http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/more-news/herald-sun-afl-experts-give-their-tips-for-the-2018-season/news-story/34dac363a299939e43946eb0cde2cfbe

Summary for Demons predictions:

15 - to make the finals

5 - to miss the finals (Robinson, Swan, Lloyd, Warner, Gardiner)

1 - Top 4

0 - Premiers

0 - Spoon

1 - Brownlow (Jon Ralph - Jack Viney)

MARK ROBINSON

BIG CALL
“Suns/AFL will make Tom Lynch an offer he can’t refuse. Will go close to two million big ones.”

Top 8
Adelaide
Sydney
Richmond
Essendon
Port Adelaide
Geelong
W Bulldogs
GWS

Premier: Adelaide

Wooden Spoon: Carlton

Brownlow: Patrick Dangerfield

Getting back on the Bulldogs bandwagon. An off-season surely spent reviewing and rediscovering and redirecting, and with a game plan not vastly different to the Tigers, the Bulldogs could rebound.

SCOTT GULLAN

BIG CALL
“Jake Stringer will kick seven goals and win the Anzac Medal against Collingwood in Round 5.”

Top 8
Geelong
Port Adelaide
W Bulldogs
Adelaide
Sydney
GWS
Melbourne
Richmond

Premier: Geelong

Wooden Spoon: Gold Coast

Brownlow: Gary Ablett

Why no Essendon? Not believing the pre-season hype. Brought in some top-end talent and offensively they will look amazing at times, but think they’re another 12 months away.

DANE SWAN

BIG CALL
“If anyone thinks Dusty is satisfied by his achievements in 2017, think again. He’ll be back just as good and he’s the one to beat in the Brownlow again.”

Top 8
Adelaide
Collingwood
Richmond
Port Adelaide
Geelong
Sydney
GWS
West Coast

Premier: Collingwood

Wooden Spoon: Carlton

Brownlow: Dustin Martin back to back

Bloody tough keeping it to only eight teams, but a good “source” told me the Magpies are the team to beat in 2018. Get on them.

SAM EDMUND

BIG CALL
“Tom Lynch chooses Collingwood. Now 25 and with his career already half over, he will make the move.”

Top 8
GWS
Adelaide
Geelong
Essendon
Sydney
Port Adelaide
Melbourne
Richmond

Premier: GWS

Wooden Spoon: Gold Coast

Brownlow: Patrick Dangerfield

If GWS can make back-to-back preliminary finals while being smashed by injuries, what happens when it finally gets some luck?
 

DAVID KING

 

BIG CALL
“Tom Lynch signs the biggest contract in VFL/AFL history.”

Top 8
Adelaide
Richmond
Essendon
Geelong
Sydney
Port Adelaide
Melbourne
GWS

Premier: Essendon

Wooden Spoon: Nth Melbourne

Brownlow: Dustin Martin

Essendon is back! Brave off-field recruiting matched by the watchable brand of football on the field as the Tullamarine Globetrotters run wild.
 

JAY CLARK

 

BIG CALL
“An all-Adelaide Grand Final. The Power’s faith in Ken Hinkley and a super trade period will be rewarded when they take on the Crows.”

Top 8
Adelaide
GWS
Port Adelaide
Geelong
Sydney
Richmond
Melbourne
Collingwood

Premier: Adelaide

Wooden Spoon: Nth Melbourne

Brownlow: Scott Pendlebury

After four tumultuous years, Collingwood will barge back into the eight. Melbourne will rise up with Petracca and Hogan slotting 50 goals each, keeping out the Dogs and Hawks.

 

JAMES HIRD

BIG CALL
“Joe Daniher to win his first Coleman Medal.”

Top 8
Geelong
Adelaide
Richmond
GWS
Essendon
Port Adelaide
Hawthorn
Melbourne

Premier: Geelong

Wooden Spoon: Gold Coast

Brownlow: Zach Merrett

Essendon to make a play for top four but Dangerfield, Ablett and Selwood to combine to help the Cats win the premiership.
 

JON RALPH

 

BIG CALL
“If Christian Petracca can turn himself into a Brownlow contender and regular matchwinner, the Demons can win the flag. Three fairytale stories in a row.”

