2021 record: 1-4 Adelaide Next game: Fremantle at Manuka Oval, Saturday early. St Kilda, Collingwood, Fremantle and Hawthorn all had very strong line-ups. This week's opponent: Western Bulldogs (Marvel Stadium), 10. Crowds are back in Victoria! A loss on the field, drama with Tex off it - fair to say it hasn't been a good week for the Crows heading into this week's Showdown. GEELONG CATS (17-4, 139.7%) Last week's ranking: 1 The Cats have a bit of a problem; the finals bracket works against the minor premier, after the first week anyway. It's a 'yes' as far as we're concerned, and if they can't get it done, they will have just about wasted one of the most dominant periods in AFL history. St Kilda . Geelong Its kind of funny to think that the Dons and Saints have won the same number of games this year, considering the narratives around each group, but thats about expectations more than anything. And from there anything can happen. Click 'Save/Download' and add a title and description. I quite liked the game. Adelaide Head to ESPN's Home of AFL, 16. Not just the spinning of the magnets but the way hes spoken. 2021 record: 2-3 Hawthorn Previous ranking: 5. Of course given the talent on this list theres no way the Dogs season shouldve come down to such small margins. The Eagles would need to lose by at least 100 points to have any chance of dropping below North Melbourne on percentage and earning Pick 1. AFL Debate Club: Is the umpire dissent rule worth keeping? Time to test your footy know-how against your friends, family and coworkers. . It's a battle of the 'one-and-fours' this week on Anzac Day - excuse us if we hit up the RSL raffles instead. We're just about losing patience with the Saints who suffered a second 70+ point drubbing in a month. Yes, the Swans have moved up two spots after a loss; thats the difference between a valiant away defeat and flopping as the favourite. 2. Essendon The Suns werent going to get a better opportunity to beat West Coast in WA than that, and the margin shouldve been much bigger - based on Champion Datas Expected Score metric, if Gold Coast had kicked for goal at an average level they wouldve won by 10 goals instead of five. As frequent readers of this column know, weve been Richmond believers for a while - the whole being 9-8 with a draw after three winless weeks thing forced us to drop them a bit - and when you look at the big picture its not hard to see why opposition clubs might be frightened of them come September. Next game: Gold Coast Suns at Metricon Stadium, Saturday night. Adelaide . They need to avoid a spanking this week, or finals start becoming a stretch (especially if their percentage of 71.4 continues to deteriorate). Josh Dunkley's 'rock bottom': 'Was told to jump off a bridge', 5. The idea the ground is so small as to impact game style is such a fallacy.) They missed one of their great chances this year to record a win but more will come; were not worried about a repeat of last years 0-8 start. Interestingly, their best home and away season was in 2018 winning the MP with 18 games at 136.1per cent before being soundly beaten by Collingwood in the preliminary final. 2 Geelong Probably the unluckiest team not to have extended their dominance. North Melbourne Note: Throughout the year, ESPN will rank all 18 teams, from top to bottom, taking into account which teams are playing the best footy, injuries, each team's recent opponents, and which teams are looking most like flag contenders. Enjoy Watching Me Rank AFL Teams 2019!!!! Tasmania can be AFL 'destination club': McLachlan, Tassie AFL team a step closer with PM's $240m, Victory goalkeeper Dumont joins AFLW team, Dogs out to celebrate Bontempelli's milestone, Martin, Tigers not far off best says Hardwick, Fagan, Clarkson bullish on Tasmanian AFL team. Next game: Adelaide Crows at Adelaide Oval, Saturday twilight 3. AFL Debate Club: Is the umpire dissent rule worth keeping? Well, given theyve only played them there once in this writers lifetime, theres not a lot of form to go on Next game: Geelong Cats at GMHBA Stadium, Friday night. View Advanced Stats . Well, we had to be right at some point if we kept writing Collingwood will lose someday, we promise. It does make it more difficult for Geelong to finish in the top two, but they should end up playing at the MCG either way; it would be difficult for the top four to finish in a way where they have to head to the Gabba in week one. 1970 Premiers 2ND 112.3per cent And hey look, its Geelong! And the entire game was a big tick for Justin Longmuirs strategic nous - he remains underrated in the wider footy community. And its hard to argue theyll be enormous threats in an elimination final, which likely would be at Optus Stadium against the Dockers, or against a current top-four team. Head to ESPN's Home of AFL Can they remain consistent throughout September? Every year people say it doesnt matter if you finish on top of the ladder, and yeah there are about as many premiers from second and third as there are from first, but being in pole position still matters plenty. Have the Tigers over-achieved? AFL Debate Club: What is Gillon McLachlan's defining achievement as AFL CEO? Next game: Hawthorn at UTAS Stadium, Sunday early. You have reached ESPN's Australian edition. By comparison the 2nd vs 3rd qualifying final winner is more likely to be hosting Collingwood or Fremantle. 