 wins to 8 (give or take a few). Please tell me who is going to deliver the ball to the forwards? The magical all-positional croad?

Then there's the reasons he/she gave:

Kangaroos: The "one man team" theory comes back, despite the fact that the roos have proven time and again that they can win without Carey.

Melbourne: Not much elsewhere? Let me just redirect you to CowboyFromHell's post.

West Coast: Crap player depth, hey? Wirrpunda, Cousins, Kerr, Banfield, Braun, Pe.Matera, Fletcher, Taylor, Judd, Read, Jones, Morrison and Chambers are our midfielders. I won't bore you with other positional lists, but let me assure you we don't lack depth anywhere other then the forward line.






Enough reasons for ya Sabre?

 

[sabre_ac]

Peter Bell and Farmer can deliver it laces out to the forward line time and time again.
I agree with you an all those bar the eagles.
Your the most one made side I have ever seen, without cousins absolutely firing your team looses.

 

[PAfolwr]

Question for Sabre.

Do a list where you rate each teams best 22 in terms of consistency.(include players that may be injured at the moment)

ie if a team has say 13 players that you can totally rely on week in week out then you score them 13.
By consistent I mean like your own Bell.
Farmer on the other hand may be brilliant at times but consistent
is perhaps not the best adjective.
A novice should not score either.

I am very curious with what you will come up with.

 

[sabre_ac]

A fremantle side??
Or a all australian??

 

[Visro]

Originally posted by sabre_ac
Peter Bell and Farmer can deliver it laces out to the forward line time and time again.
I agree with you an all those bar the eagles.
Your the most one made side I have ever seen, without cousins absolutely firing your team looses.

Here we go, all over again...

 

[PAfolwr]

The order in which the teams will appear.
ie the team with the most #1
the one with the least #16

 

[sabre_ac]

Originally posted by PAfolwr
The order in which the teams will appear.
ie the team with the most #1
the one with the least #16

Ive already dont one of these but hell why not do it again.

Brisbane
Essendon
Hawthorne
Port
Carlton
Richmond
Sydney
Freo

Collingwood
North
Melbourne
Crows
Bulldogs
Saint Kilda
Geelong
West Coast

 

[Katie Couric]

Originally posted by sabre_ac


Ive already dont one of these but hell why not do it again.

Brisbane
Essendon
Hawthorne
Port
Carlton
Richmond
Sydney
Freo

Collingwood
North
Melbourne
Crows
Bulldogs
Saint Kilda
Geelong
West Coast

Freo sneak into the finals. Who do you go for?

 

[ok.crows]

Originally posted by sabre_ac


Ive already dont one of these but hell why not do it again.

Brisbane
Essendon
Hawthorne
Port
Carlton
Richmond
Sydney
Freo

Collingwood
North
Melbourne
Crows
Bulldogs
Saint Kilda
Geelong
West Coast

Pffffft!

Sabre, the request was to list teams in order of the number of reliable players they contain.

You have Freo in the top 8.

I don't think PAfolwr was meaning reliably poor!

 

[Dan26]

Originally posted by windyhill
Briz are home,the other 15 are making up the numbers.

Wasn't everyone saying the same thing about us last year?

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

Ha ha, you make me laugh Sabre. Freo make the eight - you have got to kidding. Totall agree with D4E, that you don't have any midfield except Bell, including no decent ruckman. Remember you have lost your 2nd in the B&F (Black) & Fletcher. Farmer may be able to pinch hit at times but is not Voss/McLeod material. Don't think you will finish bottom either, but there would have to be a lot of injured opposition players for Freo to make the 8. Last weeks game gave an idea of the gap between Freo & the good teams.

PS Quite happy for people to predict the Crows will miss the 8, as many pundits had us spooner last year. With a midfield of Mcleod, Riccuito (100% fit again), Goodwin, Johnson, Burton, Edwards, Stengein, etc - only really Brisbane have the quality midfielders to match. Sure our forwards need to improve, but already the accuracy level has improved 20% in front of goal this year. Jars is still having an influence, but off the field.

 

[PAfolwr]

Thanks.
I was just trying to see where you would rate Freo under those conditions only.( I somehow had a premonition you would put West Coast last)
Have read a lot of your posts lately and couldn't figure out if you were stirring the pot or just starry eyed.

If Connelly can get Freo to be the eighth most consistent team in the comp
then when coupled with potential of some of your youngsters a top four finish will not be impossible.
I somehow think not.

