The road to season 2015
- Thread starter Scotty_WCE
- Start date
Scotty_WCE
West Coast card collector!
That is known as irony!
Jesse Dart
East Fremantle Football Club for life
Haha @Scotty_WCE cant deny that, shame that the two WA clubs are in turmoil.
Scotty_WCE
West Coast card collector!
I know what you're saying, but Cousins left us years ago. Really what he's doing now has nothing to do with the Eagles at all.
Jesse Dart
East Fremantle Football Club for life
Yeah, I definitely understand your point and this is what makes me hate channel 7 sometimes, their news report was former West Coast star Ben Cousins but they neglected the fact that he was also a tiger.
Anyway thoughts on the NAB challenge so far? Have been disapointed with the Dockers so far but hopefully this is no reflection of the playing group.
Anyway thoughts on the NAB challenge so far? Have been disapointed with the Dockers so far but hopefully this is no reflection of the playing group.
Scotty_WCE
West Coast card collector!
Yeah for sure, the media are the worst at it.
I've had little interest in the NAB Challenge so far to be honest. They're no more than practice matches, not playing for anything and so many good players are missing. But yes, it is good to see how the rookies are going. Eagles have a win and a loss so far with a game vs Freo to come, so not a bad effort but I already have low hopes for this season after the loss of E-Mac
Jesse Dart
East Fremantle Football Club for life
Yeah @Scotty_WCE what do you think West Coast's backline structure will be without McKenzie? I can see McGovern making a permanent move to the backline.
Scotty_WCE
West Coast card collector!
Yeah I'd imagine McGovern will fill Mackenzie's role, I prefer him as a forward but it sounds like he is in the long-term a defender anyway. There will be more pressure on Brown, Schofield and Hurn, especially with Waters retiring as well. Unfortunately, as much as I'd like to say we're not a one man team, Mackenzie's injury could cost us a spot or two on the ladder
ASADA are seething, they will hold a presser tomorrow morning in Canberra.
From start to finish it has been a farce - as I have said repeatedly in these pages. The Anti-doping tribunal found that not enough evidence exists to find a guilty verdict against the players and in my heart of hearts I do not believe that any group of men led by Jobe Watson would willingly involve themselves in deliberate acts of doping.
It is probably a case of "your club allegiance = your beliefs" as far as Essendon is concerned. Something just struck me in relation to this, from the unlikely source of Tony Jones from Channel Nine: for the last TWENTY SIX months, Essendon players have been labelled cheats by football fans countrywide. Often (as is the case with forums like Bigfooty and on Facebook), this occurred multiple times a day.
I predict that ASADA will simply launch a fresh investigation into the Essendon players if they are unsuccesful in overturning the AFL Tribunal decision. This has many, many years to run unfortunately.
Scotty_WCE
West Coast card collector!
I don't reckon it's fair to just punish one player.
In other news who would've though we're down to 2 days to go!
I think Gil said that there is an ongoing investigation into "a former Essendon staff member" that will be finalised in the next two weeks. Assuming this means Steven Dank, who I suspect will eventually be stripped of any ASADA-incorporated accreditation.
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Scotty_WCE
West Coast card collector!
Day 187 (0 days to go!)
Well it's finally back, FOOTY IS BACK, and boy oh boy am I excited! Firstly I must apologise once again for the lack of updates in this thread, I seriously underestimated the time that Year 12 would take and as such haven't been able to contribute nearly as much as I would've liked here.
However now that it's (almost) the holidays and the season starts tonight, I felt I had to finish off the last two season previews: the Eagles and the Bulldogs. The ladder position below for the Eagles was based on Mackenzie, you know, being available for at least some of the season! So given the lack of depth in the backline maybe move a spot or two down, but more on that below. (I've tried to be as unbiased as possible, willing to take criticism!)
West Coast 2015 Season Preview
The Eagles are one of the mystery sides this year for supporters of both the club and opposition sides. How far into the rebuilding stage are they? Is this a development year with the aim of being top-4 in a couple of years? Or are they going to push for a finals berth? I think the Eagles have the talent and potential to make the top 8 this year, however to do so two things must happen:
1. The midfield must improve significantly, particularly the quality of disposal.
2. Beat the teams likely to finish around them (e.g. Adelaide, Essendon, Richmond)
So to look at the backline. Obviously the loss of reigning B&F winner Mackenzie is a huge blow. He was beaten probably just once last year (vs Roughead) and can be relied upon to take the power forward and not concede more than a couple of goals. So someone is going to need to stand up. It is up to Mitch Brown and Will Schofield to do so. Helping out will be Jeremy McGovern, which is a shame as I prefer to see him up forward. Potentially however this could improve the defensive side of his game and may be the path towards an Adam Hunter type role in the future. Expect the Eagles defence to struggle against the top teams this year.
