ALM Season Predictions - 2023/24

Australian Football
1

The classic SFCU pre-season predictions thread returns. Time to nail your thoughts to the mast. Nine months from now people will either marvel at your prescient understanding of Australian football or laugh at your ill-informed naivety.

For those who want to study the form guide…

Last season’s end-of-season tally will also return.

Honour Board

2021/22 - dots218
2022/23 - bazm

Rules for scoring

I will enter all team predictions into a spreadsheet and calculate the difference from the actual team positions. So, if you predict that Sydney will be 1 on the table and we win the premiership, then you will score 0. In the same scenario, if you predict Sydney would be second on the table then you will score 1, and so on. The total difference for all 12 teams will be added up and the person with the lowest score will be the winner. For tied results, the number of correct predictions will act as a tie breaker.

End of season standings:

1:
2:
3:
4:
5:
6:
7:
8:
9:
10:
11:
12:

Grand final winner:

Grand final runner-up:

Australia Cup winner (2024):

Player of the season:

Player of the grand final:

Golden boot:

Best new signing:

Best young player (U23):

Biggest flop signing:

SFC player of the season:

SFC golden boot:

First coach sacked:

Random predictions for this season:

3 Likes
2

I’ve been hanging for this thread all off season. :yum:

Been a pretty quiet off-season so far, and it’s hard to pick a team thats arguably stronger than last year.

Going to have to sit down and do a proper analysis in the coming weeks.

3

Love when I see this thread made because it means the season is near. Looking forward to another season of getting it hopelessly wrong.

2 Likes
4

End of season standings:

1: Sydney FC
2: Central Coast
3: Brisbane
4: Newcastle
5: Wellington
6: Sunshine
7: WSW
8: Heart
9: Adelaide
10: Perth
11: Melbourne
12: Campbelltown

Grand final winner: Sydney FC

Grand final runner-up: Sydney FC

Australia Cup winner (2024): Sydney FC

Player of the season: Joe Lolley

Player of the grand final: Robert Mak

Golden boot: Fabio

Best new signing: Fabio

Best young player (U23): Jake Girdwood-Reich

Biggest flop signing: Marcus Antonsson

SFC player of the season: Joe Lolley

SFC golden boot: Fabio

First coach sacked: Corica

Random predictions for this season: Commentators will start calling the game instead of sharing random wiki entries.

2 Likes
5

1: Wanderers
2: Sydney FC
3: Melbourne City
4: Melbourne Victory
5: Central Coast Mariners
6: Macarthur FC
7: Brisbane Roar
8: Adelaide United
9: Perth Glory
10: Newcastle Jets
11: Western United
12: Wellington Phoenix

Grand final winner: Sydney FC

Grand final runner-up: Wanderers

Australia Cup winner (2024): Sydney FC

Player of the season: Borello (Would say Mak but it’s El Nino year, poor bloke is going to melt)

Player of the grand final: Fabio

Golden boot: Jamie Maclaren

Best new signing: Valere Germain

Best young player (U23): Jake Girdwood-Reich

Biggest flop signing: Daniel Arzani

SFC player of the season: Jack Rodwell

SFC golden boot: Fabio

First coach sacked: John Aloisi

Random predictions for this season:

  • TV viewership/crowd attendances across the board drops despite WWC
  • No one still wants to buy the Newcastle Jets
  • Kealey Adamson if not professionally contracted to us, moves to Newcastle Jets or Wanderers
  • Stephen Conroy’s appointment brings harsh active support rules to Melbourne, OSM goes “on holiday”
  • Tongyik to play no games outside of NSW (10 Media to not say a word, if the allegations are true and do become public)
  • At least one Sydney Derby will make mainstream media for “hooligan activity/behaviour” reasons
  • City to not do as bad as people say, Rado will last the season and be replaced by Kisnorbo
6

1: Sydney FC
Grand final winner: Sydney FC
Grand final runner-up: Sydney FC
First coach sacked: Corica

I see what you did there

2 Likes
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End of season standings:

1: Adelaide United
2: Sydney FC
3: Brisbane Roar
4: Central Coast Mariners
5: Melbourne City
6: Melbourne Victory
7: Wellington Phoenix
8: Western Sydney Wanderers
9: Macarthur FC
10: Newcastle Jets
11: Perth Glory
12: Western United

Grand final winner: Sydney FC

Grand final runner-up: Central Coast Mariners

Australia Cup winner (2024): Adelaide United

Player of the season: Nestory Irankunda

Player of the grand final: Andrew Redmayne

Golden boot: Jamie Maclaren (17 goals)

Best new signing: Florin Berenguer

Best young player (U23): Nestory Irankunda

Biggest flop signing: Jack Duncan

SFC player of the season: Robert Mak (12 goals)

SFC golden boot: Robert Mak

First coach sacked: John Aloisi

Random predictions for this season:

  • Adelaide to surprisingly not get affected by Goodwin leaving, and get on a hot run with another young squad, led by Irankunda, but will get done again in their two-leg semi against Central Coast

  • The top five to finish less than 10 points apart

  • Rudan to make Bang Average train by himself, thus unravelling their season

  • Rodwell to start at least 20 games this season

  • Sydney to build a title charge through three or four players scoring 8-12 goals each (Mak, Lolley, Gomes, Wood)

