It's another even season and it remains anyone's guess as to who will be holding aloft he premiership cup come late September.
Fox Footy’s David King and Champion Data’s Glenn Luff have ranked their eight teams they feel are most likely to win the highly unpredictable 2017 flag
King and Luff based their respective lists on a combination of personal discussion and key performance indicators from Champion Data that explains each club’s current position on the ladder...and they both have the same favorite.
King’s Rankings...
8. Western Bulldogs “It’s very hard to mount a case via the Champion Data numbers because they’re no good anywhere, but what they have is their most important player back into form in Liam Picken. But if they don’t win on Sunday afternoon (against Essendon), they won’t make it.”
7. Melbourne “We’ve talked about this the past couple of weeks, and every now and then just pause your TV and count the number of players on the screen. There’s ALWAYS more Demons players on the screen than their opponents.”
6. Port Adelaide “I just think they’re too inconsistent, they’re midfield is just going, they need Robbie Gray in the midfield more often and they lack that absolute damage.”
5. GWS Giants “You can mount a case that their injuries have taken a toll on them, but this could be the year they look back and say ‘where did we go wrong at the start of the year’? Did our conditioning work? Did we get our recruiting right? We tried Coniglio and Deledio late, and did that work?”
4. Richmond “They have this wildcard factor about them. Imagine the finals series at the MCG with screaming Tigers fans? It might just be enough and I feel every Richmond fan is going to have a role to play for this campaign.”
3. Sydney
2. Geelong
1. Adelaide “They’re the most complete team in the competition. They can beat you in many different ways.”
Luff’s Rankings...
8. Richmond
7. Essendon “I’ve got a little asterisk next to them. I think they are a real real wildcard in the finals. They’ve got their midfield right in the last six to seven weeks, and they are so potent up forward.”
6. Melbourne “They have a very good record against top four teams, and those teams finishing fifth to eight this year are dangerous teams.”
5. GWS Giants
4. Sydney “Form side of the competition. It’s my gut feel.”
3. Geelong
2. Port Adelaide “I’m sticking with them. The big test is in two weeks (against Adelaide). I was really disappointed at first but I am sticking with them. They had a couple losses where you think they’d win, but I still like the way they’re going. They’re strong in the midfield and they play that forward-half game real well.”
1. Adelaide