At a glance: Dustin Martin surrounded by a bunch of B graders. Much like Richmond, and that was good enough for them.
Coaches prediction:
5th: 1 coach
6th: 1 coach
8th: 1 coach
9th: 5 coaches
Projected best 22:
| Pos | Player | Proj. |
| B | Bachar Houli RI – B | 91.2 |
| B | Brandon Ellis RI – B | 87.2 |
| B | Tom Cutler BL – B | 83.2 |
| B | Sam Mayes BL – B | 79.9 |
| B | Nick Haynes GWS – B | 75.7 |
| B | Alex Rance RI – B | 68.3 |
| C | Dustin Martin RI – C | 114.7 |
| C | Scott Selwood GE – C | 100.1 |
| C | Trent Cotchin RI – C | 97.4 |
| C | Jack Ziebell NM – C | 94.5 |
| C | Liam Shiels HW – C | 90.6 |
| C | Ben Cunnington NM – C | 87.6 |
| C | Ricky Henderson HW – C | 87.3 |
| C | Tom Liberatore WB – C | 84.3 |
| R | Nic Naitanui WC – R | 85.4 |
| F | Travis Boak PA – C,F | 92 |
| F | Toby McLean WB – C,F | 86.9 |
| F | Nick Graham CA – C,F | 84.7 |
| F | Michael Walters FR – C,F | 83.6 |
| F | Josh Jenkins AD – F | 81.4 |
| F | Shaun Burgoyne HW – C,F | 79.5 |
| UTL | Tom Lynch GC – F | 82.3 |
| 1917.8 |
The MVP: It’s Martin, and it’s not particularly close. The head honcho of a very industrious midfield (seriously, handball and tackle central that lot – except Ricky Henderson, who has less tackles than fingers). Well versed in carrying teams and winning everything (Brownlow, Norm Smith, Dangergawn), coach Symes will be hoping for another stunning season from the face of Bonds if his outfit is to return to the finals fold.
The Breakout Candidate: T̶o̶m̶ ̶C̶u̶t̶l̶e̶r̶ Toby McLean. Starting selling his wares/head trauma in the midfield toward the end of last season, and excelled. An outside chance of making the All-Australian forward line in 2018 if he maintains a similar role.
The Bottom Line: The Redshins occupied a no-man’s land last season. A cut above the bottom feeders, but needing double the wins to push for a coveted finals spot. Has enough quality to beat anyone on their day, but consistency remains the issue, and may keep them out. 2 coaches have backed them to make the finals, but 5 think they’re destined for ninth.