The much-maligned Eagles midfield has so much potential but for some reason just hasn't done the job required in the last couple of seasons. 2014 Brownlow Medallist Matt Priddis is the perfect inside midfielder (perhaps a little dodgy by foot, but his inside work allows that to be forgiven. And he usually handballs anyway!). Four players need to really step up their games this season: Andrew Gaff, Luke Shuey, Chris Masten and Scott Selwood. These guys are young and have the potential to be elite midfielders. I think Masten is the most likely to step it up this year from looking at the pre-season. If the Eagles midfield fires it could be a much better season than most expect. Will it happen? Probably not, but you never know.
Dean Cox retired at just the right stage for Naitanui's career. Nic has had the best teacher in the country to learn from for six years and it's time for him to show the AFL what he can do. He's had an uninterrupted pre-season for the first time in what feels like a million years, I'll be keeping a close eye on him this season.
The forward line is the Eagles' strength. Josh Kennedy and the currently injured Jack Darling (exciting new recruit Tom Lamb is expected to take his place while out of the team) spearhead the attack with the help of wily medium forward Mark LeCras. What the Eagles have been missing for a long time now is a quality small forward. It looked like Murray Newman could be the one until he got into some trouble, there are some whispers he's been looking very good on the training track and could be a surprise inclusion at some stage during the years to fill this hole.
The Eagles are one of the hardest teams to make predictions for this year. They could slide if the midfield doesn't improve significantly or they suffer more injuries, however looking at their draw and just the potential of some of the playes (which will obviously have to be reached to some extent) I'm tipping 12 wins.
2015 Season Predictions
B&F: Nic Naitanui
Most Brownlow votes: Nic Naitanui (14)
Most goals: Josh Kennedy (57)
Most improved: Chris Masten
Position: 7th
Well it's finally back, FOOTY IS BACK, and boy oh boy am I excited! Firstly I must apologise once again for the lack of updates in this thread, I seriously underestimated the time that Year 12 would take and as such haven't been able to contribute nearly as much as I would've liked here.
However now that it's (almost) the holidays and the season starts tonight, I felt I had to finish off the last two season previews: the Eagles and the Bulldogs. The ladder position below for the Eagles was based on Mackenzie, you know, being available for at least some of the season! So given the lack of depth in the backline maybe move a spot or two down, but more on that below. (I've tried to be as unbiased as possible, willing to take criticism!)
West Coast 2015 Season Preview
The Eagles are one of the mystery sides this year for supporters of both the club and opposition sides. How far into the rebuilding stage are they? Is this a development year with the aim of being top-4 in a couple of years? Or are they going to push for a finals berth? I think the Eagles have the talent and potential to make the top 8 this year, however to do so two things must happen:
1. The midfield must improve significantly, particularly the quality of disposal.
2. Beat the teams likely to finish around them (e.g. Adelaide, Essendon, Richmond)
So to look at the backline. Obviously the loss of reigning B&F winner Mackenzie is a huge blow. He was beaten probably just once last year (vs Roughead) and can be relied upon to take the power forward and not concede more than a couple of goals. So someone is going to need to stand up. It is up to Mitch Brown and Will Schofield to do so. Helping out will be Jeremy McGovern, which is a shame as I prefer to see him up forward. Potentially however this could improve the defensive side of his game and may be the path towards an Adam Hunter type role in the future. Expect the Eagles defence to struggle against the top teams this year.
The much-maligned Eagles midfield has so much potential but for some reason just hasn't done the job required in the last couple of seasons. 2014 Brownlow Medallist Matt Priddis is the perfect inside midfielder (perhaps a little dodgy by foot, but his inside work allows that to be forgiven. And he usually handballs anyway!). Four players need to really step up their games this season: Andrew Gaff, Luke Shuey, Chris Masten and Scott Selwood. These guys are young and have the potential to be elite midfielders. I think Masten is the most likely to step it up this year from looking at the pre-season. If the Eagles midfield fires it could be a much better season than most expect. Will it happen? Probably not, but you never know.
Dean Cox retired at just the right stage for Naitanui's career. Nic has had the best teacher in the country to learn from for six years and it's time for him to show the AFL what he can do. He's had an uninterrupted pre-season for the first time in what feels like a million years, I'll be keeping a close eye on him this season.
The forward line is the Eagles' strength. Josh Kennedy and the currently injured Jack Darling (exciting new recruit Tom Lamb is expected to take his place while out of the team) spearhead the attack with the help of wily medium forward Mark LeCras. What the Eagles have been missing for a long time now is a quality small forward. It looked like Murray Newman could be the one until he got into some trouble, there are some whispers he's been looking very good on the training track and could be a surprise inclusion at some stage during the years to fill this hole.
