Bone’s beef: Why time is ripe for an SA premiership
THE premiership window will never be opened wider than it is right now for South Australia’s two AFL clubs, writes Chris McDermott.
Chris McDermott
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FOUR days to go.
A fourth AFL Premiership is coming to SA. Well, hopefully.
The time is right. The teams are ready.
The premiership drought here in South Australia must end this year.
The premiership window will never be opened wider than it is right now.
The genuine contenders are few.
Richmond deserves to be mentioned. Its list hasn’t changed much since last year and its preseason form has been very good. But for a team that took 36 years to win a flag, winning two in two years seems highly unlikely.
The Tigers are good but they’re no Hawthorn.
Geelong is a contender once again and its chances have only improved with the inclusion of Gary Ablett but preseason hamstring injuries to the little champ and Patrick Dangerfield are worrying signs that all is not well on the health front at the Cattery.
They’ll be teasers once again but not premiers.
The Swans don’t look to have improved enough over the off-season and are very lean in the big man department while Essendon, Melbourne and the Bulldogs will all be better but they will not be good enough to win the cup in 2018.
That leaves the Power and the Crows.
They have quality lists and the depth to do more than just challenge but the season is long and an injury or two can have dire consequences.
The stage is set. The countdown has begun.
The Power are ready for a season where anything less than a top four finish at the end of the minor round will be considered a failure.
For the Crows it’s a premiership or bust!
Second chances rarely pay off for AFL coaches
History suggests strongly that if you miss out on a premiership at your first try as a coach, you should not get another chance — unless you’re Mick Malthouse or Malcolm Blight, writes Chris McDermott.
When two tribes go to war
It was the game that stopped a state — the first Showdown between the Crows and Power on April 20, 1997. Chris McDermott shares his memories for Part 1 of The Greatest Showdowns series.