AFL WOMEN’S Rankings: Round 3 2021

Fremantle’s ten wins in a row is very impressive, but they still seem to be ‘beatable’.

It may seem like being a ‘hater’ to say it – I assure you I am not –  but as great an achievement as the Dockers’ ten straight wins is, don’t declare the premiership race over yet.

Yes, Fremantle flattened two-time premiers the Adelaide Crows by 30 points on the weekend, but they did it with the same number of scoring shots, less disposals, and about the same number of inside 50s (although the Dockers do tend to get higher impact per disposal). In fairness, they could well have beaten West Coast by much more than nine points if they had higher accuracy in front of goal the week before, in a game where they had 35 to 14 inside 50s.

Nevertheless, I would still say they are not a nigh-unstoppable force, just a leading contender. The majority of their ten wins have been by three goals or less. The Kangaroos have arguably been slightly more dominant overall in their wins, though they keep falling short against Melbourne and snuck home in their final against Colingwood. But another undefeated home-and-away season (assuming the season finishes), and then home finals, would certainly help the Dockers in their quest for a first flag.

Aside from the Dockers and Kangaroos, the other teams that the rankings like to contend for the final six are Adelaide, Brisbane, Carlton, Collingwood, and Melbourne, keeping in mind we do not the rest of the fixture. Carlton has only one win out of three matches, but does play Richmond next week.

Or at least they do at the moment. Here are my tips until the next set of state border closures changes the fixture…