With three days until the AFL season blasts off, BPL has asked its team of esteemed experts and highly-paid pundits to delve into their bag of tricks and deliver their 2010 predictions.

To our way of thinking, it's the year of the Bulldogs, with the Saints, Magpies, Cats and Hawks also likely to contend. Melbourne and Richmond will be fighting for the spoon.

Mark Harvey might be the obvious coach under the pump, but there's also pressure on Blues coach Brett Ratten, should the decision to offload Brendan Fevola backfire on the club. Not surprisingly, the Lions-Blues clash at the Gabba in round two is the most eagerly-anticipated of the season.

Our experts reckon Gary Ablett is a good chance to head to the Gold Coast, rate Nic Naitanui as a star in the making, and think the Coleman Medal might be well be heading back to Waverley Park, courtesy of a resurgent Buddy.

TIM LANE
3AW and Channel 10 commentator
BPL Columnist

01Top Four?
Bulldogs, Hawthorn, St Kilda, Collingwood

02Flag?
Bulldogs

03Bottom four?
Port Adelaide, Fremantle, Melbourne, Richmond

04Which team will come from the clouds and contend and why?
Hawthorn - injuries and a tough draw early, but will storm back.

05Which player will be elevated to superstar status by the season end & why?
Paddy Ryder - took off last year and ready to fly.

06Who'll kick the most goals out of Fev, Buddy and big, bad Bazza?
Buddy

07And how many?
101

08Who will be the first player recruited by the Gold Coast?
Gary Ablett

09Coach under the most pressure and why?
Mark Harvey.

10The footy bet you'd be most confident of winning?
Fevola to kick more goals than any two Carlton players put together.

11The home and away game you're most looking forward to and why?
Brisbane v Carlton, Rd 2 at the Gabba

12Should player managers be allowed to commentate in the media?
No, but who's going to stop it?

ASHLEY BROWNE
BPL Editor

01Top Four?
Geelong, Western Bulldogs, St Kilda, Collingwood

02Flag?
Western Bulldogs

03Bottom four?
Carlton, Fremantle, Richmond, Melbourne

04Which team will come from the clouds and contend and why?
Hawthorn. Gun midfield and two power forwards, makes them dangerous the longer the season goes.

05Which player will be elevated to superstar status by the season end & why?
Kurt Tippett. Tall, can catch and can kick. Could be bigger than Tony Modra in Adelaide one day.

06Who'll kick the most goals out of Fev, Buddy and big, bad Bazza?
Buddy

07And how many?
91

08Who will be the first player recruited by the Gold Coast?
Campbell Brown

09Coach under the most pressure and why?
Brett Ratten. If the Blues go backwards, questions about the wisdom of trading Fevola will surface again. But there are already a significant number of Blues fans who aren't sure whether he can coach.

10The footy bet you'd be most confident of winning?
Mark Thompson to storm out of a post-match media conference after one too many questions about the future of Gary Ablett.

11The home and away game you're most looking forward to and why?
Essendon v Hawthorn, round 6 at the MCG. Look for the shotgun if Mark Williams kicks the matchwinner.

12Should player managers be allowed to commentate in the media?
I like Liam Pickering, yet he's hopelessly compromised when talking about the two most exciting players in the game, Gazza and Buddy. Not fair to him or his audience.

WAYNE CAREY
Dual premiership captain, BPL Podcaster

01Top Four?
St Kilda, Geelong, Hawthorn, Western Bulldogs

02Flag?
St Kilda

03Bottom four?
Melbourne, Richmond, Essendon, Fremantle

04Which team will come from the clouds and contend and why?
Hawthorn. Ninth last year but Clarko will have them fired up for a much improved performance this season.

05Which player will be elevated to superstar status by the season end & why?
Joel Selwood (Geel). A fabulous young player who, if he continues to improve at the rate he has the past couple of years, will belong in that elite group.

06Who'll kick the most goals out of Fev, Buddy and big, bad Bazza?
Buddy

07And how many?
94

08Who will be the first player recruited by the Gold Coast?
Cam Mooney

09Coach under the most pressure and why?
They're all under pressure.

