Prediction 2023 AFL Season Prediction Thread

[Coobk001]

Crystal Ball: Our predictions for the 2023 AFL season are in

Premiership, Brownlow, recruit of the year. We make the call

www.afl.com.au

Only a couple AFL.com media members predicting us to make the 8.

 

[Janus]

I could make a case for why almost every single team in the 2022 top eight will fall out.

1. Geelong - loss of hunger and a sense of 'mission accomplished' after the 2022 premiership
2. Sydney - incredibly rare that a team that gets flogged in the GF makes finals the next year. I think it's happened once in history.
3. Collingwood - the luckiest bunch of ****s ever to grace a game of AFL football. Should have been nowhere near finals, much less top four. 2022 was to Collingwood 2018 the way that 2007 was to Port 2004. Yeah, they've added some decent players, but they needed to.
4. Fremantle - made it through defensive prowess. Won't take the next step to win a flag unless they become more attacking, which will open them up to danger.
5. Western Bulldogs - losing Dunkley hurts them a lot more than they actually think and they need to go through a mini reset.
6. Melbourne - Losing Jackson and replacing him with Grundy doesn't work, as Jackson is more of a forward/ruck while Grundy is a pure ruck who pushes forward just like Gawn. Game also moves to less stoppages which negates their strength.

And that's not counting an injury run to any of those sides.

The only two sides I'd be super confident in making finals are Brisbane and Richmond - Brisbane because of their list and Richmond because of their coach and style (it's why I want Hardwick as our next coach - no one else is good enough). Geelong and Melbourne would be on the next rung. Fremantle, Sydney, Bulldogs and Collingwood are all in danger of dropping out for various reasons - but the issue is that it requires someone to step up and kick them out.

Of the teams that can replace them - Carlton gives me Melbourne vibes - remember how Melbourne could have made finals in 2017, made it in 2018 and then crashed out again for the next couple of years? If they get to play all their games at the MCG, they'll be fine. If they have to travel for finals, they'll crash out like Melbourne 2018 did.

If Gold Coast had retained Rankine I'd put them in contention, but they didn't so I won't. They get back King but I don't think it's enough. Still, got more of a shot than most. The thing is, for them to make finals they'd have to at least win one game against Brisbane. And that's not happening.

Adelaide will be better but like I said in another thread, you're literally asking for them to find 18-22 points extra every single game for them to be a finals contender. I said when they ****ed up their draft strategy in 2018 that it would be 10 years before they make finals again. I stand by this. They are in that 9-14 no man's land that St Kilda is in.

Speaking of St Kilda - these guys hit the trade desk hard in the past few years thinking they had a top four list thanks to a delusional CEO (****ing sounds incredibly familiar). Would be first week cannon fodder if they made it. Just don't think they will do it.

As for Hawthorn, North, GWS and West Coast - West Coast will be better than they were last year but honestly they should be thinking of how to spend their two top ten draft picks at the draft. North and Hawthorn will be fighting out for the spoon. GWS needs to reset and go again after being up for awhile.

So we come to Port - Port could finish anywhere from 1st to 12th and it would not surprise me. To finish 1st, we need Finlayson to continue on his 2022 season as a makeshift ruck/forward, Dixon to have a 2017/2020 season, Marshall to continue his rise, Rioli to fill the gap that Gray left as a forward, Lycett plays like a rich man's 2014 Matthew Lobbe

Matthew Lobbe

Age

35

Ht

200cm

Wt

96kg

Pos.

Ruck

Career

Season

Last 5

D

10.0

3star

K

4.8

2star

HB

5.2

4star

CL

2.5

4star

HO

27.9

5star

No current season stats available

D

8.0

2star

K

3.0

1star

HB

5.0

4star

CL

1.6

4star

HO

16.2

5star

, Fantasia and Aliir to have a similar season to 2021 and Horne-Francis to have a season like Rozee did last year. All these things happening at the same time are possible, but not probable. It would literally need a perfect storm of everything going right.

The worst case scenario is that Finlayson doesn't look right due to his off-field issues, Dixon plays as shit as he did without a preseason (which is what happened last year), Marshall can't cope with extra attention, Rioli is more a replacement for Motlop than Gray, Lycett is as shit as everyone says, Fantasia gets injured again and Horne-Francis gets ridden like Seattle Slew by the umpires all year.

Like I said, neither scenario would surprise me, because both have an equal chance of happening. Which is why the answer is probably somewhere in between, like 6th or 7th.

 

[davesnothere]

Actually probably deserves its own thread and poll for which round he'll be sacked.

August.

Rd 16 after losing to Bombers in Melbourne.

Ticks the box’s.

First game in August.

A game in Melbourne we should not lose but certainly can.

 

[Marmozet]

1. Geelong (r/u)
2. Brisbane
3. Collingwood
4. Fremantle
5. Carlton
6. Melbourne
7. St Kilda (I think Ross Lyon's first year back will have a positive impact. This spot could easily either go to an Essendon or a GWS)
8. Richmond
-
9. Sydney
10. Western Bulldogs
11. Gold Coast
12. Essendon
13. Port Adelaide
14. GWS
15. Adelaide
16. West Coast
17. North Melbourne
18. Hawthorn

GF & Premiers: Collingwood def. Geelong
Wooden Spoon: Hawthorn
Brownlow: Touk Miller
Coleman: Tom Hawkins
Port B&F: Sam Powell-Pepper
Port AAs: N/A
Port Most Improved: Bergman
Port Rising Star Nominees: Burgoyne

Positive story line: Hinkley and Koch gone!

Negative story line: There won't be too many negatives this year if it is in fact Hinkley's last

• I got Collingwood winning the flag correct!
• I got 5 of the Top 8 correct, most impressively St Kilda in 7th
• I got Brisbane, Carlton and North Melbourne's positions exactly right

If I swapped Fremantle with us and Richmond with GWS then I would have been closer to the mark.

 

[Marmozet]

Coobk001 looking forward to my shout out in the 2024 Prediction thread that I was the only one to get Collingwood for the flag correct!!

 

[Schulzenfest]

Negative story line - Ken Hinkley receives two year contract extension

 

[afl2004]

That prediction was paying 1.01 on sports bet in pre season tbf

 

[tribey]

Positive Storyline: I win both my fantasy premierships

Lost both Grand Finals

Negative Storyline: Hinkley earns a 2-year extension off the back of the sheer weight of talent at his disposal ‘showing promise’ amidst the usual premeditated excuses regarding injury and youth.

Nostribedamus!

 

[RossFC]

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

GF & Premiers: Brisbane Vs Geelong - Brisbane Premiers
Wooden Spooner: Essendon
Brownlow: Lachie Neale
Coleman: Jeremy Cameron
Power B&F: Rozee
Power AA’s: Rozee
Power Most Improved: Bergman
Power Rising Star Nominees: Burgoyne

A Positive Story Line from the year:
- Hinkley sacked when finals are mathematically impossible.

Negative Story Line for the year:
- Port target KPD and Ruck in trade period. But only land 1 of them.

Got Brisbane making the GF, Neale Brownlow, Rozee AA, Melbourne 4th, Carlton 5th and Crows 10th right.