Hawthorn vs West Coast - who finishes higher on 2016 ladder by years end?

[YippeeYiYeo]

Who finishes higher on the ladder at the end of next season? Will be pretty close again you would think. Here are the key changes for both teams heading into the new season.

OUTs:

• Hawks: Suckling, Hale, Lake
• Eagles: S.Selwood, Sinclair

INs:

• Hawks: Draft picks #15, #18
• Eagles: Mackenzie (inj return), J.Redden, Jetta.

Other points of interest:
- Although unlikely, the Hawks may trade one of their 1st round draft picks for Carlisle, but the Saints and Sydney will most likely get him.
- Controversy surrounds 1 Hawthorn premiership player. No idea what the outcome will be, or how it will upset the group.
- Eagles get 2 KPD's back in Mackenzie, and to a lesser extent Brown. Was the clubs achilles heel in 2015.

If theres anything obvious ive missed feel free to add.

 

[mike123]

Probably west coast, fixed most of their deficiencies.

though Hawthorn like to stick around.

 

[Severe]

I'm not sure which team will finish higher.

 

[I Lost My Keays]

I have to go with West Coast:
Added - Jetta , Redden and Giles
Lose: Sinclair and Selwood.

Jetta and Redden ease the pressure off Priddis, Shuey and Gaff. They have an excellent defence , midfield and they have their KPD back for 2016.

 

[Scotland]

I think I'll wait until we see the draw.

 

[Prem87]

Westcoast because of Liam Duggan.

 

[The GOAT]

WC at the end of the H&A season, Hawthorn after finals.

 

[BIRDBRAIN]

WC at the end of the H&A season, Hawthorn after finals.

Won't help you if the Eagles finish 9th!

 

[HairyO]

Top 4 is all that matters. From there its the team that best handles finals pressure.

Draw will have a big influence on ladder position. Expect Hawthorn to play away against all the interstate sides. Home games against the rubbish sides.

Swans will get the softest draw of the top 5 team - by a mile. The AFL needs them in a Prelim at least.

 

[Hawthorn United]

Fixture. Draw implies randomness to it.

I think West Coast can go one of two ways. Slide out of finals or come out and finish top.

While for us, I think 4th-6th will be our range.

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk

 

[Rushed_Behind]

doesn't matter. grand final is played at the MCG.

 

[Marley10]

Hawthorn.

West Coast may have a down year, with a tough fixture and being 'hunted'. Teams generally have a down year after they break out, similar to Fremantle 2014 and Sydney 2013. Still expect them to finish in the top 4.

 

[The Cryptkeeper]

I'll stick with the three time defending champs.

Thanks.

 

[Roddy]

Wouldn't be at all surprised if the Weagles have a Port-like letdown after a big year out of the blue....

 

[Paul Kersey]

Eagles won't have the draw they got this year and opposition will spend all summer reviewing that game plan.

 

[Walter H White]

To be fair, you could argue that Eagles had their down year(s) in 2013-14 after they shot up the ladder and made finals in 2011-12. I don't think they'll drop like Port but I don't see the hawks going backwards either

 

[Van_Dyke]

Let's just see the fixture first.

 

[Moo]

Fre .....oh hang on.

 

[Back One Out]

Who finishes higher on the ladder at the end of next season?
Outs... Ins… Other points of interest… etc... etc...
If theres anything obvious I've missed feel free to add.

West Coast will receive the "2nd seed" fixture in 2016 and not the easy ride they got this past season for finishing 9th in 2014.

There may also be some mental scarring from the Grand Final thrashing. Some teams rebound from heavy GF defeats. It makes them stronger, it steels their resolve to go one better. Other teams lose confidence and fall by the wayside. You would expect the Eagles to be contenders again, but it's never guaranteed.

The Eagles defeated many teams because of their "web" zone defence which caught many rivals off-guard. Their opponents will be better prepared in 2016 and be more effective in beating their zone. The question is, will Adam Simpson and the Eagles be able tweak it further and stay one step ahead?

Your "ins and outs" analysis is pretty weak. Mackenzie will return from a knee injury. Who knows how long it will take him to recapture his form of 2014? Schofield held down full back in his absence. Where will he play? How will they structure their defence? Send McGovern forward? That would be taking him away from where he plays best.

For me, the biggest wildcard for West Coast is whether the likes of Naitanui, Gaff, Sheppard, Yeo and Sheed will back up their terrific 2015 seasons with another good season in 2016

As for Hawthorn, Hale and Lake have retired, but now Jon Ceglar will get his chance to cement his spot in the team. He's shown he belongs. Lake was tapped on the shoulder by the coach. He played well in the GF, but maybe the coach felt he was a luxury back there - that we have the opposition talls covered, but need to be quicker.

Lastly, the Hawks have shown they can win anywhere, anytime. I'm not sure Clarkson will be too preoccupied in finishing higher on the ladder than West Coast. His goal is always the same: finish in the top four.

 

[bzparkes]

The web only came about due to Brown and McKenzie going down so I dare say we'll see something a bit different next year. No free agents for Hawls to plug the gaps this year unless they manage to get Carlisle, will most probably decline a bit now due to age.

 

[ronpingwins]

The fixture effecting teams fortunes is incredibly overrated on this site. If they are good enough they will make it regardless.

 

[ep2018]

I think I'll wait until we see the draw.

Sad indictment of the AFL, that we cant properly suggest who will finish higher then who due to the unevenness of the fixture.

 

[Hawkk]

Is West Coast the 2014 Fremantle and 2015 Port Adelaide?

Probably worth reading a few threads posted by Dockers / Power fans during the last 2 offseasons

 

[PAFC66]

Hawks easily.

West coast will have a much harder draw. Their draw this year was ridiculous and half the reason they went that far.

 

[PAFC66]

The fixture effecting teams fortunes is incredibly overrated on this site. If they are good enough they will make it regardless.

You played 1 other team then freo in the top 8 twice ...