The Eagles are one of the hardest teams to make predictions for this year. They could slide if the midfield doesn't improve significantly or they suffer more injuries, however looking at their draw and just the potential of some of the playes (which will obviously have to be reached to some extent) I'm tipping 12 wins.
2015 Season Predictions
B&F: Nic Naitanui
Most Brownlow votes: Nic Naitanui (14)
Most goals: Josh Kennedy (57)
Most improved: Chris Masten
Position: 7th
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Scotty_WCE
West Coast card collector!
Western Bulldogs 2015 Season Preview
The Bulldogs head into the 2015 season with a very young squad but some young players who could really make an impact. A young squad is good but some generally some experience is needed, so the loss of Griffen, Cooney and Liberatore for this season is going to hurt. Robert Murphy has a lot to do in his first season as Bulldogs captain!
The backline certainly has the most experience with Murphy, Dale Morris and Liam Picken being assisted by Jordan Roughead and Easton Wood. Roughead is one to look out for, he is in the Mackenzie/Rance mould and could be the best young key defender. I also like the looks of Michael Talia (brother of Adelaide B&F winner Daniel) who should improve considerably this season.
The loss of Liberatore due to injury for the season hurts the Bulldogs in a similar way to Mackenzie at the Eagles. Libba also won his team's B&F last year and was creeping into the elite category. So someone will need to stand up. Matthew Boyd has been very serviceable for many years and will need to provide guidance to the young Dogs. I love the look of Bontempelli and Macrae, in particular Macrae who in just his second season was racking up the possessions and using the ball well. A midfield of Liberatore, Mitch Wallis, Macrae and Bontempelli for the next 10 years would have Bulldogs fans licking their lips.
Up forward all eyes will be on Tom Boyd. Much has been made of his $7 million deal and it will be interesting to see how he handles the hype. Dahlhaus is an excitement machine and will be looking to take his game to the next level this season, while Stewart Crameri has proven to be a wise pick-up. However the forward line looks like where most of the Bulldogs' problems will come from. Can they kick enough goals to compete with teams above them?
2015 was probably always going to be a year of development for the Bulldogs after the loss of their captain and Brownlow Medallist. I think nonetheless they're being a tad underrated and could finish ahead of the like of Carlton and Collingwood, if they win the 50/50 games. Either way look out for the Bullies in the next few years, I feel they could be building to something special.
2015 Season Predictions
B&F: Jack Macrae
Most Brownlow votes: Jack Macrae (12)
Most goals: Stewart Crameri (41)
Most improved: Lachie Hunter
Position: 13th
The Bulldogs head into the 2015 season with a very young squad but some young players who could really make an impact. A young squad is good but some generally some experience is needed, so the loss of Griffen, Cooney and Liberatore for this season is going to hurt. Robert Murphy has a lot to do in his first season as Bulldogs captain!
The backline certainly has the most experience with Murphy, Dale Morris and Liam Picken being assisted by Jordan Roughead and Easton Wood. Roughead is one to look out for, he is in the Mackenzie/Rance mould and could be the best young key defender. I also like the looks of Michael Talia (brother of Adelaide B&F winner Daniel) who should improve considerably this season.
The loss of Liberatore due to injury for the season hurts the Bulldogs in a similar way to Mackenzie at the Eagles. Libba also won his team's B&F last year and was creeping into the elite category. So someone will need to stand up. Matthew Boyd has been very serviceable for many years and will need to provide guidance to the young Dogs. I love the look of Bontempelli and Macrae, in particular Macrae who in just his second season was racking up the possessions and using the ball well. A midfield of Liberatore, Mitch Wallis, Macrae and Bontempelli for the next 10 years would have Bulldogs fans licking their lips.
Up forward all eyes will be on Tom Boyd. Much has been made of his $7 million deal and it will be interesting to see how he handles the hype. Dahlhaus is an excitement machine and will be looking to take his game to the next level this season, while Stewart Crameri has proven to be a wise pick-up. However the forward line looks like where most of the Bulldogs' problems will come from. Can they kick enough goals to compete with teams above them?
2015 was probably always going to be a year of development for the Bulldogs after the loss of their captain and Brownlow Medallist. I think nonetheless they're being a tad underrated and could finish ahead of the like of Carlton and Collingwood, if they win the 50/50 games. Either way look out for the Bullies in the next few years, I feel they could be building to something special.
2015 Season Predictions
B&F: Jack Macrae
Most Brownlow votes: Jack Macrae (12)
Most goals: Stewart Crameri (41)
Most improved: Lachie Hunter
Position: 13th
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