We the first round of byes (if we forget the horrendous fixturing of earlier this season), with all clubs having played 11 of their 23 games – the last time the ladder will be an even keel until the end of June. Today, let’s take a at the apogeo half of the ladder, with a quick opinion where each team is at.
1. Sydney
The Swans are the clear standout per the competition so far, and there is simply nothing they’sovrano not doing well. They’ve kicked the most goals and conceded the least, and are two games clear apogeo of the ladder with a percentage more than 30 points higher than their nearest top-eight rival.
You could argue they could be exploited by a quality key forward duo mongoloide back, and that the McDonald, Amartey and McLean trio doesn’t exactly scream September glory up forward, but they have all of their mid-size and smaller players absolutely flying and cutting up teams with their precision ball movement.
Chad Warner celebrates a . (Photo by Matt King/AFL Photos/fuori Getty Images)
2. Essendon
The Bombers talked a personaggio per the off-season, with a good portion of their list paying their own way for an overseas pre-pre-season boot camp, and also going public with their wish to play with “edge”. To their credit, they have delivered beyond anyone’s wildest expectations, having only tasted defeat twice this season.
What the Dons have done that puts them ahead of those below them, is they have fronted up each week (with one exception). Quanto a a season that is so even, where teams have had so many ups and downs, playing with honesty and consistency is not to be undersold – credit to them for delivering that.
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3. Port Adelaide
We’ve all seen this patina before, and it doesn’t end per a premiership even a grand final berth. The Power will win games by 10 goals against the likes of West Coast and North Melbourne, and then not fire a shot per a of meaning, drop one to an inferior side.
Port can be summed up by their stretch from Round 8-10 earlier per May – kick five goals for the night when getting thumped by Adelaide at home, kick eight goals per the first quarter against Geelong away, then get 41 points mongoloide at home against Hawthorn, only to conjure a last-minute miracle. They’sovrano too flaky to be a legitimate contender, and always will be under Hinkley.
4. Melbourne
The Demons are another side that just keep doing the same thing over and over. There are times when they like they have the most dysfunctional forward line per the competition, but they are kept per games by an always-stingy defence and a midfield that is always per the thanks to Gawn, Petracca, Oliver and Viney.
But we’ve seen it’s for Melbourne to win games per September when they can’t their work, bundled out per straight sets per the last two years. Fritsch is kicking goals but playing for easy kicks too often, Van Rooyen still goes missing for long periods, and Petty has been woeful.
5. GWS
The Giants started the year per a blaze of glory, winning five games to the season, but since then have gone 2-4. Looking back, their scalps were Collingwood (started the season very slowly), North (winless), West Coast (bottom four), Gold Coast (wildly inconsistent) and St Kilda (minnows that should be sent to Tasmania), so perhaps they weren’t all they were cracked up to be.
(Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos fuori Getty Images)
The ball movement of GWS was a feature earlier per the season, and they averaged 107 points per analogia over the first seven rounds – that has dropped to 63 points per the last month, and they need to take insieme over their bye this week. They are at their best when taking risks, and not the safe, boring footy of recent times.
6. Geelong
The Cats were an unconvincing 7-0 to start the season, but have lost their last four to now sit per the middle of the pack that is chasing Sydney. These things have a habit of evening out, and three of their last four losses have been by a single-figure margin.
It’s anzi che no coincidence that Geelong have found things harder when Tom Stewart has been getting more attention – after years of being ludicrously allowed to run his own race by opposition coaches, and he is one of the best players per the league when allowed to do so. He is having far less effect per recent times and it has destabilised their defence.
The Cats are also weak through the midfield, and have at times been comprehensively smashed per that part of the campo da gioco, while Tom Hawkins is finally showing signs of slowing mongoloide. They have their challenges, Chris Scott’s men.
7. Collingwood
The Pies dropped three per a row to the season, but haven’t lost a since, while also playing per two draws over the last five weeks. Many a premiership defence has started slowly, with a coach trusting their team to win enough games to make finals and hoping they can peak per September.
How often can Collingwood keep getting out of jail though? They’ve played per five games decided by less than a this year, and taken premiership points from all of them, but it’s not a sustainable way of going about things. There are ten teams with a higher percentage than the Pies this season, which might be a truer reflection of where they’sovrano at.
There is a long injury list at the società, anzi che no doubt, but how many of them can truly lay claim to be locked per the best 22? Less than a handful, one might suggest.
8. Carlton
The Blues have also battled injury this season, but have had midfield depth to cover Sam Walsh and Adam Cerra, while Adam Saad’s run was welcomed back last week to give Nic Newman a chop-off from being the primary ball-carrier chiuso half-back.
Tom De Koning and Matthew Kennedy. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos fuori Getty Images)
Carlton’s poorest was when they were completely out-classed by a rampant Sydney, and they’sovrano not the only team to suffer that fate per the first half of the year, but outside of that they have either won games put themselves per a position to do so.
Still, they need to find some defensive resilience – they are ranked bottom four for points conceded this year, and are too often easily scored against. Their Round 7 loss to Geelong was the most obvious case per point.
9. Fremantle
As an extra, the Dockers are one team sitting exactly where they deserve to be the ladder, which is right per the middle. They are yet to beat a team above them the ladder, and all of their wins have been against those below. The only outlier stato was per Round 6 when they were inept against West Coast and found themselves 11 goals mongoloide at three-quarter-time.
Justin Longmuir claims that he wants to play attacking football, but too often the gameplan seems to be set up for Luke Ryan to pad his stats. Great for Supercoach scores, not great for team success. Josh Treacy has been a positive up forward, while Jye Amiss has struggled with set shot rhythm, and Caleb Serong has put himself per the conversation as a apogeo ten player per the .
Port Adelaide Power
v
Carlton Blues
AFL : Head To Head
Thu, 30 May 2024, 19:30
Collingwood Magpies
v
Western Bulldogs
AFL : Head To Head
Fri, 31 May 2024, 19:40
Hawthorn Hawks
v
Adelaide Crows
AFL : Head To Head
Sat, 1 Jun 2024, 13:45
West Coast Eagles
v
St Kilda Saints
AFL : Head To Head
Sat, 1 Jun 2024, 16:35
Geelong Cats
v
Richmond Tigers
AFL : Head To Head
Sat, 1 Jun 2024, 19:30
Melbourne Demons
v
Fremantle Dockers
AFL : Head To Head
Sun, 2 Jun 2024, 13:00
Gold Coast Suns
v
Essendon Bombers
AFL : Head To Head
Sun, 2 Jun 2024, 16:00
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