Top 8
Geelong
Adelaide
Richmond
Sydney
GWS
Essendon
Melbourne
Hawthorn

Premier: Geelong

Wooden Spoon: Gold Coast

Brownlow: Jack Viney

Melbourne has the capacity to explode as a premiership contender. Happy to back them as a smoky.
 

LAUREN WOOD

BIG CALL
“Like the idea, Bucks. Ben Reid to flourish in his new role as a forward for the Pies and deliver 40-plus goals.”

Top 8
Geelong
Sydney
GWS
Adelaide
Richmond
Essendon
Port Adelaide
Melbourne

Premier: Geelong

Wooden Spoon: Gold Coast

Brownlow: Patrick Dangerfield

This is finally the year for Melbourne to sneak in after last season’s heartbreak.
 

MATTHEW LLOYD

 

BIG CALL
“Has there been a tougher first half of the season in the history of the game than what the Suns have to face being unable to play at home until Round 11. A new coach, young group and starved of success, it won’t be pretty early for the Suns. The Blues, Lions, Roos and Dockers should be super competitive but are potential bottom four clubs.”

Top 8
Adelaide
Geelong
GWS
Essendon
Richmond
Sydney
Port Adelaide
W Bulldogs

Premier: Adelaide

Wooden Spoon: Gold Coast

Brownlow: Zach Merrett

I found it really difficult leaving the Demons out of the eight as they have the talent to make it, but you can t trust them like the sides I have above them. The home-ground advantages of Adelaide, Geelong and GWS enhance their top four chances.

 

GLENN McFARLANE

 

BIG CALL
“By the end of 2018, Carlton’s athletic powerhouse Charlie Curnow will be hailed as the best 21-year-old in the game.”

Top 8
Sydney
Geelong
Richmond
Adelaide
Port Adelaide
GWS
Essendon
Melbourne

Premier: Sydney

Wooden Spoon: Gold Coast

Brownlow: Patrick Dangerfield

Dees narrowly edge out the Pies and Dogs in a last-round thriller, making the finals for the first time since 2006 (the year before the first iPhone was released).
 

MICHAEL WARNER

BIG CALL
“Tigers will become footy’s first club to crack 100,000 members.”

Top 8
Richmond
GWS
Geelong
W Bulldogs
Sydney
Port Adelaide
Adelaide
Essendon

Premier: Richmond

Wooden Spoon: Gold Coast

Brownlow: Dustin Martin

Dogs will bounce back, Bombers back in business and Gazza to claim his ninth All-Australian jumper.
 

JON ANDERSON

 

BIG CALL
“Beneath the smiling countenance lies the fiercest and proudest of competitors, so buckle your belts for the Gary Ablett Show.”

Top 8
Geelong
GWS
Adelaide
Sydney
Melbourne
Essendon
Richmond
Port Adelaide

Premier: Geelong

Wooden Spoon: Gold Coast

Brownlow: Gary Ablett

I suspect the Demons are a year off a genuine tilt at the flag but with Lever in and Hogan fit, the eight is very reachable.
 

DERMOTT BRERETON

 

BIG CALL
“At the end of the season Taylor Walker will seek a clearance, citing that he would like to chase guaranteed success.”

Top 8
Sydney
Adelaide
Port Adelaide
GWS
W Bulldogs
Richmond
Geelong
Melbourne

Premier: W Bulldogs

Wooden Spoon: Nth Melbourne

Brownlow: Marcus Bontempelli

Sydney’s best six will definitely get it to the top four, but it is the Doggies that will rise again. If you take an average line through every player who could call himself an automatic selection, that’s what you call your core group. And they are the players who will take you all the way. The Doggies in 2017 were the youngest list of senior core players in the AFL. That group won a premiership just 26 games ago, so they are young and have the know-how.

 

MICK MALTHOUSE

BIG CALL
“The maturity that comes with playing off in two finals campaigns in the past two seasons will serve GWS well.”

Top 8
GWS
Adelaide
Essendon
Port Adelaide
Geelong
Melbourne
Richmond
Sydney

Premier: GWS

Wooden Spoon: Nth Melbourne

Brownlow: Joe Daniher

St Kilda, Hawthorn, West Coast, Collingwood and the Bulldogs all have justifiable reasons for thinking that they will stay in the eight, rebound back in, or climb into it this year. But at this stage, there are eight teams that are better than them.

