Prediction Who will finish higher - Western Bulldogs, Fremantle, Brisbane or St Kilda

Who finishes higher in 2019?


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    600
May 2, 2017
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Fremantle
Not many peope tipping Fremantle to make the top eight. I think they will play finals and finish maybe 7th or 8th.

What I like about Fremantle is their key position stocks. Hogan (23), Lobb (26), Pearce (23), Cox (20), Hamling (25), Logue (20) and Darcy (20). That’s a good spine to build around.

The addition of Hogan and Lobb makes Fremantle a 2-3 goal better team compared to last year. Add to that the continued improvement from the likes of Brayshaw, Blakely, Tucker, Cox, Cerra, Langdon, Duman, Ryan, Banfield etc. A fit Sandilands, Fyfe, S.Hill makes them dangerous.
Love the optimism and somewhat agree but LOL at the bolded. Never happens anymore with either of those two (or Bennell at all and Blakely always seems to have an 6+ week injury every season).
 
Love the optimism and somewhat agree but LOL at the bolded. Never happens anymore with either of those two (or Bennell at all and Blakely always seems to have an 6+ week injury every season).
A Darcy + Lobb combo is still a reasonable ruck pairing though? Lobb seems the ideal chop-out type who is still ok forward, the rule changes seem to favour him.

I do have concerns over your mids though - Neale was a B&F, 2nd B&F, B&F in his last three years. That's really tough to replace.
 
Doggies, when they are up and running their midfield division is top notch. Can't say that about the other 3 teams.
Our forwardline is ranked 15th for efficiency though, we really need to hope Schache plays regularly this year. We have the biggest question marks over any of the sides listed.

I really like the way Brisbane are developing. Hipwood may still not be ready but could be a star and Neale is an amazing pick up, covers Beams.
 
May 2, 2017
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Fremantle
A Darcy + Lobb combo is still a reasonable ruck pairing though? Lobb seems the ideal chop-out type who is still ok forward, the rule changes seem to favour him.

I do have concerns over your mids though - Neale was a B&F, 2nd B&F, B&F in his last three years. That's really tough to replace.
Yeah agree they are reasonable but not in Sandi's league still. The biggest difference is that although Sandi isn't as much of a weapon as he used to be, he still excels at curbing the oppo ruckman.

Neale going isn't good for sure. Will cost us a few disposals. Hoping the extra stuck tackles (Conca, Brayshaw) will make up for it.
 
Sep 9, 2015
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Carlton
Our forwardline is ranked 15th for efficiency though, we really need to hope Schache plays regularly this year. We have the biggest question marks over any of the sides listed.

I really like the way Brisbane are developing. Hipwood may still not be ready but could be a star and Neale is an amazing pick up, covers Beams.

Bont, Macrae, Hunter, Libba, Dunkley, McLean are a better onball division than the other three teams.

If Wallis is used more up forward you can attempt to emulate the success you had with smaller forward line ups as in the days when Brad Johnson was used in a similar role.
 
Sep 9, 2015
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Carlton
Agree with this. Ruck is a bit of an issue but the actual midfield itself is gun. Can make an argument it is top 4 in the league and has significant depth.

Only WB and Freo have an elite A grader in their midfield. Zorko and Steven are classy for their respective teams but aren't at the level of Bont and Fyfe.

Brisbane at present has the best #1 ruckman of all the sides but at 32 he's at that age where a drop off could be not far off.
 
May 2, 2017
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Fremantle
Only WB and Freo have an elite A grader in their midfield. Zorko and Steven are classy for their respective teams but aren't at the level of Bont and Fyfe.

Brisbane at present has the best #1 ruckman of all the sides but at 32 he's at that age where a drop off could be not far off.
Would love either of Zorko or Steven at Freo but agree they are below the other two.

Fully fit Sandi > Fully Fit Martin - sure you will probably never see it ever again but Martin isn't fit either atm.
 

