The 2010 prediction's thread

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Re: The 2010 prediction's thread

AFL GENERAL
Premiers: St Kilda
Runners Up: Hawthorn
Wooden Spoon: Richmond
Brownlow Medallist: Brendan Goddard
Coleman Medallist: Buddy Franklin
Coaches sacked: Mark Harvey
In the headlines for the wrong reasons:

WESTERN BULLDOGS
Predicted Finish 4th - 14 wins
Highest ranked Bulldog in Brownlow: Adam Cooney
Bulldogs Best & Fairest: Adam Cooney
Bulldogs debutant's in 2010: Roughead
Leading Bulldogs Goal Kicker: Johnno - 39
Bulldog All Australians: Adam Cooney, Dale Morris
Most kicks for a Bulldog: Adam Cooney
Most handballs for a Bulldog: Cross
Most Tackes for a Bulldog: Cross
Rodney Eade Headline:

[AndrewP6]

Re: The 2010 prediction's thread

AFL GENERAL
Premiers: Western Bulldogs
Runners Up: Geelong
Wooden Spoon: Melbourne
Brownlow Medallist: hate to say it, but Gablett. Before he buggers off to the Goldie.
Coleman Medallist: Lance Franklin
Coaches sacked: Mark Harvey, Dean Bailey.
In the headlines for the wrong reasons: Tigers, so bad they ought to be relegated.

WESTERN BULLDOGS
Highest ranked Bulldog in Brownlow: Adam Cooney
Bulldogs Best & Fairest: Adam Cooney
Bulldogs debutant's in 2010: Brodie Moles, Jordan Roughead
Leading Bulldogs Goal Kicker: Barry Hall (45)
Bulldog All Australians: Adam Cooney, Matthew Boyd, Brian Lake, Jarrod Harbrow
Most kicks for a Bulldog: Daniel Cross. Nah, just kidding! Cooney.
Most handballs for a Bulldog: Daniel Cross
Most tackles for a Bulldog: Ryan Griffen.
Rodney Eade Headline: "I don't care how popular it has become, I'm not growing A BEARD!!!!"

[LostDoggy]

Re: The 2010 prediction's thread

AFL GENERAL
Premiers: St Kilda
Runners Up: Western Bulldogs
Wooden Spoon: Richmond
Brownlow Medallist: Dal Santo
Coleman Medallist: Fevola
Coaches sacked: Harvey
In the headlines for the wrong reasons: Carlton & Essendon's lack of forward line

WESTERN BULLDOGS
Finish in the H&A: 2nd
Highest ranked Bulldog in Brownlow: Boyd
Bulldogs Best & Fairest: Higgins
Bulldogs debutant's in 2010: Hall, Roughead & Moles
Leading Bulldogs Goal Kicker: Johno 55
Bulldog All Australians: Lake, Morris, Higgins & Boyd
Most kicks for a Bulldog: Boyd
Most handballs for a Bulldog: Cross
Most Tackes for a Bulldog: Akermanis
Rodney Eade Headline: Recruiting Barry Hall was a Gamble that paid off.

[mjp]

Re: The 2010 prediction's thread

Not drinking the kool-aid then?

Not really feeling it, no.

I just don't know where the improvement is going to come from. Our 'x'-factor still comes from Aker and Johnno - they are not getting any better. Of our best three players, Lake wont have a better year than 2009 (and I expect the opposition coaches to try and make him accountable every week), Murphy is fragile and we don't know what he will deliver and Cooney could become completely distracted by the wheel-barrow loads of money GC17 keep leaving for him.

Our ins (in real terms) is an aging full forward who has been making headlines for the wrong reasons for 3 seasons now...which kind of covered up the fact that he isn't Barry Hall anymore...or at least he wasn't last year.

I guess in Rod we trust and Griffen/Higgins/Ward all take large steps forward and everything is OK.

[LostDoggy]

Re: The 2010 prediction's thread

AFL GENERAL
Premiers: Western Bulldogs
Runners Up: Hawthorn
Wooden Spoon: Melbourne
Brownlow Medallist: Ryan Griffen
Coleman Medallist: Lance Franklin
Coaches sacked: Dean Bailey
In the headlines for the wrong reasons: Eddie McGuire

WESTERN BULLDOGS
Highest ranked Bulldog in Brownlow: Ryan Griffen
Bulldogs Best & Fairest: Adam Cooney
Bulldogs debutant's in 2010: Jordan Roughead, Brodie Moles, Liam Jones
Leading Bulldogs Goal Kicker: Barry Hall
Bulldog All Australians: Lake, Gilbee, Griffen, Cooney, Johnson, Akermanis, Boyd, Cross, Harbrow
Most kicks for a Bulldog: Gilbee
Most handballs for a Bulldog: Cross
Most Tackes for a Bulldog: Picken
Rodney Eade Headline: Now we must concentrate on back to back flags!

