Last year the Magpies rebounded up the AFL ladder and only failed by one point to defeat Sydney in the AFL Preliminary Final and win a spot in the AFL Grand Final.
The case for:
They were brilliant last season winning 11 games in a row nine of them in tight finishes. Amazingly they lost two of their three finals matches in narrow circumstances though. The average age is 25 which is in the sweet spot.
The case against:
Winning nine matches narrowly shows they aren’t that far ahead of many of their rivals. Those matches can easily be lost by similar margins as their finals series demonstrated. Also was it a honeymoon period for new coach Craig McRae.
The strengths:
Their array of brilliant players combined with dependable experienced on-ballers makes them hard to beat in any match. How many teams have the talent of Scott Pendlebury (there’s been few better players this century) and the brilliance of Jordan De Goey and the Daicos brothers in the one team. Add in Taylor Adams and Steele Sidebottom on the ball and it bats deep.
Then the backline has the likes of Darcy Moore, Brayden Maynard and Isaac Quaynor providing dash and run. The forward line is reliant on Jamie Elliott and t De Goey plus the likes of Brody Mihocek and Will Hoskin Elliott in the forward line.
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The weaknesses:
There’s still a healthy reliance on Scott Pendlebury who is 35. They also don’t have an array of big body midfielders. Plus with Brodie Grundy going they might lack some ruck depth. Also their forward line lacks a Tom Hawkins or a Tom Lynch type mark.
Recruiting:
They lost Brodie Grundy which could be a big loss. They’ve brought in tough on-baller Tom Mitchell from Hawthorn, tall forward Dan McStay from Brisbane and the speedy Bobby Hill from GWS. Each recruit has been bought in to fill a role and they could all work.
Prediction:
They will find it harder than last season when they were a surprise packet. Queries still on their forward line and a slight one on their back line. Should make the finals but around 6th to 8th.
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