Nick Bowen

Premier: Greater Western Sydney

Runner-up: Adelaide

Wooden spoon: Carlton

Moving up: Melbourne

Set to fall: West Coast

Brownlow Medal: Clayton Oliver

Coleman Medal: Josh Kennedy (West Coast)

NAB AFL Rising Star: Paddy Dow

Recruit of the year: Jake Lever

Surprise All Australian: David Astbury

Headline you'll see: Lynch re-signs with Suns for two years

Headline you won't see: Hawks abandon Dingley base to relocate to India

Buzzword or phrase of the year: There's never been a more even season

Which free agent will change clubs? Andrew Gaff

Game-changer: Possession football will be out as teams follow Richmond's lead and look to move the ball forward quickly at all times.

Pass the tissues: Tom Boyd leads the Western Bulldogs back into the finals.

Ladder prediction

1. Greater Western Sydney

2. Adelaide

3. Richmond

4. Melbourne

5. Port Adelaide

6. Geelong

7. Sydney

8. Western Bulldogs



9. Essendon

10. St Kilda

11. West Coast

12. Hawthorn

13. Gold Coast

14. Collingwood

15. Fremantle

16. Brisbane

17. North Melbourne

18. Carlton

Ashley Browne

Premier: Greater Western Sydney

Runner-up: Adelaide

Wooden spoon: North Melbourne

Moving up: Melbourne

Set to fall: West Coast

Brownlow Medal: Dustin Martin

Coleman Medal: Lance Franklin

NAB AFL Rising Star: Conor Glass (Hawthorn)

Recruit of the year: Bryce Gibbs

Surprise All Australian: Sam Powell-Pepper

Headline you'll see: Five years and counting, Pies to watch on in September

Headline you won't see: Tigertown, Titletown

Buzzwords of the year: “Synergy”, “four walls”, “process”, “yeah, nah”…take your pick.

Which free agent will change clubs? Andrew Gaff…the lure of playing on the MCG every second week will be too hard to resist.

Game-changer: Like their counterparts in the Premier League and the NFL, more AFL coaches to take their place boundary side because of the restrictions on runners.

Pass the tissues: Dema and her dad to present the premiership cup to the Giants, at the behest of first choice, Kevin Sheedy.

Ladder prediction

1. Greater Western Sydney

2. Adelaide

3. Richmond

4. Geelong

5. Melbourne

6. Port Adelaide

7. Essendon

8. Hawthorn



9. Sydney

10. Western Bulldogs

11. St Kilda

12. West Coast

13. Collingwood

14. Brisbane

15. Fremantle

16. Carlton

17. Gold Coast

18. North Melbourne

Mitch Cleary

Premier: Adelaide

Runner-up: Richmond

Wooden spoon: North Melbourne

Moving up: Melbourne

Set to fall: West Coast

Brownlow Medal: Nat Fyfe

Coleman Medal: Charlie Dixon

NAB AFL Rising Star: Alex Witherden (Brisbane)

Recruit of the year: Nathan Wilson

Surprise All Australian: Jarryd Lyons

Headline you'll see: Collingwood throws Eddie and the kitchen sink at Tom Lynch

Headline you won't see: Rodney Eade coaxed into job at Pies in Lynch pursuit

Buzzword or phrase of the year: "We're in the premiership window" (for 12 clubs)

Which free agents will change clubs: Andrew Gaff, Tom Lynch, George Horlin-Smith, Tom Nicholls, Ryan Schoenmakers.

Game-changer: Lachie Whitfield moves to half-back and makes All-Australian Team.

Pass the tissues: Alex Johnson returns to play key role in Swans' premiership tilt.

Ladder prediction

1. Adelaide

2. Richmond

3. Geelong

4. Sydney

5. Greater Western Sydney

6. Port Adelaide

7. Melbourne

8. Essendon



9. Western Bulldogs

10. Hawthorn

11. St Kilda

12. West Coast

13. Collingwood

14. Brisbane

15. Fremantle

16. Carlton

17. Gold Coast

18. North Melbourne

Ben Collins

Premier: Greater Western Sydney

Runner-up: Adelaide

Wooden spoon: Brisbane Lions

Moving up: Essendon

Set to fall: Richmond

Brownlow Medal: Josh Kennedy (Syd)

Coleman Medal: Josh Kennedy (WC)

NAB AFL Rising Star: Paddy Dow

Recruit of the year: Gary Ablett

Surprise All Australian: Mason Cox

Headline you'll see: Fyfe back to Brownlow best

Headline you won't see: Leon loses control of the Ferrari

Buzzword or phrase of the year: "Long bombs to Coxy"

Which free agents will change clubs: Tom Lynch (GC)

Game-changer: The by-product of Richmond's success will be fast ball movement, sacrificing precision for speed, resulting in more contested marking and more 'speccies'.

