On 26/01/2025 at 10:00, Nietaphart said:

I agree Roost it.  I look forward to watching said players and the return of our elite players.

Too many variables to be confident imo this year….could go many ways 

Don’t forget an easier draw and a longer preseason are massive. Our top end talent is as good as anyone’s. For mine it comes down to Max and May staying fit and our young players stepping up. I’m also hoping that one or more  of Laurie, Billing’s, McAdam or Sparrow take that step that their talent says is possible.

Edited January 26Jan 26 by Roost it far

  On 25/01/2025 at 09:12, Ghostwriter said:

Me and ChatGPT think this will happen…

 

 

As well as this…

 

What did you ask the chat GPT? Literally "who will win the 2025 AFL premiership?"?

  On 26/01/2025 at 00:40, Ghostwriter said:

Would love that but it won’t happen. They’ve said tomorrow so tomorrow it is. Mind you the ad is gonna feature a bunch of red-faced sweaty folks on the verge of passing out but clearly Fox Footy is ok with that.

Oh and they’re shouting us pizzas, just in case our core temperatures aren’t high enough 😅

Yep, spicy pizza and maybe teams can provide some old tubes of Deep Heat to really make it feel like 'Demonland'. 😂

  On 26/01/2025 at 10:07, Go Ds said:

What did you ask the chat GPT? Literally "who will win the 2025 AFL premiership?"?

A friend sent me this but yeah he just asked that question. Another friend asked the question a couple of weeks ago and was told the same thing except the margin was 12 points. I’m happy with either of those results 😁

I really feel like there'll be considerable improvement this year  - good young (improving) players, some luck with injuries, better pre-seasons/fitness. Surely we make the 8 and maybe even win the whole thing. But sport is so unpredictable. There'll be plenty of moments where teams' fortunes/expectations will change this season - same as in every other. Cliched as it is I'll be taking it one week at a time.

  On 26/01/2025 at 01:19, leave it to deever said:

I wish it was Carlton and hopefully Geelong but sadly , it's probably going to be other teams.

They did in 2024 losing their last 4 games to miss the 8, only have to repeat that again. 

Most of the footy world has us finishing bottom 4. No pressure this year on us at all. 

Personally I think if we are relatively injury free we are top 6.

  On 26/01/2025 at 04:37, Gator said:

You're usually pretty circumspect when it comes to the Dees, Tony.

This prediction surprises me.

Ever since I confidently predicted the 2021 flag I've been determined to try to be positive.

6th to 10th is my guess.

I could of course be wrong and it might be better or worse.

It's a very long season with around 15-16 teams capable of beating anyone. Even the also rans (Eagles and North) aren't too bad relatively speaking.

Throw in more teams adopting the Ange ball philosophy and who knows.

 

IF:

1) our A graders can all stay injury free

2) we regain our hunger and pride that shockingly went missing as soon as the calendar flipped over to May last year, for many games;

3) Goodwin can deliver us a contemporary and sustainable game plan that’s better than #14 for points scored;

Then I predict us to be 13-9 and clinging to 8th on percentage heading into the Collingwood away game at the G. What happens after that, you can choose your own adventure, but I think most of us know what will happen against a side that continually heaps misery on our club.

  On 27/01/2025 at 00:17, Diamond_Jim said:

6th to 10th is my guess.

I could of course be wrong and it might be better or worse.

It's a very long season with around 15-16 teams capable of beating anyone. Even the also rans (Eagles and North) aren't too bad relatively speaking.

Throw in more teams adopting the Ange ball philosophy and who knows.

 

There is still a hell of a lot of talent on our list but I think my call of sixth may be a generous one.

I'm concerned about a few things now that I've read and reflected on a few things.

Our backline is still rock solid although last year it didn't perform as well as some other seasons.

Salo has been in and out of form due to injury or illness. Hasn't been that great weapon of his accurate and penetrating kicks out of trouble

I don't think Bowey has been the same since his shoulder injury.

May isn't getting younger and Petty has been used up forward.

Thankfully some new blood has stepped up and even some old in Tmac re reinventing himself down there.

Moving to the middle will be where most of us are looking at.

Rotating Nibbler through there is no longer a powerful option. Oliver.....well who knows what he will do.

There is a cloud over Tracc. What impact his recent injuries and issues will have? Sparrow hasn't really gone to the next level. And we have kept players like Billings.

Up forward ...a constant source of angst for most supporters is also a mystery. Where will all our goals come from?

I look at our flag and we had so many goal scorers in Tmac, Bbb, Snb, Kozzie, Tracc Spargo and Jackson.

Who will score them all in 2025?

I'm going out on a limb calling position l 6 because I'm hoping Tracca, Oliver and Viney and Max play like they did four years ago and are the propellant of our success.

That our backline doesn't suffer too many injuries and stands firm for another season.

Up forward I'm hoping for a breakout year for Jvr and Petty to surprise us all. There are a few others not least of all, Fritta who I am expecting to be up there on the Coleman ladder.

I mean it's a case of finishing top 4 to 6 or completely imploding and finishing bottom 4.

I believe Goody will extract enough talent out of what is still a strong list .

Am missing footy so much.

The test matches were awesome but the big bash just doesn't do it for me.

My gut feel is we’ll bounce back.

 

Soft draw, super stars fit.

We’ll finish somewhere between 6th & 2nd.

How far we go will depend on the growth of our young guns that gave as that extra spark in 2021.

It’s a real hard call for me. The team does look fit I’ll admit that. 
 

it’ll boil down to two things:

1. Team Unity. We all know morale was shot to pieces and there were moderate to deep fractures in the club. Lots of changes in admin and coaching staff. I hope this has improved but we’ll never know until the whole club is put in the spotlight during season proper We are likely to be dealt a curveball or two and how we respond will tell us a lot.

 

2. Game plan. The game has changed and our premiership winning plan is a thing of history. The game is  fast moving, turnover based and high scoring. Everything we are not. We are not built for this game style and it worries me that we may try to emulate it. If we do, then we won’t play finals. Moving Windsor to HB is a good move. Ever since Hibbo retired we’ve lacked a solid rebounding defender and Caleb has all the traits of Hunt and Hibbo combined.
The one area that is within our wheelhouse to change is i50 delivery. If we can improve this markedly, then we have a chance at the big one. Do we play Fritta high Hf? He has great vision and skill but moving him out of the 50 will take away the 40+ goals he scores every year. Who else ? Lindsey? McAdam? 

If we have sorted out our forward line functionality and play with a more attacking mindset we will be top 6 and will go deep into September. 
If it’s more of the same gamestyle wise I think we will finish outside the  top 8. 

Clarrie to have a Brownlow and/or a Norm Smith around his neck.