ONLY four of the AFL club captains expect Port Adelaide to make the AFL finals in 2019 but a Power youngster has been predicted to be among the contenders for the NAB Rising Star award.
The Australian Football League has polled the 18 AFL club captains for their views on the impending 2019 Toyota AFL Premiership Season, and they see Richmond and Collingwood as the most likely sides to play off in the Grand Final.
In all, those two clubs drew the votes of 13 of the 18 club captains as the teams most likely to feature on the MCG on the last Saturday in September.
A total of 13 different clubs were considered possible chances to contest the finals while six different clubs were considered to reach the Grand Final.
Unanimously, the view of the game's on-field leaders is that four clubs should all make an appearance in September – Melbourne, West Coast, Richmond and Collingwood – with Adelaide and GWS also popular choices with 15 and 12 votes respectively.
A total of nine different players received a tip as a choice for this year’s Brownlow Medal favourite, with Geelong’s Patrick Dangerfield (four votes) the standout ahead of Fremantle’s Nathan Fyfe and Carlton’s Patrick Cripps (three votes each).
The Coleman Medal as leading goalkicker was expected to be the domain of West Coast Eagles’ Josh Kennedy (seven votes), with Richmond’s Jack Riewoldt (four votes) as his main rival.
Sam Walsh was the clear standout to claim the Ron Evans Medal as the NAB AFL Rising Star with 11 of the 18 captains nominating the Carlton youngster to take out the award. Among the seven other candidates who received a vote was Port Adelaide midfielder/forward Zak Butters who impressed in two JLT Community Series hit-outs for the Power and is expected to debut in Round 1.
Before a gathering with the AFL Commission in Melbourne on Friday, the captains were asked five key questions on the season ahead, with the proviso that their individual answers would be treated anonymously to ensure personal views:
The full voting was:
Which seven other clubs do you think can make this year's top eight?
(18 times seven selections).
17 – Melbourne, West Coast Eagles, Richmond, Collingwood.
15 – Adelaide Crows.
12 – GWS GIANTS.
7 – Geelong Cats.
6 – Sydney Swans.
5 – Essendon.
4 – Hawthorn, Port Adelaide.
3 – Brisbane Lions.
2 – North Melbourne.
Which other club is most likely to reach the Grand Final?
(No captains picked eventual premier the West Coast Eagles in 2018).
8 – Richmond.
5 – Collingwood.
2 – West Coast Eagles.
1 – GWS GIANTS, Adelaide Crows, Melbourne.
Who do you think will win the 2019 Brownlow Medal?
(One captain correctly nominated Tom Mitchell in 2018).
4 – Patrick Dangerfield (Geelong Cats).
3 – Nathan Fyfe (Fremantle), Patrick Cripps (Carlton).
2 – Dustin Martin (Richmond), Jaeger O’Meara (Hawthorn).
1 – Rory Sloane (Adelaide Crows), Steele Sidebottom (Collingwood), Marcus Bontempelli (Western Bulldogs), Max Gawn (Melbourne).
Who do you think will win the 2019 Coleman Medal?
(No captains picked eventual Coleman Medallist Jack Riewoldt in 2018).
7 – Josh Kennedy (West Coast Eagles).
4 – Jack Riewoldt (Richmond).
1 – Ben Brown (North Melbourne), Joe Daniher (Essendon), Tom Hawkins (Geelong Cats), Tom McDonald (Melbourne), Lance Franklin (Sydney Swans), Jeremy Cameron (GWS GIANTS), Jack Gunston (Hawthorn).
Who do you think will win the 2019 NAB AFL Rising Star?
(No captains picked eventual Ron Evans Medallist Jaidyn Stephenson in 2018).
11 – Sam Walsh (Carlton).
1 – Jack Lukosius (Gold Coast SUNS), Zak Butters (Port Adelaide), Jye Caldwell (GWS GIANTS), Luke Valente (Fremantle), Bailey Smith (Western Bulldogs), Chase Jones (Adelaide Crows), Matt Walker (Hawthorn).
