AFL Power Poll #10
June 24th 2009 08:37
ROUND 12 started with an epic clash between St Kilda and Carlton before ending with Geelong almost coughing up its unbeaten record to the Dockers in Perth.
The eight teams I expect to make the top eight are fairly set at this stage.
Only Essendon could upset the apple cart because Sydney appears to be the best of the rest and finals are a massive long shot for the side from the Harbour City.
The Saints survived a huge performance from Carlton to move to 12-0, the Adelaide and Collingwood bandwagons rolled on and Brisbane produced another great display.
Hawthorn was the only slider and desperately need its premiership defence to return, while the Bulldogs continued to belt mediocre opposition.
I rank the 16 AFL clubs on a weekly basis judged on current ladder position, form, injuries and long-term prospects.
I will display clubs’ pre-season and previous week’s ranking in brackets next to my latest rating and write a brief reason why.
PS: pre-season ranking
LW: last week’s ranking
1. Geelong (PS: 2; LW: 1)
That’s back-to-back shaky performances from the Cats – both in Perth – ahead of their much-anticipated round 14 showdown with fellow unbeaten side St Kilda. But there’s little wrong when your biggest worry is whether Gary Ablett is handballing too much. Geelong faces Port Adelaide at Skilled Stadium on Sunday. The Power was the last team to defeat the Cats there in 2007, but there’s little chance of a repeat.
2. St Kilda (PS: 6; LW: 2)
Probably should have lost to the Blues, but escaped with another win after an unlikely late goal from defender Zac Dawson. The Saints will do as they please against Richmond this weekend before their sell-out contest against the Cats.
3. Western Bulldogs (PS: 7; LW: 4)
Absolutely hammered Port Adelaide and continue to kick goals with their small-ball line-up. The Dogs have won five of six – the only loss being a two-point margin to Geelong – since their 28-point defeat at the hands of St Kilda. The Dogs are headed for a top-four spot and will be hoping to bypass the Saints come preliminary final time.
4. Carlton (PS: 5; LW: 5)
That’s the type of effort I’ve been waiting for from the Blues and follows their great victory over in-form Brisbane at the Gabba. A little more ground time from Chris Judd, who broke his nose in the clash and was on-and-off the ground, and the four points may have been Carlton’s. But the Blues had their chances after a slow start and Brett Ratten will be looking for another impressive display against Essendon on Friday night.
5. Hawthorn (PS: 1; LW: 3)
I couldn’t keep ignoring the Hawks’ shaky performances. The latest 42-point drubbing to Brisbane in Tasmania was a shocker. They are apparently poised to regain Stephen Gilham and Rick Ladson and their returns can not come quick enough. But Hawthorn is hardly ‘gone’, considering it is still just a game – and significant percentage – behind fourth-placed Collingwood.
6. Brisbane (PS: 8; LW: 6)
The round 11 loss to Carlton could have unravelled the Lions, but they jumped straight back into action and belted the Hawks at the latter’s second home. Jonathan Brown is firing, Daniel Rich has a second wind and Jared Brennan and Mitch Clark are proving to be a formidable ruck duo. This will be an extremely dangerous side come September.
7. Collingwood (PS: 3; LW: 7)
Sorry Magpies fans; no rise for your club this week despite a fourth straight triumph. They only just got over the line against the Swans, but did so without Scott Pendlebury – other than the first two minutes. Collingwood has a couple if winnable encounters ahead before meeting the Dogs in round 15 in a match-up that should tell us a bit more about where it is heading.
8. Adelaide (PS: 9; LW: 8)
The Crows trampled the Kangaroos in horrendous conditions to give them four on the trot. This is suddenly an exciting team to watch and face Sydney in an interesting outing at AAMI Stadium on Saturday. The Swans and Crows typically play out dour encounters, but the latter’s new game style may change that.
9. Essendon (PS: 13; LW: 9)
The youthful Bombers remain inside the real top eight, but an unimpressive performance against the hapless Demons meant they lost ground to the Crows in this week’s Power Poll. The third quarter massacre of Melbourne owed more to the Demons’ abhorrent turnover rate rather than good play from Essendon. Will need to play well against traditional rival Carlton on Friday night.
