So thinking about it and looking at the lists, the current crop of youngsters, trade, FA and the selection order that may eventuate next year in the draft and I don't see the RFC as being in the box seat or in any position to move up. This is how I see the clubs currently and perhaps how they can set themselves up for success next year;
Port Adelaide Really have the players and a fast running game plan. Will welcome back Ryder and they have the advantage of other players wanting to return home. They are having an indifferent year but next
year they will be back and in the 8. They have a very solid off field team and a very good coaching group. They recruit well and trade to their weakness. Expect them to be in it again.
Carlton Got rid of the dead wood. Recruited a champ already in their backline, They have a good solid coaching group now, they have money and they will trade well in the off season and they have this year. I would expect them to be in or around 9th next year with finals the year after.
Melbourne Recruited very well, they have a great coaching group, Roos know exactly what he is doing and where he needs to get to. The players have embraced the game plan, they are full of confidence, they have a great group of young players coming through. They will trade and recruit aggressively for the exact players to fill their needs. Players will want o go to the Dee's as they see a positive future there. I would expect them to be playing finals in two years, maybe even next year.
Collingwood Not sure about the Pies, not sure about their coach or their game plan. But they have a president that will do anything and everything for success, they have the money, the facilities and players from other clubs that want to go there. They have a very good group of young players coming through and they will through the bank book at anyone next year to go to the club.
Expect a very good side next year that will play finals.
St Kilda Really on the way up, great group of players full of confidence, very good fast running game plan, recruited well, traded well and will do the same next year. They have a good coach, a stable off field team and really look like they have a plan going forward. The players have embraced the club culture and they look very good against a lot of sides, they have taken up to the best of them and should have beaten the Hawks. Could really push up the ladder next year.
Richmond Stable off field team but they are not as driven as the Eddie's and Kosh's of the football world. They do not seem interested in aggressively trading, they talk it up about "war chests" and "big fish" but they deliver very little and ten make excuses. They actually seem like they are plodders. Our coaching staff is average, the game plan seems ok but we don't have the players to execute it. We have maybe 5 very good players and the rest you can throw a blanket over. The players lack confidence and they are mentally weak. Other clubs know that if we buckle and they get on top is a matter of by how much. We didn't recruit well other than Rioli. Players of quality don't want to come to the club and we do not have the depth we all thought we would have. If we finish this year with pick 8-10 we will suffer. We need to trade aggressively and recruit the players that are known, instead of players like B Ellis and Conco type players. We don't go into games saying this is ours, we are gong to win this, we go in thinking gee, what happens if we lose this or we really need to or should win this. If we don't recruit, trade and aggressively target players at the end of the year, I would expect a slide down the ladder next year, bottom 4. When we play free flowing, direct, fast and skillful football we look great, but we don't see that enough.
Gold Coast SunsNot sure about the coach and game plan but they have the players. The have the money, the facilities and they will do what it takes to play finals. I think they are having the year the Hawks had before they entrenched themselves in the top 8 and have been there ever since. They only need a few more decent players to really challenge the top 8. They look great at times against some really good sides. Expect them to trade and recruit very well next year.
Fremantle Bad year. Great coach, game plan needs adjusting, great group of plays rs and God help all teams if they actually finish this low because with a top 3 pickup and the payers they have as well as the recruiting and trading they will do they will be back next year with vengeance. They are starting to show what they should have played like from round 1.
Brisbane Lions They have the youth, the coaching group is good but they will have the early picks again next year, they will trade aggressively, they have great facilities, money and a the off field group is as determined to succeed as it was years ago when they won 3. I would expect the Lions to rise up the ladder in the next few years.
Essendon Well, lots of players to come back, they definitely look like they have a game plan, they have the coach, they will have the money and they will be hell bent on recruiting the best they can. The stigma of the drug culture will be gone and I would expect the Bombers to turn it on next year. If they can keep the players that are not playing this year plus what they have, look out, they could be playing finals next year.
How do people see these teams comparative to us? This is they way I see it, anyway.