3 Hawthorn Very strong percentage home and away seasons year after year tells the story. Will it last? No, they're still the flag favourites, and their body of work this season points to that. 18. What we expect, and what happens in the data, is that around two thirds of team performances fall within this one band, and 97 per cent fall within two. It took a few weeks but they seem to have found some semblance of a forward structure without Eric Hipwood. Collingwood . Next game: Richmond at the MCG, Sunday afternoon. Behold, the NFL's all-time Top 10 franchises: 1. Get the latest injury updates, trade analysis, draft info and more from around the league. This week's opponent: Geelong (GMHBA Stadium), 10. They've gone from top eight smokey, to likely finalist, to now being a top four contender! The Dockers will either lock in sixth spot by losing to GWS, or keep their top four hopes alive by beating them in the nations capital, at which point they have to wait until Sunday to learn their fate. Even though Geelong seems a little lethargic, their home is still a fortress. Year Result Ladder Home and away (percentage) In 2011 they were leading the preliminary final with 2 mins to go before suffering a cruel 3-point loss after a strong 18-win home and away season. Previous rankings (prior to): Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 | Round 6 | Round 7 | Round 8 | Round 9 | Round 10 | Round 11 | Round 12 | POST BYE | Round 15 | Round 16 | Round 17 | Round 18 | Round 19 | Round 20, 1. This week's opponent: North Melbourne (MCG), 13. What that win over the Blues showed us is they're buying into what Stuart Dew is putting down, even if the results don't always fall their way. Theyre still working things out, and thats fine. 1972 Runner-Up 2nd 117.7per cent, Carlton Footy fans feel almost cheated when their club has an amazing year or two and then falls away into insignificance in a very fast manner. Next game: West Coast Eagles at Marvel Stadium, Sunday early, *Odds are current as of 1st May 2023, 7:12pm AEST. 5 Richmond Probably the most interesting of all the listed teams. This is our attempt to rank every AFL club from best to worst right now. Were not saying that proves Port Adelaide is better - were happy to put some respect on the Magpies name after their winning streak - but theyre not much worse. Really, its incredibly close between 13th to 16th, but at least Matthew Nicks men are ending the year on a high. It's been a dirty week for the Crows an onfield loss in the Showdown only compounds (yet another) horror week off it. Become a member to join in Australia's biggest sporting debate, submit articles, receive updates straight to your inbox and keep up with your favourite teams and authors. They did get a bit screwed by the Hawks game being moved to the Hawks home ground, rather than a neutral venue or better yet Canberra; this might have been a Covid-caused loss. The Power are up into fifth on the Power Rankings after the Lions once again failed to fire. 1. As an American whose never lived in an Australian city and has no connections to any city, and also no favorite team, but just enjoys the sport: Love: none . The average salary of an AFL men's player on the primary list in 2020 was $259,651, down from $363,430 in 2019, which will revert in 2022 as the salary cap expands once more and clubs can shift . 2021 record: 9-10-1 Held goalless for most of the first half, things could have been much uglier. Next game: St Kilda at Optus Stadium, Sunday night. But how much of that was their Sam Walsh-less midfield exploiting Richmonds weakness once Dion Prestia went down? GWS They're arguably the most interesting team in the top four, but we're not running a "Most Interesting Power Rankings". AFL News: 'Incredibly competitive' search for new CEO defended as Dillon confirmed, McRae 'lost his mind' over umpiring, Six Points: Pies' crazy bravery trumps critically cautious Crows, and Simpson's pathetic Eagles can't go on like this, Adelaide Crows vs Collingwood Magpies: AFL live scores, Richmond Tigers vs Gold Coast Suns: AFL live scores, Essendon Bombers vs Geelong Cats: AFL live scores. Plenty to work with, stay the course, etc.! Anything above respectability in 2022 is just a bonus for the Magpies. Sure, they beat the Swans, but it's not going to help them. Note: Throughout the year, ESPN will rank all 18 teams, from top to bottom, taking into account which teams are playing the best footy, injuries, each team's recent opponents, and which teams are looking most like flag contenders. Thankfully for their sake, Essendon played like they did a few hours later and distracted everyone. They're zero-from-two this season, with losses to North Melbourne and