10. Sydney (PS: 11; LW: 10)
Suffered another close loss, but is it bad luck or the fact the Swans are just not good enough? Sydney’s next month against Adelaide (away), North Melbourne (home), Essendon (home) and Carlton (away) will go a long way to deciding its fortunes. Two wins is probably the Swans’ best-case scenario and that would leave them requiring at least four victories from their last six matches to make the finals.
11. Port Adelaide (PS: 10; LW: 11)
Only the Power’s strong early season form – and resultant 50-50 record after 12 rounds – is earning it this ranking. Port Adelaide has won only one game in the past month, but do have an injury excuse, with Chad Cornes, Steven Salopek and Shaun Burgoyne on the sidelines for at least part of that period.
12. North Melbourne (PS: 12; LW: 12)
The Kangaroos are only just holding off the improved Tigers and are a good chance to lose their next three before meeting Richmond in round 16. A defeat in that fixture could result in a bottom-four position for North Melbourne.
13. Richmond (PS: 4; LW: 13)
A third success for the season for the Tigers against the Eagles, but they almost let their lead slip in the final term. Fans also got their first look at first-round draft pick Tyrone Vickery and he showed enough to suggest he has a bright future. Richmond has a tough next three weeks – much like the Kangaroos – before meeting North Melbourne.
14. Fremantle (PS: 16; LW: 14)
Stuck fat with Geelong all night last Sunday before going down by 19 points. It was an impressive performance, but there has been little continuity from the Dockers this year – other than their three-match winning streak from rounds five to seven. Let’s see how they go against Collingwood on Saturday afternoon.
15. West Coast (PS: 14; LW: 15)
That’s two tight defeats running for the Eagles, but the latest loss was against lowly Richmond. There’s little to shout about for the West Coast, but the debut of Nic Naitanui was certainly worth the wait. The ‘Human Pogo Stick’ – as he’s been dubbed – hauled in a screamer and jumped all over Richmond’s ruckman in the centre bounces. He is a seriously talented athlete.
16. Melbourne (PS: 15; LW: 16)
Another terrible display from the one-win Demons. The talk leading into the club’s Friday night clash with Essendon was that the match was a chance for redemption for the woeful effort on the Queen’s Birthday holiday. But a lively first half that saw Melbourne draw within four points of the Bombers at one stage was wasted with a bad finish to the second quarter and a dismal third term. It’s going to be a long last 10 rounds for the Demons.
The eight teams I expect to make the top eight are fairly set at this stage.
Only Essendon could upset the apple cart because Sydney appears to be the best of the rest and finals are a massive long shot for the side from the Harbour City.
The Saints survived a huge performance from Carlton to move to 12-0, the Adelaide and Collingwood bandwagons rolled on and Brisbane produced another great display.
Hawthorn was the only slider and desperately need its premiership defence to return, while the Bulldogs continued to belt mediocre opposition.
I rank the 16 AFL clubs on a weekly basis judged on current ladder position, form, injuries and long-term prospects.
I will display clubs’ pre-season and previous week’s ranking in brackets next to my latest rating and write a brief reason why.
PS: pre-season ranking
LW: last week’s ranking
1. Geelong (PS: 2; LW: 1)
That’s back-to-back shaky performances from the Cats – both in Perth – ahead of their much-anticipated round 14 showdown with fellow unbeaten side St Kilda. But there’s little wrong when your biggest worry is whether Gary Ablett is handballing too much. Geelong faces Port Adelaide at Skilled Stadium on Sunday. The Power was the last team to defeat the Cats there in 2007, but there’s little chance of a repeat.
2. St Kilda (PS: 6; LW: 2)
Probably should have lost to the Blues, but escaped with another win after an unlikely late goal from defender Zac Dawson. The Saints will do as they please against Richmond this weekend before their sell-out contest against the Cats.
3. Western Bulldogs (PS: 7; LW: 4)
Absolutely hammered Port Adelaide and continue to kick goals with their small-ball line-up. The Dogs have won five of six – the only loss being a two-point margin to Geelong – since their 28-point defeat at the hands of St Kilda. The Dogs are headed for a top-four spot and will be hoping to bypass the Saints come preliminary final time.
4. Carlton (PS: 5; LW: 5)
That’s the type of effort I’ve been waiting for from the Blues and follows their great victory over in-form Brisbane at the Gabba. A little more ground time from Chris Judd, who broke his nose in the clash and was on-and-off the ground, and the four points may have been Carlton’s. But the Blues had their chances after a slow start and Brett Ratten will be looking for another impressive display against Essendon on Friday night.
