2015 Ladder predictions

[King_Steele]

I gave my reasons and provided evidence to why I believe Port won't make the 8, and why Carlton will

So go through the thread as I'm not going to repeat myself

Carlton have a horrible list & is no where near a top 8 birth. Your KPP stocks are laughable, If you wanna compare them to the Hawthorns,Sydneys etc & what's the point of making the bottom of the 8 anyway? History says it's top 4 or bust as far as premierships go.

Carlton might aswell bottom out & build for a real premiership tilt again.

 

[gillo94]

Carlton have a horrible list & is no where near a top 8 birth. Your KPP stocks are laughable, If you wanna compare them to the Hawthorns,Sydneys etc & what's the point of making the bottom of the 8 anyway? History says it's top 4 or bust as far as premierships go.

Carlton might aswell bottom out & build for a real premiership tilt again.

Blues in trade week addressed certain issues such as our KP stocks

Key forwards being Henderson who is solid, Levi who improved last year and just acquired Liam Jones who will become a much better forward as a 3rd tall...

Defenders have Rowe and Jamison who were reliable last year plus Everitt rotates in their, not to mention Jaksch who returns hopefully mid season

If we can get home final like we did against Tigers in 2013 Elimination final at the MCG we have every chance of a Semi Final and beyond

I'm not saying finals are gauranteed, I agree we need a lot of luck and a lot to go our way to play finals but I have faith as our draw is manageable

 

[King_Steele]

Blues in trade week addressed certain issues such as our KP stocks

Key forwards being Henderson who is solid, Levi who improved last year and just acquired Liam Jones who will become a much better forward as a 3rd tall...

Defenders have Rowe and Jamison who were reliable last year plus Everitt rotates in their, not to mention Jaksch who returns hopefully mid season

If we can get home final like we did against Tigers in 2013 Elimination final at the MCG we have every chance of a Semi Final and beyond

I'm not saying finals are gauranteed, I agree we need a lot of luck and a lot to go our way to play finals but I have faith as our draw is manageable

Your missing the point little one. Your KPP stocks don't even come close to the REAL premiership challengers, seriously Casboult? LOL. Carlton is in la la land if it thinks it can still compete with the heavyweights. It's not 2011, Judd is shot, Murphy & Gibbs are your only A-Grade players & even that is a stretch. Once again what is the point of making an elimination final every year??? What do you achieve??? I'll tell you JACK SHIT.

 

[King_Steele]

Jones, Rowe, Everitt are all spuds sorry to break it to you.. All 3 players won't be in your next premiership tilt...

 

[JimmyBeerCans]

Jones, Rowe, Everitt are all spuds sorry to break it to you.. All 3 players won't be in your next premiership tilt...

you could probably add another 12 on their list to that

 

[Halftimehero]

For a start Watson, Chapman, Stanton, Winderlich and Fletcher will have all gone backwards as a function of age. Cooney was passed it last year. TBC is half the footballer Ryder is. Half the players you list as coming into their prime are already in their prime and that list of second year players is b-grade at best. Gwilt and McKernan were found in the dumpster, for a reason. Gilles is trying to crack it at a third club. Will be best case cover if the ASADA hammer drops.

Bombers are in the conversation for 7th to 14th. I have them closer to 14th than 7th.

Ah the old year older so automatically go backwards theory aye? Bellchambers half the player Ryder is? Wouldn't be to sure on that, was clearly our Number 1 ruck before injury and kicks as many goals as Ryder. The players listed as coming into there prime all between 20 and 25, that is the prime age isn't it? Name a club whos second year players who aren't b graders at best?

 

[ROYAL EAGLE]

1. Hawthorn
2. Fremantle
3. Sydney
4. North
5. Adelaide
6. Port
7. Geelong
8. Gold Coast
9. Carlton
10. Essendon
11. Richmond
12. Bulldogs
13. Gws
14. West Coast
15. Collingwood
16. Brisbane
17. Saints
18. Melbourne

Wow as a WCE fan that's a big slide backwards for us.
You dont rate Simpson as a coach ?
I think we will improve next year.

