Who Will Take the Cake?
By Cameron Longfield
After kicking off the season over the weekend, our AFL Canberra teams are ready to hit the battle field. Who will improve? Who will excel? And who will fall away?
Belconnen Magpies had a stellar season last year and were the frontrunners with a healthy gap to second place leading up to the finals, winning all 15 games of the home and away season. Chris York with 88 goals was leagues in front of the second highest goal scorer and made the Magpies look unstoppable. Steamrolling through to the Grand Final they looked unbeatable but a big upset happened as they choked at the final hurdle against the Queanbeyan Tigers. Redemption is definitely on the Belconnen Magpies minds and nothing short of the premiership cup in their hands will satisfy.
The 2015 winners Queanbeyan Tigers came from 3rd place to take the win in an impressive style as they hit their stride over the finals period. Will they continue to grow and mature and go back to back or will they fall away in 2016?
Tuggeranong Hawks finished the home and away season in second then fell away badly in the finals period. Will they recover? Their goal no doubt, is to be able to sustain that high level for the whole year and be able to win the Premiership.
Ainslie Tricolours may have finished in 4th but they were well behind the top 3. With 5 wins and 10 losses the goal would be to turn this around and have more wins than losses in the 2016 season. Now that they have withdrawn from the Neafl due to different circumstances the team will be stronger in the 1st Grade competition.
Gungahlin Jets had a poor year finishing in last position and will need to vastly improve to be in any position to challenge for the premiership. After re-entering the competition last year and adding more players to the roster this year improvement will be needed.
The Eastlake Demons who have the Canberra Demons in the Neafl will need to vastly improve over their 2015 season. Being able to improve their attack as well as tighten up their defensive frailties will be a significant target for the 2016 season. The Demons playing stocks have been bolstered with the signing of Kirk Mahon, Jeremy Kirkwood and Joe Hancock for the 2016 season and the signs look bright for the Demons and their supporters. Ben Scott will take the reins off Niall Jacobson and captain the side.
It will be interesting to see how the season pans out and who will improve and who will implode. It will be a wild ride but I cannot wait to watch it all play out.
Last Modified on 04/04/2016 10:25