Pass the tissues: Injury-plagued Swan Alex Johnson to play his first AFL game since the 2012 premiership.

Ladder prediction

1. Greater Western Sydney

2. Adelaide

3. Geelong

4. Sydney

5. Richmond

6. Essendon

7. Melbourne

8. Collingwood



9. Port Adelaide

10. Western Bulldogs

11. St Kilda

12. Hawthorn

13. West Coast

14. Fremantle

15. North Melbourne

16. Carlton

17. Gold Coast

18. Brisbane

Adam Curley

Premier: Greater Western Sydney

Runner-up: Adelaide

Wooden spoon: North Melbourne

Moving up: Melbourne

Set to fall: West Coast

Brownlow Medal: Dylan Shiel

Coleman Medal: Lance Franklin

NAB AFL Rising Star: Aaron Naughton

Recruit of the year: Bryce Gibbs

Surprise All Australian: Nick Haynes

Headline you'll see: 'The Lid is off as Giants finally arrive'

Headline you won't see: 'Dangerfield shuns cameras with media ban'

Buzzword or phrase of the year: Dangerwoodlett

Which free agent will change clubs? Andrew Gaff

Game-changer: Sydney uses a sole ruckman for the first time in years to give it more speed and mobility to complement its inside midfield stars.

Pass the tissues: Twelve months after losing to his old club in the preliminary final and watching them go on to win the flag, former Tiger Brett Deledio helps the Giants to a historic premiership.

Ladder prediction

1. Greater Western Sydney

2. Adelaide

3. Richmond

4. Sydney

5. Melbourne

6. Essendon

7. Port Adelaide

8. Western Bulldogs



9. Geelong

10. Hawthorn

11. Gold Coast

12. West Coast

13. St Kilda

14. Fremantle

15. Carlton

16. Collingwood

17. Brisbane

18. North Melbourne

Ryan Davidson

Premier: Adelaide

Runner-up: Greater Western Sydney

Wooden spoon: North Melbourne

Moving up: Western Bulldogs

Set to fall: West Coast

Brownlow Medal: Patrick Dangerfield

Coleman Medal: Josh Kennedy (WC)

NAB AFL Rising Star: Aaron Naughton

Recruit of the year: Gary Ablett

Surprise All Australian: Jack Macrae

Headline you'll see: Snowfields bereft of Melbourne fans in September

Headline you won't see: Tigers go back-to-back

Buzzword or phrase of the year: Dual-position player

Which free agent will change clubs? Alex Fasolo returns home to Perth

Game-changer: More key-position types to play as main ruck

Pass the tissues: Long-suffering Demons fans finally get to see their team in a final

Ladder prediction

1. Adelaide

2. Greater Western Sydney

3. Richmond

4. Geelong

5. Western Bulldogs

6. Melbourne

7. Essendon

8. Port Adelaide



9. Sydney

10. West Coast

11. Hawthorn

12. St Kilda

13. Fremantle

14. Collingwood

15. Gold Coast

16. Carlton

17. Brisbane

18. North Melbourne

Nat Edwards

Premier: GWS

Runner-up: Geelong

Wooden spoon: North Melbourne

Moving up: Melbourne

Set to fall: West Coast

Brownlow Medal: Tom Mitchell

Coleman Medal: Lance Franklin

NAB AFL Rising Star: Luke Davies-Uniacke

Recruit of the year: Jack Watts

Surprise All Australian: Jaeger O'Meara

Headline you'll see: Dangerwoodlett. Cats trio runs riot

Headline you won't see: Dusty drop off

Buzzword or phrase of the year: Synergy. That's the buzz word that will be coming out of Carlton headquarters in 2018.

Which free agent will change clubs? Tom Lynch

Game-changer: The long, direct kick to a contest will be back in vogue. Gone are the days of playing keepings off with short kicks. We'll see a move back to the good old days when bombing the footy long was the norm.

Pass the tissues: After numerous hamstring setbacks, Nathan Freeman finally makes his AFL debut, and strings together a series of games and begins to make his mark at St Kilda.