Isaac Cumming No 1

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GWS
Only WB and Freo have an elite A grader in their midfield. Zorko and Steven are classy for their respective teams but aren't at the level of Bont and Fyfe.

Brisbane at present has the best #1 ruckman of all the sides but at 32 he's at that age where a drop off could be not far off.
Fyfe is head and shoulders above. Zorko and particularly Steven are both the kind of mids who drive a midfield and lift the others by getting to the ball first though.
 
May 11, 2015
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Fremantle
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Ipswich Town FC, Leeds Rhinos
A Darcy + Lobb combo is still a reasonable ruck pairing though? Lobb seems the ideal chop-out type who is still ok forward, the rule changes seem to favour him.

I do have concerns over your mids though - Neale was a B&F, 2nd B&F, B&F in his last three years. That's really tough to replace.

I genuinely believe in Brayshaw we will have replaced Neale's number of disposals and upgraded on Neale's disposal efficiency, damage and tacking - the issue for 2019/20 is that it will be another couple of years before he's operating at an Neale's level. The big question is whether in 2021 when Fyfe and Walters are both 29 they are sufficiently free of injury to complement Brayshaw (and Cerra).

I think most Freo fans just want to see more consistency this season and no blow outs. With our fixture a 10 win season is not unrealistic and gives us another year into a really exciting young group. 2020/21 is when we start to push for finals again - with a core elite group of Fyfe, Walters, Brayshaw, Cerra, Pearce, Hogan, Luke Ryan and Brennan Cox (the last two who are really flying under the radar of the Vic media) - complemented by a group just short of elite such as Darcy, Hamling, Lobb, B Hill, Langdon, Blakely and Logue.

I'm personally pretty happy with how the rebuild is going - we even had the luxury of our first draft being a bit of a punt in Sturt (who won't play this year - he really needs a season in WAFL to put on some weight and build an engine).
 
May 2, 2017
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Fremantle
I'm personally pretty happy with how the rebuild is going - we even had the luxury of our first draft being a bit of a punt in Sturt (who won't play this year - he really needs a season in WAFL to put on some weight and build an engine).
If Sturt plays forward in the WAFL then I think he will get a few games this year when injuries hit as his forward pressure is good. Ross will want to have a look at him. Will struggle to get a game if he is playing back though.
 
Jan 7, 2011
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Heaven. I mean Victoria.
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St Kilda
Freo hard to place for me, I reckon they've underperformed in recent years, so it wouldn't shock me if they really rise up a fair bit this year, if they get things right with the new additions.

Once non-Vic teams really improve it also helps that they have a significant hone-ground advantage every 2nd week, so that I think makes it easier for them to make a decent leap up the ladder, if they start doing things right. Because every 2nd week they're going to be really hard to beat.

A significant injury to Fyfe and they're in a lot of trouble though it's fair to say.
 

Tymoshe

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Feb 22, 2019
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North Melbourne
Footscray have the best midfield and backline of those four teams by an absolute mile. If their forward line wasn't literally the worst in the competition, they'd be contenders.
 

Virgin Dog

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Western Bulldogs
You rate their backline?
Our backline underperformed last year due to injuries. When fit, we have Morris and Wood for the experienced leaders, Cordy and Naughton for the main KPDs, then a ton of run off the halfback line with JJ, Lynch and Richards. Add in Suckling, Daniel, Duryea, Williams and Crozier and we do have a very deep backline. They underperformed as a whole due to having such a terrible injury run last year, meaning we struggled to put out a consistent 6.

Our struggles last year really did come down to the forward line. It's ranked somewhere around 15th-16th, but I don't think it'd be wrong to rate it as the worst in the competition
 

Tymoshe

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Feb 22, 2019
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North Melbourne
You rate their backline?
If Easton Wood is in form, he is one of the best interceptors in the competition, and single handedly carries their backline.

Naughton is also arguably the best young defender in the competition.
 

TheEnsign

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Jun 24, 2014
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St Kilda
Probably the Dogs but I tip my hat to OP, it looks like this could be a reasonably interesting thread up until about Week 8 when we have exposed form.

