End of Season Ladder

[LostDoggy]

This is how I think the ladder might look like at the end of the season. The Crows is the team I am least confident about.

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

[Dry Rot]

Re: End of Season Ladder

What about the old "a team from the bottom 8 usually makes the top 4 next season" theory?

Interesting that you think the Hawks will be there while the Pies take a bit of a dive.

[LostDoggy]

Re: End of Season Ladder

What about the old "a team from the bottom 8 usually makes the top 4 next season" theory?

Interesting that you think the Hawks will be there while the Pies take a bit of a dive.

Carlton are the ones likely to jump right up. Their list isn't that much stronger but their confidence could be enough to get them over the line is some close ones. In hindsight I have them too low.

[Sockeye Salmon]

Re: End of Season Ladder

1. St. Kilda
2. Geelong
3. Freo
4. Hawthorn
5. West Coast
6. Western Bulldogs
7. Collingwood
8. Port Adelaide

9. Adelaide
10. Sydney
11. Carlton
12. Brisbane
13. Essendon
14. North Melbourne
15. Melbourne
16. Richmond


That's remarkably similar to my prediction last year. Maybe I was just ahead of my time.

[Go_Dogs]

Re: End of Season Ladder

1. Geelong
2. Port Adelaide
3. West Coast
4. Hawthorn

That's my top 4 I think....Besides that Tigers, just about any other team could finish anywhere.

[Dogs 24/7]

Re: End of Season Ladder

Top 8
Geelong
StKilda
West Coast
Hawthorn
Fremantle
Collingwood
Port
Adelaide
Bottom 8
Bulldogs
Sydney
Brisbane
Carlton
North Melbourne
Essendon
Richmond
Melbourne

[Missing-Dog]

Re: End of Season Ladder

What is it about the Saints that has everyone picking them so high? Its been the same in the media predictions as well.

[DOG GOD]

Re: End of Season Ladder

my ladder is:
1. cats
2. power
3. hawks
4. eagles
5. pies
6. saints
7. dockers
8. swans

9. lions
10. crows
11. kangers
12. bombers
13. dogs
14. blues
15. tigers
16. demons

[Sockeye Salmon]

Re: End of Season Ladder

What is it about the Saints that has everyone picking them so high? Its been the same in the media predictions as well.

Competent backline
Excellent 1st choice midfield (if not that deep) now with added rucks!
Best forward line going around


I want to put a rider on my prediction - St. Kilda will win the premiership as long as Ross Lyon stops them from rooting around with the ball and goes more direct to Reiwoldt, Kossie and Gehrig.

[Ozza]

Re: End of Season Ladder

My Ladder prediction:

1.Cats - Will win the premiership and won't lose more than 3 games.
2. Hawks - Rising stars
3.Saints - Probably too slow in the middle against good teams to challenge the flag.
4.Power - Still a very strong side.
5.Lions - More rising stars and J.Brown fir for 22 games means they won't get beaten at home.
6.Eagles - still good enough to win all home games and some bottom sides.
7.Dockers - Pretty good depth, should win 13 games.
8. Bulldogs - Need to get back to 06' form - if we get improvement from young players and Cooney and Aker have big ones...we'll be good.

9.Pies - Their loss of Clement and Bucks will hurt more than they realise.
10.Kangas - Just a solid side - nothing more.
11.Swans - Start the decline.
12. Crows - see above.
13. Blues - may start ok but will fall away as they usually do, better side this year though.
14. bombers - can't have them any higher - backline is suspect with pensioners running around there- too young everywhere else.
15. Demons - no depth, rubbish team.
16. Tigers - worst list I've seen since Fitzroy - their 'Best line up' looks like its injury depleted.

[Missing-Dog]

Re: End of Season Ladder

Competent backline
Excellent 1st choice midfield (if not that deep) now with added rucks!
Best forward line going around


I want to put a rider on my prediction - St. Kilda will win the premiership as long as Ross Lyon stops them from rooting around with the ball and goes more direct to Reiwoldt, Kossie and Gehrig.

I think they are strong too, i've just never seen a side that finished outside the 8 the year before so widely tipped to finish top two.

[hujsh]

Re: End of Season Ladder

What is it about the Saints that has everyone picking them so high? Its been the same in the media predictions as well.

Yeah it's weird. Similar list to the recent sides that could have won a flag but All the premiership predictions is weird.

[LostDoggy]

Re: End of Season Ladder

The Saints are the Dogs of 2007 -- everyone predicted that we would finish top 2 to 4 based on our 'solid list', incredible game style and our form in 2006. A side that hasn't delivered in years will not suddenly start delivering (Geelong 2007 aside, but that was such an exception). The Saints have been in their 'premiership window' for a few years now, but their inability to finish sides off, an already lengthy injury list and suspect mental approach will ensure more of the same. The addition of an aging, injury prone ruckman and another who hasn't played in two years (plus the re-recruitment of an aging, enigmatic, formerly 'retired' forward) is hardly a guarantee of sudden quality.

I can see them in the eight but not much higher than sixth at best. I would actually be disappointed if we finish below them this year.

[mjp]

Re: End of Season Ladder

1. West Coast - Home ground advantage is still strong.
2. Geelong - Hard to overlook. A lot of strong depth (Hawkins, Prismall) who will push through and keep them pretty hungry.
3. hawks - Goal kicking power, solid running backs and a hard at it mid-field.
4. Crows - Will be off to a flyer and midfield evolution is nearly complete.
5. Dogs - Way better than we are getting credit for and a hard match up for most teams.
6. Power - Will slip a bit, but pace makes them hard to handle and will get them 12 wins.
7. Dockers - Will still lose to teams who shouldn't beat them. Haselby a big loss. No midfield class at all (and now I have to watch them every darn week!).
8. Saints - I simply cannot put them higher - no midfield depth and injuries will come.

9. North - I see them just missing. They are getting a bit lumbering for my liking.
10. Dons - New midfield a year away from success.
11. Pies - Backline is in big trouble. At least we have Lake - they have no-one!
12. Brions - Well, it has to be the Black and Brown show again. But depth...too many average players in key roles for me.
13. Swans - I see a huge fall for them. Hall needs to kick 100 goals to propel them.
14.Carlton - Number one draft-pick town. I wonder why they aren't be criticised for taking Murphy, Gibbs and Kreuzer rather than taking a legit tall forward in the way we have been for the Cooney and Griffen selections.
15. Richmond - Not as bad as some think, I think they will win 5 or 6.
16. Dees - I cannot see how anything they have done since the end of last year is strategic in any way. Offload Johnstone, retain Neitz as skipper? Are they building for the future or guessing.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Re: End of Season Ladder

16. Dees - I cannot see how anything they have done since the end of last year is strategic in any way. Offload Johnstone, retain Neitz as skipper? Are they building for the future or guessing.

Agreed; Melbourne appear to be going absolutely nowhere. They've been belted on the park, lost Johnstone & had several players in mud (Sylvia the latest). Improvement can be seen from most teams in the league, but for The Dees it's looking rather grim. Their younger players still need another year before they can have any sort of reasonable impact, they have an average backline and up forward Neitz is on one leg. They're relying heavily on about 4 or 5 players to keep them off the bottom.

Hasn't been a good pre-season for The Demons, the latest news with Sylvia & Carroll certainly don't help either. Not sure if Bailey is running things particularly well? Perhaps though they're just due for a big rebuild.