5. Hawthorn (PS: 1; LW: 3)
I couldn’t keep ignoring the Hawks’ shaky performances. The latest 42-point drubbing to Brisbane in Tasmania was a shocker. They are apparently poised to regain Stephen Gilham and Rick Ladson and their returns can not come quick enough. But Hawthorn is hardly ‘gone’, considering it is still just a game – and significant percentage – behind fourth-placed Collingwood.
6. Brisbane (PS: 8; LW: 6)
The round 11 loss to Carlton could have unravelled the Lions, but they jumped straight back into action and belted the Hawks at the latter’s second home. Jonathan Brown is firing, Daniel Rich has a second wind and Jared Brennan and Mitch Clark are proving to be a formidable ruck duo. This will be an extremely dangerous side come September.
7. Collingwood (PS: 3; LW: 7)
Sorry Magpies fans; no rise for your club this week despite a fourth straight triumph. They only just got over the line against the Swans, but did so without Scott Pendlebury – other than the first two minutes. Collingwood has a couple if winnable encounters ahead before meeting the Dogs in round 15 in a match-up that should tell us a bit more about where it is heading.
8. Adelaide (PS: 9; LW: 8)
The Crows trampled the Kangaroos in horrendous conditions to give them four on the trot. This is suddenly an exciting team to watch and face Sydney in an interesting outing at AAMI Stadium on Saturday. The Swans and Crows typically play out dour encounters, but the latter’s new game style may change that.
9. Essendon (PS: 13; LW: 9)
The youthful Bombers remain inside the real top eight, but an unimpressive performance against the hapless Demons meant they lost ground to the Crows in this week’s Power Poll. The third quarter massacre of Melbourne owed more to the Demons’ abhorrent turnover rate rather than good play from Essendon. Will need to play well against traditional rival Carlton on Friday night.
10. Sydney (PS: 11; LW: 10)
Suffered another close loss, but is it bad luck or the fact the Swans are just not good enough? Sydney’s next month against Adelaide (away), North Melbourne (home), Essendon (home) and Carlton (away) will go a long way to deciding its fortunes. Two wins is probably the Swans’ best-case scenario and that would leave them requiring at least four victories from their last six matches to make the finals.
11. Port Adelaide (PS: 10; LW: 11)
Only the Power’s strong early season form – and resultant 50-50 record after 12 rounds – is earning it this ranking. Port Adelaide has won only one game in the past month, but do have an injury excuse, with Chad Cornes, Steven Salopek and Shaun Burgoyne on the sidelines for at least part of that period.
12. North Melbourne (PS: 12; LW: 12)
The Kangaroos are only just holding off the improved Tigers and are a good chance to lose their next three before meeting Richmond in round 16. A defeat in that fixture could result in a bottom-four position for North Melbourne.
13. Richmond (PS: 4; LW: 13)
A third success for the season for the Tigers against the Eagles, but they almost let their lead slip in the final term. Fans also got their first look at first-round draft pick Tyrone Vickery and he showed enough to suggest he has a bright future. Richmond has a tough next three weeks – much like the Kangaroos – before meeting North Melbourne.
14. Fremantle (PS: 16; LW: 14)
Stuck fat with Geelong all night last Sunday before going down by 19 points. It was an impressive performance, but there has been little continuity from the Dockers this year – other than their three-match winning streak from rounds five to seven. Let’s see how they go against Collingwood on Saturday afternoon.
15. West Coast (PS: 14; LW: 15)
That’s two tight defeats running for the Eagles, but the latest loss was against lowly Richmond. There’s little to shout about for the West Coast, but the debut of Nic Naitanui was certainly worth the wait. The ‘Human Pogo Stick’ – as he’s been dubbed – hauled in a screamer and jumped all over Richmond’s ruckman in the centre bounces. He is a seriously talented athlete.
16. Melbourne (PS: 15; LW: 16)
Another terrible display from the one-win Demons. The talk leading into the club’s Friday night clash with Essendon was that the match was a chance for redemption for the woeful effort on the Queen’s Birthday holiday. But a lively first half that saw Melbourne draw within four points of the Bombers at one stage was wasted with a bad finish to the second quarter and a dismal third term. It’s going to be a long last 10 rounds for the Demons.
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