AFL Rankings: Round 21 2023

Before their big win this week, Kane Cornes said that the Western Bulldogs should discuss coach Luke Beveridge’s position at the end of the year, claiming that the Bulldogs “were wasting one of the AFL’s great lists”.

In support of his claim, Cornes pointed out that the Bulldogs had three of the top five rated players this season; midfielders Marcus Bontempelli and Tom Liberatore, and ruck Tim English. He further claimed that they have two key forwards in their “absolute prime” – Aaron Naughton and Jamarra Ugle-Hagan – and noted that they still have two (former) All-Australian defenders in Bailey Dale and Caleb Daniel.

Cornes is right that the Bulldogs have some wonderful top-end talent. English has probably been the league’s best ruck this year, and Bontempelli may just be the league’s best player. Liberatore and Adam Treloar have been great in the midfield, Jack Macrae has performed well in his shift to mid-forward, and Dale and Daniel – along with defender Ed Richards – have again had solid seasons.

The rest of the team though has several developing players and journeymen. Naughton at 23 years old is possibly in his ‘prime’ and has had a good season, but it is somewhat questionable that Ugle-Hagan is at just 21, and recruit Rory Lobb – now 30 years old and at his third club – is probably on the other side of his.

The Bulldogs’ medium forwards and key defenders are also on average below those of other clubs, at least according to the AFL Player Ratings (see table below). Cody Weightman has contributed almost two goals per game, but around him a rotating cast of Rhylee West, Arthur Jones, Mitch Hannan, and Lachlan McNeil have contributed relatively little between them. The key defenders also lack a ‘top-liner’, even noting that the Player Ratings do not capture some ‘off the ball’ defensive work. None of Liam Jones, Alex Keath, Ryan Gardner, and Josh Bruce rank in the top 50 for average intercepts, although Gardner is equal top of the league for average ‘one percenters’.

The Dogs’ balance of talent is reminiscent of Melbourne back in 2020, when the Demons had three of the top-rated players in ruck Max Gawn and midfielders Clayton Oliver and Christian Petracca, but their list fell away quickly after their top tier. In that year the Demons missed the finals; they jumped up the next year however to win the premiership. That both shows how a few standout players are not in themselves enough to challenge for a flag – but also that you’re not far away if you’ve already got that top-end talent in place, and the rest of the team follow.