Nick Bowen

Premier: Greater Western Sydney
Runner-up: Adelaide 
Wooden spoon: Carlton 
Moving up: Melbourne
Set to fall: West Coast
Brownlow Medal: Clayton Oliver
Coleman Medal: Josh Kennedy (West Coast)
NAB AFL Rising Star: Paddy Dow
Recruit of the year: Jake Lever
Surprise All Australian: David Astbury 
Headline you'll see: Lynch re-signs with Suns for two years
Headline you won't see: Hawks abandon Dingley base to relocate to India
Buzzword or phrase of the year:  There's never been a more even season
Which free agent will change clubs? Andrew Gaff
Game-changer: Possession football will be out as teams follow Richmond's lead and look to move the ball forward quickly at all times.
Pass the tissues: Tom Boyd leads the Western Bulldogs back into the finals.

Ladder prediction
1. Greater Western Sydney
2. Adelaide
3. Richmond
4. Melbourne
5. Port Adelaide
6. Geelong
7. Sydney
8. Western Bulldogs

9. Essendon
10. St Kilda
11. West Coast
12. Hawthorn
13. Gold Coast
14. Collingwood
15. Fremantle
16. Brisbane
17. North Melbourne
18. Carlton

Ashley Browne

Premier: Greater Western Sydney
Runner-up: Adelaide
Wooden spoon: North Melbourne
Moving up: Melbourne
Set to fall: West Coast
Brownlow Medal: Dustin Martin 
Coleman Medal: Lance Franklin
NAB AFL Rising Star: Conor Glass (Hawthorn)
Recruit of the year: Bryce Gibbs 
Surprise All Australian: Sam Powell-Pepper 
Headline you'll see: Five years and counting, Pies to watch on in September
Headline you won't see: Tigertown, Titletown
Buzzwords of the year: “Synergy”, “four walls”, “process”, “yeah, nah”…take your pick.
Which free agent will change clubs? Andrew Gaff…the lure of playing on the MCG every second week will be too hard to resist.
Game-changer: Like their counterparts in the Premier League and the NFL, more AFL coaches to take their place boundary side because of the restrictions on runners.
Pass the tissues: Dema and her dad to present the premiership cup to the Giants, at the behest of first choice, Kevin Sheedy.   

Ladder prediction
1. Greater Western Sydney
2. Adelaide
3. Richmond
4. Geelong
5. Melbourne
6. Port Adelaide
7. Essendon
8. Hawthorn

9. Sydney
10. Western Bulldogs
11. St Kilda
12. West Coast
13. Collingwood
14. Brisbane
15. Fremantle
16. Carlton
17. Gold Coast
18. North Melbourne

Mitch Cleary 

Premier: Adelaide 
Runner-up: Richmond 
Wooden spoon: North Melbourne 
Moving up: Melbourne 
Set to fall: West Coast 
Brownlow Medal: Nat Fyfe
Coleman Medal: Charlie Dixon
NAB AFL Rising Star: Alex Witherden (Brisbane)
Recruit of the year: Nathan Wilson 
Surprise All Australian: Jarryd Lyons
Headline you'll see: Collingwood throws Eddie and the kitchen sink at Tom Lynch
Headline you won't see: Rodney Eade coaxed into job at Pies in Lynch pursuit 
Buzzword or phrase of the year: "We're in the premiership window" (for 12 clubs)
Which free agents will change clubs: Andrew Gaff, Tom Lynch, George Horlin-Smith, Tom Nicholls, Ryan Schoenmakers. 
Game-changer: Lachie Whitfield moves to half-back and makes All-Australian Team. 
Pass the tissues: Alex Johnson returns to play key role in Swans' premiership tilt. 

Ladder prediction
1. Adelaide
2. Richmond 
3. Geelong 
4. Sydney
5. Greater Western Sydney
6. Port Adelaide
7. Melbourne 
8. Essendon 

9. Western Bulldogs
10. Hawthorn 
11. St Kilda
12. West Coast 
13. Collingwood 
14. Brisbane
15. Fremantle
16. Carlton
17. Gold Coast 
18. North Melbourne 

Ben Collins

Premier: Greater Western Sydney
Runner-up: Adelaide
Wooden spoon: Brisbane Lions
Moving up: Essendon
Set to fall: Richmond
Brownlow Medal: Josh Kennedy (Syd)
Coleman Medal: Josh Kennedy (WC)
NAB AFL Rising Star: Paddy Dow 
Recruit of the year: Gary Ablett 
Surprise All Australian: Mason Cox 
Headline you'll see: Fyfe back to Brownlow best
Headline you won't see: Leon loses control of the Ferrari
Buzzword or phrase of the year: "Long bombs to Coxy"
Which free agents will change clubs: Tom Lynch (GC)
Game-changer: The by-product of Richmond's success will be fast ball movement, sacrificing precision for speed, resulting in more contested marking and more 'speccies'.
Pass the tissues: Injury-plagued Swan Alex Johnson to play his first AFL game since the 2012 premiership.

