AFL WOMEN’S Rankings: Round 4 2022

Fremantle emerges as the clear top side… sort of

In keeping with the unusual nature of this AFLW season, the Fremantle Dockers played two games in the past week – the first against fellow 2021 finalist Collingwood on the Thursday night and then a second, re-scheduled match against the Western Bulldogs on the Tuesday. This gave us a rare opportunity to see our usual week-to-week revising of expectations within the same week.

After the first match Fremantle looked like a powerhouse. They smashed the previously undefeated Magpies, holding them to just seven points to run out winners by five goals, with an incredible 41 to 10 inside 50s. They were massive in the contests around the ground, with 23 more contested possessions despite only having one more clearance, and 28 more tackles. If the round had ended there the Dockers would be a clear goal ahead on the rankings.

Tuesday’s game against the Bulldogs, while by no means a cause for major concern, did even things out a bit and slightly dropped their ranking points. The Dockers won by just a goal, although they still dominated field position with 37 to 22 inside 50s, and they had 30 more tackles.

As has been the case for the past few years, Fremantle tend not to dominate possession but get huge bang for their buck in gaining territory when they do get the ball, and they are defensive beasts. This season their midfield combination of Kiara Bowers, Hayley Miller, and Gabby O’Sullivan is arguably the competition’s best, with all of them currently in the top 20 for average contested possessions, tackles, and metres gained (see table below).

Bowers however has just received a two-match suspension, so it will be interesting to see if that breaks their form, or if they pick up right where they left off when she returns.

Other lopsided forward half counts

Fremantle’s matches were not alone in having lopsided inside 50 counts, with all of the other round’s games having an inside 50 differential of ten or more, with varying results (see table below).

Fremantle in its first match and the Kangaroos capitalised on their territorial advantage with big wins. However inaccuracy in front of goal brought down the winning margins for Adelaide, Brisbane, and Gold Coast, although they all at least got home. Not so the Western Bulldogs, who were cost their first win of the season against GWS, by kicking only 2.11 to 7.1 for the Giants.

These inside 50 differentials are arguably a better reflection of where teams sit relative to each other after this weekend than the actual scores. For example, while Geelong did very well to get within two points of last year’s premier Brisbane, the differentials of seven scoring shots and 26 inside 50s are probably more reflective of the actual gap between the teams.