Footy punters on red alert!

It’s getting near to that time of the year when footy bets for the coming season are recorded on beer coasters, the back of shopping dockets or any random bits of scrap paper.

You know the ones I mean — the top four in finishing order; the Brownlow winner; leading goalscorer; two flies crawling up a goal post ... the list is endless.

The one that has entertained me over recent years is West Coast’s and Fremantle’s finishing position on the ladder. Or, more to the point, which team finishes higher.

Some serious bottles of red wine have been won and lost in my group over that little poser, and season 2012 comes with a couple of wildcards — Ross Lyon and how much improvement we’ll see from the Dockers following a year from hell with injuries.

Eagles fans are well in front from the time the Dockers came into the competition in 1995, with West Coast taking the ladder honours 13 or the 17 seasons. And given the Eagles finished fourth and Fremantle 11th last season, there could be a reluctance for Dockers fans to gamble on the ladder positions this season.

Mind you, West Coast fans were in the same predicament at the start of 2011 when Fremantle supporters were queuing to take the bets after the Eagles had claimed their first wooden spoon.

Given a normal run with injuries, the Dockers will improve this year. They would have done that under Mark Harvey. How much they improve under Lyon will be fascinating.

The Eagles jumped from the spoon to fourth in a year and there is less ground to cover from 11th to a top-four spot.

Of course, West Coast don’t intend to tread water and will be looking to improve enough to move another slot or two up the ladder. For my money, there won’t be much between the two sides, but it’s hard to go past West Coast again.