AFL Season Preview: Where Your team Will Finish In 2020

The AFL is entering uncharted territory amid the COVID-19 pandemic. A 17-game season has been agreed upon which was kicked off last night with the traditional Richmond vs Carlton blockbuster.

A match-up that last season brought 85,000 people to the game was instead played in front of no fans; an eerie sight to say the least. 

But as the AFL has decided to go on I have too, locking in a few of my predictions for the 2020 AFL season. 

Richmond – Premiers

Healthiest club in the league which is vitally important in a shortened season.

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Brisbane – 2nd

Young brigade in Berry, McCluggage, Rayner, Witherden and Hipwood have another pre-season under their belts, and the chemistry with new senior guys like Neale, Lyons, Birchall and Cameron will only improve. 

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GWS – 3rd

Apart from Tim Taranto they boast a relatively healthy list and have replaced Taranto with young gun Tom Greene. Top tier will want to respond after last years’ grand final loss.

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West Coast – 4th

Less travel and less strain on older players like Josh Kennedy can only do wonders for their side. Oh, and they have Tim Kelly now.

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Western Bulldogs – 5th

Key position stocks are really strong now with Josh Bruce and Alex Keath coming to the club. Seem to have all the pieces now to have a shot at it again. 

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Collingwood – 6th

Have all the firepower but their inability to hit the scoreboard during 2019 worried me. Having Darcy Moore healthy will do wonders but need consistency from Jordan De Goey, Jamie Elliott and Mason Cox. 

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Geelong – 7th

Still have all the pieces to make a run at it but need it to come together quickly before time runs out for Selwood, Ablett and Taylor.

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St Kilda – 8th

Making the finals is really tough and building chemistry with so many new recruits is a hard task. I think they’ve filled some holes around the midfield now and their key position stocks are strong.

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Hawthorn – 9th

A fit and firing midfield combo of Tom Mitchell and Jaeger O’Meara definitely lifts the side but an injury to Mitchell Lewis hurts their forward structure and puts more pressure on Johnathon Patton. 

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Melbourne – 1oth

A fit Jake Lever and Steven May solidifies a back six that struggled to defend last year. Avenues to goal are still an issue but a mostly injury-free list helps their cause.

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 Essendon – 11th

A long injury list including skipper Dyson Heppell and Joe Daniher isn’t a great sign for the Dons. Two Marsh Community Series wins lifts the confidence of the fringe players however. 

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Port Adelaide – 12th

No Charlie Dixon for round one hurts but provides a big opportunity for Todd Marshall. Plenty of pieces that can help them finish higher but as we saw last year, plenty that can’t produce week in week out. 

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North Melbourne – 13th

They’re a hard team to judge at the moment North Melbourne. If their stars fire it could mean finals but if they don’t it could spell disaster. Have them just outside to start the year.

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Adelaide – 14th

A new coach usually brings a new intensity and hunger to a team, but the same issues seem to still be there for the Crows. 

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Fremantle – 15th

It’s a great sign of a team’s depth and a new coach’s trust in his men when two regular senior players like Connor Blakely and Brandon Matera can’t get games for round one. If they’re able to produce consistently the forward trio of Rory Lobb, Cam McCarthy and Lachie Schultz could be dangerous, but still see it being a hard year for Freo. 

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Carlton – 16th

Was a tale of two halves against Richmond. Shocking to start the game and nearly stole the unwinnable in the final term. I can see a bit of that coming this season, but strong starts from Jack Martin and Jacob Weitering were promising. 

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Sydney – 17th

Never count out a Sydney side but it looks like a tough year for the Swans. No Buddy to start the year means basically no key forward, leaving the job up to Papley, Heeney, Ronke, Hayward, Blakey and Sam Gray. 

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Gold Coast – Last

Marsh Community Series form was definitely promising and can see improvement coming, but still have them last. Winning six to seven games would be a big plus after losing 19 straight games in 2019. 

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Brownlow Medal – Josh Kelly (GWS)

He had an injury-interrupted end to his 2019 season which, like many of his teammates, led to a poor grand final showing against Richmond. He’s turned 25 this season and is set to enter the prime of his career and tear the competition apart, as are the Giants just quietly. 

Coleman Medal – Jack Riewoldt (Richmond)

Struggled with injury in 2019 only playing 13 games and kicking 24 goals. After Tom Lynch’s great season last year, he seems destined to take the best defender each week leaving Riewoldt with a bit more freedom than he may be used to.

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Rising Star – Tom Greene (GWS)

Rivals Matt Rowell as the most ready-made player coming out of this year’s draft. Debuts round one in the place of the injured Tim Taranto who will be out for an extended period, giving him a great look at regular games in a very good side. 

Written by Ollie Nash – Catch Ollie on his podcast here 

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