Who'll be fighting Melbourne for the spoon in 2009?

[tin can sam]

Fremantle will win it

I'm very confident about this.

 

[unit27]

Melbourne for the spoon but i think West Coast and Port will be very ordinary and will make it hard for the dees to finish last

 

[scuom05]

absolutley a joke to have carlton that short! 6th favourtie flag and 4th favourite for spoon? i think ur just putting teams anywhere u like coz u no that no team will challenge the dees for the spoon.

 

[Smyth94]

Even with a good run with injury, I struggle to see Essendon finishing any higher than 10th.

They get thrashed too often.

If we have a good run with injury we will make the finals. Bookmark it.

 

[Bomber32]

West Coast will be fighting with Melbourne for the spoon next year.

 

[Power21]

Melbourne are clear favourites, with Port, and maybe Sydney, to give them a run for their money. Expect Sydney to really slide next year.

Neither Port or Sydney will be that bad.

 

[pazza]

Port is the smokey.

 

[blitzer]

If theres one thing that history shows us is that normally at least one or two teams that pretty much no one predicted to be anywhere near it end up finishing in the bottom couple of spots. Last year for instance, ok a lot of people did predict Melbourne to perform poorly but there was a lot of people saying that Eagles and Dockers would be playing finals last year turns out they weren't even close and if ANYONE had picked Port Adelaide the whole of bigfooty would have had turned out and howled them down. It's kind of one of those things that sometimes only after the event do people come and admit they overated or underated so and so.

Its really going to come down to form and injuries but if i was to pick teams that i would expect to be sliding or finishing low i would be looking at Melbourne (though i do think they will be improvers next year to some degree), Sydney (they showed poor form in the latter end of the season, and really have not put enough development into enough kids, although some have shown some good form and they just have too many older players, plus their bound to have a bad injury year sometime). Dockers i think will also have another poor season, as they go through a bit of a changing of the guard with all their recent leavers and retirees.

I don't really blame people who put Essendon as a chance given our history but personally i find it hard to believe that we will get the spoon. I think we had only two players play every game this year, now while injuries are just one of those things i have to believe that overall we will have a better run next year. But really im relying on the ten blokes from the 05 and 06 drafts that will now be in their 3rd and 4th year, to take us to the next level. I honestly believe we have an extremely promising group, now i won't go through naming names but i'll just say that each and every one of these blokes has shown good form at either VFL or AFL level at some point. Four of those are pretty injury prone though, but hopefully they will be at the stage physically now where their bodies can handle a lot more.

Of course no one wants to believe or admit that their team will get worse.

 

[Catsace]

Essendon have not won a spoon since 1933, so their chances i reckon of adding to their collection are not high. That said, this year the interstate clubs were probably as bad as any had been, Port, the Eagles, Freo particularly would rarely if ever win as few home games again. The interstate clubs generally would be expected to win 6-7 games at least with the significant home ground advantage.

That said, the Dees are probably going to be in the box seat for the spoon, and a poultice of draft picks this time next year.

Anyone betting now though is probably just making a bookie rich. Save the punting until the season starts, the six months your money sits around doing nothing could be better utilised in your own hands!

 

[Goosecat]

Freo,

So much upheaval. Bell,Black,Farmer and Mcmanus gone in one foul swoop. What might be considered the heart and soul of the club ( as much as that was ) will leave a gaping hole that will take more then a couple of seasons to replace. The club needed to move on but I think they 're in for some tuff times. Gotta feel for Pav.

 

[kelvin_sheedy]

Melbourne are a certainty.

Their closest rivals will be the Blues. They are an injury or two away from the spoon.

 

[GoDons]

Christ these threads are counter-productive.

I think I recall a Melbourne supporter saying last year he'd cut his knackers off (or something to that effect) if Melbourne won the spoon in 2008.

Facts are, whilst everyone's so quick to jump to the defence of their side, SOMEONE will win it.

There are a hundreds of reasons why any side won't win it, and hundreds of reasons why any side could.

Instead of having a number of fruitless arguments, how about we wait and see?

 

[Les Grossman]

Brisbane to slide but only to 15th. Melbourne again.

