AFL Power Rankings: Rounds 15 and 16 2012

OK, we have two weeks' worth of Power Rankings to catch up on. First, here is how things stood last week at the conclusion of Round 15:

1 (1) Hawthorn 37.5 (32.2)
2 (3) Sydney 23.8 (23.3)
3 (2) West Coast 22.0 (24.1)
4 (7) St. Kilda 16.8 (10.1)
5 (4) Collingwood 13.9 (16.5)
6 (8) Adelaide 10.5 (8.1)
7 (5) Geelong 10.0 (15.1)
8 (9) Carlton 9.1 (7.3)
9 (6) Essendon 8.4 (13.7)
10 (10) Richmond 5.1 (6.4)
11 (11) North Melbourne 1.9 (-0.9)
12 (12) Brisbane -6.1 (-5.3)
13 (13) Fremantle -8.5 (-10.5)
14 (14) Port Adelaide -19.8 (-18.0)
15 (15) Western Bulldogs -25.6 (-22.2)
16 (16) Melbourne -31.1 (-32.0)
17 (18) Gold Coast -53.3 (-57.6)
18 (17) Greater Western Sydney -62.0 (-57.3)

And here is how they stand at the end of Round 16:

1 (1) Hawthorn 38.0 (37.5)
2 (2) Sydney 28.8 (23.8)
3 (4) St. Kilda 17.4 (16.8)
4 (3) West Coast 16.0 (22.0)
5 (5) Collingwood 15.1 (13.9)
6 (6) Adelaide 15.1 (10.5)
7 (9) Essendon 9.1 (8.4)
8 (11) North Melbourne 6.5 (-0.9)
9 (7) Geelong 5.3 (10.0)
10 (8) Carlton 2.1 (9.1)
11 (10) Richmond -0.3 (5.1)
12 (12) Brisbane -7.4 (-6.1)
13 (13) Fremantle -8.5 (-8.5)
14 (14) Port Adelaide -22.0 (-19.8)
15 (15) Western Bulldogs -27.5 (-25.6)
16 (16) Melbourne -35.0 (-31.1)
17 (17) Gold Coast -49.5 (-53.3)
18 (18) Greater Western Sydney -67.6 (-62.0)

Some big changes there from a couple of weeks back - let's go through them:

- Hawthorn is still a clear first, extending its lead in Round 15 with its 162-point hiding of GWS. (The Hawks have climbed to fourth on the actual ladder and are not far off the top.)
- The real ladder-leaders the Sydney Swans are now a clear second after their big win over the Eagles in Perth.
- St. Kilda have jumped to third. Boy, is that likely to raise some eyebrows! The Saints are perceived as currently just hanging on to a final eight spot. How best to explain this? St. Kilda are part of a close group of four with West Coast, Collingwood and Adelaide, having catapulted there after their huge win against the Bombers in Round 15 (conversely, that loss is partly keeping the Bombers out of that group). It may be surprising to know, but St. Kilda actually has a much higher average net margin than Collingwood over its past 22 games (the Magpies have rarely been beating teams by a lot). West Coast's average net margin is higher again, but last week's big loss at home drags them down. The Crows are winning big this season, but they have an easier draw than most teams.
- Essendon and North Melbourne round out the top eight - the Kangas jumping three spots after a big win against Carlton.
- Last year's top-ranked team and premier Geelong, are now ninth! Taking their past 13 games as a whole, they have negative ranking points, only their great 2011 form is keeping them in positive territory.
- The Giants are now clearly the bottom-ranked team in the AFL, having been annihilated in each of the past four weeks.