The 2011 premiership seasons shapes up to be a beauty. Collingwood enters the season as overwhelming favourites, however it must be remembered that back to back premiership are very rarely achieved. Even ‘invincible’ sides like the Bombers of 2000 and the recent Geelong team were unable to achieve back-to-back titles.

The Magpies are clearly the team to beat and seem to be playing on a different level to their opponents at the moment. However, the rest of the field seems incredibly even.

The biggest question will be whether a side can emerge from the pack and challenge the Magpies… much the way Collingwood emerged in 2010 to overtake Geelong and St. Kilda.

Could it be a Carlton, Hawthorn or Western Bulldogs? Or is there still life in the legs of the Cats and the Saints? Or will it be a surprise packet like an Adelaide who turn a poor 2010 season around to return to the top of the ladder?

This article will take a brief look at each side and what shape they are entering the 2011 season in. It will also highlight players who have had terrific pre-seasons, as well as players who look set for ‘break-out’ years.

Adelaide Crows:

After getting bundled out of the NAB Cup in the opening 20/20 style round, Adelaide have bounced back to have a pretty good pre-season. They beat both Fremantle and Richmond convincingly and had a loss to Carlton.

That loss to Carlton was a costly one unfortunately for Adelaide as they incurred four seemingly serious injuries. Thankfully, the injuries to Tippett and Brodie Martin were not as serious as first thought and both should be available for Round 1.

However, new mature-aged recruit Ian Callinan will be out for some time with a pectoral injury. Also, new recruit Sam Jacobs may also be in doubt for Round 1 with a hamstring injury.

What impressed me about Adelaide over the pre-season is that their movement seemed a lot better. Last year, I felt that they over-possessed the football or lacked movement altogether. They looked a bit sharper this pre-season. They possess a very dangerous forward line with Tippett and Walker (who kicked 7 goals against Richmond last week) and a few dangerous smalls like Knights, Porplyzia, Sloane and Dangerfield to rotate through.

The Crows were the real disappointments of 2010. Most experts had them in their top 8, however a horror start to the season ruined any chances of making finals.

Importantly though, the Crows got some game-time into some younger players and now have some pretty good depth as well as a nice blend of youth. I think they will be one of the sides who finished outside the top 8 in 2010 to improve immensely in 2011.

Big Pre-Season – Shaun McKernan

It’s hard to find a spot for McKernan with Tippett and Walker already in the side, however his pre-season form should not be ignored. He has proven to be a very solid contested mark and is a real target up forward.

The only thing that is letting him down is his goal-kicking, but he looks set to be named for Round 1. The Crows may elect to use Tippett a lot more in the ruck this year considering the new substitute rule, so there may just be a spot for McKernan. The Crows have a lot of Key Position talent coming through.

Expect a big season: Patrick Dangerfield

Dangerfield has perhaps already established himself as a quality young player. However, I think he’ll take his game to a new level in 2011. I have a feeling Neil Craig has held him back a little, electing to use him mainly as a forward. No doubt he will see more midfield time as he gets more experience and he was given a few more opportunities in the centre throughout the pre-season.

He is a terrific tackler which is essential these-days, and his ability to run the lines will be such an asset for the Crows. It’s just a matter of Neil Craig unleashing him and for Dangerfield to stay fully fit. This should be his real breakout year.

Brisbane Lions

It was all doom and gloom for the Lions up until around 2 weeks ago. The pre-season could not have gone any worse, with mass departures, the Brendon Fevola saga, no CEO and poor form all combining to form an absolute nightmare for Brisbane fans. However, their past fortnight has been much rosier.

They finally made the right call on Fevola, found a CEO, found a few new kids who should push their way into the side in Round 1 and importantly won their last 2 practice matches. The turn-around in form coincided with the return of Simon Black and Luke Power, which in a sense is a concern considering they still seem reliant on their ageing champions.

Nonetheless, they still have Jonathon Brown to welcome back to the side. On the injury-front, they are also well positioned, with only Josh Drummond missing out of their best 22 leading into Round 1.

Wins against Melbourne and their new local rival Gold Coast has a renewed sense of optimism in the Lions camp. However, they still reamin favourites for the wooden spoon for many experts as their midfield is still very thin. There is some potential there with guys like Bewick staking a claim for Round 1. Rockliff and Rich continue to impress and look set for big year, whilst early signs from Polec look very good. Having a fit Adcock will also be a huge bonus for the Lions.

It’s a big year for coach Michael Voss. I can’t see the Lions making the finals, but anything less is going to put significant pressure on Voss who has made a lot of recruiting errors in the last 2 years. Personally, I don’t think they’ll be as bad as some are suggesting, but I feel there will be a bit more pain for the Lions…particularly as the season rolls on.

Big Pre-Season: Daniel Rich

Without Black and Power in the opening NAB Cup rounds, Rich had to shoulder the midfield burden on his own. Although he struggled to win a lot of the ball, he tried his guts out and looks to have put in the hard yards in the off-season.

Once Black returned, Rich immediately begun winning a lot more of the ball and his last 2 practice games were massive. The Lions need him to make the next step this year, and he looks on the verge of setting the competition alight.

Expect a big season from: Matthew Leunberger

Leunberger really established himself in 2010 after an injury-prone start to his career. Expect him to consolidate that this year. With the new substitute rules, he will be expected to take on a heavier workload with less interchange time.

This is also compounded by the fact that Fevola is gone and Mitch Clark will spend more time forward. He was carefully managed throughout the pre-season, so may take a few weeks to gain full match-fitness, however I have big expectations from Leunberger in 2011.

