RSSArchive for March 19th, 2010

West Coast Eagles Season Preview

The Eagles finished 2009 on a positive note, winning four of their last five games. The emergence of young midfielders Chris Masten, Brad Ebert, Tom Swift and co. will take the pressure off Daniel Kerr while Dean Cox will be supported in the ruck by excitement machine Nic Naitanui. The forward line is in the [...]

Western Bulldogs Season Preview

The Western Bulldogs suffered preliminary final heartbreak for the second consecutive year last season and will be desperate to claim their first premiership since 1954 in 2010 given skipper Brad Johnson, Jason Akermanis and Nathan Eagleton are nearing the end of their careers. A criticism of the Bulldogs for some time now has been their [...]

St Kilda Season Preview

Despite the drama of the Andrew Lovett saga St Kilda has been very impressive during the NAB Cup, progressing through to the grand final. Skipper Nick Riewoldt looks set for yet another big year, youngsters Jarryn Geary and David Armitage have shown they are ready to take the next step while small forward Stephen Milne [...]

Sydney Swans Season Preview

Sydney missed the finals for the first time since 2002 last year and will be keen to return to September action in what will be coach Paul Roos’ last year in charge. The Swans have no glaring weaknesses. Their backline, ruck division and midfield are all solid without being spectacular while the forward line is [...]

Richmond Tigers Season Preview

Richmond underwent a major cleanout during the off-season, saying goodbye to a staggering 14 players. They now have the youngest list in competition and will go about the process of re-building under new coach Damien Hardwick. The Tigers boast quality young midfielders in Brett Deledio, Trent Cotchin and Dustin Martin who will be supported by [...]

Port Adelaide Season Preview

Port was accused of being “downhill skiers” in 2009, capable of blowing sides away with an exciting brand of football but went missing when the heat was applied. The Power showed in the NAB Cup that their will be a greater emphasis on defensive pressure in 2010. Mark Williams’ men were ranked 14th in the [...]

Melbourne Demons Season Preview

Melbourne boasts plenty of young talent but sadly for them two of their brightest young stars in Cale Morton and Liam Jurrah will miss large chunks of the season with knee and shoulder injuries respectively. The loss of Jurrah significantly weakens an attack that was the second-worst in the AFL last season. While the forward [...]

North Melbourne Season Preview

North has a good batch of youngsters coming through with the likes of Jack Ziebell, Liam Anthony, Gavin Urquhuart, Ryan Bastinac and Ben Cunnington set to form an integral part of the club‘s midfield for the next decade. Scott Thompson, Nathan Grima, Lachlan Hansen and Sam Wright are promising prospects down back while Ben Warren [...]

Hawthorn Hawks Season Preview

Were bitterly disappointing in 2009, becoming the first premier since Adelaide in 1999 to miss the finals the following year. Like last year, the Hawks have been hit with the injury curse with ruckman Simon Taylor (leg), and key midfielder Brad Sewell (collarbone) out for extended periods while star recruit Shaun Burgoyne (hamstring) classy small [...]

Geelong Cats Season Preview

A lot of so-called experts believe that 2010 will see the end of Geelong’s era of dominance but the reigning premiers still have the best midfield in the AFL and a rock-solid defence led by Matthew Scarlett. Up forward, youngster Tom Hawkins looks like he is ready to take the next step while Steve Johnson [...]