Freo is the wildcard, I think they traded really well but it remains to be seen how Hogan will fit into the side, how much the loss of Neale affects them, etc.
 
Jan 7, 2011
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St Kilda
If Easton Wood is in form, he is one of the best interceptors in the competition, and single handedly carries their backline.
That's a big "if" though isn't it? Hasn't he been well short of his best for two years now?

Looking at his numbers, it looks like he actually peaked in 2015, and has been on a steady decline ever since.

2015:
Disposals 18
Marks 7
Contested marks 1.6
Intercept possessions 8
Metres gained 280
Fantasy points 73

2016:
Disposals 16
Marks 6.4
Contested marks 1.1
Intercept possessions 7.5
Metres gained 237
Fantasy points 66

2017:
Disposals 14
Marks 5.3
Contested marks 1.1
Intercept possessions 5.9
Metres gained 207
Fantasy points 58

2018:
Disposals 14
Marks 5.3
Contested marks 1.2
Intercept possessions 6.1
Metres gained 203
Fantasy points 56
 

Tymoshe

Rookie
Feb 22, 2019
41
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North Melbourne
That's a big "if" though isn't it? Hasn't he been well short of his best for two years now?

Looking at his numbers, it looks like he actually peaked in 2015, and has been on a steady decline ever since.

2015:
Disposals 18
Marks 7
Contested marks 1.6
Intercept possessions 8
Metres gained 280
Fantasy points 73

2016:
Disposals 16
Marks 6.4
Contested marks 1.1
Intercept possessions 7.5
Metres gained 237
Fantasy points 66

2017:
Disposals 14
Marks 5.3
Contested marks 1.1
Intercept possessions 5.9
Metres gained 207
Fantasy points 58

2018:
Disposals 14
Marks 5.3
Contested marks 1.2
Intercept possessions 6.1
Metres gained 203
Fantasy points 56
You're right, but that same principle applies to guys like Stephen Hill, Nat Fyfe and Dan Hannebery.

Under the assumption every player can get back to their best, Easton Wood is clearly the standout defender among all four teams, not including Hodge because he's ancient.
 
Jan 7, 2011
35,108
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Heaven. I mean Victoria.
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St Kilda
You're right, but that same principle applies to guys like Stephen Hill, Nat Fyfe and Dan Hannebery.

Under the assumption every player can get back to their best, Easton Wood is clearly the standout defender among all four teams, not including Hodge because he's ancient.
Well I certainly wouldn't assume that Hannebery will get back to his very best (albeit for different reasons to Wood) and I certainly wouldn't swap Carlisle for Wood, although he's obviously out now for probably the year.

I also definitely wouldn't swap Dylan Roberton for Wood, as he's been much better than him since 2016, and looked to be every bit as good as he was in his AA squad year of 2017 on his return to playing on the weekend.

Here were his comparative numbers for 2017 (only played 3 and a quarter games last year, so no point putting those averages up, as they were affected by missing most of his last game, after he collapsed):

2017:
Disposals 23
Marks 6.2
Contested marks 0.6
Intercept possessions 6.7
Metres gained 464
Fantasy points 90.3
 
If you watch the game Roberton is a good player but not really the same class as Wood.

Carlisle you’d only not swap because of what you hope he could be, not for anything he’s actually done
 
May 2, 2017
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Fremantle
If you watch the game Roberton is a good player but not really the same class as Wood.

Carlisle you’d only not swap because of what you hope he could be, not for anything he’s actually done
Doesn't rub me the right way but Carlisle is gun. Maybe because everytime we play Saints it ends up being a kick to kick between him and our defenders but he is definitely very good.

Definitely Wood > Roberton though.
 
Doesn't rub me the right way but Carlisle is gun. Maybe because everytime we play Saints it ends up being a kick to kick between him and our defenders but he is definitely very good.

Definitely Wood > Roberton though.


Carlisle for me has been very underwhelming.

Cue a barrage of stats
 
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