Ladder prediction
1. Greater Western Sydney
2. Adelaide
3. Geelong
4. Sydney
5. Richmond
6. Essendon
7. Melbourne
8. Collingwood

9. Port Adelaide
10. Western Bulldogs
11. St Kilda
12. Hawthorn
13. West Coast
14. Fremantle
15. North Melbourne
16. Carlton
17. Gold Coast
18. Brisbane

Adam Curley

Premier: Greater Western Sydney
Runner-up: Adelaide
Wooden spoon: North Melbourne
Moving up: Melbourne
Set to fall: West Coast
Brownlow Medal: Dylan Shiel 
Coleman Medal: Lance Franklin
NAB AFL Rising Star: Aaron Naughton 
Recruit of the year: Bryce Gibbs 
Surprise All Australian: Nick Haynes 
Headline you'll see: 'The Lid is off as Giants finally arrive'
Headline you won't see: 'Dangerfield shuns cameras with media ban'
Buzzword or phrase of the year: Dangerwoodlett
Which free agent will change clubs? Andrew Gaff
Game-changer: Sydney uses a sole ruckman for the first time in years to give it more speed and mobility to complement its inside midfield stars.
Pass the tissues: Twelve months after losing to his old club in the preliminary final and watching them go on to win the flag, former Tiger Brett Deledio helps the Giants to a historic premiership.

Ladder prediction
1. Greater Western Sydney
2. Adelaide
3. Richmond
4. Sydney
5. Melbourne
6. Essendon
7. Port Adelaide 
8. Western Bulldogs

9. Geelong 
10. Hawthorn 
11. Gold Coast 
12. West Coast
13. St Kilda 
14. Fremantle 
15. Carlton
16. Collingwood
17. Brisbane
18. North Melbourne

Ryan Davidson

Premier: Adelaide
Runner-up: Greater Western Sydney
Wooden spoon: North Melbourne 
Moving up: Western Bulldogs
Set to fall: West Coast
Brownlow Medal: Patrick Dangerfield
Coleman Medal: Josh Kennedy (WC)
NAB AFL Rising Star: Aaron Naughton
Recruit of the year: Gary Ablett
Surprise All Australian: Jack Macrae
Headline you'll see: Snowfields bereft of Melbourne fans in September
Headline you won't see: Tigers go back-to-back
Buzzword or phrase of the year: Dual-position player
Which free agent will change clubs? Alex Fasolo returns home to Perth
Game-changer: More key-position types to play as main ruck
Pass the tissues: Long-suffering Demons fans finally get to see their team in a final

Ladder prediction
1. Adelaide
2. Greater Western Sydney
3. Richmond
4. Geelong
5. Western Bulldogs
6. Melbourne
7. Essendon
8. Port Adelaide

9. Sydney
10. West Coast
11. Hawthorn
12. St Kilda
13. Fremantle
14. Collingwood
15. Gold Coast
16. Carlton
17. Brisbane
18. North Melbourne

Nat Edwards

Premier: GWS
Runner-up: Geelong
Wooden spoon: North Melbourne
Moving up: Melbourne
Set to fall: West Coast
Brownlow Medal: Tom Mitchell
Coleman Medal: Lance Franklin
NAB AFL Rising Star: Luke Davies-Uniacke
Recruit of the year: Jack Watts
Surprise All Australian: Jaeger O'Meara
Headline you'll see: Dangerwoodlett. Cats trio runs riot
Headline you won't see: Dusty drop off
Buzzword or phrase of the year: Synergy. That's the buzz word that will be coming out of Carlton headquarters in 2018.
Which free agent will change clubs? Tom Lynch
Game-changer: The long, direct kick to a contest will be back in vogue. Gone are the days of playing keepings off with short kicks. We'll see a move back to the good old days when bombing the footy long was the norm.  
Pass the tissues: After numerous hamstring setbacks, Nathan Freeman finally makes his AFL debut, and strings together a series of games and begins to make his mark at St Kilda.

