2011 AFL Season Review

It's finished. It's gone for another year. What will a poor boy do?

Yes, the AFL footy season has come to an end and we're now in the twlight zone between it and the cricket. Where only motor sport and racing are on with neither being my cup of tea. But at least the A League has some potential for interest and entertainment over the coming months. Particularly as the cricket hasn't exactly set my world on fire of late either.

So the footy is no more for another year and it's time for EDM's 2011 AFL Season Review. As you'll recall, I posted a Season Preview back in March as well as a Mid Season Review in June. Both can be found here and here respectively. Will therefore be very interesting to see how my predictions from both panned out.

Premiers
Preview Prediction - Collingwood
Mid Season Prediction - Collingwood
Actual Result - Geelong

No shame whatsoever in getting this one wrong as I'd say the vast majority of football people would have had the Magpies as favourites for the flag right up until about Round 23-24. They were easily the best side in the competition for most of the year but hey, they don't hand out premierships until September (or October). So as the finals series approached, a few question marks did get posed and Geelong started to firm in the betting. Finally culminating in them being favourites on the day of the GF and even earning me some hard-earned by winning and Jimmy Bartel taking out the Norm Smith.

Grand Finalists / Runners Up
Preview Prediction - Hawthorn
Mid Season Prediction - Geelong
Actual Result - Collingwood

A few changes in this category over the course of the season but again, no shame on my part. The Hawks came incredibly close to beating Collingwood in their Prelim Final (great game by the way) and finished third overall accordingly. And of course my mid season tip of Geelong ended up being reversed with them taking out the title and the Magpies being eventual Runners Up.

Wooden Spooners
Preview Prediction - Gold Coast
Mid Season Prediction - Gold Coast
Actual Result - Gold Coast

Kudos to me for getting this one right. Although not too many as they were always favourites for the title being a first-year team full of young kids. Port Adelaide did try and challenge them and went into Round 24 on the bottom of the ladder. However, a win for them in their last game (v the Dees of all teams) got them out of the cellar and pushed the Suns down below. Credit to the Gold Coast though as I think they exceeded expectations and were a lot more competitive than most thought they would be. They certainly suffered some hammerings from time to time but had some extremely close games against good opposition such as Hawthorn, West Coast and St Kilda.

Team on the up
Preview Prediction - Melbourne
Mid Season Prediction - West Coast
Actual Result - West Coast

Well, my Preview Prediction was sadly off the mark. The Dees failed to meet expectations this year with some of the most frustrating displays I've ever seen. My take on the circumstances surrounding the record loss to Geelong and Bailey sacking can be viewed here, but as with every year in my life, I can only say 'there's always next year'. So definite title holders for Team on the up must be West Coast. From a wooden spoon in 2010, they made a Prelim Final in 2011 to finish 4th overall. Massive change of fortunes therefore which must have pleased their coach immensely after he was ridiculed at the start of the year for claiming that they would play finals footy.

Brownlow Medallist
Preview Prediction - Scott Pendlebury
Mid Season Prediction - Scott Pendlebury
Actual Result - Dane Swan

Not too bad a result here seeing I did get the fact a Collingwood player would win it. After last year when Swan was favourite but hardly came close, I assumed umpires weren't impressed by his style of play and therefore dismissed him accordingly. Pendlebury is a class act who never seems to lose the contested footy so I thought he would probably stand out more. Alas, it was Swan (32 votes) as the winner with Pendlebury (24 votes) coming fourth. I am consoled by the fact, however, that Swan was in my Supercoach team and helped it take out this year's premiership for me (how sweet that was).

Coleman Medal
Preview Prediction - Lance Franklin
Mid Season Prediction - Lance Franklin
Actual Result - Lance Franklin

Despite Jack Riewoldt and Travis Cloke occasionally producing a bag of goals to worry young Lance, it was always Mr Franklin and he won the Coleman with ease in the end. Nuff said.

Rising Star
Preview Prediction - David Swallow
Mid Season Prediction - Dyson Heppell or Jack Darling
Actual Result - Dyson Heppell

As I said in my Mid Season Review, Swallow was enjoying a good first year with the Suns but was not being brilliant and failed to even win a nomination. Heppell and Darling on the other hand impressed from the get-go with Heppell winning his nomination in Round 1 and Darling in Round 6. Darling ended up tiring later in the year to allow Heppell to take the title from others who announced themselves later in the season such as Luke Shuey, Daniel Menzel and Zac Smith. A very deserving winner in my books. And I'm not just saying that because he was in my Supercoach team as well.

Goal and Mark of the Year
Preview Prediction - Liam Jurrah
Mid Season Prediction - Liam Jurrah
Actual Result - Hayden Ballantyne and Andrew Krakouer

Thinking I won't do these categories next year as it's too hard to try and pinpoint the winner in both as some nobody you've never heard of before might get a game and do something brillant that no one can predict. Alas, Mr Jurrah did not enjoy a good year in 2011 and was sadly absent from consideration. Goal of the year ended up being won by Hayden Ballantyne (Fremantle) and Mark of the year by Andrew Krakouer (Collingwood). Neither are nobodies but it would have been incredible if anyone had picked them at the start of the year.

Biggest story
Preview Prediction - new substitution rule
Mid Season Prediction - new substitution rule
Actual Result - Scully defection to GWS

I reckon at the half-way mark of the season that I was on the money with this prediction. However, the issue of the new rule and its impacts quickly died down and the footy world just got on and excepted it. This may be a tad subjective, but I'm going with the Scully defection as the biggest story of the year because the speculation was relentless from early in the off-season right through to the final announcement just a few weeks ago. The press came up with a new angle on an almost weekly basis and we Dees fans in particular had to battle through all the rumour and innuendo with constant tugs at our heartstrings. In the end, I was quite relieved when the announcement came because it meant it was all over. I dare say it had quite an impact on the playing group as well with all the speculaton around money and loyalty and co so here's hoping they can work together next year with it all behind them.

First coach to be sacked
Preview Prediction - Brett Ratten
Mid Season Prediction - Rodney Eade / Ross Lyon / Neil Craig
Actual Result - Neil Craig

Yes, my Ratten call was way off the mark. Carlton had a stellar season and finished fifth after playing a good brand of footy and handing out a number of thrashings. My Mid Season Prediction(s) were therefore more realistic with all three being under immense pressure at the time. In the end, it was Adelaide who showed Neil Craig the door first although Eade and Lyon will not be coaching their respective teams next year either. The Dees own Dean Bailey came in a fast-finishing second place though being sacked the week after Craig. A very turbulent year for the coaches I must say with there even being constant speculation about the Premiers Coach (Malthouse) right up until the GF last weekend.

So there you have it my footy friends. Another year full of intrigue and controversy. And hey, that's why we love it.

Until the 2012 season and another go at it all,

EDM.