meanwhile, back at the footy . . . .Rankings for 2004

[Go Swannies]

umm, can we get back to the subject of football?

With lots of guesses, my ranking of the clubs at the end of R22 in 2004 is:

Swans
Hawks
Lions
Freo
Saints
Port
Pies
Bombers

Kangaroos
Blues
Cats
Weagles
Demons
Crows
Tigers
Doggies

I'd probably put the Pies and Bombers out of the 8 if I had the nerve. Anyone else want to take a guess?

[Bart]

Lions (simply the best and the benchmark)
Swans (feel we are the second best team in the comp)
Freo (will win their home games and a few on the road)
Weagles (ditto)
Port (start of the decline)
Bombers (best Melbourne team)
Hawthorn (if they can keep injury free they will be thereabouts)
Kangaroos (borderline and just fell short last year)

Saints (overrated, overhyped, Grant Thomas)
Cats (promising, and will make finals next year)
Pies (very ordinary list - they would freefall without Buckley)
Carlton (experinced recruits will keep them treading water)
Adelaide (age shall weary them)
Bulldogs (were far better than last place last year..good trades)
Melbourne (weak list)
Richmond (just a lunatic club)

[jixygirl]

My go

Swans
Lions
Essendon
Port
West Coast
Freo
StKilda
Hawthorn

Adelaide
Collingwood
Kangaroos
Geelong
Carlton
Bulldogs
Richmond
Melbourne

[Bleed Red Blood]

The only diffence between now and last time I did it is it being only one week away!!! here you go .....


Top 8 in order

Port
Brisbane (what'll stop them?)
Collingwood
St Kilda
Sydney
West Coast
Fremantle
Geelong

Wooden Spooner

Melbourne

Rising Star

Jarrad McVeigh (good bandwagon you should join_

The teams that won't make it and why -

Not in order

Melbourne

Simply no depth, rely on Neitz for the goals and Yze for the ball.

Richmond

Struggle with injuries to their back six. Again no depth.

Adelaide

Too old, no back line. No one to kick goals.
Brilliant midfield though.

Essendon

Rely on Hird to get the ball, Lloyd to kick goals and Fletcher to stop the best backman.

The same could be said about Sydney - Goodes get's the ball, Hall kicks the goals and Schuable stops the best backman.

However, Essenson have no ruckman, no back-up for their best 22.

Hawthorn

Why would they get in the top 8? Who will step up from their young batch? Just My Opinion but I just don't think theyll make it with their current list. H

Have got a great draw though.


Bulldogs

Best spooners in a long time, however just cause they have now got Rawlings to kick to will not make them a top 8er.Neither will having the aging Grant back.

Carlton

Only genuinly good recruit is Nick Stevens, the others will make it more competitve to get into their best 22, but wont make them a competivive side.

Roos

Will struggle to kick goals, no ruck strength, good young talent, but wont make the 8.

Just my opinion, dont take it to heart, its still early days.

[Go Swannies]

I've got Hawthorn up there as I remember their game against us last year - they made the Swans look old and slow.

I agree re the Bombers I think we can win without Goodes or Hall but we have more young depth behind them than the Bombers have behind Lloyd.

The Crows may get this one last year out of Carey but we're all assuming not.

The Pies aren't as good as Melbourne and Eddie tell them they are. That's going to catch up with them someday.

Port is better than they believe but I doubt they'll realise it under their present coach.

Brisbane - awesome team but held together by Voss. (Just see how they lift when he enters the ground.) Unless he's faking, I don't think he'll be able to play up to his standard this year and I think that'll bring Brisbane back into the mix.

Remember, the only real standout team in the home and away last season was Port. The last weekend settled every other position in the 8. If we start this season as we finished the last (not 1 from 4 as last year's start) we could open up a lead, too. And the first weeks are Bris, Freo (at SCG), Cats (at SCG), Roos in Canberra then Melbourne. Five from Five?

The dream continues . . . .

[Bart]

Originally posted by Go Swannies
Brisbane - awesome team but held together by Voss. (Just see how they lift when he enters the ground.) Unless he's faking, I don't think he'll be able to play up to his standard this year and I think that'll bring Brisbane back into the mix.

Awesome player, but team is not held together by him. Too many class individuals not to be considered short favourites with or without Voss.

[Mark]

How on earth can you rate the Hawks above the WCE's

This is beyond me !

[TheHood]

Originally posted by Mark
How on earth can you rate the Hawks above the WCE's

This is beyond me !

Hawks won 9 of their last 11 or 12. It was a good fast finish. Don't forget we won 6 of our last 10 or 12. Not sure about you, but I took confidence from such reasonable form.

The Hawks have 2 really bad traits:

1. Lapses: remember that game against the Dees in 2002 and the Tigers game in 2003. How do you get your head around those as a Hawks supporter?

2. Injuries: Their injury prevention management must be a shocker. Each year their tall men go down like a sack of spuds. Last year they had large portions of time out from Spider, Dutchy, Thomo, Brown etc.

I will give it them though, if they can get their best playing all year they are very very dangerous.

Joel Smith is my favourite Hawks player and after almost a year out, he just cruised back into the All Aussie team.

[Bron]

#1 Swans, frankly I don't care who comes second.

[NMWBloods]

I assumed this thread was about what you think will happen not what you want to happen!

[Nico]

Hawthorn can't make it. They have lost their best forward in Rawlings, have a massive injury list and their 2 key forwards in Holland and barker are both over the hil hacks.

Their new big white hope broke his leg yesterday and they have a coach who has a habit of putting his foot into his mouth. They have a win and you can't shut the little philosophising yapper up.

Next they lose and he goes into hiding. Then they win and he has an opinion on everything including the Iraqi War. Next week they cop a schalacking and he goes back into his cave and wants a meeting with the umps. Then they win and he comes up with the theory that we should not be playing on Mother's Day. And so it goes on.

[liz]

Originally posted by Bron
#1 Swans, frankly I don't care who comes second.

Was about to post the same!

Though if I were forced to choose, I'd nominate the Lions as our GF victims. Not only would it be great to beat the best team in recent years on the biggest stage in football, it would also really pxxx off the Melbourne media mafia and would send Eddie into convulsions.

[chammond]

I have the same wish list every year -

1. Swans finish top 4

2. Swans don't lose to Magpies

3. Swans don't lose to Bombers

4. Swans don't lose to Bulldogs

5. Neither Magpies nor Bombers make the eight.

The only acceptable variation is for Sydney to beat Collingwood in GF by one point kicked after the siren.

Surely that's not too much to ask??