 

[Andy_Mac]

Ah the old year older so automatically go backwards theory aye? Bellchambers half the player Ryder is? Wouldn't be to sure on that, was clearly our Number 1 ruck before injury and kicks as many goals as Ryder. The players listed as coming into there prime all between 20 and 25, that is the prime age isn't it? Name a club whos second year players who aren't b graders at best?

Everyone of the older players mentioned have reached there peak performence levels and are now beginning the decline, the rate of decline is the only variable.

Midfielders reach there prime by 21-23yo, depending on the individual. So as I said half are there already. Those second year players you listed are b-grade compared to other second year players at other clubs.

TBC is not as good as Ryder, that is a known fact. Apparently only obviously to those that don't follow the Bombers.

 

[Mordecai]

Wow as a WCE fan that's a big slide backwards for us.
You dont rate Simpson as a coach ?
I think we will improve next year.

So many question marks over the teams around that area. brisbane, collingwood, gws, bulldogs, richmond, essendon. I suspect some of them will fall right off the pace and this will be the year they acknowledge they're on the wrong track. I hope Simmo finds success at west coast I just worry about your midfield. It looks OK on paper but whenever I see you play the stocks in the centre look incredibly thin.

 

[Tiger2709]

Ah the old year older so automatically go backwards theory aye? Bellchambers half the player Ryder is? Wouldn't be to sure on that, was clearly our Number 1 ruck before injury and kicks as many goals as Ryder. The players listed as coming into there prime all between 20 and 25, that is the prime age isn't it? Name a club whos second year players who aren't b graders at best?

A major concern with Essendon under Hird is his abiity to keep the team up for the whole season, he has had a couple of great starts with the team looking top 4 prospects only to fall in a hole after mid year and finish off looking more like bottom 4 prospects.

That was the major difference between he and Bomber IMO, under Thompson you were more consistent throughout the year, add to that the addition of a few older players and again we may see the Bombers jump out of the blocks like Usain Bolt only to finish like Eddie the Eagle.

A lot of maintenace will be required to keep your 30+ years olds on the track late in the year, whether you have enough back up players to rest them occasionally may have a big impact on your season as a whole.

anywhere from 6th to 10th is my guess for the Bombers, well obviously assuming there are no suspensions from the ASADA case.

 

[Tiger2709]

So many question marks over the teams around that area. brisbane, collingwood, gws, bulldogs, richmond, essendon. I suspect some of them will fall right off the pace and this will be the year they acknowledge they're on the wrong track. I hope Simmo finds success at west coast I just worry about your midfield. It looks OK on paper but whenever I see you play the stocks in the centre look incredibly thin.

I would include North in that group you have listed, we have seen them be so inconsistent over the last few years that you cant gaurantee that they wont mess things up again, but your right that middle core of teams could end up anywhere from top 4 to 12th

 

[Halftimehero]

A major concern with Essendon under Hird is his abiity to keep the team up for the whole season, he has had a couple of great starts with the team looking top 4 prospects only to fall in a hole after mid year and finish off looking more like bottom 4 prospects.

That was the major difference between he and Bomber IMO, under Thompson you were more consistent throughout the year, add to that the addition of a few older players and again we may see the Bombers jump out of the blocks like Usain Bolt only to finish like Eddie the Eagle.

A lot of maintenace will be required to keep your 30+ years olds on the track late in the year, whether you have enough back up players to rest them occasionally may have a big impact on your season as a whole.

anywhere from 6th to 10th is my guess for the Bombers, well obviously assuming there are no suspensions from the ASADA case.