now Melbourne, but are still hanging onto a spot in the finals by a solitary win (their percentage is lower than that of both Essendon and Richmond who are one win behind). Previous ranking: 17. The next five I have fully witnessed, so I am going to rank them in terms of greatness. It's even easier in Live 2/Evolution. Previous ranking: 10. Previous ranking: 9. But Damien Hardwicks side was completely blown away in the midfield late on Thursday night and the absence of Dion Prestia once he went down with another soft tissue injury was seriously felt. Any chance they can be 3-1 heading into the Q-Clash? Melbourne Previous ranking: 3. Theres a new ute in town. Carlton 2021 record: 9-11 2020 Premiers 3RD 129.9. It's tough to sustain a run at the top, and it looks like finally the chasing pack has caught up. Previous ranking: 4. 4 Brisbane Many experts rate them as one of the greatest sides of all time and rightly so. Its almost impossible to pick the premiership favourite right now; you can make a valid case for all four of our top four-ranked sides. Year Type Sort By 2022 AFL Team Rankings 2022 AFL Team Rankings Team Totals Opponent Averages Opponent Totals Team/Opponent Differential Averages Team/Opponent Differential Totals hide menu Round by Round Player Rankings This week's opponent: GWS (GMHBA Stadium), 2. Previous ranking: 4. r/AFL on Reddit: Best AFL video game? We want to see it! Josh Rachele giving them some much-needed forward line X-factor is a clear tick. No 1. 4. Western Bulldogs Sydney Australia's #1 independent AFL news source, Ranking the top 10 best ever Rookie Draft selections, Essendon appoint Josh Mahoney as new footy boss, Melbourne announce new deal for star forward Kysaiah Pickett. Why St Kilda's second appointment of Ross Lyon is a massive gamble. West Coast No. Is that enough of a sample size for him to be sacked? Show my results >> Up one spot only? Next game: Fremantle at Optus Stadium, Sunday night. They won by four goals in that exact fixture back in Round 7, when they were really flying offensively, so we know they can do it. Oops! There are rumblings down on Royal Parade, and fair enough - the fans have been extremely patient. 26. Is this week's clash with Freo winnable? Good. 1988 Premiers MP 142.3per cent There's something to work with there 15. 7. The Bombers defence was their big flaw last year but even the 2005 Swans wouldnt have been able to stop the quality of entries Geelong was getting thanks to complete midfield dominance. Up into second and in the box seat to host a qualifying final, their closest win over this purple patch was by 17 points (aka a blowout in a Collingwood game). 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In this week's edition of ESPN's AFL Power Rankings, there's a clear gap between the competition's best five teams, the chasing pack, and then the rest. It's been a year of learning for the Tigers and Damien Hardwick, who has openly admitted he doesn't like how footy is being played. And they should be beating the Kangaroos, given the talent that remains on their list compared to their opponents. Next game: Adelaide Crows at Adelaide Oval, Saturday twilight. A positive Z-score means they were consistently above average, and the larger the score means the further above average. Previous ranking: 8. The Blues werent overly convincing against Adelaide, but in their situation, any win is a good win. Can they make a run of it? You can follow Ryan. Previous ranking: 13. They might have - they look lethargic and lacking up forward, and aside from the strong second half against the Suns in Round 19, haven't looked likely in a few weeks. Previous ranking: 2. Next game: West Coast Eagles at GMHBA Stadium, Sunday early. Theyve already played the Dogs pretty well for a few years and if that midfield gets on top of the Dogs well-regarded group, then were looking at a legitimate finals contender at Princes Park. Blockbuster fatigue. We would love to have seen them really put their foot down in the second half, but alas, a 62-point win is still a fine effort. This week is the real test. 4. An unexpected win? Broadly, this tells me its much easier to be an outstanding offensive team than it is to be an outstanding defensive team and that being brilliant at scoring is possibly a better predictor of success than defence (note, I say possibly). The 2008 Geelong team is the best team I . Note: Throughout the year, ESPN will rank all 18 teams, from top to bottom, taking into account which teams are playing the best footy, injuries, . If we say the Blues are 50-50 to beat the Magpies, and the Saints are 30-70 to beat the Swans (which seems fair? Download ESPN from iTunes App Store Sure, at their absolute best. For all of the concerns about their attack, theyre averaging 87 points across the course of the season and 87.2 points over the last five weeks which includes games against 11th, 9th, 8th, 6th and 5th, so theyre not that far off their season-long pace (even if its been pretty ugly).
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