2008 Brownlow Medallist Adam Cooney has predicted who will form this season's top eight and play finals in 2018.
8th: Sydney Swans
“The worry is the ruck stocks. Callum Sinclair has a minor ankle injury, they’ve got Darcy Cameron who is inexperienced, Kurt Tippett has retired and Sam Naismith is out with an ACL.
"I’m worried about Sydney’s spread on a bigger ground. They play well at the SCG and we know their contested game is the best in the competition, but I think that they will just slide into the eight. Buddy will keep them in it. I’m not all that bullish on the Swans this year.”
7th: Geelong
“They’re underpinning all their hopes and dreams on a 34-year-old superstar of the game with soft-tissue injuries and hasn’t played a full season since 2010, Gary Ablett.
“He won the best and fairest off 15 games at the Gold Coast Suns last year, but I think you would have come in the top 10 if you played a handful of games RoCo.
“Where’s the improvement come from for Geelong? How much better can Mitch Duncan and Joel Selwood get?”
6th: Western Bulldogs
“They won the premiership in 2016. They’ve had the premiership hangover, it’s out of the way. I saw their first JLT Series game in Ballarat and it was probably one of the better games in the JLT. Their ball movement was crisp, Libba looks back to some decent touch and they look sharp off half-back.”
5th: Melbourne
“Midfield depth is great. They have got a kid called Bayley Fritsch, who we love for his footy IQ. Jesse Hogan will have a huge year. They should have made it last year and I think they could have had an impact in September last year.
“I think they’re ready. Simon Goodwin, I love the way he goes about it, he’s a great coach. They have got a solid gameplan. They attack, they can defend. Jake Lever comes in as an intercept player. Ticks most of my boxes. Just outside the four but they are coming.”
4th: GWS Giants
“Surely the Giants finish in the four. They have got more A-graders in the comp than just about anyone else. It is a big year for the Giants.”
3rd: Port Adelaide
“Very bullish about their chances. They got close a few years ago and we know they lost in OT to the Eagles last year and they didn’t have a great year. Jack Watts, super pre-season. Steven Motlop is the x-factor up forward. Tom Rockliff adds some grunt inside. Sam Powell-Pepper will get better inside and Ollie Wines will get better.”
“The only worry is Charlie Dixon as their main key forward. If he gets injured, who fills that void?”
2nd: Adelaide
“Charlie Cameron gone, Jake Lever gone. They need to find a replacement for Brodie Smith and his run and dash at half-back. They need another player that can break the lines off half-back.”
1st Richmond
“I love the way they are going about it. No signs of the premiership hangover for the Tiges…they’re ready to go.
“I love the way that they play. They don’t have a ton of disposal, but they get the ball inside 50, and when you get the ball inside 50, their little forwards do their best to lock the ball in there and their defenders can set up aggressively behind the footy. I think the Tiges are set.”
Listen to Adam Cooney's chat with Rohan Connolly on SEN Afternoons below: