Could the teams that finished first and second at the end of last year's home and away season tumble all the way out of the finals? Kane Cornes thinks so.
Speaking on SEN SA Breakfast, the former Port star made his top eight predictions for 2020, declaring that Brisbane and Geelong, along with Essendon, will drop out of the eight.
“I was really impressed with the way they (Brisbane) are going about their work, but that doesn’t mean they’re going to automatically play finals,” he said.
“History would say one team from the top four misses finals the next year. I think it is Brisbane.”
He predicts West Coast, GWS, Richmond and the Western Bulldogs to make the top four, with the Demons, Magpies, Power and Sydney rounding out his eight.
And the addition of Tim Kelly tips West Coast over as Cornes' premiership favourite.
“They’ve just added a top 10 midfielder to their already unbelievable midfield mix. Josh Kennedy hasn’t done a pre-season in about five years, he’s completed a pre-season,” Cornes said.
“Jack Darling is I think the best mobile forward in the game, Nic Naitanui is I think the best ruckman in the game when he is up and running.
“They play 11 games at a place where it’s really hard to win. They’ll finish top two, get two home finals, go through to the Grand Final and do it again.”