Totally agree with all that, 6-10 is where we will likely finish, ridiculous to think that posters are putting us around 14th, if they think ASADA will wipe us out then put us 18th. We stayed relatively injury free towards the back end of this season and that's what I am putting the sustained performance down to and just the sheer fact we are still improving as a team, I fully expect that improvement to continue on into next season.

 

[Mordecai]

I would include North in that group you have listed, we have seen them be so inconsistent over the last few years that you cant gaurantee that they wont mess things up again, but your right that middle core of teams could end up anywhere from top 4 to 12th

You're right. It is absolutely wide open this season. I think a few teams will fall over quite badly this season. I think North are too old to fall over - this is not necessarily a good thing as we may finish within the 8 but never be a real chance. I can't see us dropping off however. I feel similar about Fremantle.

 

[Tiger2709]

Why do so many of you have Richmond finishing top 6?

Their forward line is as bad as St.Kilda's and their backline crumbles under pressure.

Rubbish, you can't win nine in a row if that was the case, yes we have some work to do, but the core playing group is of an age that they should continue to improve.

After our atrocious start to the season we still had 5 players with over 20 goals last year with a total of 153 goals from those five, your team had 4 players with over 20 goals for the year and a total of 105 between those 4, if you look at the top side Hawthorn they had 7 kicking over 20 goals with a total of 278, so we are obviously quite a way off the top teams although our spread of goals isn't bad they do need to kick more, but we are well in front of the side that will likely finish 8th to 12th.

Our defence was shaky until Rance came back and by the end of the year it was performing well with a few others like Grimes starting to stand up well, yes we had a shit final but hopefully the players will eventually learn from that loss.

I would think with a top year we could sneak into top 4 but 5th to 8th is more likely, I see no real reason we should slip on last year.

 

[Halftimehero]

Everyone of the older players mentioned have reached there peak performence levels and are now beginning the decline, the rate of decline is the only variable.

Midfielders reach there prime by 21-23yo, depending on the individual. So as I said half are there already. Those second year players you listed are b-grade compared to other second year players at other clubs.

TBC is not as good as Ryder, that is a known fact. Apparently only obviously to those that don't follow the Bombers.

I guess you haven't watched Zac Merrett and Marty Gleeson then, not at the very top echelon of second year players but Zac would was in the top dozen or so in the rising star and Gleeson no doubt would have been if not for injury, he has 200 game player written all over him, they both do. The average age of our top 6 in the B&F is 24.8, it is the perfect age bracket for a team to be challenging, you may say we have older players who are close to or over 30 but names like Watson, Chapman, Cooney, Fletcher, Goddard and Winderlich aren't exactly average players are they? We could argue the Ryder/Bellchambers debate till we are blue in the face and come up with valid arguments why one is better than the other all day, which in itself would suggest there isn't a great deal between the two so as I said earlier, if it is a downgrade on our list it would be very minimal at the most.

 

[Tiger2709]

You're right. It is absolutely wide open this season. I think a few teams will fall over quite badly this season. I think North are too old to fall over - this is not necessarily a good thing as we may finish within the 8 but never be a real chance. I can't see us dropping off however. I feel similar about Fremantle.

Yeah the experience does help with consistency, Port have the one of the best balanced teams and should take the next step to a GF berth but then we all thought Freo would take the next step this year, there are so many factors that can come into play.

Hawthorn this year was probably the most remarkable year I can recall from a team, they are so well drilled that even with many injuries to both players and coach they still kept winning, hard to see who can knock them off their perch this year yet again.

 

[Halftimehero]

Everyone of the older players mentioned have reached there peak performence levels and are now beginning the decline, the rate of decline is the only variable.

Midfielders reach there prime by 21-23yo, depending on the individual. So as I said half are there already. Those second year players you listed are b-grade compared to other second year players at other clubs.

TBC is not as good as Ryder, that is a known fact. Apparently only obviously to those that don't follow the Bombers.

Biggest load of rubbish I have ever read, the last 10 brownlow winners who are all midfielders have an average age of 26.

