Connolly saying we won't have it easy squeezing into the Eight...
What's next?Rohan Connolly
The Age
January 2, 2013Season 2013 is already shaping as one of the most competitive we have seen, with precious little gap between the top few teams and a bigger than usual cluster of outsiders attempting to break into the top eight.
Hawthorn has been stung by its failure to win a premiership that seemed there for the taking, and will hit back hard. Sydney won't be going anywhere, while Collingwood and Geelong remain determined to prove their eras of success are an ongoing concern, not history.
The Western Australian bloc of West Coast and Fremantle will continue to push hard,
and there will be even greater expectations than usual on an improving Richmond, with the Tiger army as impatient as ever for long-promised returns.
The Tigers won't have it easy squeezing into the eight, though. Carlton, under the guidance of Mick Malthouse, will be watched closely. On talent, the Blues are good enough to mix it with the top few.
There will be plenty of eyes on James Hird's Essendon, too. Last season the Bombers crashed spectacularly to injury and lapsed confidence, but their best is still imposing.
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