AFL WOMEN’S Rankings: Round 2 SEASON 7

The Dockers plummet

Last season Fremantle made the AFL Women’s preliminary finals. This weekend they scored a solitary point at home against Geelong. That followed a 49-point loss to Brisbane in their first match of the season.

The Dockers have been inside 50 only 37 times in their two matches, which is less than half the number of their two opponents. They’ve had 53 less contested possessions, and 86 less uncontested possessions, putting them at or near the bottom of the league for differentials for both measures. Their tackles have dropped by three per game, while the league average has increased by six per game. It has been a dramatic fall so far.

In the previous season Fremantle had one of the best midfields going around, and a formidable forward line. Kiara Bowers, Hayley Miller, and Gabby O’Sullivan were all in the top 25 for average contested possessions per game. Ebony Antonio and Gemma Houghton were in the top 20 for average goals per game, and Kara Antonio and Miller were in the top 10 for average score involvements.

This season the Antonios have been lost to injury, Houghton lost to expansion team Port Adelaide, and O’Sullivan has been shifted back into the forward line. O’Sullivan’s possessions have gone down significantly, but Freo’s other mids Dana East and Aine Tighe haven’t stepped up their ball-winning to compensate. Even Bowers and Miller have been somewhat down on last season’s form.

Replicating last season’s preliminary final berth looks out of reach now, but there should still be enough talent at the Dockers to fare better this season than they have so far. This week’s match against the Bulldogs should give us more of an indication whether this is just a temporary dip in form, or a sign of something more permanent.

Geelong on top, but Brisbane are probably the best

Through holding the Dockers to one point, Geelong is actually on top of the AFLW ladder after Round 2, having allowed only twelve points in their two games so far. However they haven’t been as dominant in general play, having scored only 42 points themselves, and actually turning the ball over more than their opponents.

Instead the dominant team at the moment is probably Brisbane. The Lions have scored almost 100 more points than their opponents across their two matches, and they’ve had over double the number of inside 50s, and over 40 more contested possessions and uncontested possessions.

The Lions’ main challengers appear to be Melbourne, who would be currently ranked more similarly to Brisbane if they had been more accurate in front of goal against North Melbourne on the weekend. Melbourne has kept possession of the ball better than anyone, averaging 60 more uncontested possessions than their opponents. Their fixture has been tougher than Brisbane’s so far – having played North and last year’s premiers Adelaide – so we should get a better idea of how dominant they are playing against (an admittedly improved) St. Kilda this weekend.