Ladder prediction
1. Greater Western Sydney
2. Richmond
3. Geelong
4. Sydney
5. Adelaide
6. Port Adelaide
7. Melbourne
8. Essendon 

9. Hawthorn
10. Western Bulldogs
11. St Kilda 
12. Collingwood
13. West Coast
14. Fremantle
15. Gold Coast
16. Brisbane
17. Carlton
18. North Melbourne

Lee Gaskin

Premier: Greater Western Sydney
Runner-up: Adelaide
Wooden spoon: Carlton
Moving up: Melbourne
Set to fall: West Coast
Brownlow Medal: Josh Kelly 
Coleman Medal: Lance Franklin 
NAB AFL Rising Star: Andrew Brayshaw (Fremantle)
Recruit of the year: Bryce Gibbs 
Surprise All Australian: Bachar Houli 
Headline you'll see: $10 million man heats up Suns' future
Headline you won't see: Kennett drives Hawks towards Indian expansion
Buzzword or phrase of the year: Synergy
Which free agents will change clubs? Andrew Gaff, Tom Liberatore
Game-changer: GWS's willingness to switch play and run opposition teams off their feet.
Pass the tissues: Shaun Burgoyne hanging up the boots at the end of the season after more than 350 games. 

Ladder prediction
1. Greater Western Sydney
2. Adelaide
3. Richmond
4. Geelong
5. Melbourne
6. Port Adelaide
7. Essendon
8. Sydney

9. St Kilda
10. Hawthorn
11. West Coast
12. Western Bulldogs
13. Fremantle
14. Collingwood 
15. Brisbane Lions
16. North Melbourne
17. Gold Coast
18. Carlton

Ben Guthrie

Premier: Geelong
Runner-up: Greater Western Sydney
Wooden spoon: North Melbourne
Moving up: Western Bulldogs
Set to fall: West Coast
Brownlow Medal: Nat Fyfe
Coleman Medal: Lance Franklin
NAB AFL Rising Star: Hunter Clark
Recruit of the year: Gary Ablett
Surprise All Australian: Jayden Hunt
Headline you'll see: Suns' Lynch non-committal on future
Headline you won't see: Hawks president Kennett withdraws inflammatory comments
Buzzword or phrase of the year: Time in forward half
Which free agents will change clubs? Tom Lynch, Paul Puopolo, Shaun Atley, Andrew Gaff
Game-changer: Teams will station star midfielders in attack more than ever in 2018. Look for Nat Fyfe and Patrick Dangerfield to kick 40 goals apiece.
Pass the tissues: Melbourne fans rejoice as the team makes its first preliminary final since 2000

Ladder prediction
1. Adelaide
2. Geelong
3. Western Bulldogs
4. Greater Western Sydney
5. Melbourne
6. Richmond
7. Sydney
8. Port Adelaide

9. Essendon
10. St Kilda
11. Hawthorn
12. Fremantle
13. Carlton
14. West Coast
15. Brisbane
16. Collingwood
17. Gold Coast
18. North Melbourne

Travis King

Premier: Sydney
Runner-up: Melbourne
Wooden spoon: North Melbourne
Moving up: Melbourne
Set to fall: Adelaide
Brownlow Medal: Nat Fyfe
Coleman Medal: Joe Daniher
NAB AFL Rising Star: Andrew Brayshaw
Recruit of the year: Jake Lever
Surprise All Australian: Alex Pearce
Headline you'll see: Lynch delays contract talks until season's end
Headline you won't see: WA footy fans mourn departure from Subiaco Oval
Buzzword or phrase of the year: 'On-field coach'
Which free agent will change clubs? Tom Lynch
Game-changer: Teams employ more of their best marking players in defence to stop the ball hitting the ground, nullifying small forward lines.
Pass the tissues: Nic Naitanui finishes top-three in the club champion award after stellar comeback year.   

Ladder prediction
1. Greater Western Sydney
2. Sydney
3. Richmond
4. Melbourne
5. Geelong
6. Port Adelaide
7. Adelaide
8. Essendon

9. Western Bulldogs
10. West Coast
11. Fremantle
12. St Kilda
13. Hawthorn
14. Collingwood
15. Brisbane
16. Gold Coast
17. Carlton
18. North Melbourne

Marc McGowan

Premier: Greater Western Sydney
Runner-up: Adelaide
Wooden spoon: Gold Coast
Moving up: Melbourne
Set to fall: West Coast
Brownlow Medal: Nat Fyfe
Coleman Medal: Joe Daniher
NAB AFL Rising Star: Alex Witherden
Recruit of the year: Bryce Gibbs
Surprise All Australian: Lachie Whitfield
Headline you'll see: Demons learn to deal with expectation
Headline you won't see: West Australian footy takes AFL by storm
Buzzword or phrase of the year: Synergy
Which free agents will change clubs? Tom Lynch and Rory Sloane
Game-changer: The success of the Land of the Giants forward line – Jonathon Patton, Jeremy Cameron and Harry Himmelberg – forces teams to rethink trend towards a small-ball attack.
Pass the tissues: Alex Johnson plays his first AFL game since Sydney's 2012 premiership. 

