By The Age footy team
Fifteen of the 18 teams in the AFL are capable of making finals this season.
It’s the AFL’s utopia, says columnist and former Port Adelaide star Kane Cornes – a competition that is as evenly poised as ever.
Izak Rankine and the Crows missed out on a finals berth in 2023.Credit: AFL Photos
But 15 doesn’t go into eight. So who should be optimistic and who should have serious concerns?
Cornes is tipping the Brisbane Lions for the premiership, with Sydney, Collingwood and Carlton rounding out his top four. Adelaide, Melbourne, GWS and Gold Coast round out his eight.
He sees upside for the Crows, who only just missed out in 2023. He is tipping Gold Coast, who have never made the eight, to be there this year. And there’s hope for Essendon, who are in the middle of a very long drought of finals wins – though he couldn’t squeeze them into his predicted top eight.
Cornes is not the only one predicting good things for the Suns – he is one of eight of our 13 experts who think they’ll be there in September.
But he believes there are serious concerns for some teams who have had recent success, such as the Western Bulldogs – “particularly the future of underperforming coach Luke Beveridge” – Melbourne, whose culture has come into question again this off-season, and the Cats, who will have to defy age to rise again. Again, eight of our experts think the Dogs will miss, while 10 think the Cats will also be on holidays come September.
