Part three of a series featuring a review from the Kick2Kick team of the AFL teams and what are their chances this year. To read part one and part two. Please subscribe to our RSS feed for more features and AFL Tips through out the year.

Mathew Priddis will be an important player for the Eagles this year.

West Coast Eagles

West Coast had a somewhat torrid year in 2007 with injuries to some key players (Chris Judd, Ashley Hansen and Mark Nicoski) and on-field problems involving Ben Cousins, Chris Judd, Adam Selwood and Daniel Kerr.. It was a disappointing season, but the future looks reasonably bright, so long as they stay out of the news, and focus on their football 100%.

Their midfield is somewhat damaged with the loss of Judd and Cousins, but Mathew Priddis, the experienced Chad Fletcher, Daniel Kerr and a host of young players should fill the void quite comfortably. Provided Quentin Lynch and Hansen step up their game this year, it could be a good season ahead. But I doubt there will be premiership honours for 2008.
Finishing Position: 8th

Essendon Bombers

Welcome to the Post Hird-Sheedy era. The time has come for the Bombers to finally lean on themselves rather than on the big names at the club. New coach Mathew Knights will be hoping for big things from his talented young baby bombers. Lloyd and Lucas will provide plenty of firepower up forward, with the likes of Courtney Johns and Alwyn Davey to give them much needed assistance. With a host of young talented indigenous players like Courtney Dempsey, Patrick Ryder and Lovett-Murray and Murray, the Bombers are a very promising skillful team. Whether or not they can turn potential into wins remains to be seen. But they have adopted a premiership game plan and the fresh blood at the helm may just give them the inspiration to succeed this year. I think a finals berth is on the cards and this young team may well take the AFL by storm.
Finishing Position: 9th

Will Richmond have anything to celebrate this year?

Richmond Tigers

Disapointing. That is all I can say about the Tigers 2007. They were recipients of massive belting at the hands of eventual premiers Geelong. And they never recovered. They have talent, they have skill, they have speed. What they don’t have is confidence, experience, a decent consistent forward line and a tight knit midfield. The pressure is on Terry Wallace to finally do something with the club. I would not be surprised if he was to be sacked or even walk out on the club as he did to the Bulldogs a number of years ago.

The Tigers need a coach who can develop a young talented team and Wallace is not the man for the job. Their year looks quite bleak. I cannot see where their inspiration and firepower will come from and I’m not sure they will win many more games than last year. They will more than likely be fighting Melbourne for the wooden spoon in 2008 unless by some miracle. Nathan Brown needs to have a good year or his career may be on the line, if he does there may be some hope for the Tigers.
Finishing Position: 15th

Carlton Blues

After Finishing in the bottom 4 for most of the decade and winning the wooden spoon 3 times, Carlton has recruited young fiery potential stars, and with the inclusion of Premiership captain Chris Judd and the return of Nick Stevens the blues may finally be in for a good season in 2008.

Don’t expect a grand final berth though this year, in fact they may be pushing it for a finals berth but expect them to rise significantly up the ladder under new coach and captain duo Chris Judd and Brett Ratten. Brendan Fevola should expect to have a very good season; the delivery into the forward line should be exceptional this year which is something they have lacked in previous years. Many will be hoping the younger Carlton players will finally step up to their potential this year and give the Blues a real boost
Finishing Position: 10th

Aaron Edwards (pictured) and Thompson will be a potent forward line for the Kangaroos.

North Melbourne Kangaroos

They were one of the biggest surprise packages of 2007. The Kangaroos’ young players really stepped up to the plate, and combined with a couple of old heads in Harvey, Simpson and Archer they really excelled and played very good football. The big expectation and question hanging over them this year however, is with the return of gun forward Nathan Thompson, can they finally get their act back together and defeat some of the higher teams on the ladder such as Geelong, St. Kilda and Port Adelaide.

I think if they keep injuries to their key players at minimum, then they should be in for a really good season. However with the arrival of teams such as Hawthorn they will be fighting hard for a finals berth. But Thompson should help them substantially, and they may pose a real threat for the premiership.
Finishing Position: 7th

Fremantle Dockers

Well what can we say about the AFL’s band-aid team of the century. I am severely disappointed with the Dockers and I don’t think that this year is going to be all that much better for them than the last. Once again their recruiting staff has shown that their interested in the quick fix-it job rather than thinking long term. They have the oldest list in the competition and also arguably the slowest midfield.
The casualties started early for Fremantle as Paul Haselby was ruled out for the season with a knee injury and it makes you wonder, where will their midfield thrust really come from? They have opted again for recycled players from other clubs with the likes of Johnson and Kelper Bradley and you wonder what good will it actually do them after a somewhat disappointing season from both Chris Tarrant and Dean Solomon in 2007.

Don’t expect a whole lot from Fremantle this year, they may make the final 8, they may not. One thing we can be sure of is that they will continue to be consistently inconsistent.
Finishing Position: 12th

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