Ladder prediction

1. Greater Western Sydney

2. Richmond

3. Geelong

4. Sydney

5. Adelaide

6. Port Adelaide

7. Melbourne

8. Essendon

9. Hawthorn

10. Western Bulldogs

11. St Kilda

12. Collingwood

13. West Coast

14. Fremantle

15. Gold Coast

16. Brisbane

17. Carlton

18. North Melbourne





Lee Gaskin

Premier: Greater Western Sydney

Runner-up: Adelaide

Wooden spoon: Carlton

Moving up: Melbourne

Set to fall: West Coast

Brownlow Medal: Josh Kelly

Coleman Medal: Lance Franklin

NAB AFL Rising Star: Andrew Brayshaw (Fremantle)

Recruit of the year: Bryce Gibbs

Surprise All Australian: Bachar Houli

Headline you'll see: $10 million man heats up Suns' future

Headline you won't see: Kennett drives Hawks towards Indian expansion

Buzzword or phrase of the year: Synergy

Which free agents will change clubs? Andrew Gaff, Tom Liberatore

Game-changer: GWS's willingness to switch play and run opposition teams off their feet.

Pass the tissues: Shaun Burgoyne hanging up the boots at the end of the season after more than 350 games.

Ladder prediction

1. Greater Western Sydney

2. Adelaide

3. Richmond

4. Geelong

5. Melbourne

6. Port Adelaide

7. Essendon

8. Sydney



9. St Kilda

10. Hawthorn

11. West Coast

12. Western Bulldogs

13. Fremantle

14. Collingwood

15. Brisbane Lions

16. North Melbourne

17. Gold Coast

18. Carlton

Ben Guthrie

Premier: Geelong

Runner-up: Greater Western Sydney

Wooden spoon: North Melbourne

Moving up: Western Bulldogs

Set to fall: West Coast

Brownlow Medal: Nat Fyfe

Coleman Medal: Lance Franklin

NAB AFL Rising Star: Hunter Clark

Recruit of the year: Gary Ablett

Surprise All Australian: Jayden Hunt

Headline you'll see: Suns' Lynch non-committal on future

Headline you won't see: Hawks president Kennett withdraws inflammatory comments

Buzzword or phrase of the year: Time in forward half

Which free agents will change clubs? Tom Lynch, Paul Puopolo, Shaun Atley, Andrew Gaff

Game-changer: Teams will station star midfielders in attack more than ever in 2018. Look for Nat Fyfe and Patrick Dangerfield to kick 40 goals apiece.

Pass the tissues: Melbourne fans rejoice as the team makes its first preliminary final since 2000

Ladder prediction

1. Adelaide

2. Geelong

3. Western Bulldogs

4. Greater Western Sydney

5. Melbourne

6. Richmond

7. Sydney

8. Port Adelaide



9. Essendon

10. St Kilda

11. Hawthorn

12. Fremantle

13. Carlton

14. West Coast

15. Brisbane

16. Collingwood

17. Gold Coast

18. North Melbourne

Travis King

Premier: Sydney

Runner-up: Melbourne

Wooden spoon: North Melbourne

Moving up: Melbourne

Set to fall: Adelaide

Brownlow Medal: Nat Fyfe

Coleman Medal: Joe Daniher

NAB AFL Rising Star: Andrew Brayshaw

Recruit of the year: Jake Lever

Surprise All Australian: Alex Pearce

Headline you'll see: Lynch delays contract talks until season's end

Headline you won't see: WA footy fans mourn departure from Subiaco Oval

Buzzword or phrase of the year: 'On-field coach'

Which free agent will change clubs? Tom Lynch

Game-changer: Teams employ more of their best marking players in defence to stop the ball hitting the ground, nullifying small forward lines.

Pass the tissues: Nic Naitanui finishes top-three in the club champion award after stellar comeback year.

Ladder prediction

1. Greater Western Sydney

2. Sydney

3. Richmond

4. Melbourne

5. Geelong

6. Port Adelaide

7. Adelaide

8. Essendon

9. Western Bulldogs

10. West Coast

11. Fremantle

12. St Kilda

13. Hawthorn

14. Collingwood

15. Brisbane

16. Gold Coast

17. Carlton

18. North Melbourne

Marc McGowan

Premier: Greater Western Sydney

Runner-up: Adelaide

Wooden spoon: Gold Coast

Moving up: Melbourne

Set to fall: West Coast

Brownlow Medal: Nat Fyfe

Coleman Medal: Joe Daniher

NAB AFL Rising Star: Alex Witherden

Recruit of the year: Bryce Gibbs

Surprise All Australian: Lachie Whitfield

Headline you'll see: Demons learn to deal with expectation

Headline you won't see: West Australian footy takes AFL by storm

Buzzword or phrase of the year: Synergy

Which free agents will change clubs? Tom Lynch and Rory Sloane

Game-changer: The success of the Land of the Giants forward line – Jonathon Patton, Jeremy Cameron and Harry Himmelberg – forces teams to rethink trend towards a small-ball attack.

