The real stuff starts now that we know who of the banned players remain.
2016 was surprisingly a fun year with just about zero expectations, but 2017 will have to have some expectations. We can finally become a normal club again with real expectations. No threats of suspension. No slagging it out in court. That being said, we cannot afford to have another "settling in" year. It has to be back to normal with expectations. 2016 was the honeymoon (if you can call it that) free hit period, but 2017 has to be the serious discussion back to building for a flag.
So what is realistic? What is a pass and what is a fail?
Looking back, 2015 was really not a representation of where the list actually is. It is very evident that the players just mentally collapsed after the WADA Appeal. People seem to forget that in 2015, the banned players had no preseason. That, coupled with the WADA Appeal and a load of injuries meant that we finished the year off on a massive slide after a promising start. Had a bunch of first year and second year kids playing for us that year, with players like Hooker playing out of position. Still finished 15th. 2014 is probably a better representation of where our list was at.
So now on to 2017, with many of those kids being in their 3rd/4th year and the banned players having a year off (which for some will freshen their bodies up), where should we finish?
To be honest, I would be disappointed if we don't at least give the top 8 a run. We really should be making the 8 if I'm honest. I feel that we've been making too much excuses before the season has even started. Our backline is solid. Our midfield, though with plenty of inexperienced players, is very talented and should be at the very least, serviceable with our hardened bodies to come back and help some of the kids out. Our forward line is obviously our biggest weakness, with the biggest hole in our list being that tall to help take the pressure off Daniher. We've also been by far the most inaccurate side of the competition this year, especially set shots, so we should really be working hard on that all off season. The discovery of Fantasia and the continued improvement of Daniher, Langford and Laverde should increase our potency up forward. Francis can also start showing what he can do.
To me, I really don't see why we cannot at least give it a run, if not make it. Only big concern for me is injuries given that the banned players have had the year off.
Am I being overly optimistic or is this realistic? I have us in the middle bracket, from 7-12. Probably won't be able to compete with the likes of Sydney, GWS and Bulldogs, but can compete with the middle sides in St Kilda, Collingwood, West Coast and Melbourne. The soft draw may even give us the advantage over those sides. We've seen many sides jump from the bottom 4 to the 8, with this year's grand finalist in Bulldogs doing it last year, and West Coast under Worsfold even jumping from wooden spooners to the top 4.
To me, it seems like the next couple of years are the perfect years to capitalise, with Hawthorn, North Melbourne and West Coast looking like sliding out, and teams in a similar stage of development as us in Melbourne and St Kilda looking to come in. The competition is looking even and I think we can use the soft draw to our advantage.
2016 was surprisingly a fun year with just about zero expectations, but 2017 will have to have some expectations. We can finally become a normal club again with real expectations. No threats of suspension. No slagging it out in court. That being said, we cannot afford to have another "settling in" year. It has to be back to normal with expectations. 2016 was the honeymoon (if you can call it that) free hit period, but 2017 has to be the serious discussion back to building for a flag.
So what is realistic? What is a pass and what is a fail?
Looking back, 2015 was really not a representation of where the list actually is. It is very evident that the players just mentally collapsed after the WADA Appeal. People seem to forget that in 2015, the banned players had no preseason. That, coupled with the WADA Appeal and a load of injuries meant that we finished the year off on a massive slide after a promising start. Had a bunch of first year and second year kids playing for us that year, with players like Hooker playing out of position. Still finished 15th. 2014 is probably a better representation of where our list was at.
So now on to 2017, with many of those kids being in their 3rd/4th year and the banned players having a year off (which for some will freshen their bodies up), where should we finish?
To be honest, I would be disappointed if we don't at least give the top 8 a run. We really should be making the 8 if I'm honest. I feel that we've been making too much excuses before the season has even started. Our backline is solid. Our midfield, though with plenty of inexperienced players, is very talented and should be at the very least, serviceable with our hardened bodies to come back and help some of the kids out. Our forward line is obviously our biggest weakness, with the biggest hole in our list being that tall to help take the pressure off Daniher. We've also been by far the most inaccurate side of the competition this year, especially set shots, so we should really be working hard on that all off season. The discovery of Fantasia and the continued improvement of Daniher, Langford and Laverde should increase our potency up forward. Francis can also start showing what he can do.
To me, I really don't see why we cannot at least give it a run, if not make it. Only big concern for me is injuries given that the banned players have had the year off.
Am I being overly optimistic or is this realistic? I have us in the middle bracket, from 7-12. Probably won't be able to compete with the likes of Sydney, GWS and Bulldogs, but can compete with the middle sides in St Kilda, Collingwood, West Coast and Melbourne. The soft draw may even give us the advantage over those sides. We've seen many sides jump from the bottom 4 to the 8, with this year's grand finalist in Bulldogs doing it last year, and West Coast under Worsfold even jumping from wooden spooners to the top 4.
To me, it seems like the next couple of years are the perfect years to capitalise, with Hawthorn, North Melbourne and West Coast looking like sliding out, and teams in a similar stage of development as us in Melbourne and St Kilda looking to come in. The competition is looking even and I think we can use the soft draw to our advantage.
