The graph might be a little crowded to follow, so let me summarize:
Adelaide - Biggest fall for the season, starting at 6th and ending in 14th. They dropped steadily until round 10, and then settled in the 12th-14th range.
Brisbane - Spent most of the year in 15th or 16th, but jumped to 11th after narrow loss to Collingwood, and ended in 12th. Their average net margin was not too bad considering they only won 4 games.
Carlton - Started in 7th, climbed to 4th by Round 3, and then spent most of year switching between 3rd and 4th.
Collingwood - Was in top spot for almost the entire year, often by a considerable margin, but lost it with Round 24 thrashing to Geelong.
Essendon - Climbed from 12th to 6th by Round 8 with a good start to the season, then fell back to 10th by Round 13, and spent rest of season in 8th-10th range.
Fremantle - Billed as a top four prospect early in the season by the media, the rankings showed that the Dockers were vastly overrated - they started in 11th, never climbed higher than 9th, and finished in 13th, not too far away from their final ladder position. (Good for me, because I bet on the Dockers to miss the eight on the basis of this ranking system.)
Geelong - Was in 2nd for most of the season, but nabbed 1st in the final round with huge win over the Pies.
Gold Coast - Should have started them off in 17th, because after their huge loss to Carlton in their first game that's where they stayed.
Hawthorn - Spent entire year in either 3rd or 4th.
Melbourne - Got some criticism earlier in the year, but maintained a ranking between 9th and 11th up to Round 18. Alas, maybe the criticism was justified, as they fell away badly, finishing in 15th.
North Melbourne - Was between 10th and 12th for first half of season, and between 7th and 10th for second half.
Port Adelaide - Started in 13th, dropped to 15th by Round 5, and stayed in 15th or 16th for rest of season, though only narrowly missed bottom ranking in the end.
Richmond - Was 16th in Round 5, but then spent most of season between 13th and 15th, though relatively strong finish to the season moved them up to 11th.
St. Kilda - The Saints' supposed early-season slump was always vastly overplayed because they had a tough fixture to start off with. Fell from 3rd to 5th by Round 3, then stayed between 5th and 7th for rest of season.
Sydney - Stayed between 5th and 8th for entire season.
West Coast - The biggest improvers by far: started in last place, climbed to 12th by Round 8, and then vaulted to 8th with huge win over the Bulldogs. Managed to climb into 5th spot by end of season.
Western Bulldogs - In contrast to the media, never considered a grand final chance by the rankings. Was in 6th-8th range until Round 8, when huge loss to Eagles saw them dive into 13th. Clawed their way back into 9th in the end.
There you have it. I'll wrap up with the final rankings after the Grand Final.
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