Pass the tissues: Alex Johnson plays his first AFL game since Sydney's 2012 premiership.

Ladder prediction

1. Greater Western Sydney

2. Adelaide

3. Port Adelaide

4. Essendon

5. Melbourne

6. Richmond

7. Geelong

8. Sydney



9. St Kilda

10. Hawthorn

11. Western Bulldogs

12. Fremantle

13. Collingwood

14. Brisbane

15. West Coast

16. North Melbourne

17. Carlton

18. Gold Coast

Dinny Navaratnam



Premier: Melbourne

Runner-up: Greater Western Sydney

Wooden spoon: Gold Coast

Moving up: Sydney

Set to fall: West Coast

Brownlow Medal: Patrick Cripps

Coleman Medal: Josh Kennedy (West Coast)

NAB AFL Rising Star: Alex Witherden (Brisbane)

Recruit of the year: Bryce Gibbs

Surprise All Australian: Adam Saad

Headline you'll see: Dangerwoodlett dominant, again

Headline you won't see: Hodge quiet against Hawks

Buzzword or phrase of the year: Those bloody runners

Which free agents will change clubs? Tom Lynch and Rory Sloane

Game-changer: Teams play just one tall down back to improve their rebound

Pass the tissues: Melbourne breaks its 54-year premiership drought

Ladder prediction

1. Sydney

2. Greater Western Sydney

3. Geelong

4. Adelaide

5. Richmond

6. Melbourne

7. Port Adelaide

8. Essendon

9. Western Bulldogs

10. Hawthorn

11. St Kilda

12. West Coast

13. Collingwood

14. Fremantle

15. Carlton

16. North Melbourne

17. Brisbane

18. Gold Coast

Jennifer Phelan

Premier: Adelaide

Runner-up: Port Adelaide

Wooden spoon: Gold Coast

Moving up: Melbourne

Set to fall: West Coast

Brownlow Medal: Bryce Gibbs

Coleman Medal: Lance Franklin

NAB AFL Rising Star: Luke Davies-Uniacke

Recruit of the year: Bryce Gibbs

Surprise All Australian: Jack Watts

Headline you'll see: Graham Cornes demands Adelaide Oval Grand Final

Headline you won't see: Gillon McLachlan says yes to Adelaide Oval Grand Final

Buzzword or phrase of the year: … according to match review officer Michael Christian

Which free agent will change clubs? Tom Lynch

Game-changer: Midfielders as forwards, more often. Patrick Dangerfield's explosive semi-final at full-forward will see him spend more time in attack, with Jack Ziebell, Gary Ablett, Nat Fyfe, Tom Rockliff, David Armitage and even defenders Elliot Yeo and Easton Wood among those who'll attempt to replicate the Cat's success in adding a new dimension to their attacking structure.

Pass the tissues: … to Jake Lever and Charlie Cameron, who will be this year's Brett Deledio when they watch from afar as their former club wins the premiership.

Ladder prediction

1. Geelong

2. Adelaide

3. GWS

4. Port Adelaide

5. Richmond

6. Essendon

7. Melbourne

8. Sydney

9. Western Bulldogs

10. St Kilda

11. Hawthorn

12. West Coast

13. Collingwood

14. Brisbane Lions

15. Fremantle

16. North Melbourne

17. Carlton

18. Gold Coast

Nathan Schmook

Premier: Richmond

Runner-up: Greater Western Sydney

Wooden spoon: North Melbourne

Moving up: Melbourne

Set to fall: West Coast

Brownlow Medal: Nat Fyfe

Coleman Medal: Lance Franklin

NAB AFL Rising Star: Jack Graham

Recruit of the year: Gary Ablett

Surprise All Australian: Nick Vlastuin

Headline you'll see: Stars roll the dice in late night Tribunal triple-header

Headline you won't see: Tigers search for hangover cure after slow start

Buzzword or phrase of the year: Connection

Which free agent will change clubs? Rory Sloane

Game-changer: The isolation of superstar midfielders Dustin Martin, Patrick Dangerfield and Nat Fyfe as deep targets will become more than just a rotation tool. Anchoring the game's best players deep inside 50 for midfield stoppages will be regular tactic.