Ladder prediction
1. Greater Western Sydney
2. Adelaide
3. Port Adelaide
4. Essendon
5. Melbourne
6. Richmond
7. Geelong
8. Sydney

9. St Kilda
10. Hawthorn
11. Western Bulldogs
12. Fremantle
13. Collingwood
14. Brisbane
15. West Coast
16. North Melbourne
17. Carlton
18. Gold Coast

Dinny Navaratnam

Premier: Melbourne
Runner-up: Greater Western Sydney
Wooden spoon: Gold Coast
Moving up: Sydney
Set to fall: West Coast
Brownlow Medal: Patrick Cripps 
Coleman Medal: Josh Kennedy (West Coast)
NAB AFL Rising Star: Alex Witherden (Brisbane)
Recruit of the year: Bryce Gibbs 
Surprise All Australian: Adam Saad 
Headline you'll see: Dangerwoodlett dominant, again
Headline you won't see: Hodge quiet against Hawks
Buzzword or phrase of the year: Those bloody runners
Which free agents will change clubs? Tom Lynch and Rory Sloane
Game-changer: Teams play just one tall down back to improve their rebound
Pass the tissues: Melbourne breaks its 54-year premiership drought 

Ladder prediction
1. Sydney 
2. Greater Western Sydney
3. Geelong
4. Adelaide
5. Richmond
6. Melbourne 
7. Port Adelaide
8. Essendon 

9. Western Bulldogs
10. Hawthorn
11. St Kilda
12. West Coast
13. Collingwood
14. Fremantle
15. Carlton
16. North Melbourne
17. Brisbane
18. Gold Coast

Jennifer Phelan

Premier: Adelaide
Runner-up: Port Adelaide
Wooden spoon: Gold Coast
Moving up: Melbourne
Set to fall: West Coast
Brownlow Medal: Bryce Gibbs
Coleman Medal: Lance Franklin
NAB AFL Rising Star: Luke Davies-Uniacke
Recruit of the year: Bryce Gibbs
Surprise All Australian: Jack Watts
Headline you'll see: Graham Cornes demands Adelaide Oval Grand Final 
Headline you won't see: Gillon McLachlan says yes to Adelaide Oval Grand Final
Buzzword or phrase of the year: … according to match review officer Michael Christian
Which free agent will change clubs? Tom Lynch
Game-changer: Midfielders as forwards, more often. Patrick Dangerfield's explosive semi-final at full-forward will see him spend more time in attack, with Jack Ziebell, Gary Ablett, Nat Fyfe, Tom Rockliff, David Armitage and even defenders Elliot Yeo and Easton Wood among those who'll attempt to replicate the Cat's success in adding a new dimension to their attacking structure.
Pass the tissues: … to Jake Lever and Charlie Cameron, who will be this year's Brett Deledio when they watch from afar as their former club wins the premiership.

Ladder prediction
1. Geelong
2. Adelaide
3. GWS
4. Port Adelaide
5. Richmond
6. Essendon
7. Melbourne
8. Sydney

9. Western Bulldogs
10. St Kilda
11. Hawthorn
12. West Coast
13. Collingwood
14. Brisbane Lions
15. Fremantle
16. North Melbourne
17. Carlton
18. Gold Coast

Nathan Schmook

Premier: Richmond
Runner-up: Greater Western Sydney
Wooden spoon: North Melbourne
Moving up: Melbourne
Set to fall: West Coast
Brownlow Medal: Nat Fyfe
Coleman Medal: Lance Franklin
NAB AFL Rising Star: Jack Graham
Recruit of the year: Gary Ablett  
Surprise All Australian: Nick Vlastuin
Headline you'll see: Stars roll the dice in late night Tribunal triple-header 
Headline you won't see: Tigers search for hangover cure after slow start
Buzzword or phrase of the year: Connection 
Which free agent will change clubs? Rory Sloane
Game-changer: The isolation of superstar midfielders Dustin Martin, Patrick Dangerfield and Nat Fyfe as deep targets will become more than just a rotation tool. Anchoring the game's best players deep inside 50 for midfield stoppages will be regular tactic. 
Pass the tissues: Tortured Melbourne supporters ride a wave of excitement into the second last week of the season, but fall one hurdle short. 

