THERE was no love for Adelaide from AFLW captains as they peered into the crystal ball for the second season of the women's competition.
Asked which team apart from their own would make the Grand Final, none of the skippers nominated Adelaide to make the decider, let alone repeat their premiership.
Four picked Melbourne to make the Grand Final, three chose Carlton, and one selected the Western Bulldogs.
Last year's Grand Final featured Adelaide and the Brisbane Lions, but the Queensland side was also overlooked in favour of three Melbourne-based clubs.
Katie Brennan, Steph Chiocci, Bri Davey, Kara Donnellan, Amanda Farrugia, Daisy Pearce, Erin Phillips and Emma Zielke made their predictions ahead of the AFLW season opener between Carlton and Collingwood on Friday night.
The snubs for the reigning premiers continued when it came to voting for this season's standout player, with Phillips – the Crows' co-captain, 2017 League best and fairest, AFLPA MVP and best on ground in the Grand Final – overlooked.
All Australian trio Darcy Vescio (Carlton), Pearce (Melbourne) and Davey (Carlton) were tipped for big seasons, with Vescio predicted to again top the competition's goal-kicking.
Last year's top draft selection Isabel Huntington was picked by four captains to win the NAB AFL Women's Rising Star in her first season for the Western Bulldogs.
See the captains' full responses below:
Which team apart from your own is most likely to reach the Grand Final?
4 – Melbourne
3 - Carlton
1 – Western Bulldogs
Who will win the competition best and fairest?
3 – Bri Davey, Carlton; Daisy Pearce, Melbourne
1 – Katie Brennan, Western Bulldogs; Karen Paxman, Melbourne
Who will kick the most goals in the competition?
7 – Darcy Vescio, Carlton
1 – Sarah Perkins, Adelaide
Who will win the NAB AFL Women’s Rising Star?
4 – Isabel Huntington, Western Bulldogs
1 – Monique Conti, Western Bulldogs; Sophie Conway, Brisbane Lions; Chloe Molloy, Collingwood; Ruth Wallace, Adelaide
Which one other game of the season, not involving your own club, will be you definitely be watching?
2 - Carlton v Collingwood, (opening match of the AFLW season at Ikon Park on Friday night)
2 - Adelaide v Brisbane Lions, (Grand Final re-match in round one)
2 - Carlton v Melbourne, (the two best-performed Victorian sides of the 2017 season meet in round six)
1 - Carlton v Brisbane Lions, (Carlton forward Tayla Harris turning out against her former club in round three)
1 – Western Bulldogs v Melbourne, (the two clubs who began the exhibition game series, meeting in round seven on the eve of the Grand Final)
In last year's inaugural year of AFLW, not a single rival captain thought eventual premiers Adelaide capable of reaching the Grand Final, but three captains nominated the Crows' Erin Phillips to be the best player coming into the game from another sport, while one captain nominated Bri Davey.
Phillips dominated the competition, winning the AFLW Best and Fairest and being best on ground in the Grand Final, while Davey, now Carlton captain, was named as one of the five All Australian defenders for the season.
In 2017, one captain correctly nominated Carlton’s Darcy Vescio to top the goalkicking and NAB AFL Women's Rising Star winner Ebony Marinoff from Adelaide was also correctly nominated by one leader in the build-up to last season.
The captains pose with head of AFLW Nicole Livingstone. Picture: AFL Photos
