2015 The final eight

[BazBoy]

Clean slate is 2015 tho I would imagine Hawks ,Sydney ,Freo ,Geelong and Port
would fill the upper part of the eight.
How does every one see us in comparison to the next layer of contenders
Lot of potential in the list but will that translate to September action

[Stinger]

I don't see Freo and Geelong in the top bracket.

Top 4: Hawks, Port, Sydney

Top 8 from: Pies, North, Freo, Geelong, West Coast, Gold Coast, Adelaide, Brisbane, Richmond, Bombers

Close but no cigar: GWS, Melbourne

Struggle town: Carlton, Dogs, St Kilda

[BazBoy]

I will go along with that trifecta Hawks ,Swans and Port and will be interesting if
Cats light starts to fade .
And maybe Freo window could be closing too so some body has to come up
Season 14 we reached an 8 to 3 score card then injuries changed that to 3 to 8
Moderate injuries (none would be nice) and a lift in delivery of the ball will be good
Two advances i see is hard at the contest Greenwood and forward smarts of Varcoe
big factors for a lift
Then an emergence from a newbie ( like Langdon in 14)
Looking fwd positive like

[RudeBoy]

Hawks
Swans
Port
Pies

[Pies2016]

Pies are such a young team. I would think we will start well, show our potential and then ( understandably ) drop off towards Sept.
Im ok with that cause I am also convinced it only gets better from now on, just not overnight.
I thought i was the only one who reckoned the Cats are ready to slide. Interesting thoughts on them from fellow nicksters. They are getting to the point of being reliant on to few too often. Im sure there is one spot available at least ( cats for mine ) just not fully convinced if it will be the pies in 2015.

[jackcass]

Top 4 to be Hawks, Swans, Port, and Cats.

Agree with some that the Cats are creeping slowly toward a slide but they recruited very well and that will buy them some extra time. Additionally, they'll get Vardy and Menzel back.

5-8 a tight tussle between Pies, North, Richmond, Essendon and GCS. Carlton, Adelaide and Freo outside chances.

[Medieval]

Hawks & Port are the only certainties for me, but the Hawks' light is fading with a large number of older players on their list playing pivotal roles. Mitchell, Hodge, Hale, Lake, Burgoyne, Gibson are all over 30 already. Lewis turns 29 this year.

Sydney is an ageing team with a lot of team players nearly done. Rhyce, Goodes, Richards, McVeigh, McGlynn, & Pike are all over 30 or turn 30 this year. These are all players not easily replaced. This year might be their last chance at a flag for a few years while their younger players develop into future leaders.

Freo has some young guns but their mainstays are far too old for them to be a real threat for the next 2-3 years. Pavlich, Sandilands, McPharlin, Johnson, Crowley, Duffield & Sylvia are all over 30 or turn 30 this year. Mzungu, recruited as a mature age rookie, turns 29 at the end of Feb. Even as a Pies supporter, it'll be a sad day when Pav (one of the nicest blokes in football) retires.

Geelong are done. They recruited well, but who walks into the engine room? Selwood can't do it alone forever. Enright, Bartel, Kelly, Johnson, Mackie, Stokes, Lonergan, Rivers & McIntosh are all over 30 or turne 30 this year. Harry Taylor turns 29 this year. WOW. The midfield and backline will be decimated unless they make some massive trade/recruiting moves. If/when they fall, they're going to fall hard.

Onto the Pies. We have only one player who is over 30 in Dane Swan and no players turning 30 this year. Young & Dwyer turn 29 this year. The future looks bright. Maybe Bucks has timed our run to perfection? Only time will tell.

HFP2k15

[Raw Hammer]

At the post season members' meeting, Bicklye and co admitted that we are not here to compete with Haw, Syd, Geel, Freo ... they are too match hardened and can run rings around our inexperience. It would be folly to recruit to stay mid table. We are building to compete with WB, GC, GWS, etc. Straight from the horse's moputh and a sound policy if you ask me. Our tilt was 2010-11-12, and we nearly nailed back-to-back. Too many retired / senior players to seriously remain a contender in immediate future, so draft and trade for an eye on 2016-17-18+.

[FLAGPIES]

1. Hawks
2. Swans
3. Port
4. Gold Coast
5. Freo
6. North
7.Cats
8.Any of Pies,Tigers,Bombers,Crows,Eagles

[FLAGPIES]

[Jezza]

This is my ladder prediction! Just my opinion so don't take it to heart if you disagree with it.

