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
Eric Mackenzie is a massive loss down back, I am with you on Chris Masten, Whenever I have seen him play he always seems to get the ball and use it well so I think he will improve as well (He is in my Supercoach so Hopefully!
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