2014 ladder predictions

[Nige]

I'm just going to assume ya'll value my opinion immensely ;)

Freo
Hawks
Sydney
Cats
Pies
Tigers
Eagles
Bombers
-----------------
Blues
North
Port
Adelaide
Brisbane
Dogs
Suns
Melbourne
GWS
Saints

Cue the angry Eagle-haters, Blues, North, Port, Crows, Dogs and Saints fans (or fan in the Saints case).

Outraged Tigers supporter reporting for duty.  :P

[elephants]

I'm just going to assume ya'll value my opinion immensely ;)

Freo
Hawks
Sydney
Cats
Pies
Tigers
Eagles
Bombers
-----------------
Blues
North
Port
Adelaide
Brisbane
Dogs
Suns
Melbourne
GWS
Saints

Cue the angry Eagle-haters, Blues, North, Port, Crows, Dogs and Saints fans (or fan in the Saints case).

Outraged Tigers supporter reporting for duty.  :P

Haha too much Tiger and Docker love in my ladder!

[kilbluff1985]

i think it's fairly decent Ele but the Suns might surprise you

[elephants]

Haha thanks mate, I want the Suns much higher but the backlash from people if I put their team below the Suns is really not worth it haha

[JBs-Hawks]

Looks good only fault is I can't see north missing the 8

[specky92]

A lot of people also had Carlton in the top 4 this time last year,  :-X

[Justin Bieber]

I'm just going to assume ya'll value my opinion immensely ;)

Freo
Hawks
Sydney
Cats
Pies
Tigers
Eagles
Bombers
-----------------
Blues
North
Port
Adelaide
Brisbane
Dogs
Suns
Melbourne
GWS
Saints

Cue the angry Eagle-haters, Blues, North, Port, Crows, Dogs and Saints fans (or fan in the Saints case).

Surely the GC will more games this year than last year....

[henry]

A lot of people also had Carlton in the top 4 this time last year,  :-X

Guilty lol got sucked in ::)

Anyway I'll have a crack for next year:

1. Fremantle
2. Sydney
3. Hawthorn
4. Geelong

5. North Melbourne
6. Richmond
7. Collingwood
8. Essendon

9. West Coast
10. Gold Coast
11. Carlton
12. Port Adelaide
13. Adelaide

14. Brisbane
15. Western Bulldogs
16. Melbourne
17. GWS
18. St Kilda

Wow that was tougher than I thought and not all that happy with it. Have tried to seperate the teams into groups of similar quality, meaning I reckon Hawks could finish anywhere from 1st to 4th, Richmond anywhere from 5th to 8th etc.
There are a lot of teams vying for what I reckon is 1-2 spots in the 8, will be very tough, bearing in mind I haven't looked at the draw Ive got the bombers taking that last spot.

I think the top 4 will be the same as this year, with the grand final out of the hawks swans and dockers, can't see geelong making it again although they've been written off many times before. With a better draw and some luck can see North really pushing to get into the top 4 but not quite making it. Richmond I think won't make as big a jump as some seem to be thinking, will need a couple more years I reckon before they become a genuine contender, got plenty of young kids that will help them develop into one in coming seasons though. I think collingwood will stay much the same side in terms of quality as last year, can't see them making the top 4 with a lot of big outs and experience lost through the trade period. Not sure on Essendon really, but again can't see them being top 4 but probably will get a spot in the bottom half of the eight.

West Coast is an interesting one, much hyped last year but their season was derailed by injury. With a new coach, I see them just missing out on the 8 this year. Gold coast will be a force to be reckoned with in 2-3 seasons, I reckon they have done superbly with list management and rate their young kids enormously. I see them just missing out on their first finals series though. Carlton is a bit of a mystery, were much hyped like I said last year, but were lucky to make the 8, may just get in this year but really unsure on them. There are many teams vying for the last couple of spots in the 8. I think port overachieved this year, helped by an easy draw. I don't think they will get worse, just that with a harder draw I see some teams making more improvement next year. It's hard for me to gauge Adelaide too, had a harder draw this year after being given a ride into the 8 last year, revealing that they can't match the best teams consistently. For this, I can't see them making the 8.

Brisbane's season has been completely derailed by the mass exodus of young players, and the off field stuff too. I can't see them making the 8. The bulldogs are very much in a development stage, with plenty of promising young kids like Stringer, McCrae, Liberatore and Griffen who became a genuine a grader this year. There is hope for the future, but the highest I see them finishing is 13th. Melbourne should be a more competitive outfit this year, helped by a much bolstered midfield in the trade period, but can't see too much rapid improvement yet. It's also hard for me to judge GWS, having not seen them much but from what I have seen they have been very inconsitent, sometimes matching the best teams for 3 quarters sometimes playing shocking. I can't see them improving too much.St Kilda has basically been in crisces, I feel unfortunately for them that their on field performances won't be much better.

Feel free to criticise, like I said it's not perfect :)

[kilbluff1985]

Swallow out for an expected half a season how do you expect them to finish 5th? top 8 i'd understand but 5th?

