AFL WOMEN’S Power Rankings: Finals 2019

To the surprise of few, the Adelaide Crows end the 2019 AFLW season as the top-ranked team, and more importantly winners of the 2019 premiership. If you adjust for the closer margins in AFLW then there has never been an AFL team that has been so dominant. I’ve already outlined how well they were performing this season, and how many statistical categories they were leading in, a few weeks ago – from that point they just got even better.

The only other point I’ll note is that, while Carlton were generally not among the four strongest teams during the year, and only qualified for the finals due to the much-criticised conference system, they actually did end the year as a worthy equal to the ‘other’ non-Adelaide Conference A teams. Their comfortable Preliminary Final win against Fremantle was an impressive performance. Across the year I would say that the Dockers were more deserving of a Grand Final spot instead, but the Blues definitely out-performed them on the day.

To get away from the figures for a moment I’ve found that the AFLW is getting better to watch with each new season. Finding a worthy rival to Adelaide may make it even more interesting, but the Crows were so good that they were a joy to watch regardless, and things can change quickly with a new season and player movements. I’ll be more invested from a supporter viewpoint next year with the entry of Richmond into the competition. Even aside from that, I’m excited to see the first generation of players who have grown up in an AFLW world come through, and to see what ways of playing Australian football develop as a result.