 

[Hap Hapablap]

Freo,

So much upheaval. Bell,Black,Farmer and Mcmanus gone in one foul swoop. What might be considered the heart and soul of the club ( as much as that was ) will leave a gaping hole that will take more then a couple of seasons to replace. The club needed to move on but I think they 're in for some tuff times. Gotta feel for Pav.

the kids just have just as much heart look at palmer and co. i think we're gonna be rudely surprised next season by freo. far better shape then our lot at the moment.

 

[davey_magik]

Brisbane are a smokey as well for me.

I must say I laughed at a few idiots supporting Carlton in this thread, thinking that being 6th favourite for the flag means something. FFS your defence is poor and your midfielders don't run both ways. FFS you're a good side on the up but get a clue please (No offence meant to Carlton people with a brain).

IMHO we'll shit it in. We'll win 4-5 games next year but we'll still be the worst in the league.

 

[Bring-Back-Powell]

Nevertheless, one thing is certain, no-one will artificially challenge for the spoon by tanking as the compromised draft benefits do not outweigh the ignominy and financial impact.

Disagree. If your club doesn't make finals, then you should hope for bottom 3 just for next year.

2009 will be the year of the tank, as it will be the last year you can get a top 5 draft pick, due to Gold Coast stealing them all.
If a team is 3-12 after round 15, I can assure you players will be going in for early surgery etc...in order to avoid winning 5 games.

I'm quite comfortable with the fact that Melbourne could win the spoon and have access to picks 1,2 and 18.

Call me defeatist, but I'm quite excited with having potentially 9 top 20 picks in 3 years!

 

[Hawkk]

Melbourne are a certainty.

Their closest rivals will be the Blues. They are an injury or two away from the spoon.

Chances are, Melbourne WONT be challenging for a spoon

Carlton aside, who thanks to draft suspensions and poor recycling decisions made by Dennis Pagan were stagnauting for a couple of years, how many clubs have stayed at the bottom of the ladder for 3 years straight

I suspect Melbourne will finish 12th or 13th next year, with Sydney being the big drop from the Top 8 to the Bottom 4.

 

[Hawkk]

Disagree. If your club doesn't make finals, then you should hope for bottom 3 just for next year.

I've been saying this for years, essentially unless you're a team on the build, you're better off finishing in the bottom 4 and building towards another tilt at the flag then prolonging the inevitable rebuild, consistantly finishing 5-12

 

[Smyth94]

Chances are, Melbourne WONT be challenging for a spoon

Carlton aside, who thanks to draft suspensions and poor recycling decisions made by Dennis Pagan were stagnauting for a couple of years, how many clubs have stayed at the bottom of the ladder for 3 years straight

I suspect Melbourne will finish 12th or 13th next year, with Sydney being the big drop from the Top 8 to the Bottom 4.

Melbourne's squad is made up largely by 18-22 year olds, in terms of quality experienced players there aren't many and most that are there are not up to AFL.

Whilst the Dee's have plenty of young talent coming through, they are not physically ready to challenge more hardened sides.

I have pencilled them in for last on that basis but you never know what will happen.

 

[chrisjie]

Kangaroos will struggle big time next year.

People always say that. They'll definitely struggle to be competitive at the highest level but they wont get the spoon.

 

[The Fireman]

Melbourne are a certainty.

Their closest rivals will be the Blues. They are an injury or two away from the spoon.

Agreed.

 

[tazhawk]

Melbourne are a certainty.

Their closest rivals will be the Blues. They are an injury or two away from the spoon.

I agree, although I would throw your club into that mix as well.

 

[apiro]

This is what annoys me about bigfooty. Everyone's certain their team will be better than last year. Shit happens out of the blue unfortunetly.

Bulldogs have a very tall order to make the top 2. That's not to say they won't make it though.

Well said! I suppose this event becomes possible when GC17 start!

 

[The dele larmer]

Melbourne are a certainty.

Their closest rivals will be the Blues. They are an injury or two away from the spoon.

Yes injured Judd big trouble' ,what about Freo and west coast can they re-group or a another season down the bottom for one of those two?

 

[apiro]

Kangaroos will struggle big time next year.

Here we go again.

And just to complete the annual triumvirate of predictions.......Freo will play the Saints in the GF.

Sticking to the subject, I don't think anyone will be fighting Melbourne for the spoon next year. Perhaps Freo will get closest.