AFL Power Rankings: Round 22 2012

There are some weeks where I struggle to say anything interesting about the rankings ... this is not one of those weeks! Where do I start? Let's start from the top:

- The #1 ranked Hawks finally move to the top of the actual AFL ladder. The Hawks have been the #1 ranked team here since Round 10 (and for all but one week since Round 7).

- Sydney are still a clear #2, and Adelaide now look a clear #3.

- St. Kilda move to #4, and Collingwood slide three spots to #6. There is virtually no difference now between the teams ranked #4-#7 ... well, except that one of those teams (the Saints) is going to miss the finals. Indeed, between Collingwood and West Coast the difference is less than 0.01 of a ranking point! (And the #8 team is not that far behind that group.)

- Fremantle jump to #8 after an easy win against North, who in turn slide from #7 to #10. This is the first time since the rankings started that the Dockers, who are in hot form right now, have been in the top eight.

- Greater Western Sydney are clearly the worst team in the AFL; Gold Coast are actually creeping up to Melbourne and the Bulldogs.

So what does it all mean? Well, even though this is all based on past results, the Hawks have been playing like flag favourites, the Swans look like the team most likely to play them in the Grand Final, and the other teams in the finals all look pretty close (except for North Melbourne, who look like they're headed for a quick exit ... at least until next week's rankings).

1 (1) Hawthorn 43.2 (43.2)
2 (2) Sydney 32.0 (31.9)
3 (5) Adelaide 21.8 (18.0)
4 (6) St. Kilda 17.3 (14.6)
5 (4) Geelong 17.1 (19.0)
6 (3) Collingwood 16.9 (19.7)
7 (8) West Coast 16.9 (13.1)
8 (11) Fremantle 15.5 (6.8)
9 (9) Richmond 12.8 (9.0)
10 (7) North Melbourne 8.8 (14.4)
11 (10) Carlton 3.7 (8.7)
12 (12) Essendon -7.1 (4.4)
13 (13) Brisbane -12.4 (-14.0)
14 (14) Port Adelaide -26.9 (-25.9)
15 (15) Melbourne -33.1 (-31.0)
16 (16) Western Bulldogs -33.5 (-35.3)
17 (17) Gold Coast -39.4 (-43.9)
18 (18) Greater Western Sydney -69.2 (-66.3)

AFL Power Rankings: Round 21 2012

Geelong move back into the top four this week after a comfortable win against the Saints.

1 (1) Hawthorn 43.2 (46.2)
2 (2) Sydney 31.9 (29.6)
3 (3) Collingwood 19.7 (22.5)
4 (6) Geelong 19.0 (15.5)
5 (4) Adelaide 18.0 (19.8)
6 (5) St. Kilda 14.6 (18.9)
7 (7) North Melbourne 14.4 (12.1)
8 (9) West Coast 13.1 (10.6)
9 (8) Richmond 9.0 (10.7)
10 (12) Carlton 8.7 (0.9)
11 (10) Fremantle 8.6 (6.8)
12 (11) Essendon -4.4 (3.3)
13 (13) Brisbane -14.0 (-16.9)
14 (14) Port Adelaide -25.9 (-24.3)
15 (15) Melbourne -31.0 (-30.3)
16 (16) Western Bulldogs -35.3 (-32.5)
17 (17) Gold Coast -43.9 (-46.7)
18 (18) Greater Western Sydney -66.3 (-67.5)

AFL Power Rankings: Round 20 2012

Collingwood move up from 5th to 3rd this week, after winning in Sydney against the #2 ranked Swans. This is the highest the Magpies have been ranked since Round 1.

West Coast continue to slide, from 7th to 9th, despite beating Geelong on the weekend, which might cause some derision of the rankings among any Eagles fans who read this. The system rated North's win over Essendon and Richmond's walloping of the Bulldogs as more impressive wins than the Eagles' narrow victory against Geelong, hence why they moved above the Eagles in ranking points. (Personally, as a Tigers fan, it gives me little comfort to see us ranked ahead the Eagles here, and be seven places below them on the actual ladder.)

1 (1) Hawthorn 46.2 (45.8)
2 (2) Sydney 29.6(31.9)
3 (5) Collingwood 22.5 (19.5)
4 (4) Adelaide 19.8 (19.6)
5 (3) St. Kilda 18.9 (20.7)
6 (6) Geelong 15.5 (14.2)
7 (8) North Melbourne 12.1 (10.2)
8 (9) Richmond 10.7 (6.8)
9 (7) West Coast 10.6 (11.0)
10 (10) Fremantle 6.8 (5.5)
11 (11) Essendon 3.3 (3.8)
12 (12) Carlton 0.9 (0.8)
13 (13) Brisbane -16.9 (-16.9)
14 (14) Port Adelaide -24.3 (-25.1)
15 (16) Melbourne -30.3 (-33.6)
16 (15) Western Bulldogs -32.5 (-30.0)
17 (17) Gold Coast -46.7 (-46.9)
18 (18) Greater Western Sydney -67.5 (-68.3)

Rejigging The Olympics Medal Tally

Commonly, the Olympics medal tally for countries is ordered in terms of number of gold medals won. Under this system, countries that have won a lot of medals but only a small proportion of them are gold are disadvantaged (in the current Olympics this includes the Russian Federation, Japan, Germany and Australia). On the other, countries could be ranked by number of medals won, but this treats all medals as being of equal value.

So how about this system - what if 3 points were awarded for a gold medal, 2 for a silver medal, and 1 point for a bronze medal? Under this system, the top 10 for the current 2012 Olympics medal tally would look like this:

This order seems more reflective of who the historically strong sports nations are. Over the long run, one would expect the proportions of medals of each colour won by each country to even out, so that the all-time table under this system would have a similar order to the all-time table ordered by gold medals won. Here are the top 12:

China drops a few places under the adjusted system, but other than that it's pretty close.

AFL Power Rankings: Round 19 2012

The Western Derby had the biggest effect on the rankings this week, with the winner Fremantle moving up from 12th to 10th (and into positive territory on ranking points), and the loser West Coast falling from 5th to 7th, losing touch with the top five.

Twelve teams are now in positive territory, with a massive gap between 12th-placed Carlton and 13th-placed Brisbane.

1 (1) Hawthorn 45.8 (46.9)
2 (2) Sydney 31.9 (30.5)
3 (3) St. Kilda 20.7 (21.4)
4 (4) Adelaide 19.6 (19.3)
5 (6) Collingwood 19.5 (18.2)
6 (7) Geelong 14.2 (12.3)
7 (5) West Coast 11.0 (18.4)
8 (8) North Melbourne 10.2 (7.3)
9 (9) Richmond 6.8 (1.7)
10 (12) Fremantle 5.5 (-3.6)
11 (10) Essendon 3.8 (0.8)
12 (11) Carlton 0.8 (0.7)
13 (13) Brisbane -16.9 (-14.1)
14 (14) Port Adelaide -25.1 (-21.1)
15 (15) Western Bulldogs -30.0 (-28.9)
16 (16) Melbourne -33.6 (-36.4)
17 (17) Gold Coast -46.9 (-46.8)
18 (18) Greater Western Sydney -68.3 (-74.1)

The Finger Points Outwards - No. 43

Revisiting the "bootleg Batman".

The problems with making friends after 30.

"Medalball": which sports is it most cost-efficient to win Olympic medals in.

Comparing the pace of Olympic gold medallists over time (it's interactive!)

American baby names are getting worse.

And music is becoming more homogenous.

Quick ... Name The Five Sports In Modern Pentathlon