10The footy bet you'd be most confident of winning?
Saints to make the top eight.

11The home and away game you're most looking forward to and why?
St Kilda v Hawthorn, Rd 17 at Etihad. Buddy at one end and Roo at the other in a game that is sure to have an element of spice as the finals loom.

12Should player managers be allowed to commentate in the media?
No.

DWAYNE RUSSELL
3AW and Foxsports commentator

01Top Four?
St Kilda, Collingwood, Western Bulldogs, Geelong

02Flag?
St Kilda

03Bottom four?
Essendon, Fremantle, Richmond, Melbourne

04Which team will come from the clouds and contend and why?
Hawthorn. Ninth last year and will start slowly this year but will finish strongly and win at least one final.

05Which player will be elevated to superstar status by the season end & why?
Nick Riewoldt. Yes, a big star now but will be up there in Wayne Carey and James Hird's class if he can help the Saints bag a premiership.

06Who'll kick the most goals out of Fev, Buddy and big, bad Bazza?
Buddy

07And how many?
88

08Who will be the first player recruited by the Gold Coast?
Cam Mooney

09Coach under the most pressure and why?
Mark Harvey. 14th and 14th the last two seasons. The club as a whole needs to start delivering on its promises.

10The footy bet you'd be most confident of winning?
Nick Naitanui to win this year's NAB Rising Star.

11The home and away game you're most looking forward to and why?
ound 1, Melbourne v Hawthorn at the MCG. The first of our 88 live games on Fox Sports.

12Should player managers be allowed to commentate in the media?
Absolutely yes.

TIM WATSON
SEN and Channel 7 commentator

01Top Four?
Bulldogs, St Kilda, Collingwood, Geelong

02Flag?
Western Bulldogs

03Bottom four?
Melbourne, Richmond, Fremantle, North Melbourne

04Which team will come from the clouds and contend and why?
West Coast will be a big improver. They looked better organised late last year and again this pre-season. Big Nic Naitanui will help too.

05Which player will be elevated to superstar status by the season end & why?
Not sure, but the Bulldogs' Shaun Higgins looks ready to explode on to the scene.

06Who'll kick the most goals out of Fev, Buddy and big, bad Bazza?
Buddy

07And how many?
68

08Who will be the first player recruited by the Gold Coast?
I'm still convinced Gary Ablett is on his way there.

09Coach under the most pressure and why?
Probably Mark Harvey because he doesn't have a contract beyond this year. He has made some brave decisions on the list and young kids - but the decision to recruit McPhee may count against him if the season doesn't pan out well.

10The footy bet you'd be most confident of winning?
Bulldogs to make the top four.

11The home and away game you're most looking forward to and why?
Home and away, Essendon v Hawthorn in Rd 6, their first clash since the Matthew Lloyd bump on Sewell.

12Should player managers be allowed to commentate in the media?
No, managers should not commentate on TV, nor should parents of current AFL players...

GERARD WHATELEY
ABC Radio game caller

01Top Four?
Geelong, Western Bulldogs, Collingwood, Brisbane

02Flag?
Geelong

03Bottom four?
Richmond, Melbourne, North Melbourne, Sydney

04Which team will come from the clouds and contend and why?
West Coast. I like the development of their young players, and think they can contend for a place in the finals - but no more. Might be one year premature with that assessment but they'll be increasingly difficult to beat at Subiaco.

05Which player will be elevated to superstar status by the season end & why?
Nic Naitanui (WC)

06Who'll kick the most goals out of Fev, Buddy and big, bad Bazza?
Buddy

07And how many?
85

08Who will be the first player recruited by the Gold Coast?
Gary Ablett

09Coach under the most pressure and why?
Mark Harvey, because he's the only one out of contract and Fremantle is Fremantle.

10The footy bet you'd be most confident of winning?
Collingwood to finish top four.

11The home and away game you're most looking forward to and why?
Bulldogs v Geelong in Rd 20. If anyone can push Barry Hall to the dge of sanity on the brink of the finals, it will be Matthew Scarlett.

