TOPIC:

With the summer approaching, i thought i would give an early insight into what the 2017 season is shaping up to look like, with a few early predictions.

Teams: Kelmscott (Relegated), Hamersley Carine (Relegated), Collegians, Kingsway, Mt Lawley, North Fremantle, Swan Athletic, Wanneroo, Stirling (Promoted), Maddington (Promoted)

Kelmscott: Will be looking for a big year, need to find early season form & need to find depth within their club. Will be an interesting year for the bulldogs with their credentials to be challenged. Predicted Finish: 3rd

Hamersley Carine: A premiership fairytale in 2015 found the hawks in A Grade where they struggled badly. Losing every game, with a huge exodus of stars from the club resulting in a poor year and a drop straight back to the b's, will need to recruit well to succeed. Predicted Finish: 6th

Collegians: The college boys had a huge year in 2016 and found themselves in 3rd spot at the end of the home & away season, there best football was awesome to watch & they found a preliminary final berth in 2016 where they were in it for 3 quarters but fell short in the last qtr. In for a big year, will need to show early season form. Predicted Finish: 2nd

Kingsway: Kingsways year in 2016 was a huge rise for the roos. They came from 3rd last in 2015 to finals in 2016. Had patches in the year where they lead B Grade and finished in 4th place. With their young local talent the key to their success. Ryan Maldenis was a standout and took the team with him. This team is bound for greatness. A former sunday league club of old has risen from D Grade to B Grade and this may be the year they rise Again. Predicted Finish: 1st (Premiers)

Mt Lawley: Mt Lawley copped its criticism throughout 2016 but still found its way to the finals and had a elimination finals loss to kingsway. Their forward line lead by the McKinlay brothers was unstoppable, but the rest of the ground needs a bit of polish, there is no doubt this strong club can contend but they need to find some more quality across the ground Predicted Finish: 8th

North Fremantle: The Magpies had a very interupted year in 2016 but played some outstanding football when in top gear. Injuries hurt the Maggies hard in 2016 but they showed glimpses of brilliance which saw them miss the finals by just a game. If they can get all their guns on the park their is no doubt this team will be right up there in 2017. Predicted Finish 4th

Swan Athletic: The Ath boys had also interuptions throughout their year but at times showed glimpses, a defeat of kingsway in round 17 was a clear indication of this. This club has had its highs and lows but i can see this team being right up their in 2017. Their midfield strength is imminent and their size across the ground is immense. A few inclusions will help their cause. Predicted Finish 5th

Wanneroo: The Roos have been a club with great success in its history, a thing which wasnt there in 2016, they struggled due to a number of retirements in 2015, the roos finished 3rd last with just 5 wins. This club has so much to prove and has so much potential, their colts side is thriving, if not next year this team isn't far away from returning as a powerhouse. Predicted Finish 7th

Maddington: The C1 Premiers of 2016 return to B Grade to aim to rise once again through the ranks and back to A Grade. Only a few years ago they were there but have fallen on hard times in recent years. This club can have glimpses but they are few and far between, unfortunately for the bulls i think they will be going straight back down. Predicted Finish: 9th

Stirling: Stirling have a few issues as they rise to B Grade once again. They must show depth in 2016 and must have Reserves & Colts sides that are competitive, they will struggle in 2017. With an exodus of stars going into retirement or leaving the club. They are going to have to find some quality from somewhere otherwise this season will be a bust Predicted Finish: 10th (Wooden Spoon)

Solid summary Boothead but i think their is a fair amount to play out between now and when the season starts in April 2017 - I imagine their will be a fair amount of player movement for each side - Wanneroo & Swan Ath will certainly be looking to recruit after losing quite a few players last season and as for Stirling, you must be in the know to mention the so called player exodus that is / will be happening

I will reserve my predictions until we know who has recruited who and from where as well as who has lost players from last season

Bit early for predictions yet Boot! If the teams stayed the same it would be fairly simple to predict how they'd end up. A solid 4-5 months before youll know who's heading where. For now just enjoy the cricket!

Collegians should get there, Swan Ath will improve again
North Freo will be there as well

Karl Pirrotina coaching North Fremantle will be a big plus.

Watch for Kingsway in 2017. Have already splashed some cash and recruited some players that are definitely not 'local talent'

Swan ath should be right up there if they can stay healthy, they had a bit of bad luck with a country club taking some quality players and then a few ley inuries hurt them.

Wanneroo will struggle i would suspect.

Stirling and Maddo to struggle unless the cheque book comes out. Both treams reserves are putrid and maddos colts average and stirling have no colts.

Who are the players you refer to at Kingsway freo - only player I know of has a brother that's played there a few years and wants to play footy with his brother ??

Was more referring to previous years but know of 1-2 that have already been offered coin to play there next year

It has been said a 100 times before but it is not amateurs anymore. Introduce a points system with local player worth and everyone else allocated point/s and you can only have a certain amount of points per team. The ammos make enough money out of affiliation fees they could definitely hire a couple of people to make this happen

Any substance to the rumour doing the rounds that Maddington are going to choose to stay down in C1?

I don't think they can stay down if they were premiers. I think only the loser has the option. Why would you not have a go? Pretty weak if they don't