AFL Power Rankings: Round 14 2015

There were two events in the AFL this past week that made my eyes widen and let out an exclamation of shock when I first heard about them (the revelations of drug use at the Gold Coast Suns was not one of them). The first was the death of Adelaide Crows coach Phil Walsh. This led to the Adelaide-Geelong match scheduled for this week being cancelled, which in turn had a whole bunch of other implications. In terms of these rankings I have given both teams zero ranking points for the week. That pulls both teams’ total ranking points down a bit as they both have positive overall ratings, but it seemed the best way to account for this unusual event. Geelong’s points also take a hit from one of the teams that it recently thrashed being substantially downgraded …

What has happened to Essendon? Ranked seventh here after Round 3 this season, the Bombers have lost almost five goals worth of ranking points since, including two goals worth this week after losing by over 100 points to the Saints. St. Kilda has now gained more ranking points than any team this season, while only Carlton has lost more ranking points than Essendon (and we know what happened to the Blues’ coach as a result of their poor form). The Bombers are now considered here to be a bottom-five team, and may sink even lower on the rankings if this weekend was an indication of where they are heading.