With the 2022 AFL season a month away, Kane Cornes has gone through the big questions and storylines for a few key teams.
Starting with Melbourne, Cornes believes the question for them is nice and simple – do they have what it takes to go back to back?
“The reigning premiers. Was it a once off or is this team, with the young players that they’ve got, and the great draft haul that they’ve got, are they setup for greatness?” Cornes told SEN Mornings.
“It’s hard to do. Since the year 2000, only three teams have won back to back premierships. Can Melbourne do it?”
Looking at Richmond, Cornes wonders whether they have another run in them and how Damien Hardwick will handle another season under pressure.
“Does this team have one last serious crack in them? Injuries, ageing stars, salary cap pressure, the opposition understanding the game style that they play, and how to shut it down,” he said.
“Key emerging players that have left in the off-season, which is the price you pay for success.
“The Tigers are fascinating to me. Can they do it? Is Hardwick going to be grumpy if they don’t?”
For the Hawks: Is Sam Mitchell ready for the pressures of being a senior coach?
“Hawthorn, will Sam Mitchell have the support of the senior players they tried to kick out the door in the trade period?” Cornes said.
“Will it be a tough initiation for a coach who is in the chair 12 months sooner than the club anticipated?
“If James Sicily, Jack Gunston, Luke Breust and Denver Grainger-Barras stay healthy and sound, they might be able to scrounge their way to eight wins.
“If not, probably bottom two awaits.”
For the Power, Cornes wonders how much longer Ken Hinkley has at the helm if he can’t take Port Adelaide to the top of the mountain.
“Port Adelaide, not many coaches last longer than 10 years without winning a premiership. You can just ask Nathan Buckley about that,” he said.
“Ken Hinkley probably has to play off in a Grand Final to save his job this year. It’s a tough ask.”
Looking at Carlton, is this the year this group finally gels as a unit?
“Then there’s Carlton. The team that generates the most hype, yet produces the fewest results is once again in the spotlight,” Cornes said.
“I’ve got to say, Michael Voss hasn’t put a foot wrong since he stepped into the place. That’s not that hard when you haven’t won or lost yet.
“The board expects finals this year and rightly so. This playing group has gotten far too ahead of themselves. They’re a team of individuals that favour Instagram likes over wins.
“Hopefully they’ve had a good hard look in the off-season and play to their collective potential this year because the rewards, they could be awesome.”
Finally, looking at two of the older sides in the competition: “West Coast and Geelong, has the cliff arrived for those teams and how rapid will the descent be?”
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