From the comments I have read he is more realistic.
Hope people like you give him time to do his job and not start calling for his head if he doesn't start winning too many games straight away.

Good luck for the season proper.

 

[sabre_ac]

Originally posted by Katie Couric



Freo sneak into the finals. Who do you go for?

LOL You havent been on this board long have u

 

[sabre_ac]

Originally posted by Kane McGoodwin
Ha ha, you make me laugh Sabre. Freo make the eight - you have got to kidding. Totall agree with D4E, that you don't have any midfield except Bell, including no decent ruckman. Remember you have lost your 2nd in the B&F (Black) & Fletcher. Farmer may be able to pinch hit at times but is not Voss/McLeod material. Don't think you will finish bottom either, but there would have to be a lot of injured opposition players for Freo to make the 8. Last weeks game gave an idea of the gap between Freo & the good teams.

PS Quite happy for people to predict the Crows will miss the 8, as many pundits had us spooner last year. With a midfield of Mcleod, Riccuito (100% fit again), Goodwin, Johnson, Burton, Edwards, Stengein, etc - only really Brisbane have the quality midfielders to match. Sure our forwards need to improve, but already the accuracy level has improved 20% in front of goal this year. Jars is still having an influence, but off the field.

My opinion is 10-8 for the dockers this year, yes our midfield is a little light on, but we still have the cream which is Bell,haslby and farmer, while walker,woods and Cook are more than adequate.Strong forward line that will stretch most backlines, means our goal/forward move ratio should be high.
Our backline is also highly capable with Pavlich and Brown holding down key positions.
Home ground advantage should also help, so yes I am quitely confident.

The crows on the other hand, yes have a strong midfield.But have no forward line to speak of, any side that is relying on schell as there main focal point, would have to posess the weakest forward structure of the past decade.
Your backline is almost as weak.
Yes your midfield is up there with brisbans but you hardly have the players of the calibre of Brown and bradshaw in the forward line or white and leptich in the backline.

Crows overated last year, over rated this year.
Only difference is this year they probally wont over achieve and make the 8.

 

[hourn]

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

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

Sabre - Explain to me why the Crows were over-rated last year. Our forward line will look something like this:

FF: Edwards Fitzgerald Welsh/Beinke
HF: Bode Stevens Burton

Granted Fitzgerald is under an injury cloud & Schell or Perrie may take his place. But our "weak" forward line look a heck of a lot better than you weak midfield. Also, our midfielders are regular goal contributors. Further a strong midfield is more important than a so called strong forward line. Croad, Farmer, etc aren't going to be of much use if they don't get to see the ball much. Never claimed the Crows forward line was as strong as Brisbane, but then again, never claimed the Crows would finish in the top 4 like Brisbane will.

 

[ok.crows]

Originally posted by sabre_ac


My opinion is 10-8 for the dockers this year, yes our midfield is a little light on, but we still have the cream which is Bell,haslby and farmer, while walker,woods and Cook are more than adequate.Strong forward line that will stretch most backlines, means our goal/forward move ratio should be high.
Our backline is also highly capable with Pavlich and Brown holding down key positions.
Home ground advantage should also help, so yes I am quitely confident.

The crows on the other hand, yes have a strong midfield.But have no forward line to speak of, any side that is relying on schell as there main focal point, would have to posess the weakest forward structure of the past decade.
Your backline is almost as weak.
Yes your midfield is up there with brisbans but you hardly have the players of the calibre of Brown and bradshaw in the forward line or white and leptich in the backline.

Crows overated last year, over rated this year.
Only difference is this year they probally wont over achieve and make the 8.

You know nothing about Crows at all do you sabre? Not a sausage.

Schell won't be the main forward.

If Crows had no defence and no attack, how did they manage to get a percentage over 100% last year?

If Crows made 8th spot but were tipped for the spoon or close to it, how were they over-rated?

How did such a poor team manage 12 wins last season? For that matter why did Freo (finals prospect this year apparently) manage only two wins last year?

How can Crows be one of only three teams not to be defeated yet this season?

Can you even name the players you so malign who might form Crows forward line and backline this year?

If Crows have no forward line, how did they kick 17 goals on Sunday?

Be interesting to hear the bull sh1t sabre tries on to answer some of these questions.

 

[Port01]

Originally posted by ok.crows

Who? what? when? where? how?

luck

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

Port 01 - No luck is the AFL progrsamming your team to play Freo at home in a pre-season cup to boost your percentage to ensure you make the semi-finals.