 

ELIZA SEWELL

 

BIG CALL
“Rory Sloane wins the Brownlow, the flag and then joins mate Patrick Dangerfield at Geelong for season 2019.”

Top 8
Adelaide
Geelong
Richmond
GWS
Port Adelaide
Sydney
Melbourne
Essendon

Premier: Adelaide

Wooden Spoon: Gold Coast

Brownlow: Rory Sloane

I wanted to put Collingwood in the eight, but I believe the hype every year and continually get let down.

 

SAM LANDSBERGER

 

BIG CALL
“Tanking talk fires up as clubs salivate over the greatest draft in football history.”

Top 8
Port Adelaide
Adelaide
Sydney
Melbourne
Essendon
Richmond
W Bulldogs
Geelong

Premier: Port Adelaide

Wooden Spoon: Carlton

Brownlow: Marcus Bontempelli

Toby Greene (GWS) and Tom Lynch (GC) receive Dustin Martin-type offers to return to Victoria as the expansion clubs crash out of the premiership race.

 

BRENDON GODDARD

 

BIG CALL
“Rory Sloane will be a runaway winner in the Brownlow as he has conquered last season’s concerns with a tag.”

Top 8
GWS
Adelaide
Geelong
Sydney
Essendon
Richmond
Melbourne
Port Adelaide

Premier: GWS

Wooden Spoon: Gold Coast

Brownlow: Rory Sloane

Melbourne will make the finals and GWS will build from its 2017 disappointment. Gary Ablett’s fairytale comeback will see the Cats cement a top-four spot.

 

GILBERT GARDINER

 

BIG CALL
“Scott Pendlebury stuns fancied rivals Patrick Dangerfield and Dustin Martin to break through and win the Brownlow.”

Top 8
GWS
Sydney
Essendon
Geelong
W Bulldogs
Richmond
Port Adelaide
Collingwood

Premier: GWS

Wooden Spoon: Nth Melbourne

Brownlow: Dustin Martin

The wheel must turn for the Pies eventually, while Adelaide has been up for a couple of years now without any silverware. Big outs will make it tough for the Crows.
 

CHRIS CAVANAGH

BIG CALL
“Joe Daniher and Jake Stringer both finish top five in the Coleman Medal race as Essendon rockets into the top four.”

Top 8
Geelong
GWS
Essendon
Adelaide
Richmond
Sydney
Melbourne
Port Adelaide

Premier: Geelong

Wooden Spoon: Brisbane

Brownlow: Josh Kelly

With Gary Ablett back, the time is now for the Cats and after consecutive preliminary finals appearances they look poised to take the next step.

 

Well reading that was 5 mins of my life that I’ll never get back ....

James hird?

Well that discredits the whole thing.... even more 

Swanny spends the whole of his prediction talking up his mate Dusty and sticking the Pies in second.  The ganja has fried his brain.

15 predictions of finals is fair and reflects the expectations for the season ahead.

15 minutes ago, biggestred said:

James hird?

Well that discredits the whole thing.... even more 

Why ?

His opinion on football is not sullied.

The guy never took ownership over his contribution to Essendon's drugs regime, but I fail to understand how that in any way invalidates his knowledge of the code.

It's ridiculous to suggest his general footy IQ, i.e. watching the game, is in any way diminished.  Especially when he was one of the smartest players on a footy field I've seen.

Edited March 12, 20187 yr by ProDee

Robbo has Essendon in his top 4.  This guy needs to go.  The bias is unreal.

SAM LANDSBERGER

”Toby Greene (GWS) and Tom Lynch (GC) receive Dustin Martin-type offers to return to Victoria as the expansion clubs crash out of the premiership race.”

 

So, Toby Greene to receive a massive offer to return home a year after he signed a 6 year multimillion dollar deal with GWS. 

Massive would be an understatement if this was to happen.

Just now, Demon77 said:

SAM LANDSBERGER

”Toby Greene (GWS) and Tom Lynch (GC) receive Dustin Martin-type offers to return to Victoria as the expansion clubs crash out of the premiership race.”

 

So, Toby Greene to receive a massive offer to return home a year after he signed a 6 year multimillion dollar deal with GWS. 

Massive would be an understatement if this was to happen.

I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and say that he wrote that before Greene re-signed only because he picked us as a Top 4 team. 

