Yet again, history will suggest we had a pretty good idea of how the season would end, and very little clue about much else.
Predictions involving the Soldiers and success were winners. Though some might argue it’s a bit like predicting the sun will rise in the morning.
Of more interest are the things we get wrong. Nobody thought Tim Taranto would be the leading forward. Nobody predicted the Chiefs would miss the finals – someone predicted they would make the Grand Final though. Nearly everybody predicted the Roughnecks would miss the finals (I believed in myself when nobody else would, and that’s why I’m a success fellas). Nobody had Tim English for the Dangergawn Medal. Maybe we thought Pukekos wouldn’t win enough games for him to poll well (not an issue in fantasy, it turns out…)
So who had the best foresight? Well, he may not have won a game in 2023, but Nelson can at least claim bragging rights on this front. Looking only at the questions with definitive answers, Nelson is a clear leader with 9 accurate picks. Yours truly isn’t too far behind with 7, nor is Paul or Max with 6. Jordie brings up the rear, but I’ll never shoot a man down for taking some shots. Fire away I say, the hotter the take the better.
You can find the breakdown of the votes from back in the pre-season here.
On with the results.
Things all of us got right
Who will win the minor premiership?
Answer: Solomon’s Soldiers
Correct guesses = 7 (Jordan, Mark, Greg, Nelson, Alex, Paul, Rowan)
Incorrect guesses = nil
Ladder Position: Solomon’s Soldiers
Answer: 1st
Correct guesses = 7 (Jordie, Mark, Alex, Paul, Nelson, Rowan, Adam, Max)
Incorrect guesses = nil
Things most of us got right
Who will win the 2023 Premiership?
Answer: Solomon’s Soldiers
Correct guesses = 6 (Mark, Paul, Nelson, Rowan, Adam, Max)
Incorrect guesses = Love Sparkles (Jordan) and Defenestrators (Alex)
Things only a couple of us got right
Which two teams will face-off in the 2023 Grand Final?
Answer: Solomon’s Soldiers v Defenestrators
Correct guesses = 2 (Alex, Adam)
Incorrect guesses = Love Sparkles v Solomon’s Soldiers (Jordan, Mark, Nelson, Rowan, Max), Puttanesca Chiefs v Solomon’s Soldiers (Paul, way off…)
Which team will have the highest single round score?
Answer: Solomon’s Soliders (2233 v Taxmanian Devils, Round 13)
Correct guesses = 3 (Rowan, Adam and Max)
Incorrect guesses = Love Sparkles (Mark, Alex, Paul, Nelson), Puttanesca Chiefs (Jordan)
Who will be the highest averaging ruck?
Answer: Tim English – Te Puke Pukekos (20 games – 119.6 avg)
Correct guesses = 3 (Paul, Nelson, Max)
Incorrect guesses = Rowan Marshall (Jordie, Mark, Alex, Rowan, Adam)
Ladder Position: Defenestrators
Answer: 2nd
Correct guesses = 3 (Alex, Nelson, Adam)
Incorrect guesses = 3rd (Jordie, Mark, Paul, Rowan, Max)
Ladder Position: Taxmanian Devils
Answer: 6th
Correct guesses = 3 (Mark, Paul, Nelson)
Incorrect guesses = 4th (Rowan), 7th (Alex, Adam, Max), 10th (Jordie)
Ladder Position: Threat Level Midnight
Answer: 8th
Correct guesses = 3 (Jordie, Nelson, Adam)
Incorrect guesses = 6th (Alex, Rowan), 7th (Paul), 9th (Mark, Max)
Things only one coach got right.
Which team will “win” the Wooden Spoon?
Answer: Te Puke Pukekos
Correct guesses = 1 (Nelson…. who clearly knew what he was doing with this one)
Incorrect guesses = Taxmanian Devils (Jordan), MaherShalalHashBaz (Mark, Alex, Paul, Rowan, Adam), Roughnecks (Max)
Who will be the highest averaging defender?
