Port have their issues but are contenders. Yes, they had some advantages last year which they won't have this year. But they won their first final, went damned close in the PF and should be top 4 and contending this year.
Brisbane are likely to be competitive too.
Geelong may have an ageing team but they have brought in some decent players to have a crack. Let's face it, they were damned close last year. One thing I will grant Geelong, they are not trying to win by copying us, they are backing their own system. If they perform better and for longer in crucial games they are a chance.
Some other team will likely jump up too, maybe Footscray - they are very good and Treloar will be a very useful addition. StKilda are getting better but I think still a player or two short. Will GWS get back some form? Who knows.
We all know how bloody hard it is to win a flag, we have decades of memories to remind us. We have won 2 in a row and everyone is looking at how they can beat us, it is the price of success.
That said, there are damned good reasons we have won the last 2 flags. I'm not convinced the experts are particularly anti-Richmond, far more convinced that they are just stupid morons. Oh, and also that they don't want to pick the best team of the last 2 years to win again because the story is less likely to attract attention.
Lastly, I really don't care what the morons say, I care about the final result. If we make another PF and hopefully go all the way again then the media "experts" will just look like the morons everyone thinks they are anyway.
DS