8

End of season standings:

1: Sydney FC
2: Melbourne City
3: Mariners
4: Brisbane
5: Wellington
6: Newcastle
7: Adelaide
8: Victory
9: Western United
10: WSW
11: McCarthur
12: Perth

Grand final winner: Sydney FC

Grand final runner-up: Melbourne City

Australia Cup winner (2024): Sydney FC

Player of the season: Joe Lolley

Player of the grand final: Jack Rodwell

Golden boot: MacLaren

Best new signing: Lacerda

Best young player (U23): Holman

Biggest flop signing: Fabio

SFC player of the season: Jack Rodwell

SFC golden boot: Joe Lolley

First coach sacked: Rudan

Random predictions for this season:

  • Corica succeeds with an expansive 4231 formation
  • Rudan physically assaults Ninkovic on the touchline. Rudan is sacked and Ninkovic steps in as player coach. He is sacked after a squad rebellion within a month and retires in shame
  • Crowds pick up in both the mens and womens league
  • Victory and WSW fans kick off on multiple occasions… they are threatened with points deductions, nothing happens
  • 10 actually see value in the product and end up putting games on the main channel in prime time before the end of the season
3 Likes
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End of season standings:

1: Sydney FC
2: CCM
3: Melbourne City
4: Brisbane Roar
5: Wellington Phoenix
6: Perth Glory
7: Western United
8: Macarthur
9: Adelaide United
10: WSW
11: Victory
12: Newcastle

Grand final winner: CCM

Grand final runner-up: Sydney FC

Australia Cup winner (2024): Sydney FC

Player of the season: Lolley

Player of the grand final: Mak

Golden boot: Gomes

Best new signing: Gomes

Best young player (U23): JGR

Biggest flop signing: Arzani

SFC player of the season: Caceres

SFC golden boot: Gomes

First coach sacked: Rado Vidosic

Random predictions for this season:

Rodwell to stay fully fit
Mak to get a tan and adapt to our heat
Corica and Rudan to punch on in one of the derbies
City to bring in some massive player the moment they start to slide

10

Just set up a UFC cage in the middle of the stadium. Pre-game entertainment.

11

Jinxy, STOP!

Edit Also, I like that you are optimistic but not to the point of actually having us win the first proper season treble (as opposed to calendar that both we and Victory have done). Cup winners, Premiers, lose the GF.

12

Can everyone please stop picking the Mariners in their top six?

3 Likes
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  1. Mariners
2 Likes
14

last year I’m pretty sure I had all the NSW teams in the bottom half of the ladder

1 Like
15

What is more terrifying to me is that Sydney FC have been tipped for top two by all five predictors so far!

3 Likes
16

TBF, I haven’t done this in about 10 years and have no idea.

17

1: Sydney
2: Victory
3: Western United
4: Brisbane Roar
5: Western Sydney
6: Melbourne City
7: Central Coast
8: Adelaide
9: Perth Glory
10: Wellington Phoenix
11: Macarthur
12: Newcastle Jets

Grand final winner: Sydney

Grand final runner-up: Victory

Australia Cup winner (2024): Western United

Player of the season: Joe Lolley

Player of the grand final: Jack Rodwell

Golden boot: Jamie Maclaren

Best new signing: Daniel Penha

Best young player (U23): Nestory Irankunda

Biggest flop signing: Marin Jakolis

SFC player of the season: Joe Lolley

SFC golden boot: Patrick Wood

First coach sacked: Vidosic

Random predictions for this season:

  • Sydney and Macarthur to keep the streak of the home team never winning the clash.
  • Ninkovic to score in Sydney Derby in a heavy loss.
  • Adelaide to field a 14 year-old.
  • Auckland to be confirmed for the league with a pink kit. Inaugural signing Chris Wood partnering Patrick Wood, somehow
18

That’s more like it - Mariners seventh and Sydney first.

1 Like
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End of season standings:

1: Sydney FC
2: WSW
3: Mariners
4: Brisbane
5: Adelaide
6: MVFC
7: City
8: Wellington
9: Macarthur
10: Newcastle
11: Western United
12: Perth

Grand final winner:
Sydney FC

Grand final runner-up:
WSW

Australia Cup winner (2024):
Sydney FC

Player of the season:
Joe Lolley

Player of the grand final:
Andrew Redmayne

Golden boot:
Alou Kuol

Best new signing:
Jorrit Hendrix

Best young player (U23):
One of Alou Kuol or Nestory Irankunda or Archie Goodwin or Kealey Adamson (if he ever gets a contract and game time)

Biggest flop signing:
Hamza Sakhi

SFC player of the season:
Joe Lolley

SFC golden boot:
Fabio

First coach sacked:
Rado Vidosic

Random predictions for this season:

  • At least three games this season will be postponed due to climate change related issues.

  • The ALW will be a stronger competition over the next five years.

  • Western United will actually start building their stadium.

  • Macarthur will either fix their “club culture” problem or implode.

20

I don’t know why everyone is putting central coast so high either. Lost their coach and a bunch of players. I would say 6th through 9th is where they will end up this season