1). Port Adelaide - A side that is ready to hit its peak and is at the right age to dominate for a few years now. They've got experience of tough finals matches behind them and if they don't have any fadeouts during the season I'm convinced they can win it this year.
2). Sydney - Sydney will be back with vengeance after a deplorable Grand Final performance but with an ageing list this might be their last chance to win it for a while.
3). Hawthorn - Like Sydney, Hawthorn has been a consistently top side for many years and it wouldn't surprise me if they won the Grand Final again if they were to make it again but I suspect after that their window is over! They'r an ageing team but good enough to win it again though.
4). Gold Coast - A team on the rise and was excellent until about round 16 when they lost Ablett and everything fell apart for them. Like most seasons, there's always a surprise packet and I think the Suns might shoot up the ladder unexpectedly.
5). Geelong - It's amazing how long they've been able to stay up without going down despite the inevitable decline they'll go through. I think they've topped up well enough to compete well for the short-term but with more retirements to come soon how much longer can they stay up for beyond 2015?
6). North Melbourne - A solid team with a lot of experience but still overrated in my book in terms of being able to win a Premiership. Their recruitment is a true indication that they're going for the Premiership but I still think they won't come close to winning it. I think their future is bleak after many retirements occur and players get older. They have one of the oldest lists in the league.
7). Adelaide - With a new coach and more consistency the Crows could sneak a spot in the eight but like us they're a hard team to predict in terms of ladder position. I think they'll make it but make up the numbers in September.
8. Fremantle - A team on the decline under Ross Lyon and with very few youngsters coming through the ranks and old players like Pavlich, Sandilands and McPharlin all on the verge of retirement their decline could be dramatic beyond 2015.
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9). Richmond - Just for the laughs I'll put them in 9th spot again. Richmond's midfield is decent but I still think they're flat-track bullies who have big holes in key position areas. Their fans reckon they're top 4 but I don't see it though.
10). Collingwood - I think it's another year of development for us and I expect to be very inconsistent this year. Our future is very bright and I love the way we're managing our list after many departures of good players in the last few years but hopefully we see further development of our youngsters, less injuries and a promising sign on the game plan that the future is bright. We'll be competing for a top 8 spot and could sneak a place in there if all goes our way on the injury front and we gather momentum at the right time of the year.
11). Brisbane - With the inclusions of Beams and Christiansen and the promising development of their young players I can see them improving but they're still not good enough to play finals this year though.
12). West Coast - They are the king of flat-track bullies and severely overrated by many! An ordinary midfield with decent key position players but that's about it for them.
13). Essendon - A side that has just been topping up and have no real foresight on the future despite the recruitment of two promising youngsters in the draft in Kyle Langford and Jayden Laverde. I think they're overrated and if ASADA sanctions hit them hard I think they're in massive trouble!
14). Melbourne - A side that I think will improve slightly under Roos but they're still a long way off from playing finals though. Might expect an extra 2 or 3 wins this year on top of the wins they had last year.
15). GWS - A team that will improve slightly but probably won't have a big rise up the ladder until 2016. I would expect them to be competing harder in games this year.
16). Western Bulldogs - A team that has lost their captain and coach in one off-season is bound to have serious problems in the immediate future. They have plenty of promising youngsters coming through but they're too raw to have an immediate impact at the moment. Expect to see them improve around 2016/2017.
17). Carlton - A team that is in need of a serious rebuild but still haven't properly embraced it. Expect Mick to be gone this year!
18. St.Kilda - The worst team in the competition and will be wooden spooners again but I think they're ahead in development than Carlton is amazingly and being able to find top draftees to lead them into the future!

[Mossi]

My thouights:

1. Hawks - who would bet against them? So strong everywhere.
2. Swans - too much talent on every line.
3. Port - on the rise. (Premiership favourite for mine!)
4. Freo - still have quality players
5. Gold Coast - on the rise
6. Tigers - started to play good footy at the end of last year
7. Crows - a lot of talent there on all lines
8. Pies - just what I hope will happen, but we are a young list and it's a development year.

North just haven't got it! Cats are on a transition phase! Carlton are Sh*t. Eagles and Bombers could make the 8. Brisbane will take a few scalps, I hope we are not one of them. Dogs, Melbourne will be interesting. GWS and St Kilda are developing with little hope.

[Woods]

[i hate carlton]

i am tipping a premiership this year,

1. Collingwood
18. Carlscum

[Bob Sugar]

I'll be disappointed if we miss the 8.