[The Pie Man]

Re: The 2010 prediction's thread

AFL GENERAL
Premiers: St Kilda
Runners Up: WB
Wooden Spoon: Richmond
Brownlow Medallist: Hayes
Coleman Medallist: Franklin
Coaches sacked: Dean Bailey
In the headlines for the wrong reasons: Buckley/Malthouse relationship going sour

WESTERN BULLDOGS
Highest ranked Bulldog in Brownlow: Cooney
Bulldogs Best & Fairest: Cooney
Bulldogs debutant's in 2010: Jones, Roughead, Moles if elevated
Leading Bulldogs Goal Kicker: Hall
Bulldog All Australians: Higgins, Cooney, Murphy, Morris
Most kicks for a Bulldog: Boyd
Most handballs for a Bulldog: Cross
Most Tackes for a Bulldog: Cross
Rodney Eade Headline: Rocket salutes prelim win

[LostDoggy]

Re: The 2010 prediction's thread

Not really feeling it, no.

I just don't know where the improvement is going to come from. Our 'x'-factor still comes from Aker and Johnno - they are not getting any better. Of our best three players, Lake wont have a better year than 2009 (and I expect the opposition coaches to try and make him accountable every week), Murphy is fragile and we don't know what he will deliver and Cooney could become completely distracted by the wheel-barrow loads of money GC17 keep leaving for him.

Our ins (in real terms) is an aging full forward who has been making headlines for the wrong reasons for 3 seasons now...which kind of covered up the fact that he isn't Barry Hall anymore...or at least he wasn't last year.

I guess in Rod we trust and Griffen/Higgins/Ward all take large steps forward and everything is OK.

You don't value having a fit Cooney, Murphy, Higgins, Giansiracusa and Williams in the side or the benefit to Gilbee and Griffen being free of the trauma of losing their fathers mid-season or the value Hall will bring to the side as another option for the forward line or the possibility of some improvement in the likes of Ward, Harbrow, Wood and Roughead and finally no benefit from another pre-season managed by the triathlon guru?

MJP, you're either a hard man or you're having a bad day

[Mantis]

Re: The 2010 prediction's thread

Not really feeling it, no.

I just don't know where the improvement is going to come from. Our 'x'-factor still comes from Aker and Johnno - they are not getting any better. Of our best three players, Lake wont have a better year than 2009 (and I expect the opposition coaches to try and make him accountable every week), Murphy is fragile and we don't know what he will deliver and Cooney could become completely distracted by the wheel-barrow loads of money GC17 keep leaving for him.

Our ins (in real terms) is an aging full forward who has been making headlines for the wrong reasons for 3 seasons now...which kind of covered up the fact that he isn't Barry Hall anymore...or at least he wasn't last year.

I guess in Rod we trust and Griffen/Higgins/Ward all take large steps forward and everything is OK.

As a countering arguement do we need to improve that much to at least maintain our current position (top 4 team)?

One would think that Collingwood would improve with addition of Jolly and Hawthorn similiarily with a couple of new additions (Burgoyne & Gibson) and also a much fitter list, but where does the other challenging teams improvement come from? Surely Geelong & St.Kilda are going to struggle to improve on their efforts from the 2009 season.

Looking only at our team one would think that Hall will give us more than Welsh, that Gilbee & Griffen can improve their output after the hardships they encountered last season and that Gia, Cooney, Murphy and Higgins can all put their injury concerns behind them and play at or near their best for larger chunks of the season. I guess I haven't even factored in the improvement of the younger players (Ward, Hill, Everitt, Williams, etc..) and already I see us in a stronger position than last season.

Agree that Aker & Johnson will probably drop off and whilst the level of decrease is an unknown it would be expected that others could help pick up the slack. I understand that their unique skills are irreplacacble, but I wouldn't have thought that both of these 2 will be burdens on our performance and improvement this year.

I also would also be interested in knowing which teams you have finishing above our predicted 7th position?

[mjp]

Re: The 2010 prediction's thread

I also would also be interested in knowing which teams you have finishing above our predicted 7th position?

Geelong
Saints
Hawthorn
Adelaide
Collingwood
Port
==> US <==
Sydney

West Coast just miss out.

[chef]

Re: The 2010 prediction's thread

Geelong
Saints
Hawthorn
Adelaide
Collingwood
Port
==> US <==
Sydney

West Coast just miss out.

What has Port done over the preseason to give you this opinion?

