The boys fight back...

Football so far...

So the AFL has had an interesting start to the year. Generally speaking, most of the outcomes so far have been pretty expected. Probably the major shocks have been the form of Fremantle (great) and Adelaide (awful). Sydney has also been going quite well, probably much better than expected.


For me, the big disappointment has been Collingwood. Last week they weren't able to beat a St Kilda that was missing Riewoldt and Koschitzke. Not only that, but the Collingwood forward line is looking seriously ineffective. Their defence is great, their midfield looks great but their forwards (Cloke, Didak, Anthony, Davis) need to actually do something. Unless they can turn things around (which lets face it, is possible, Collingwood regularly do that) than the flag is beyond them this year.

So, a new look at how we can expect things to turn out this year.

Bulldogs
St Kilda

These guys seem to clearly be ahead of the pack so far

Geelong

They're the wounded champion (think Essendon in 2001 or Brisbane in 2004) but they still have the ability to put the hurt on. Do they have what it takes to win another flag?

Collingwood, Hawthorn, Brisbane

These teams are all strong, and potentially top 4, but they're not firing 100% at the moment. They do have the teams to bust anyone though, they just need to sort themselves out.

Sydney, Fremantle

Sydney has been the surprise packet, winning games and looking quite solid. Do they have the chops in their backline to match it with the big boys though? Fremantle have been amazing. I have massive wraps on Matthew Pavlich and it's nice to see them finally be good at the start of a season. If they can win on the road (especially now that teams realise they're a serious threat) than who knows where they'll end up.

Essendon, Carlton, Port?

These guys have the game to take it to the big boys, but aren't balanced out, either lacking key players or having very young lists. They might make up numbers in the finals but realistically they can't win a flag.

West Coast, Adelaide

West Coast have been doing alright (apart from not winning) and have a couple of genuine A-listers (Kerr and Glass, Cox if he's uninjured), but they're not going to win a flag anytime soon. Who wouldn't like Natanui in their team for the next 10 years though? Adelaide are just too old. They're structured and well drilled but just seem past it. The worst thing is that without their old midfielders they'd be even further in the hole! They definitely should be higher than this (expectations were top four) so they should turn things around, maybe.

North Melbourne, Melbourne

North Melbourne have lost their forward and have an old and inconsistent midfield. They should win a few games, but it's not going to be a fun year for their supporters. Melbourne has a very young list. They've shown that when they put in a full effort they can have a real dip, but they're necessarily going to be inconsistent because of the youth of their list.

Richmond

What can I say, they're screwed.

Obviously things are going to change, especially this weekend with the Hawthorn/Collingwood match, but that seems to be the state of play at the moment.

cheers

Harry

Edit - Bulldogs/Brisbane is going to be fascinating as well!