Answer: Jordan Dawson – Roughnecks (21 games – 113.67 avg)
Correct guesses = 1 (Max)
Incorrect guesses = Sam Docherty (Mark, Alex, Adam, Rowan), Jake Lloyd (Jordie), Nick Daicos (Nelson), Angus Brayshaw (Paul)
Ladder Position: Love Sparkles
Answer: 4th
Correct guesses = 1 (Paul)
Incorrect guesses = 2nd (Jordie, Mark, Rowan, Max), 3rd (Alex, Nelson, Adam)
Ladder Position: Te Puke Pukekos
Answer: 10th
Correct guesses = 1 (Nelson)
Incorrect guesses = 4th (Max), 6th (Jordie), 7th (Mark), 8th (Paul), 9th (Alex, Rowan, Adam)
Things nobody got right.
Which four teams will miss the finals?
Answer: MaherShalalHashBaz, Threat Level Midnight, Puttanesca Chiefs, Te Puke Pukekos
Correct guesses = Nil
As mentioned up top, nobody predicted the Chiefs to miss the finals. Nearly all coaches predicted the Roughnecks would miss finals (BELIEVE!). Jordan and Max both thought eventual wooden spooners Te Puke Pukekos would make finals.
Several coaches correctly predicted the Devils would break their finals drought though (Mark, Paul, Nelson and Rowan)
Which player will win the 2023 Dangergawn Medal?
Answer: Tim English (Te Puke Pukekos)
Correct guesses = Nil.
Incorrect guesses = Zach Merrett (Jordan, Alex, Paul), Clayton Oliver (Nelson), Andrew Brayshaw (Mark, Adam, Max), Rory Laird (Rowan)
Who will be the highest averaging midfielder?
Answer: Marcus Bontempelli – Solomon’s Soldiers (22 games – 117.64 avg)
Correct guesses = nil
Incorrect guesses = Andrew Brayshaw (Jordie, Mark, Alex, Adam, Max), Jack Steele (Paul), Clayton Oliver (Nelson), Touk Miller (Rowan)
Who will be the highest averaging forward?
Answer: Tim Taranto – Roughnecks (21 games – 115.52 avg)
Correct guesses = nil
Incorrect guesses = Josh Dunkley (Jordie, Mark, Alex, Nelson, Rowan, Adam), Errol Gulden (Paul), Connor Rozee (Max)
Ladder Position: Lethal Vipers
Answer: 3rd
Correct guesses = nil.
Incorrect guesses = 4th (Jordie, Mark), 5th (Alex, Paul, Nelson, Rowan, Adam, Max)
Ladder Position: Roughnecks
Answer: 5th
Correct guesses = Nil
Incorrect guesses = 6th (Adam), 7th (Jordie, Nelson, Rowan), 8th (Mark, Alex), 9th (Paul), 10th (Max)
Ladder Position: MaherShalalHashBaz
Answer: 7th
Correct guesses = Nil
Incorrect guesses = 8th (Max), 9th (Jordie, Nelson), 10th (Mark, Alex, Paul, Rowan, Adam)
Ladder Position: Puttanesca Chiefs
Answer: 9th
Correct guesses = 0
Incorrect guesses = 2nd (Paul), 4th (Alex, Nelson, Adam), 5th (Jordie, Mark), 6th (Max), 8th (Rowan)
Bonus point for Rowan for being the only coach predicting the Chiefs tumble out of the finals for the first time since 2016.
Things that are pretty subjective
Which player do you think is most likely to ‘break-out’ in 2023
Answer: Subjective
Guesses:
| Coach | Player | Games | Average |
| Nelson | Lachie Ash (Te Puke Pukekos) | 19 | 85.11 |
| Jordie | Jai Newcombe (Love Sparkles) | 21 | 93.76 |
| Mark | Luke Jackson (Taxmanian Devils) | 19 | 87.53 |
| Paul | Luke Jackson (Taxmanian Devils) | 19 | 87.53 |
| Alex | Tom Green (MaherShalalHashBaz) | 16 | 109.69 |
| Rowan | Errol Gulden (Threat Level Midnight) | 20 | 112.55 |
| Adam | Finn Callaghan (MaherShalalHashBaz) | 18 | 75.83 |
| Max | Jason Horne-Francis (Taxmanian Devils) | 21 | 69.10 |
Pretty good group of nominations here. Hard to go past Green and Gulden, but I think none of the players named here are likely to be traded by their current coaches, so I think that bodes well.