[TeeJay]

Swallow out for an expected half a season how do you expect them to finish 5th? top 8 i'd understand but 5th?

I must admit I did this to but everyone just assumes north are going to all of a sudden learn how to close out games? What if they don't.? There is no script to say that just because they lost a bunch of close games one year means they will win a bunch of close games the next year. They may fail late in games again. It's not as if the other teams aren't going to try to win at all costs late in a tight game. We will see what north are really made of, I predicted a high finish but really they should only be considered as a  6-12 side until they can prove otherwise.

[elephants]

Looks good only fault is I can't see north missing the 8

Yeah its tough, don't think there will be much/anything separating 6th-12th. The Swallow thing played on my mind a bit but its not easy.

A lot of people also had Carlton in the top 4 this time last year,  :-X

Yeah and how'd that work out for em :P

Surely the GC will more games this year than last year....

I want the Suns much higher but the backlash from people if I put their team below the Suns is really not worth it haha

[Fantasygun]

This is possibly one of the hardest years to predict the ladder. It's always hard but not normally this hard.
As most people will agree, there are  about 5 certainties for the 8 and the rest are up for grabs between about 6 teams.

The bottom 6, no doubt will consist of GWS,Melbourne, StKilda, most likely Brisbane(no hate, can't disagree though) and 2 other teams.

A few teams like North, Rich and Port but mainly Rich and North, could come 4th or finish 8th.

Port are a genuine team, better than most but not a premiership contender...not yet anyway.

Richmond are deadly close but still probably a season away.

Then there are teams like Westcoast and Adelaide. Probably neither of these two clubs will make the finals but who know, footy's a funny game. Either of these two teams could drop even further, almost as like StKilda did or they could pull their fingers out and play some really good footy.

To make the 8 you can't be a disgraceful team but you don't have to be elite either, only a few are elite every year.
Having a good run of games and winning a handful on the trott can prove monumental but it's not always the case.
(Taking nothing away from Port, if they had a few harder games at the start and their winnable games scattered they may have ended up anywhere from 9-12th.

The question is, Will Goldcoast play finals next year? Which teams will fall below them or be climbed above.They have improved immensely but for me just one more year maybe a 9th or 10th place finish but after that,they should definitely make it.

[The_Captain]

This is possibly one of the hardest years to predict the ladder. It's always hard but not normally this hard.
As most people will agree, there are  about 5 certainties for the 8 and the rest are up for grabs between about 6 teams.

The bottom 6, no doubt will consist of GWS,Melbourne, StKilda, most likely Brisbane(no hate, can't disagree though) and 2 other teams.

A few teams like North, Rich and Port but mainly Rich and North, could come 4th or finish 8th.

Port are a genuine team, better than most but not a premiership contender...not yet anyway.

Richmond are deadly close but still probably a season away.

Then there are teams like Westcoast and Adelaide. Probably neither of these two clubs will make the finals but who know, footy's a funny game. Either of these two teams could drop even further, almost as like StKilda did or they could pull their fingers out and play some really good footy.

To make the 8 you can't be a disgraceful team but you don't have to be elite either, only a few are elite every year.
Having a good run of games and winning a handful on the trott can prove monumental but it's not always the case.
(Taking nothing away from Port, if they had a few harder games at the start and their winnable games scattered they may have ended up anywhere from 9-12th.

The question is, Will Goldcoast play finals next year? Which teams will fall below them or be climbed above.They have improved immensely but for me just one more year maybe a 9th or 10th place finish but after that,they should definitely make it.

No... No they wont.

[Mailman the 2nd]

I'm willing to say Gold Coast will finish top 8. Don't think they'll get anywhere past an elimination final

[Fantasygun]

This is possibly one of the hardest years to predict the ladder. It's always hard but not normally this hard.
As most people will agree, there are  about 5 certainties for the 8 and the rest are up for grabs between about 6 teams.

The bottom 6, no doubt will consist of GWS,Melbourne, StKilda, most likely Brisbane(no hate, can't disagree though) and 2 other teams.

A few teams like North, Rich and Port but mainly Rich and North, could come 4th or finish 8th.

Port are a genuine team, better than most but not a premiership contender...not yet anyway.

Richmond are deadly close but still probably a season away.

Then there are teams like Westcoast and Adelaide. Probably neither of these two clubs will make the finals but who know, footy's a funny game. Either of these two teams could drop even further, almost as like StKilda did or they could pull their fingers out and play some really good footy.

To make the 8 you can't be a disgraceful team but you don't have to be elite either, only a few are elite every year.
Having a good run of games and winning a handful on the trott can prove monumental but it's not always the case.
(Taking nothing away from Port, if they had a few harder games at the start and their winnable games scattered they may have ended up anywhere from 9-12th.

The question is, Will Goldcoast play finals next year? Which teams will fall below them or be climbed above.They have improved immensely but for me just one more year maybe a 9th or 10th place finish but after that,they should definitely make it.

No... No they wont.

Which bit???