Now that we are five rounds
into the season I have added back to the Power Rankings the ‘change over the
season’ column to show how each club has improved or declined over the season
to date.
And the big improvers are:
Essendon – The
Bombers were always expected to improve this season as
half a dozen of their best players returned from their season-long bans. They
haven’t been among the best performed sides so far, but certainly better than
the depleted side they fielded last year.
Richmond – The
Tigers were awful over the second half of 2016, but they have been consistently
solid over the first five matches of 2017 without having had a standout match.
In terms of actual wins and losses ‘consistently solid’ has been good enough as
the Tigers have won their first five matches over generally average to weak
opposition. Because of their poor ending to 2016 they are still ranked as below
average, but on 2017 form alone they would easily be a top eight side as they
were during 2013 to 2015.
Port
Adelaide – After having missed the finals last season Port Adelaide
has been up there with Adelaide, GWS, and Geelong as the best sides so far in
2017. The Power opened up by beating Sydney on their home turf, and they
destroyed both Fremantle and Carlton. They also put in solid showings against
both Adelaide and GWS, indicating that they are on pace for a finals position.
On the other hand, the big
decliners have been:
Hawthorn –
It’s not as bad as it looked last week, with the Hawks having an excellent win
against the West Coast Eagles on the weekend. That aside Hawthorn is clearly
nowhere near the side it has been the past six years. I
covered Hawthorn’s dramatic fall last week so I won’t say any
more on this here.
Sydney –
It’s been a big drop for last year’s runners-up and top
ranked team – not so much on these rankings which still
take into account last season’s form, but on the actual 2017 ladder with the
Swans having lost their first five matches. Generally they have been below
average in most of their matches so far, which given the heights they scaled last
year is a huge drop in performance.
Western
Bulldogs – Last year’s premiers the Bulldogs have also been off the
pace they set last season. Or at least they are off the pace they set during
their phenomenal September run. Before that amazing finals series they were actually
only an average side – particularly in the second half of the year – and
that seems to be what they have reverted to so far in 2017.
Carlton – The
Blues were bad last year. This year they have been even worse, with a thrashing
by Port Adelaide and a home loss against Gold Coast their worst performances.
Not on that list is North
Melbourne, the other side currently without a win. The Kangaroos have dropped
off a bit from last year, but as Rohan Connolly pointed out this week they
haven’t been as bad as their ladder position suggests. They’ve had very close
losses to Geelong, the Bulldogs, and Fremantle to Perth, and so could have
easily had at least one win to date. If you’re looking for the team that is
most likely to finish last Brisbane or Carlton seem a safer bet.
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