2024 AFL Season Preview

You already know Ollie's Takes wouldn’t miss out on writing a preview for the 2024 AFL Season. Keep reading for the hottest takes on this season's Premiers, Finalists, Smokeys, underachievers, Brownlow and of course a special take on my Eagles.

Yes I know the seasons already started but round 1 is technically this weekend so I reckon its's calm. For the first time ever at Ollie's Takes we have also engaged some external advisors (my mates) to give their take on the season ahead.

Take #1 GWS Giants will be premiers in 2024

Jesse Hogan celebrates one of his four goals against Collingwood (Credit: GWS Giants)

There is a big big sound coming out of Western Sydney this year and boy am I caught up in the orange tsunami. I actually made this take prior to their victory against Collingwood on the weekend, so anyone thinking this take is purely based on their elite win over the reigning premiers at the weekend…. You're just going to have to trust me, it's not.

The Giants came from nowhere last year to make finals and ended up being only 1 point away from making a Grand Final. I think Adam Kingsley is the real deal to lead his side to a premiership and has returned the feel good factor to the Giants which was non-existent towards the end of Leon Cameron's tenure.

The orange team's side is well balanced, littered with superstars throughout but I reckon there is a key player for the side who is their barometer. Barometer in this context meaning when they play well, the team does well and will win more likely than not. Think Matthew Kennedy for Carlton, Chris Judd for the Eagles and Dustin Martin for Richmond, if it's still unclear.

Anyway, the Giants' barometer is Jesse Hogan. When this man plays well, there is no defender in the land that can go near him and we saw a bit of that last night when he kicked 4 sausages. Hogan is in career best form and due to him and I sharing the same local café, I can confirm he is an absolute specimen.

You know what you are going to get from some of the other superstars such as Toby Greene and Tom Green and they may end up being the match winners, however do not discount the importance of Jesse Hogan in this Giants team.

Take #2 Sydney Derby Grand Final

Horse and Brodie embrace post their victory in the opening round (Credit: AFL)

Yes I am predicting a Sydney derby in the Grand Final this year, and yes I live in Sydney so this may be a little bit biased, but bad luck, a Sydney Derby GF is going to happen.

The Swans will be very tough to beat this year with some genuine guns reaching the peak of their careers. Think Errol Gulden, Chad Warner and Isaac Heeney. There is potentially some question marks around their forward line but due to their midfielders being so damaging on the scoreboard, I suspect the Swans will find a way to kick a winning score a lot this season.

Take #3 Western Bulldawgs are my smokey 

The Bulldogs could cause some cheek if they sneak into the finals (Credit: AFL)

How about them dawgs doe.

Not many are picking the Dogs to do anything special this season but I beg to differ. There is no denying that their football since the 2016 flag has been inconsistent, and that’s putting it kindly. The dawgs are a team that look like the sky is the limit when they are playing well but struggle to produce that high level week in week out.

Someone who I reckon could break the league open this year is Jamarra Ugle-Hagan. The dogs forward started to find some consistency in his game last year which has been the main issue throughout his short career to date. No one can deny the talent and potential of Ugle-Hagan. I think if he can produce his best footy week in week out this year, the Dogs could sneak into the finals and wreak havoc in September.

Take #4 The Bont will win the Brownlow… finally 

It might just be Bont's year in 2024 (Credit: The Age)

It just feels like it’s Bont's time to take home a Charlie at the end of season 2024. The dawg's captain has come runner up in the Brownlow twice and if last year was anything to go by, the Bont will put his team on his shoulders again this season and poll very strongly.

There has been a bit of controversy surrounding the Brownlow medal after Neale rightly or wrongly took home the medal last year. Neale received 3 votes where he hardly made an impact, so I think the umpire's this year will vote for players which are out and out gamechangers. When it comes to the ultimate game changer, look no further than El Bont.

I'm not one to read into preseason games however Bont's performance last weekend was too good to ignore. A performance that was a bit rude to produce in February with 32 touches of the agget paired with a goal and 8 tackles for the Adonis. Start preparing your speech Marcus.

Take #5 Freo will do better than you think (and maybe make finals)

The Dockers might just sneak into the 8 (Credit: PerthNow)

Now this is controversial and as an Eagles fan, it was difficult to write. However, I think the Dockers simply cannot do worse than they did last year and may make finals…

Their midfield is class on a good day with a solid defence and combined with a pretty ordinary forward line, Freo will do okay this year and potentially sneak into the top 8. I think Freo are in this mid-tier group that I am not sure what to expect. This includes Adelaide, Saints, Essendon, Richmond and Gold Coast. With many picking the Crom as their smokey to make finals, I think you could make as many arguments for the Dockers.

Freo have a genuine gun up forward in Jye Amiss and Luke Jackson has the X factor to change games. The good signs are there for Freo with Fyfe, Brayshaw, Serong, Young and Bailey Banfield in elite shape, ready to have a proper crack in 2024.

The Dockers will be particularly tough to beat and home and although I am not too confident in this take, I am feeling the purple vibes this season.

Take #6 The Eagles WILL NOT finish bottom

Harley Reid running a clinic against the Crows last week (Credit: TheWest)

My Eages are coming into season 2024 with some hope having only lost to Adelaide and Freo in the preseason by less than 60 points in each game. How good…

Nah, for real though, I think the Eagles will slightly improve on last year's three games won with their midfield of Kelly, Yeo and Reid. The issue is if you lose any of these players in addition to Oscar Allen, Jeremy Mcgovern or Tom Barrass, the team's depth is absolutely useless.

If our old mob can at least stay on the park for a fair chunk of the season, I reckon we can win 5 games and finish at least second bottom. Lofty expectations I know…

Anyway, onto the special segment whereby I asked some of my mates to give their predictions for the 2024 season. Feel free to ridicule them in the comments below.

Jonny Morris' takes

Jonny is my housemate, and I asked him to describe himself in three words: handsome, funny, humble. He is a fantasy nuffie but has never won a championship ring. Go stream Jonny Morris on Spotify. Here are his takes:

Premiers: GWS

Smokey: Western Bulldogs

Underachiever: Gold Coast

Brownlow: Errol Gulden

Griff Sheppard's takes

Griff is a long term mate of mine and current presenter at SportFM Perth hosting a weekly Fantasy segment. Griff has been described by no one other than himself as "footy intellect" so here are his takes on the 2024 season that no one asked for.

Premiers: Melbourne

Smokey: St Kilda

Underachiever: Collingwood

Brownlow: Jordan Dawson

Will Bartley's takes

Will is a complete and absolute sporthead. Barts went viral in 2023 for watching every minute of the Cricket World Cup and is a mad Freo fan. He is the coach of the Chennai Supkings in Ollie's Premier League (my SuperCoach league) and here are his questionable takes.

Premiers: GWS

Smokey: Adelaide

Underachiever: Carlton

Brownlow: Tom Green

Josh Gentle's Takes

Josh "Gents" Gentle is a mad Dons fan (gotta feel for him) and recently moved to Sydney to pursue his dream of becoming one of my mates. Gents is favourite to win the Sydney Half Marathon in May so get around him in the comments. Here are his takes.

Premiers: Geelong

Smokey: Gold Coast

Underachiever: West Coast Eagles - will not win a game

Brownlow: Nick Daicos

See you shortly for some more Ollie's Takes. I've got a few cooking so watch this space.

OT