Former St Kilda and North Melbourne midfielder Nick Dal Santo has had a look at the contenders and pretenders for the 2019 season, and has devised a system to break each team down into a category that reflects how their season could pan out.
Dal Santo has managed to break the competition into five categories, which are 'big boys', 'challengers', 'finals floaters', 'developers' and 'hibernators'.
Dal Santo believes the past two premiers are in a league of their own, and has selected three other teams who could be ready to pounce should they fail.
At the other end of the table, three teams can already call a quits on 2019, while three more won't feature in finals footy, but can seem themselves doing so soon.
“The big boys, the guys who are right at the top of the tree, the kings of the jungle.”
Richmond
West Coast
“The challengers, the clubs that are right around the mark. If everything goes right, they have an opportunity to win it all this year.”
Collingwood
Melbourne
Adelaide
“The finals floaters. This is where the bulk of the clubs are, it will come down to percentage.”
Hawthorn
North Melbourne
GWS
Geelong
Sydney
Port Adelaide
Essendon
“The developers. The clubs who have been down the bottom but can see light at the end of the tunnel.”
Brisbane
Western Bulldogs
Fremantle
“The hibernators…it’s going to be a long winter.”
Gold Coast
Carlton
St Kilda