2016 in a snapshot

Ladder finish: 7th (11 wins, 9 losses, 114.3%)

Best and Fairest:
1. Cam Shenton
2. Kade Answerth
3. Eli Templeton, Jack Sinclair

Pre-season tracker

Sandringham 8.14 (62) def. by Northern Blues 10.13 (73), March 4 at the Linen House Centre.

Sandringham 5.12 (42) def. by Williamstown 10.11 (71), March 11 at the Linen House Centre.

Sandringham 3.4 (22) def. by Werribee 15.10 (100), March 18 at Trevor Barker Beach Oval.

Sandringham 20.14 (134) def. Port Melbourne 9.14 (68), March 26 at Trevor Barker Beach Oval.

Sandringham 7.10 (52) def. by Williamstown 9.9 (63), April 9 at Burbank Oval.

The Draw

Trevor Barker Oval will host nine home games in 2017, including the first month of the season all at Beach Rd. New coach Lindsay Gilbee will be looking to start the season well by taking advantage of those home games.

The fixture presents plenty of tough tests along the road, including trips to Geelong, Ballarat, Williamstown, Coburg, Preston and a game under lights at Footscray.

Despite the two byes in rounds nine and 17, the Zebras have away clashes with Richmond and North Ballarat in the final two rounds.

The List

It’ll be a new-look Sandringham in 2017 with 23 new players on the VFL list, meaning half the list has been turned over along with changes at the St Kilda end.

Trent Dennis-Lane, Tom Simpkin, Yilber Zijai are three of the well-knowns from the VFL contingent while its the AFL departures that may hurt most - Tom Lee, Brodie Murdoch, Luke Delaney, Eli Templeton and Cam Shenton the notables.

New skipper Tom Curren remains at Beach Rd in a big boost for the Zebras, along with the reliable Elliot Le Grice and the return of Jack Noone from a broken leg will be a significant boost for Gilbee in his first season at the helm.

The verdict

Despite some significant losses from a VFL and St Kilda perspective, expect Sandringham to push for the top eight, with enough quality to see the Zebras feature in September again.

New captain Tom Curren brings plenty of experience so expect to see him working with Kade Answerth and Myke Cook in the centre square, where all three can provide plenty of grunt.

Defender Elliot Le Grice played every game last year and will again be critical in the back half, along with Dylan Weickhardt and the returning Jack Noone to provide run from half-back.

The influx of St Kilda talent will also be available, along with players who miss out on AFL selection that can only benefit the Zebras’ cause for wins in 2017. 

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