 

[gillo94]

Bit harsh I think Rowe has had much improved year, same with Levi & Everitt. Liam Jones I think in a new environment will be a better player

Btw this discussion is about Port, not Blues

 

[Dirty_11]

I would include North in that group you have listed, we have seen them be so inconsistent over the last few years that you cant gaurantee that they wont mess things up again, but your right that middle core of teams could end up anywhere from top 4 to 12th

I would expect after a couple of finals wins that those inconsistent performances will be a thing of the past. Belief and expectation as well as a natural maturing of the list will see this happen. Also having Swallow and Wells play most the year will help.

 

[Dirty_11]

I guess you haven't watched Zac Merrett and Marty Gleeson then, not at the very top echelon of second year players but Zac would was in the top dozen or so in the rising star and Gleeson no doubt would have been if not for injury, he has 200 game player written all over him, they both do. The average age of our top 6 in the B&F is 24.8, it is the perfect age bracket for a team to be challenging, you may say we have older players who are close to or over 30 but names like Watson, Chapman, Cooney, Fletcher, Goddard and Winderlich aren't exactly average players are they? We could argue the Ryder/Bellchambers debate till we are blue in the face and come up with valid arguments why one is better than the other all day, which in itself would suggest there isn't a great deal between the two so as I said earlier, if it is a downgrade on our list it would be very minimal at the most.

Merrett and Gleeson are both promising youngsters. The Ryder v TBC is not an argument. Last year both were on the list. This year only one therefore the impact is greater than minimal. I understand TBC was injured last year but the argument for 2015 should be Ryder and TBC vs TBC and Giles. I know which 2 i would take.

 

[Halftimehero]

Merrett and Gleeson are both promising youngsters. The Ryder v TBC is not an argument. Last year both were on the list. This year only one therefore the impact is greater than minimal. I understand TBC was injured last year but the argument for 2015 should be Ryder and TBC vs TBC and Giles. I know which 2 i would take.

You could argue though that with Bellchambers being Injured in 2014 that It's Ryder on his own vs Bellchambers and Giles.

 

[Dirty_11]

You could argue though that with Bellchambers being Injured in 2014 that It's Ryder on his own vs Bellchambers and Giles.

You could argue though that with Bellchambers being Injured in 2014 that It's Ryder on his own vs Bellchambers and Giles.

So moving forward into 2015 with the assumption of a fit list to choose from you are saying that Ryder and TBC wouldn't both be in the starting 22? Even if that was the case, if one was to break down during the season it would play out one of two ways: Ryder out for TBC or TBC out for Giles. Again I know which I would prefer and the impact would be greater than minimal. By the way, this is not taking into account that Ryder wipes the floor with TBC.

 

[Conker]

The loaning to Hawthorn of the premiership cup has expired. We will be taking it back next year.

 

[Halftimehero]

So moving forward into 2015 with the assumption of a fit list to choose from you are saying that Ryder and TBC wouldn't both be in the starting 22? Even if that was the case, if one was to break down during the season it would play out one of two ways: Ryder out for TBC or TBC out for Giles. Again I know which I would prefer and the impact would be greater than minimal. By the way, this is not taking into account that Ryder wipes the floor with TBC.

No, this is comparing whether Essendon go backwards on there 2014 form or not, yes Ryder/TBC going into 2015 would be better no doubt but 2014 was virtually Ryder one out and 2015 will be TBC and Giles so therefore I don't see that as a major setback that will see us drop to 14th where the original poster was predicting we would. TBC best season has been as good as Ryder's best season and he is also 2 years younger so I don't buy the "he wipes the floor" statement either.

 

[Giant Pete]

I think the hardest team to predict in 2015 is GWS. There have been plenty of people that have picked them to finish 17th but at the same time I would not be too surprised if they finished 9th or 10th next year either.

We are still too young to be any sort of consistent threat