Port couldn’t beat a team in the 8 last year, aside from Sydney early on when they had a lot of players out injured. I just don’t get how they become a super team even with Watts and the other two gun recruits! I like Watts but would be surprised to see him kick 6 in a real game with pressure!

Last years Port list wasn’t a young team, so where is the natural improvement coming from.

8 minutes ago, Demonland said:

I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and say that he wrote that before Greene re-signed only because he picked us as a Top 4 team. 

The thought did cross my mind that could be the case. There’s been ample time between writing and printing for a quick edit.

I do like his top 4 pick though.

1 hour ago, Demonland said:

I found it really difficult leaving the Demons out of the eight as they have the talent to make it, but you can t trust them like the sides I have above them. The home-ground advantages of Adelaide, Geelong and GWS enhance their top four chances.

Lloyd is the second biggest melbourne bashed Rayne Dwussel!! He can get [censored]! Can’t wait to smash them again!! Zach Merret Brownlow??? Get off the crack pipe Mathew and back on the peptides.

37 minutes ago, ProDee said:

Why ?

His opinion on football is not sullied.

The guy never took ownership over his contribution to Essendon's drugs regime, but I fail to understand how that in any way invalidates his knowledge of the code.

It's ridiculous to suggest his general footy IQ, i.e. watching the game, is in any way diminished.  Especially when he was one of the smartest players on a footy field I've seen.

This country has got to stop rewarding cheats with cushy jobs. Or criminals with book deals. Or wife bashers with commentary gigs. Etc

[censored] james hird.

Joe Daniher for the Brownlow? Nuh. 

Edited March 12, 20187 yr by Ethan Tremblay

Lloyd doesn’t trust us as much as he does the teams he put above us. 

Like Essendon, who when they aren’t on, play the worst football in the comp. we beat them last year in one of the worst spectacles of the year, and the worst we played in any win ever. 

Or Port, who haven’t beaten a top 8 team since last time they won a flag. 

Or the Bulldogs, who all drowned in bath water and haven’t played good footy since. 

Turn it up, Matthew. 

Collingwood premiers?! He must be joking! Anyone who thinks they will finish in the 8 or that Buckley is a good coach is obviously a supporter. Leave your bias at the door

Edited March 12, 20187 yr by Cassiew

7 hours ago, Petraccattack said:

Robbo has Essendon in his top 4.  This guy needs to go.  The bias is unreal.

And he has Carlton for wooden spoon

I really don’t understand why so many seem to rate Geelong as likely premiers

6 hours ago, Deestroy All said:

Lloyd doesn’t trust us as much as he does the teams he put above us. 

Like Essendon, who when they aren’t on, play the worst football in the comp. we beat them last year in one of the worst spectacles of the year, and the worst we played in any win ever. 

This would make a good thread

i vote for the 2016 game vs Brisbane

17 minutes ago, small but forward said:

This would make a good thread

i vote for the 2016 game vs Brisbane

That was probably worse. 

1 hour ago, Deestroy All said:

That was probably worse. 

It's like comparing getting stabbed with a fork with getting kicked in the nuts.

We’ll surprise a few of those bozos.

 

9 hours ago, biggestred said:

This country has got to stop rewarding cheats with cushy jobs. Or criminals with book deals. Or wife bashers with commentary gigs. Etc

[censored] james hird.

That's a separate issue.  You said it "discredits" the whole thing, which, of course, it doesn't.

But I'd add that he's suffered greatly from his obstinance and lack of accepting responsibility for his actions.  So I agree that it's self inflicted.  But I'd also ask, what is he allowed to do ?

These predictions were done before any of the JLT.

Lloyd was asked on 3AW's Sports Today where Melbourne would finish and he said outside the eight because he couldn't trust them.  After the JLT he flipped and said we could finish top 4.

3 hours ago, Delusional demon 82 said:

And he has Carlton for wooden spoon

I really don’t understand why so many seem to rate Geelong as likely premiers

Could not agree more re Geelong, it baffles me.

Ablett, Selwood and Danger are legends of the game, sure, but there must be a question mark if Ablett can stay on the park all season.. let alone the fact Dangers hammy just went.

Even if they do play all season, whats beneath them? I like Henderson, but Hawkins and Taylor are past it. And then you've got a whole host of so so players.

Will make the 8, but lower half.

Again Essendrug and Girlong overated.

Journalists trying to be celebrities. What a bunch of merchant bankers