Captains back Hawthorn for AFL three-peat

It’s Hawthorn’s flag to lose and Jarryd Roughead’s Coleman.

That’s the view of the club captains in the AFL’s annual poll of on-field leaders, which has thrown up Nat Fyfe for the 2015 Brownlow Medal and Geelong livewire Nakia Cockatoo as the Rising Star.

The Hawks’ ferocious 2014 grand final win over Sydney is clearly still ringing in the ears of the AFL captains, with 11 captains nominating Hawthorn to return to the grand final.

With every club hoping to lift the premiership cup, captains are asked who will make the grand final rather than who they believe they will win.

Only two other sides were nominated to make the October 3 decider, with Sydney (4) and Port Adelaide (3) joining the Hawks as leading contenders in the eyes of the 18 captains.

They’ve plumped for Roughead (7) over his former team-mate Lance Franklin (3) for the league’s leading goalscorer, with Tom Hawkins and Jack Riewoldt also attracting two nominations.

No captain might have nominated Fremantle for a grand final berth but Fyfe is the clear favourite for the Brownlow with four nominations.

Gary Ablett, Travis Boak, Joel Selwood and Patrick Dangerfield also have two nominations.

The NAB Challenge form of Cockatoo hasn’t gone un-noticed by captains, with the young Cat (4) favoured above Sydney academy product Isaac Heeny (3) and Jed Anderson (2) for the Rising star.

AFL CAPTAINS POLL

WHICH OTHER CLUB WILL MAKE THE GRAND FINAL?

11 – Hawthorn

4 – Sydney

3 – Port Adelaide

WHICH OTHER CLUB WILL PLAY FINALS?

17 – Hawthorn, Port Adelaide, Sydney

16 – Fremantle, Geelong

14 – North Melbourne

12 – Gold Coast

8 – Richmond

4 – Essendon

3 – Adelaide

1 – Collingwood, West Coast

WHO WILL WIN THE BROWNLOW?

4 – Nat Fyfe

2 – Gary Ablett, Travis Boak, Joel Selwood, Patrick Dangerfield

1 – Dayne Beams, Robbie Gray, Josh Kennedy, Dustin Martin, Matt Priddis, Daniel Wells

WHO WILL WIN THE COLEMAN?

7 – Jarryd Roughead

3 – Lance Franklin

2 – Tom Hawkins, Jack Riewoldt

1 – Jeremy Cameron, Josh Kennedy, Kurt Tippett, Taylor Walker

WHO WILL WIN THE RISING STAR?

4 – Nakia Cockatoo

3 – Isaac Heeney

2 – Jed Anderson

1 – Angus Brayshaw, Patrick Cripps, Matt Crouch, Jordan De Goey, Jarrod Gillett, Patrick McCartin, Jaden McGrath, Matt Scharenberg, Kayne Turner

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