Ladder prediction
1. Greater Western Sydney
2. Richmond
3. Geelong
4. Melbourne
5. Adelaide
6. Sydney  
7. Western Bulldogs  
8. Port Adelaide  

9. Essendon   
10. St Kilda 
11. Hawthorn 
12. Collingwood   
13. West Coast 
14. Gold Coast 
15. Brisbane   
16. Fremantle 
17. Carlton 
18. North Melbourne

Matt Thompson 

Premier: Greater Western Sydney
Runner-up: Richmond
Wooden spoon: Carlton
Moving up: St Kilda
Set to fall: Port Adelaide
Brownlow Medal: Patrick Dangerfield
Coleman Medal: Lance Franklin 
NAB AFL Rising Star: Alex Witherden (Brisbane)
Recruit of the year: Lachie Weller  
Surprise All Australian: Clayton Oliver 
Headline you'll see: Mid-season moves a lock for 2019
Headline you won't see: Player A declares he's leaving for club B next year - in round three
Buzzword or phrase of the year: I've answered that question on my podcast
Which free agent will change clubs? Rory Sloane  
Game-changer: Ruckmen resting forward to counter small and nimble backlines  
Pass the tissues: Dayne Beams paying tribute to his Dad after Lions' first win   

Ladder prediction
1. Greater Western Sydney
2. Richmond
3. Geelong
4. Adelaide
5. Sydney
6. Melbourne
7. Essendon
8. St Kilda

9. Collingwood
10. Port Adelaide
11. West Coast
12. Gold Coast
13. Hawthorn
14. Western Bulldogs
15. Brisbane 
16. North Melbourne
17. Fremantle
18. Carlton 

Callum Twomey

Premier: Adelaide
Runner-up: Geelong
Wooden spoon: North Melbourne
Moving up: Port Adelaide
Set to fall: Sydney
Brownlow Medal: Josh Kelly
Coleman Medal: Joe Daniher
NAB AFL Rising Star: Alex Witherden
Recruit of the year: Tom Rockliff
Surprise All Australian: Christian Petracca
Headline you'll see: AFLPA raises concerns over mid-season trade period
Headline you won't see: Collingwood content with another year out of the finals
Buzzword or phrase of the year: Carlton's 'synergy'
Which free agents will change clubs? Rory Sloane, Tom Lynch
Game-changer: Resting midfielders deep near goal one-out becomes a common move
Pass the tissues: Alex Johnson plays his first AFL game since the 2012 Grand Final 

Ladder prediction
1. Adelaide
2. Geelong
3. Richmond
4. Greater Western Sydney
5. Port Adelaide
6. Essendon
7. Western Bulldogs
8. Melbourne 

9. Sydney
10. Hawthorn
11. West Coast
12. St Kilda
13. Fremantle
14. Collingwood
15. Brisbane
16. Gold Coast
17. Carlton
18. North Melbourne

Michael Whiting

Premier: Adelaide
Runner-up: Geelong
Wooden spoon: North Melbourne
Moving up: Melbourne
Set to fall: West Coast
Brownlow Medal: Patrick Dangerfield 
Coleman Medal: Lance Franklin 
NAB AFL Rising Star: Alex Witherden (Brisbane)
Recruit of the year: Jake Lever 
Surprise All Australian: Ollie Wines
Headline you'll see: Tom Lynch offered $10 million to stay with Suns
Headline you won't see: Gold Coast not happy with travel to China
Buzzword or phrase of the year: Front-half turnovers
Which free agent will change clubs? Andrew Gaff
Game-changer: Teams beginning to play stay-at-home forwards (rather than everyone pushing up in a zone).
Pass the tissues: Dayne Beams leads the Lions to an upset round one win over St Kilda while wearing black armbands to honour his dad's passing. 

Ladder prediction
1. Adelaide
2. Sydney
3. Geelong
4. Port Adelaide
5. Richmond
6. Melbourne
7. Greater Western Sydney
8. Essendon

9. St Kilda
10. West Coast
11. Hawthorn
12. Western Bulldogs
13. Fremantle
14. Brisbane
15. Gold Coast
16. Collingwood
17. Carlton
18. North Melbourne