[Bulldog Revolution]

Re: The 2010 prediction's thread

WESTERN BULLDOGS
Predicted finish: 7th - 13 wins

In the optimistic climate of 2010 thats basically the equivalent of tipping us for the wooden spoon

Have we been drinking our own bath water out at the Kennel all summer?

Will a fit Murphy, Cooney, Morris not be able to outweigh the ageing forward line of Aker, Johnson and Hall?

What are the areas you see us struggling in 2010?

[Bulldog Revolution]

Re: The 2010 prediction's thread

I've just seen you've answered some of these issues

[mjp]

Re: The 2010 prediction's thread

13 wins is a good season.

I just don't see how by making our forward line predictable (adding Hall) makes us a better side. The whole 'now we have someone to mark it at the top of the square' argument doesn't wash with me - he is a leading forward. Now Hall and Hahn will try and play the same role as far as I can tell.

Maybe there has been a gameplan change/shift that will make this work - you couldn't get an idea from the Canberra game - but I just don't buy it.

The improvement needs to come from the bottom of the list...I dont see that. I am still concerned about our midfield depth (beyond Ward we get 'iffy' though Reid might be OK and Moles will help if he can get on the list) and that group of players from 16 ==> on the the list...Guys like Hill, Callan, Addison, Everitt, Stack etc etc - we don't know if they are good enough (but suspect most aren't), we don't know if they are ready (but suspect most never will be) and they are going to have to play key, key roles at different times throughout the year. And unless Markovic turns into something, we got zero help from this years draft.

I don't know. It is probably just me...but I wouldn't mind everyone going back and re-reading their own posts after either of the West Coast games last year and then telling me we are certainties for the flag. I guess to me there is no disappointment without expectation and as a supporter group we are basically piling it all on. Things are never as good as you think or as bad as you fear - we have a good, solid side that to me could finish top 4 and again challenge for the flag if everything goes well. Our forward line is a complete unknown, we are putting our faith in the very unreliable Williams to hold down a key defensive post and the bottom end of our midfield is either ageing (Eagleton) or completely untried (Reid, Moles) - on those days when two of Cooney, Griffen and Higgins are either having a quiet one, injured or tagged out of it...those blokes will have to step up.

[chef]

Re: The 2010 prediction's thread

Not really feeling it, no.

I just don't know where the improvement is going to come from. Our 'x'-factor still comes from Aker and Johnno - they are not getting any better. Of our best three players, Lake wont have a better year than 2009 (and I expect the opposition coaches to try and make him accountable every week), Murphy is fragile and we don't know what he will deliver and Cooney could become completely distracted by the wheel-barrow loads of money GC17 keep leaving for him.

Our ins (in real terms) is an aging full forward who has been making headlines for the wrong reasons for 3 seasons now...which kind of covered up the fact that he isn't Barry Hall anymore...or at least he wasn't last year.

I guess in Rod we trust and Griffen/Higgins/Ward all take large steps forward and everything is OK.

-Hahn, Hudson, Lake, Hargrave, Boyd and Minson doing what they do
-Higgins, Murphy, Cooney, Gia, Morris and Cross having better luck injury wise
-Griffen and Gilbee being able to concentrate on footy
-Hall in the forward line
-Harbrow, Hill, Ward, Picken and Williams improving with another preseason under their belts
-Everitt, Tiller, Reid, Wood, Callan, Addison, Jones, Grant, Roughead, Moles, Rose and Stack giving us the best depth in the competition as well as putting pressure on the players preform.
-Belief that we are as good as any team in the comp

I think I have mentioned everyone

It all comes down to injuries and keeping our best players on the park. Even if Johnson, Akermanis and Eagleton struggle this year I would still expect us to finish near the top of the ladder.

[Bornadog]

Re: The 2010 prediction's thread

AFL GENERAL
Premiers: Bulldogs
Runners Up: Saints
Wooden Spoon: Richmond
Brownlow Medallist: Marc Murphy
Coleman Medallist: Franklin
Coaches sacked: Mark Harvey
In the headlines for the wrong reasons: Fev - he will stuff up again

WESTERN BULLDOGS
Highest ranked Bulldog in Brownlow: Cooney
Bulldogs Best & Fairest: Cooney
Bulldogs debutant's in 2010: Roughhead, Boumann
Leading Bulldogs Goal Kicker: Hall
Bulldog All Australians: Cooney, Murphy, Lake
Most kicks for a Bulldog: Boyd
Most handballs for a Bulldog: Cross
Most Tackes for a Bulldog: Cross
Rodney Eade Headline: Rockets Rocket fires Dogs into Grand Final