Pass the tissues: Tortured Melbourne supporters ride a wave of excitement into the second last week of the season, but fall one hurdle short.

Ladder prediction

1. Greater Western Sydney

2. Richmond

3. Geelong

4. Melbourne

5. Adelaide

6. Sydney

7. Western Bulldogs

8. Port Adelaide

9. Essendon

10. St Kilda

11. Hawthorn

12. Collingwood

13. West Coast

14. Gold Coast

15. Brisbane

16. Fremantle

17. Carlton

18. North Melbourne

Matt Thompson

Premier: Greater Western Sydney

Runner-up: Richmond

Wooden spoon: Carlton

Moving up: St Kilda

Set to fall: Port Adelaide

Brownlow Medal: Patrick Dangerfield

Coleman Medal: Lance Franklin

NAB AFL Rising Star: Alex Witherden (Brisbane)

Recruit of the year: Lachie Weller

Surprise All Australian: Clayton Oliver

Headline you'll see: Mid-season moves a lock for 2019

Headline you won't see: Player A declares he's leaving for club B next year - in round three

Buzzword or phrase of the year: I've answered that question on my podcast

Which free agent will change clubs? Rory Sloane

Game-changer: Ruckmen resting forward to counter small and nimble backlines

Pass the tissues: Dayne Beams paying tribute to his Dad after Lions' first win

Ladder prediction

1. Greater Western Sydney

2. Richmond

3. Geelong

4. Adelaide

5. Sydney

6. Melbourne

7. Essendon

8. St Kilda

9. Collingwood

10. Port Adelaide

11. West Coast

12. Gold Coast

13. Hawthorn

14. Western Bulldogs

15. Brisbane

16. North Melbourne

17. Fremantle

18. Carlton

Callum Twomey

Premier: Adelaide

Runner-up: Geelong

Wooden spoon: North Melbourne

Moving up: Port Adelaide

Set to fall: Sydney

Brownlow Medal: Josh Kelly

Coleman Medal: Joe Daniher

NAB AFL Rising Star: Alex Witherden

Recruit of the year: Tom Rockliff

Surprise All Australian: Christian Petracca

Headline you'll see: AFLPA raises concerns over mid-season trade period

Headline you won't see: Collingwood content with another year out of the finals

Buzzword or phrase of the year: Carlton's 'synergy'

Which free agents will change clubs? Rory Sloane, Tom Lynch

Game-changer: Resting midfielders deep near goal one-out becomes a common move

Pass the tissues: Alex Johnson plays his first AFL game since the 2012 Grand Final

Ladder prediction

1. Adelaide

2. Geelong

3. Richmond

4. Greater Western Sydney

5. Port Adelaide

6. Essendon

7. Western Bulldogs

8. Melbourne

9. Sydney

10. Hawthorn

11. West Coast

12. St Kilda

13. Fremantle

14. Collingwood

15. Brisbane

16. Gold Coast

17. Carlton

18. North Melbourne

Michael Whiting

Premier: Adelaide

Runner-up: Geelong

Wooden spoon: North Melbourne

Moving up: Melbourne

Set to fall: West Coast

Brownlow Medal: Patrick Dangerfield

Coleman Medal: Lance Franklin

NAB AFL Rising Star: Alex Witherden (Brisbane)

Recruit of the year: Jake Lever

Surprise All Australian: Ollie Wines

Headline you'll see: Tom Lynch offered $10 million to stay with Suns

Headline you won't see: Gold Coast not happy with travel to China

Buzzword or phrase of the year: Front-half turnovers

Which free agent will change clubs? Andrew Gaff

Game-changer: Teams beginning to play stay-at-home forwards (rather than everyone pushing up in a zone).

Pass the tissues: Dayne Beams leads the Lions to an upset round one win over St Kilda while wearing black armbands to honour his dad's passing.

Ladder prediction

1. Adelaide

2. Sydney

3. Geelong

4. Port Adelaide

5. Richmond

6. Melbourne

7. Greater Western Sydney

8. Essendon

9. St Kilda

10. West Coast

11. Hawthorn

12. Western Bulldogs

13. Fremantle

14. Brisbane

15. Gold Coast

16. Collingwood

17. Carlton

18. North Melbourne