If you had to switch lists with any other team, who would you choose?
Selections = Solomon’s Soldiers (7 coaches), Love Sparkles (1 coach)
Last year’s selections = Solomon’s Soldiers (6), Defenestrators (1), Love Sparkles (1), Puttanesca Chiefs (1)
If you could add any player from any team to your list, who would you choose?
Selections = Nick Daicos (3 coaches), Josh Dunkley (2 coaches), Andrew Brayshaw (2 coaches), Tim Taranto (1 coach)
Last year’s selections = Tim Taranto (4), Sam Walsh (2), Nick Daicos (1), Jack Steele (1), Andrew Brayshaw (1)
Who “won” the 2023 draft?
Selections = Love Sparkles (4 coaches), MaherShahalHashBaz (1 coach), Defenestrators (1 coach), Taxmanian Devils (1 coach), Roughnecks (1 coach)
2022 Pre-Season Draft Selections = Love Sparkles (3), Roughnecks (3), Defenestrators (1), Taxmanian Devils (1)
Who was the biggest steal of the draft? (round 10 onwards)
Guesses:
| Coach | Player | Games | Average |
| Jordie | Darcy MacPherson (pick 178 – Love Sparkles) | 20 | 78.50 |
| Mark | Tom Hawkins (pick 118 – Love Sparkles) | 12 | 59 |
| Alex | Jeremy Howe (pick 146 – Love Sparkles) | 5 | 54.20 |
| Paul | Mason Wood (pick 114 – Threat Level Midnight) | 22 | 96.68 |
| Nelson | Lachie Cowan (pick 101 – MaherShalalHashBaz) | 1 | 35 |
| Rowan | Joe Daniher (Pick 199 – Defenestrators) | 20 | 77.55 |
| Adam | Massimo D’Ambrosio (pick 133 – Taxmanian Devils) | 0 | 0 |
| Max | Alex Neal-Bullen (pick 148 – Love Sparkles) | 20 | 70.90 |
A lot of love for the Sparkles’ draft here, with four different players nominated as steals.
Hard to go past Paul’s selection of Mason Wood as the best pick here. Daniher is another great shout given he went with the penultimate pick of the entire thing.
I definitely lose, picking the only guy who didn’t take the field this season.
Answer: Subjective, but here are some other nominees
| Pick 158 – Conor Nash (Defenestrators) – 17 games, 86.12 avg |
| Pick 106 – Steele Sidebottom (Roughnecks) – 12 games, 85.75 avg |
| Pick 185 – Wil Powell (Lethal Vipers) – 13 games, 83.54 avg |
| Pick 155 – Liam Henry (Lethal Vipers) – 10 games, 82.7 avg |
| Pick 160 – Taylor Walker (Solomon’s Soldiers) – 11 games, 82.36 avg (plus Franklin Medal) |
| Pick 139 – Jarman Impey (Defenestrators) – 19 games, 81.42 avg |
If the start-up draft was held today, who do you think should go 1st overall?
Selections = Andrew Brayshaw (3 coaches), Josh Dunkley (2 coaches), Will Ashcroft (2 coaches), Sam Walsh (1 coach)
Last year’s selections = Sam Walsh (3), Tim Taranto (2), Max Gawn (1), Andrew Brayshaw (1), Clayton Oliver (1), Nick Daicos (1)
Which team do you think is best positioned to win the flag in 4 years time?
Selections = Taxmanian Devils (2 coaches), Roughnecks (2 coaches), Lethal Vipers (1 coach), Love Sparkles (1 coach), Solomon’s Soldiers (1 coach), Threat Level Midnight (1 coach)
Last year’s selections = Solomon’s Soldiers (3), Feelin Dusty (2), Te Puke Pukekos (2), Roughnecks (1), Taxmanian Devils (1)