SuperLadder: Jon Anderson looks at where every club stands after a huge weekend of football
Will Carlton fans look back on the Blues win over Gold Coast and remember fondly the day a couple of young guns came of age, and a pair of bulls imitated a champion duo? Jon Anderson puts all 18 clubs under the microscope.
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It has been a season filled with upsets. But where is your team at after another monster weekend?
The Demons and Kangaroos are in all sorts of trouble while there are some surprise names at the top end of the ladder.
Meanwhile, who can’t play in the wet and who is the competition’s biggest unknown?
Find out in JON ANDERSON’S Super Ladder.
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1 GEELONG 16 PTS 136.6%
The Cats are back on top after a vintage display from Gary Ablett (three goals) and Tim Kelly bounced back as expected. The win over the Hawks could be costly with an injury to Brandon Parfitt and Tom Hawkins to face MRO scrutiny.
2 ST KILDA 16 PTS 115.1%
There isn’t a better story in the competition. Sometimes talented teenagers walk straight into the game (Chris Judd) and sometimes they take three or four years. The Saints have a handful of them, and the reason they are blossoming is simple really. Hard work!
3 FREMANTLE 12 PTS 128.2%
Now we are starting to see it, the Ross Lyon-designed forward line that features smalls, talls and mediums plus an ability to kick over 100 points. If Lobb can maintain the rage in the middle, then buckle your belts.
4 COLLINGWOOD 12 PTS 125.2%
In terms of connection from half back to half forward, Adam Treloar is arguably the best in the game. His mate Jordan De Goey will tire of sitting forward without significant midfield time. Sadly for him, he is the best equipped of the midfield group to play near the sticks
5 PORT ADELAIDE 12 PTS 115.3%
Arguably the great unknown of the competition. The Lycett-Ryder combo is starting to purr, now to find a way for Dixon to play in the same team. Hinkley is a smart coach and his blueprint for flogging the Eagles won’t go unnoticed.
6 GWS 12 PTS 112.2%
Symptomatic of a crazy season. Couldn’t help feeling that the one Giant who would have got cracking in the vital final quarter was Ward, and he won’t be there this year. But they have too much talent to be written off.
7 ESSENDON 12 PTS 109.5%
They have some talent in the VFL, so depth is starting to build. Shiel resembles a Lamborghini given his range of gears. Something to be said of a coach in Worsfold who maintains calm when we vultures circle.
8 WEST COAST 12 PTS 100.3%
Based on their wet weather form, half of them would fall over if they walked past a dripping tap. Sometimes that comes down to desire. Petruccelle is rapidly becoming the best pick 38 in since Brendan Fevola and Cameron Ling.
9 BRISBANE 12 PTS 94.0%
Raynor is a fascinating case study, a natural midfielder who has dominated in that role for a decade in under age until asked to largely play a forward role. The Mohican needs to build up his engine so he can last longer on the ball.
10 RICHMOND 12 PTS 93.2%
In terms of great charges in history, both General Custer and the Light Brigade were poor to fair at best, whereas the Tiger charge from an opposition turnover across half back is an act of footballing beauty.
11 GOLD COAST 12 PTS 93.4%
They just run out of quality players quicker than any rival, making their first four games all the more impressive. Their coach now has to decide between honourable losses or saying stuff the scoreboard, this is our brand.
12 ADELAIDE 8 PTS 108.5%
They played (after quarter time) like someone who has suddenly been freed from a straight-jacket after four weeks. They are Crows who must run rather than fly, and a side who will benefit more than most by taking the game on.
13 HAWTHORN 8 PTS 100.2%
A depleted Hawks outfit never gave up against the Cats but red-time goals hurt them in the end.
14 WESTERN BULLDOGS 8 PTS 93.3%
If forward 50m conversion is the measure of a good side, then they fell well short. In fact their goalkicking was not worthy of professionals. On a positive note, Hayes proved he can belong at AFL level.
15 CARLTON 4 PTS 93.4%
Is this the game the Blue faithful will look back on in years to come and say “I was there when Petrevski-Seton and McKay came of age, and when Cripps and Walsh imitated Healy and Williams from 30 years ago”.
16 SYDNEY 4 PTS 84.3%
They could easily have surrendered at half-time as their opponents exploited their lack of pace. To their credit they rolled their sleeves up. Given Rampe stands 189cm, is there a more adaptable defender in recent history?
17 MELBOURNE 4 PTS 72.5%
Weight of expectation, too far ahead of themselves or simply not that good? All three are reasonable assumptions after a start that is nothing short of embarrassing. They lack a running link player, as in the roles Treloar, Gaff and Whitfield play.
18 NORTH MELBOURNE 4 PTS 67.8%
A bit like that old Scottish waltz The Pride of Erin, one step forward and then a couple backwards. It starts at the top so expect captain Ziebell to deservedly take his share of the heat. But he had plenty of mates.
Originally published as SuperLadder: Jon Anderson looks at where every club stands after a huge weekend of football
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