Predictions - and discussion - in lead up to 2014 season..

[Jim05]

Hopefully the karma bus comes rolling on by.

Reid is a giant spud anyway.

And Tippett is only 1 "Accidental" hit to his head away from permament retirement which leaves only Buddy until the party scene catches up with him again

[the joker]

After being a kick away from a grand final in his first year as coach to miss the finals two years in a row would bring concerns to Crows management. Considering having the cattle of PADDY RORY AND TEX (best three players in the AFL according to the Adelaide media) missing the finals is going to have some questions asked. If they get cut up by injury then well he will probably survive. Crows have the cash to payout coaches.

i wouldn't be so sure they have the cash to pay out coaches

[The Sleeping Giant]

Teams that can definitely make the 8

Dockers, Swans, Hawks, Pies, Cats, Crows, Eagles, Roos, Tigers, Power

Just miss

Suns, Blues

Highly Unlikely to nil chance

Demons, Saints, Lions, Giants, Bulldogs, Bombers



Bolded Teams will be looking for a new coach if their teams don't play finals football.

Coleman - Riewoldt (Tigers still have zero other goal kickers)
Brownlow - Ablett (Barring Injury)
Rising Star - Martin (I'll buy the hype)
GF - Replay of 2013

yeah Sanderson will be sacked if crows miss the finals??
Just got two years added to his current contract.

Because no coach has ever been sacked with a year on his contract.

[the joker]

Teams that can definitely make the 8

Dockers, Swans, Hawks, Pies, Cats, Crows, Eagles, Roos, Tigers, Power

Just miss

Suns, Blues

Highly Unlikely to nil chance

Demons, Saints, Lions, Giants, Bulldogs, Bombers



Bolded Teams will be looking for a new coach if their teams don't play finals football.

Coleman - Riewoldt (Tigers still have zero other goal kickers)
Brownlow - Ablett (Barring Injury)
Rising Star - Martin (I'll buy the hype)
GF - Replay of 2013

yeah Sanderson will be sacked if crows miss the finals??
Just got two years added to his current contract.

Because no coach has ever been sacked with a year on his contract.

he will have two left. When was the last time someone was sacked 1 year in to a three year contract?

[The Sleeping Giant]

I'm sure it's happened.

[The Sleeping Giant]

Hopefully the karma bus comes rolling on by.

Reid is a giant spud anyway.

And Tippett is only 1 "Accidental" hit to his head away from permament retirement which leaves only Buddy until the party scene catches up with him again

The karma bus is welcome when we do something wrong, like a shit load of drugs.

[kickinit]

1- Freo
2- Swans
3- Hawks
4- North
5- Richmond
6- Geelong
7- Port
8- Pies
9- Carlton
10- Eagles
11- crows
12- Gold Coast
13- Brisbane
14- GWS
15- Bulldogs
16- Saints
17- Melbourne
18- Essendon

GF- Freo vs Swans
Coleman- JackRiewoldt

[carey]

1. $wan$
2. Freo
3. Hawks
4. Adelaide
5. Collingwood
6. North Melbourne
7. Port
8. Richmond

9. Geelong
10. Essendon
11. Gold Coast
12. Carlton
13. W Bulldogs
14. Brisbane
15. West Coast
16. GWS
17. Melbourne (hope Paul Roos falls flat on his arrogant face!)
18. St Kilda

GF - $wan$ v Freo
Brownlow - Paddy Deeeeee

Crows top 4 hahaahahahaha lol

[bennymacca]

i dont think either of them will, but i think the crows are closer being a top 4 team than the power. with the exception of wingard their youngsters look like they need a couple more years, wheras i think the crows ones are further along

[GWW]

Wines is also very handy! Love has also finally shown he has a future as a ruck man. Key forward depth is probably the main issue.

I agree thar Crouch and a few other of your youngsters are quality, but the depth at the Crows is relatively poor - the effect of the sanctions will probably start to be seen more and more in years to come.

I don't think Port is ready at the moment for a top 4 finish, but I don't think the Crows are either.

[bennymacca]

Wines is also very handy! Love has also finally shown he has a future as a ruck man. Key forward depth is probably the main issue.

I agree thar Crouch and a few other of your youngsters are quality, but the depth at the Crows is relatively poor - the effect of the sanctions will probably start to be seen more and more in years to come.

I don't think Port is ready at the moment for a top 4 finish, but I don't think the Crows are either.

dont get me wrong, wines will be a gun, but it wont be next year, it will be 2-3 years away.

crows got a bit lucky with the sanctions in that they got crouch in the 17 year old draft the year before, so that was basically a first rounder, and they also got hartigan and laird from the rookie list too, which would have been as good as second round picks anyway.

both teams will be around the 6-8 mark. if they have exceptional seasons with no injuries like the crows did a couple of years ago either of them could get a top 4 spot but i think finals for both is realistic

[GWW]

I think youre buying into the propoganda of the AFC/local media, too much.

The Crows havent had an actual 1st round pick for a few years. Crouch Jnr may be decent, but he was overlooked by a lot of clubs. Perhaps theres a reason for that, I guess we'll see. Hartigan and Laird are ok, but they are no substitute for legitimate 1st round talent, that other clubs have been able to stock up on.

