К сожалению, эта функция в настоящее время недоступна. Мы прилагаем все усилия, чтобы восстановить его. Please try again later.
By 2023, perhaps for the first time since the competition was expanded to 18 teams, at least half of the AFL clubs will enter the season believing they can win the Premier League if all goes well.
This is not the norm. Usually only four or six teams are obvious contenders before the first bounce, and once the season starts it’s common for the bombers to race up the ladder of the bottom six or eight teams, like Collingwood last year and Richmond in 2017 (they won the flag). ).
Demons teammates Brody Grundy (left) and Max Ghosn form a powerful duo. Предоставлено: AFL Photos, Getty Images
Where 2023 seems to be different from past seasons is the sheer number of teams that can’t rule out divisions in the Premier League.
Geelong, Melbourne and Brisbane Lions should challenge for the Premier League title in 2023 based on experience and talent alone. Given the existing inventory, new additions, and demographics, the Demon is the best fit to raise the Silver Cup.
Броди Гранди — предмет роскоши, который сохранит и защитит Макса Гона. Lachie Hunter — удобный дополнительный среднечастотник. The Devils suffered untimely injuries to Christian Petracchi, Clayton Oliver, Gown and Jake Lever last year, but finished the regular season in the top four. Они являются лучшими тяжеловесами в Премьер-лиге.
Brisbane’s recruiting fortunes – Josh Dunkley, Will Ashcroft and especially Jack Gunston – should close the huge gap between fourth and first. Вопрос в том, есть ли у Львов дух и подход Джилонга.
If the Cats can’t replace generation leader Joel Selwood, it wouldn’t be wise to sell their stake now. They added Ollie Henry, Tanner Bruhn and Jack Bowes, while Sam De Koning and Max Holmes could make up for any decline in their hardy veterans.
Sydney, Collingwood, Richmond and the Western Bulldogs aren’t as obvious contenders as the aforementioned trio, but they shouldn’t be ignored. Учитывая захватывающий забег, все смогли пройти в финал.
Indeed, the Bulldogs are my recipe for a top four finish and are challenging Melbourne, Geelong and the Lions; they’ve hired a lot of Liam Jones and Rory Lobb on both sides, they’ve got Aaron Naughton ready to take off, and super talented wild cards for Sam. Дарси и Джамарра Угле-Хаган.
Liam Jones handballs the Bulldogs during the weekend’s practice game against North Melbourne. Изображение предоставлено: AFL Photos
Although they lost Dunkley and Hunter, Marcus Bontempelli, Jack McRae, the trained Bailey Smith and Tom Liberatore had ample midfield firepower. If the dogs can’t fight this list – again, with luck – then there’s a problem.
Итак, вот семь клубов, которые могли его выиграть. Из этой группы Ричмонд является наиболее сомнительным; hiring Jacob Hopper and Tim Taranto fits the needs (at linebackers), but the Tigers have several downswing veterans, including Tracey Lent Cochin, Jack Rivalt and Dusty Martin.
”Richmond can go one of two ways – they can go all the way to the Finals or they can be eliminated from the Final Eight,” said former Lions and Fox Footy pundit Jonathan Brown.
Fremantle and Carlton have fans and skeptics. Nathan Buckley is skeptical of the Blues as they rely on Plan A, which can be cancelled. Fremantle does not yet have a premier age profile and still has scoring issues.
However, no team has more A’s than the Blues’ Patrick Cripps, Sam Walsh, Charlie Conow, Harry McKay and Jacob Wetterling; Get more from Adam Serra and frequently injured Jake Martin and Mitch McGovern if Tom de Kooning comes along and they find a biting small forward (Jesse Mottrop)?); most importantly, the blues can make a huge leap forward if they improve their defensive/transitioning approach.
It will be difficult for Collingwood to replicate the weirdness of 2022. Daniel McStay will step up the offense. Bobby Hill was a comfortable choice, while Jordan De Gouy had a productive – perhaps uneventful – pre-season. The key however will be whether they can stay as strong behind the ball and Darcy Moore is irreplaceable. Pies are another “opportunity” – unlike what Geelong/Brisbane/Melbourne, etc. have created – on the competitive front.
In terms of competition, Fremantle may be the most volatile of the nine, though Collingwood is skeptical. But the Dockers are in the finals, the roster is growing and, again, I don’t want to completely ignore them as a threat to the flag.
Port Adelaide thought they could win it despite missing the final after stealing homesick Jason Horne-Francis and Junior Rioli from the north and west coasts.
I doubt that Porter can pose a threat, although they can play in the final. If Freemantle (which I named ninth, but not convincingly) is considered a possibility, there are nine teams that could qualify for what Alastair Clarkson calls the “silver utensils”.
As always, the condition is luck: one or more of these nine will get injured or lose in terms of style of play and/or chemistry.
There have been a few seasons that have been relatively open since the AFL got serious about leveling. Essendon’s fantasy banner in 1993 was one in which the gap between first and seventh or eighth was small; Geelong finished seventh, just 1.5 games behind Essendon in the regular season rankings, and thus missed the final.
The 1997 and 2016 seasons were also marked by a large number of contenders (the Dogs started seventh in 16th for the title), but the number of potential contenders is smaller than it could be in 2023.
During the Fox Footy launch last week, I asked Jason Dunstall and David King how many of them could win the race if all went well. Dunstall started with six, but as he chatted about clubs, he ended up with eight – Geelong, Brisbane, Melbourne, Carlton, Fremantle, Richmond, Collingwood and Maybe Potter. King sees as many as 10 teams with the flag ability, including Port.
Of the remaining teams, the Suns and Giants will look to reach the Final Eight, while the Lyon 2.0 Saints will hope their new/old coach revives them. Alas, Lyon doesn’t have the valuable talent he inherited in 2007 – his coaching staff has more top-notch players than squads – and it will take them several drafts to fix it.
The Kangaroos commanded by Hawthorne and Clarkson will remain in low-level rebuild mode, and the Ravens and Essendon are too young. Thus, the test for these clubs will be individual and collective progress.
West Coast is about to rebuild the roster despite capable veterans. They have certainly improved from last year’s 17th place. play the final? No.
In a year of uncertainty, this column does not have the gonads to predict bomb explosions. However, if there was an unexpected upstart, I would choose Greater Western Sydney, a transformation team led by Adam Kingsley who, like Collingwood’s Craig McRae, will share Richmond’s proven intellectual property with a team that fell apart in the final. 2018 year. Long term trainer.
In a previous edition of this column, the Bulldogs’ position in the 2016 Premier League was incorrectly described as an increase from the bottom six in 2015.
Post time: Mar-27-2023