At a glance: Three coaches think they’ll make the grand final, and one thinks they’ll win it. Finals seem assured – if the coaches survey is on the money. The list has firepower, but the durability question hangs over several heads, and could threaten to derail their premiership hopes in what may be Ablett’s last hurrah.
Coaches prediction:
2nd: 5 coaches
3rd: 2 coaches
4th: 1 coach
Projected best 22:
| Pos | Player | Proj. |
| B | Connor Blakely FR – B,C | 92.8 |
| B | Nic Newman SY – B,C | 88 |
| B | Ryan Burton HW – B | 87.8 |
| B | Christian Salem ME – B | 86.3 |
| B | Callum Mills SY – B | 77.7 |
| B | Brayden Maynard CW – B | 74.8 |
| C | Adam Treloar CW – C | 109.1 |
| C | Gary Ablett GE – C | 105.9 |
| C | Brad Crouch AD – C | 104.7 |
| C | Dan Hannebery SY – C | 104.5 |
| C | Luke Parker SY – C | 103.9 |
| C | Brendon Goddard ES – C | 98.4 |
| C | Lachie Hunter WB – C | 93.4 |
| C | Brayden Fiorini GC – C | 84.5 |
| R | Stefan Martin BL – R | 95.5 |
| F | Chad Wingard PA – C,F | 94.7 |
| F | Kane Lambert RI – C,F | 84 |
| F | Devon Smith ES – F | 82.8 |
| F | Allen Christensen BL – F | 78.9 |
| F | George Hewett SY – C,F | 76.3 |
| F | Charlie Curnow CA – F | 75.9 |
| UTL | Luke Dunstan SK – C | 88.6 |
| 1988.5 |
The MVP: Adam Treloar. Ablett has the numbers, but the two time best and fairest winner was still the most consistent Roughneck in 2017 – even in a down year. Coach Ritchie will be hoping he can push his average back into 115 territory, but will probably settle for him just featuring every week.
The Breakout Candidate: Charlie Curnow. Carlton’s big bodied endurance machine finished 2017 strongly and was a regular fixture for the Roughnecks in the latter half of the campaign. The Roughnecks will be hoping he continues to build on his promise to solidify a potentially shaky forward line.
The Bottom Line: Premiership contenders, but not premiership favourites. The talent is there, but so is the injury history. The forward line in particular is led by players who have always missed games throughout, and that may hinder their attempts at a top two spot and the coveted finals bye. If nothing else, would be hoping to overcome the Preliminary Final hurdle which has brought them unstuck the last two seasons.