This AFL season it didn’t take
long for the top eight clubs to separate themselves from the rest of the
competition, both on these rankings and the actual ladder. For both the rankings
and the ladder that
separation came at about Round 6.
It has taken longer though for
the rankings and ladder to closely resemble each other for the clubs within the
eight. Clubs such as Adelaide and West Coast have tended to be higher on the rankings
than the ladder for much of the season. Conversely clubs such as North
Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs have generally looked better on the ladder
than their Power Ranking would suggest.
But now the ladder is starting
to look like what the rankings indicated they would. The Crows, having got past
the toughest part of their fixture for the season, are up to third on the
ladder. The Eagles, meanwhile, have moved up to fifth. The Kangaroos, undefeated
on top of the ladder after Round 9, have faced tougher opposition in recent
weeks and are now down to eighth – exactly where the rankings have rated them
for weeks.
Of course, things are so close
in the top half of the ladder that next week’s results may well muddle the
picture again, but I suspect that even in this close-run season we’re going to
see a clear top bracket of clubs emerge over the final few weeks.
On another topic, following
on from my
post about away fans I had the unusual experience of feeling like I was in
the slight minority when my club Richmond took on the Western Bulldogs at
Etihad Stadium this week. And as the result didn’t really matter for the Tigers
I felt that our main role was to be a potential spoiler for the ‘home team’. I’m
not sure I prefer that role, but it was a lot more relaxing. There is a
perverse type of pleasure in watching a fan base collectively hold their breath
as what was expected to be an easy win turns into something a whole lot closer
than what they bargained for. The recent Hawthorn v Adelaide
and Hawthorn v
Port Adelaide preliminary finals were great examples of this.
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