Super Ladder: Jon Anderson reviews every AFL club after Round 15 of the 2019 season

Don’t look now, but two wins in three matches has lifted Carlton off the bottom of the ladder — for now. The Bombers had a nice win, but why are fans and ex-players still finding negatives? AFL LADDER AFTER ROUND 15

The Blues are up and about, but is there a vendetta against Woosha?

Collingwood missed an opportunity to close the big gap with Geelong, as Brisbane gave itself a sniff of the top-4.

The tough as nails Roos are going to scare plenty of sides on the way home, while the Bombers — just out of the eight on percentage — are still copping it.

JON ANDERSON looks at every teams fortunes.

The Blues are up and about, but is there a vendetta against Woosha?

1. GEELONG — 48 pts, 145.5%

Pressure for spots is the Cats friend, with Jed Bews highlighting how unlucky he has been. Their ruck scenario is intriguing. Do they go with Rhys Stanley’s ground ball work and run, or choose the height of a Zac Smith to match the giants? Injured Esava Ratugolea makes them better balanced.

2. COLLINGWOOD — 40, 119.9%

Arguably eight out of the Pies best 22 and a couple down early against North doesn’t change the fact they were again only poor to fair in some non-negotiables. Plus they have a challenging run home, meaning the top four suddenly got a whole lot harder and Jaidyn Stephenson’s absence got a whole lot bigger.

3. WEST COAST — 40, 106.4%

The Eagles ended up winning as much by individual efforts as premiership-style team play. The key was Nic Nat getting through. Then there was Luke Shuey, who is starting to build a Dennis Lillee-like affinity with the MCG. So should the Hawks have tagged Shuey instead of Elliot Yeo?

4. GWS — 36, 129.8%

The Giants have a few in their bottom three or four who are just going, making the return of Lachie Whitfield imperative. The Giants play better with someone tagging, so while Matt de Boer is out, why not create a new one? Their tackling against Essendon was both limited and poor in execution.

5. BRISBANE — 36, 110.5%

Eric Hipwood is 15cm taller and at present about half as good, but he plays with a similar floating forward presence to Royce Hart. And then there was Cam Rayner, who finishing aside, started to show how explosive up the ground he will be. These two are the future

matchwinners.

6. ADELAIDE — 32, 111%

The Crows have a chance over the next five rounds to move into the top four with games against Port, Suns, Bombers, Blues and Saints. And they were dangerous enough for long enough against Geelong to suggest they are up for it, particularly when Tom Lynch and Josh Jenkins return. But no flag for mine.

7. RICHMOND — 32, 95.3%

There were 43 players on the ground and then there was Dusty, such was the level to which he played. But is his team back? Not just yet although there were signs, such as a huge late pack mark from Tom Lynch and some frenetic ball movement from the back half.

8. FREMANTLE — 28, 107.2%

It’s always the goals, or in Freo’s case the lack of them. And no Jesse Hogan obviously hurts but it runs deeper with this group. In scoreboard terms, nothing comes easily, even when they kick out to a lead. The Dockers need to release the shackles and get more reckless.

9. PORT ADELAIDE — 28, 105.5%

Part of Ken Hinkley’s imprimatur is to coach consistency into an outfit he’s now had for almost seven years, yet the Power remains as unpredictable as any team in it. To miss the finals would be unacceptable but also increasingly likely given a tricky draw and its inconsistent habits.

10. ESSENDON — 28, 101.3%

Even after such a stirring win the Bomber fans still found negatives. “We were lucky to win, blah, blah, blah.” And then there are a group of influential ex-players who clearly have it in for John Worsfold. It’s a fine line between constructive criticism and vendettas.

11. NORTH MELBOURNE — 24, 96.6%

You are going to wake up hurt after playing the Roos. And their team performance was extremely even, which reflects positively on their coaches. Should have won by a lot more but for Ben Brown’s five missed shots. Maybe it’s time for him to do away with the Brett Lee run-up.

12. SYDNEY — 24, 96.2%

The bad part for North Melbourne is maybe Sydney’s next wave are showing enough to convince John Longmire that staying is the right way to go for he and his family. Jordan Dawson is very much a part of that and will get even better when developing his contested game.

13. WESTERN BULLDOGS — 24, 92.3%

Should have beaten Collingwood last week so the form was there, if not the accuracy. In 18 months Josh Dunkley has gone from promising kid to an extremely influential ball magnet, while the Smiths in Roarke and Bailey have a similar appetite for contested ball.

14. ST KILDA — 24, 82.1%

Endeavour, tick. Contest. Tick. But in the end the Saints got beaten by superior opposition. And that is what their brains trust has to weigh up when assessing their coach Alan Richardson. Sadly AFL history says expectation outweighs reality when such calls are made.

15. HAWTHORN — 20, 96.9%

How many games have been lost this year due to poor conversion? And so many from set shots. The Hawks now sit 15th, which is compelling evidence for how even the comp has become. Their debutant Ollie Hanrahan has something worth persevering with.

16. MELBOURNE — 16, 77.9%

The Dees have got some players with reasonable reputations who probably don’t deserve them given their lack of team success. It comes down to what they want out of their AFL careers, good money and relative fame or to win matches that really matter. They are a fair way off the latter.

17. CARLTON — 12, 80.6%

Just like Rhyce Shaw at North, David Teague is doing his chances no harm. Their game style has become more direct, their players more composed as they take first options rather than over possess. They ultimately deserved to win, but it’s more about showing there is a

future. Murphy’s best game in five years.

18. GOLD COAST — 12, 70.6%

The disappointing part is the Suns were very much in the game before being blown away. They are not getting enough out of Jack Martin but Jack Lukosius continues to develop. Probably will collect another wooden spoon, which is hardly what the AFL envisaged eight years ago.

Originally published as Super Ladder: Jon Anderson reviews every AFL club after Round 15 of the 2019 season