12Should player managers be allowed to commentate in the media?
Yes, but their interests must be readily disclosed and the delineation between speaking as ''manager'' and ''commentator'' must be readily disclosed.

CHARLES HAPPELL
BPL Publisher

01Top Four?
St Kilda, Adelaide, Geelong, Western Bulldogs

02Flag?
St Kilda

03Bottom four?
Melbourne, Richmond, Essendon, Carlton

04Which team will come from the clouds and contend and why?
North Melbourne; they've got a largely unheralded bunch of good youngsters - Anthony, Goldstein, Cunnington, Ziebell, Grima and Greenwood among them - that could take them from depths of the ladder to the verge of the eight.

05Which player will be elevated to superstar status by the season end & why?
Bernie Vince (Adel). Perhaps not a superstar - there are only a handful of them - but something pretty close.

06Who'll kick the most goals out of Fev, Buddy and big, bad Bazza?
Buddy

07And how many?
85

08Who will be the first player recruited by the Gold Coast?
Jarrod Harbrow (WB)

09Coach under the most pressure and why?
Brett Ratten (Carl). He's had enough time now to mould his young team, many of whom are high draft picks, into a successful unit. Now's the time to deliver.

10The footy bet you'd be most confident of winning?
Ratten to face calls for his resignation after Round 7, when the Blues have just lost to St Kilda - their sixth defeat in a row (having just sneaked past Richmond in the opening game).

11The home and away game you're most looking forward to and why?
Rd 3, Collingwood v St Kilda: the first of the year's blockbusters between teams likely to feature at the pointy end of the season.

12Should player managers be allowed to commentate in the media?
No, for the obvious conflict-of-interest reasons.

FRANCIS LEACH
SEN Broadcaster

01Top Four?
Western Bulldogs, Geelong, St Kilda, Collingwood

02Flag?
St Kilda

03Bottom four?
Melbourne, Richmond, Fremantle, Carlton

04Which team will come from the clouds and contend and why?
Sorry, it's drought time in the AFL. Not a cloud in the sky.

05Which player will be elevated to superstar status by the season end & why?
Shaun Higgins. Just the sort of class required to shine in a team that looks set to challenge.

06Who'll kick the most goals out of Fev, Buddy and big, bad Bazza?
Buddy. He'll be back to his best.

07And how many?
85

08Who will be the first player recruited by the Gold Coast?
Campbell Brown

09Coach under the most pressure and why?
Mark Harvey's running out time to show improvement in his squad. And he's from ''Over East". It's a wonder they don't lock him up over there for that alone.

10The footy bet you'd be most confident of winning?
That the Saints won't win 19 straight

11The home and away game you're most looking forward to and why?
Round 1, Richmond v Carlton because as Tom Petty wrote, The waiting is the hardest part.

12Should player managers be allowed to commentate in the media?
It's a free country, of course they should. Whether they should be listened to and taken seriously as impartial observers, well, that's a freedom you get to exercise.

JON PIERIK
BPL Columnist

01Top Four?
Western Bulldogs, St Kilda, Geelong, Adelaide

02Flag?
Western Bulldogs

03Bottom four?
Port Adelaide, Fremantle, Richmond, Melbourne

04Which team will come from the clouds and contend and why?
The Hawks are desperate for redemption after missing the finals and still have the nucleus of the '08 premeirship team including a now leaner Buddy.

05Which player will be elevated to superstar status by the season end & why?
Carlton's Bryce Gibbs. Has flourished since moving into the midfield and was third in the best and fairest last year. Has tremendous poise and, at 21, is ready to step up.

06Who'll kick the most goals out of Fev, Buddy and big, bad Bazza?
Fev

07And how many?
91

08Who will be the first player recruited by the Gold Coast?
Campbell Brown

09Coach under the most pressure and why?
Mark Harvey. Only coach out of contract at the end of the year and there's already rumblings of internal division.

10The footy bet you'd be most confident of winning?
Tigers to call for calm mid-season amid another horrendous year.

11The home and away game you're most looking forward to and why?
Round 2, when the Fevolution takes on his old, "feral" mob at the Gabba.

12Should player managers be allowed to commentate in the media?
No.