Carlton Blues

The Blues are talking it up this pre-season. They truly believe that their premiership window is just about to open. This is understandable as their high profile draft picks are just beginning to hit their peak.

However, they are still yet to win a finals game since 2001, so they need to push for top four this year and try to make it deep into finals. I doubt this will be the year for Carlton to go all the way, however the team needs more finals exposure and they may become a real force in 2012 onwards.

Nonetheless, Carlton fans would be well satisfied with their pre-season. They were impressive in the opening round robin games of the NAB Cup, but were just pipped by Collingwood for a place in the next round.

They had solid wins against GWS Giants and Adelaide looked to have the game sewn up against Geelong before the Cats went on a seven goal unanswered run to win from nowhere. Although this was a disappointing finish to the pre-season, the Blues had taken off all their key players in the last 15 minutes of that game.

On the injury front, Carlton is looking steady. It may be a while before they regain Kreuzer who is still listed as a month away as he recovers from his knee reconstruction. Other than that, they have a clean bill of health and managed their senior players well throughout the pre-season.

Carlton are the hardest side to predict for me this year. They have a very talented list and should improve on last year. However, they still have a long way to go defensively and their midfield pressure is still a concern. Unless they improve in this area, they will not make top 4. From what I have observed this pre-season (and I have been to 2 of their NAB Challenge games), they are attacking the ball with much more ferocity and their midfield pressure has been good.

Big Pre-Season: Chris Yarran

I must admit that I have been a big sceptic of Yarran in his early career. However, he has really put a lot of work into his fitness and looks set for a big year. He has played the entire pre-season across half-back and has excelled in this role. He is dynamite quick and his foot-skills are a highlight.

The big concern is his defensive capacity. He looks very iffy when spoiling against his opponent and I’m not sure how accountable he can play. Nonetheless, he has had a terrific pre-season and looks set to make his mark on the competition in 2011.

Expect a big season: Robert Warnock

The big fella has teased Carlton fans for so long but looks set to finally repay the faith. He returned to the Carlton side in the 2nd half of 2010 and had an immediate impact. Standing at 206cm, he is taller than the majority of his opponents so he can absolute dominate in the hitouts.

He also moves around the ground quite well and can take a mark. He needs to finally have a season where he can string 20+ games together. If he can do this, then I see no reason why Warnock will not establish himself as one of the best ruckmen in the competition.

Collingwood Magpies

The reigning premiers have carried all their momentum from 2010 into the 2011 pre-season and won the NAB Cup premiership. This was a huge surprise for me as the Magpies started their pre-season training quite late compared to other sides and never looked to hit their full form right through the tournament.

This is perhaps a real indication as to how strong the Magpies are considering they were still able to win convincingly despite not playing their best footy.

The Magpies face a huge test in 2011. Last year they devised a game-plan specifically designed to beat the good sides. This year, all opponents will be developing game-plans to beat the Magpies.

The hunter becomes the hunted.

They will also cop a taste of their own medicine, with most opponents implementing a similar forward press to the Mick Malthouse one.

On the topic of Malthouse, much of the media surrounding the Magpies will be on their coaching arrangements going forward. For what it’s worth, I believe Nathan Buckley will definitely coach Collingwood in 2012, and Malthouse will honour his contract and become the director of coaching (well at least for 2 of the 3 years anyway).

I can’t see a team willing to pay off a 3 year contract worth millions, and if Malthouse walks then he will be breaching contract.

A point of interest will be how the Magpies will refine their game-plan in 2011. Already Leon Davis has been trialled in defence to some success, and Heath Shaw has been used higher up the ground.

Further, fringe players like Simon Buckley, Lachlan Keefe and McCarthy have impressed with their pre-season form. Andrew Krakouer has also seemingly cemented his spot after a standout game in the NAB Cup Grand Final. On the injury front, the Pies will be without Nathan Brown all year, and Nick Maxwell is likely to miss a few weeks as well to open the year.

Big Pre-Season: Lachlan Keefe

It would’ve been easy to write about Andrew Krakouer, but the real player that has interested me has been the 204cm full back Lachie Keefe. With Brown out, and Maxwell and Reid in doubt for Round 1, Keefe may have forced his way into the best defence in the competition after getting promoted off the rookie list in the off-season.

What interests me is that all sides will be resting their ruckmen forward this year with the new substitute rule. This may stretch defences who do not have the height to cover. For example, Chris Tarrant does not like playing on taller opponents. Therefore, Keefe may become a new prototype defender who can play on resting ruckmen. He did not concede a goal during the pre-season until the final where Ryder broke away from him briefly.

I can see a real spot for Keefe as he adds real flexibility to the Collingwood defence to cover resting ruckmen, or tall forwards like Tippett or Stewart.

Expect a big season from: Chris Dawes

Dawes was so influential in the finals series last year. Although he was not a huge goal-scorer of possession winner, he had such an impact in marking contests, and his ability to bring the smaller forwards into the game was impressive.

He does a lot of things not recognised on the stats sheet such as taps to team-mates, forcing the ball to ground level in marking contests as well as crashing packs and his defensive zoning is good.

This year, I actually expect Dawes to take a lot of confidence from the fact that he has now cemented his spot in the side and he is beginning to feel more confident in his body. My hope is that he can begin scoring more goals and look to kick between 40-50 this year. He also needs to really improve his overhead marking. He has done a lot of work on this in the off-season.

More teams to follow.

DaVe86 is the pseudonym of David Natoli