One thing is certain the Crows will be fitter having started their pre-season earlier than the previous year when they made the finals. But still, they need to overcome some issues involving giving up leads and capitulating late in games. And the result v Swans at AAMI, was Port-esque circa 2011.

Fortunately, from my perspective, Port have been able to remedy somewhat their mental issues/deficiencies after 1 year of Hinkley's influence. I dont expect Port to challenge top 4 this year, but the list is in such a state that the future is quite bright.

The interesting thing about this year is that there really are do many unknowns -can Carlton improve with another year of Malthouse; can Roos have a short term impact at Melbourne, will the Bulldogs and Richmond continue their improvement or will they start to go backwards; will Gold Coast appear as a legitimate top 8 contender or are they still a few years away.

Like any season, the unknown variable of injuries will play a huge part in who finishes where.

[Ron Burgundy]

The crows gave up 3 3/4 time leads last year, twice against port.
They also came back from deficits at 3/4 3 times.(bris r2, nm r9, geel r17) to win.

Don't let the truth get in the way of a gd story.

As we have seen in previous years. A lot about 2014 depends on two things;
- whose game plan has evolved the most and is executed quickly.
- who can keep their best players on the park the longest.

As an Adelaide man, I think we are a 5-8 team. But if we lose any backman or Jacobs we will be in in 9-12 slot.

[GWW]

3/4 time is a fairly arbitrary cut-off. There were games when the Crows had all the momentum early, but then fell in a heap - eg. v Essendon, and v Collingwood.

It was also the way they played the last 10 or so minutes in some games -not only the 2nd Showdown, but v West Coast too, when Kennedy goaled at the end.

Im not saying the Crows had an horrendous year - indeed nowhere near as bad as Port's 2011 - but I think there were bad signs at times. Not having Bailey around at times was an issue. Fingers crossed he overcomes his current serious health concerns very soon and is able to play his role for the AFC.

If the Crows have a good year with injury, I think they can make 6th spot. If they struggle with fitness and injury, they could drop to 12th.

[Rik E Boy]

1. $wan$
2. Freo
3. Hawks
4. Adelaide
5. Collingwood
6. North Melbourne
7. Port
8. Richmond

9. Geelong
10. Essendon
11. Gold Coast
12. Carlton
13. W Bulldogs
14. Brisbane
15. West Coast
16. GWS
17. Melbourne (hope Paul Roos falls flat on his arrogant face!)
18. St Kilda

GF - $wan$ v Freo
Brownlow - Paddy Deeeeee

Crows top 4 hahaahahahaha lol

Your lols are misplaced. While I agree with that it is unlikely the Cows will make the four it is a prediction thread and most fans (unless you barrack for St Kilda) are optimistic at this time of year. Normally the best time to laugh at these posts is during Grand Final week when you look back and every bastard has made a complete Rooster up of the whole exercise.

regards,

REB

[dedja]

I'm going out on a limb here ... the Saints to continue to be a train wreck in 2014

[Spargo]

1 Fremantle
2 North
3 Hawthorn
4 Sydney
5 Richmond
6 Adelaide
7 Geelong
8 Collingwood

9 Gold Coast
10 Port
11 Western Bulldogs
12 Carlton
13 West Coast
14 Brisbane
15 Melbourne
16 St.Kilda
17 Essendon
18 GWS

Grand Final : Fremantle v Sydney
Premiers : Fremantle
Brownlow Medallist : Jack Ziebell
Coleman Medallist : Kurt Tippett
* at least 1 coach to resign before season's end.

[cokadonkeytoo]

Sydney
Fremantle
Hawthorn
Geelong

Richmond
Collingwood
Adelaide
Port
Carlton
North
Gold Coast
West Coast
Melbourne

GWS
Brisbane
Stkilda

The middle group you could throw a blanket over and I reckon theres a real chance that the teams finishing 7th and 8th could have more losses than wins onthe board. Will be a very even year where wins will be like platinum gold. Im looking forward to seeing how Melbourne go, if they can keep their key guys fit I think they can push quite a way up the ladder.

Brownlow: Nathan Fyfe
Coleman: Kurt Tippett

[Wedgie]

1 Geelong
2 Hawks
3 Freo
4 Sydney
5 Kangaroos
6 Carlton
7 Essendon
8 Collingwood

9 Richmond
10 Adelaide
11 West Coast
12 Gold Coast
13 Brisbane
14 Port
15 Saints
16 Bulldogs
17 Melbourne
18 West Sydney

[bennymacca]

The crows gave up 3 3/4 time leads last year, twice against port.
They also came back from deficits at 3/4 3 times.(bris r2, nm r9, geel r17) to win.

Don't let the truth get in the way of a gd story.

As we have seen in previous years. A lot about 2014 depends on two things;
- whose game plan has evolved the most and is executed quickly.
- who can keep their best players on the park the longest.

As an Adelaide man, I think we are a 5-8 team. But if we lose any backman or Jacobs we will be in in 9-12 slot.

jacobs in form and not injured is MASSIVE for the crows