Premier Division Prediction - UNSWES - AFL Sydney

Premier Division Prediction - UNSW/ES

Club

UNSW/ES

Key players

Their spine will be pivotal to their aspirations to play in finals again in 2014. Henry Mason had a dominant first year in the AFL Sydney competition across centre half-forward and is a real loss. The soldiers in the middle namely Peter Kefalas and Joel Robbie will lead a younger midfield division with a couple of big names moving on. Thomas Heath is another key back. Max Collett and Jeremy Kiel are the most talented players in the side and will have to shake tags at various stages this season. The transfer of Jeremy Daniher from Illawarra is a big coup for the Bulldogs after Daniher was amongst the best in the competition last year and he will have a pivotal role to play.

Star on the Rise

Alex Foote won a Rising Star Nomination in Round 15 and was an instant hit in Premier Division with his strong running forward and particularly in defence. His pressure acts will be asked upon by new coach, Daniel Lynch. They have a bevy of talented individuals in their Under 18 runner-up side from last season- with potential draftee Abe Davis top of the list.

Strengths

Those kids are exciting and can help fill some of the holes left by the departures mentioned below. They were premiers only two years ago and have a stronger culture now than in the past. Kefalas is a highly respected leader. They play their Village Green home ground well with their well-developed structures a key strength that should be followed on by Lynch.

Weaknesses

The loss of key players. Matt Rawlinson, Henry Mason and Adam Gulden were easily in their top five players and have moved onto greener pastures, while Rhys McAlister will only play in a part-time capacity due to his promotion within the Sydney Swans Academy and is a real loss. Add this to Dane Rampe’s exit the year before along with the injury to leading goalkicker Leigh Lavery and a worthwhile question is whether they can keep developing talent (with experience) to fill the void.

Season defining month

Rounds 3-6

There isn’t much of a honeymoon period for the Bulldogs with a match against the competition favourites, Pennant Hills in Round 3. They will be keen to get revenge on their big Elimination Final loss to the same opposition last season. Their next two games are also at home after the Easter break but against two fellow top five sides last year in St George and Manly-Warringah. You can cap that off with a trip across the Sydney Harbour Bridge to face North Shore in Round 6. These four rounds will no doubt shape the remainder of their season.

Notable Transfers

Outs Include: Matthew Rawlinson (Sydney University) , Josh Parmenter (Wagga Tigers – Riverina FL) , Tyler Roos (Sandringham Dragons – VFL), Henry Mason

		INS
Name	Surname	Club From	Association From
Tom	Dickson	Port Macquarie	AFL North Coast Seniors
Kirk	Lower	Port Macquarie	AFL North Coast Seniors
Jeremy	Daniher	Illawarra Lions	AFL Sydney
Mark	Haebich	Springbank Football Netball Club Inc.	Central Highlands Football League
Liam	McDonagh	Sydney University	AFL Sydney
Mark	Haebich	Maitland	Black Diamond AFL
Judd	Lanyon	Echuca Football Club	Goulburn Valley Football League
Matthew	McMahon	Macquarie University	AFL Sydney
Ethan	Wiseman	ADFA	AFL Canberra
Tyler	Robinson	Corowa Rutherglen Football Club	Ovens & Murray Football League
Ben	Trevaskis	Collingullie Ashmont Kapooka Fnc	Riverina Football League
Nathan	Weldon-Bowen	Turvey Park	Riverina Football League
Sean	O'Donnell	Birchip Watchem Football Club	North Central Football League
Zac	Meredith	St Ignatius, Riverview	AFL Sydney
Daniel	Lynch	UTS Bats	AFL Sydney

Predicted finish - 7^th

UNSW/ES could be the sliders of the competition this year given the loss of key personnel. You can’t replace the credentials of those players easily. Packing games into players who will be a part of their club for the next 10 years will serve them well. Will definitely be competitive but the depth doesn’t appear to be there to challenge for the title.

Last Modified on 13/03/2014 22:18

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Premier Division Prediction - UNSW/ES

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