Super Ladder: Jon Anderson reviews every AFL club after Round 17 of the 2019 season
As Gold Coast languishes at the bottom of the AFL table, an ex-Sun the club didn’t want is flourishing at its top-placed neighbour. Jon Anderson assesses every AFL club after Round 17.
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The margin was only one point but Collingwood was the biggest winners in Round 17, ending a two-game losing run on the road against West Coast.
Not far behind was Essendon and Richmond.
The Bombers moved into eighth, while the Tigers are banging on the door of the top four.
Find out where your club sits after Round 17.
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1. GEELONG — 52pts 141%
In today’s football, which includes long passages of extremely boring congested mauls (and this game was as bad as it gets) you require players who can get rid of the ball quickly and effectively. Gryan Miers is such a player, someone whose footwork buys him space.
2. COLLINGWOOD — 44pts 117.2%
A moment in time when the Pies season could have gone two ways, so to win speaks volumes for their mental capacity. Maybe they’ll look back on this game as the pivotal one this season. Amazing how much influence Mason Cox can have when he starts grabbing a few.
3. BRISBANE LIONS — 44pts 114.8%
Every time Jarryd Lyons plays well for Brisbane, which is most weeks, you wonder what in the hell Gold Coast were thinking to let him go. He must be privately saying thank you. As for his team, there are signs of the roll the Lions got on in 2001. So why not a flag?
4. WEST COAST — 44pts 113.3%
Every time this season the Eagles have looked like it’s all coming together, they decide to go missing for a quarter or two. Has last year’s flag sated the appetite of some? Josh Kennedy is one who can change things, simply by getting more of the ball further up the field
5. RICHMOND — 40pts 104.9%
The Lynch-Riewoldt tag team showed serious promise. It’s now a matter of where to play Mabior Chol when Toby Nankervis returns. Maybe forward/second back, maybe floating across back Aliir Aliir style. Shai Bolton at age 20 appears ready to cement his spot.
6. GWS — 36pts 121.1%
There was something in the Giants performance to suggest it ain’t all over yet, given they were playing a hot side. Everything about Bobby Hill is instinctive, and his is a name you will be hearing a lot more of. They just need two of Toby Greene, one forward, one midfield.
7. ADELAIDE — 36pts 112.8%
Great to see Eddie back, and he played on Jarrod Harbrow. The key is to do it in a game that matters. Same goes for his mates Tex and Josh Jenkins. In fact that sentiment exists for the entire Adelaide team until they win a flag. To do that they need to conjure a way into a jam-packed top four.
8. ESSENDON — 36pts 102.4%
Dylan Clarke’s ability to turn himself into a valuable player in his tagging role (Ben Cunnington) is a lesson to young hopefuls on the AFL edge. His team’s effort to win five of it’s past six, most of them close, suggests a desire that can take them to an unlikely finals spot.
9. PORT ADELAIDE — 32pts 105.6%
In legal terms, the Power is fraudulent and has been for some time. That suggests its players are mentally fragile, arrogant or simply not good enough (some of the time). Probably a combination of all three. I don’t envy the roller-coaster ride the Power’s supporters are put through.
10. WESTERN BULLDOGS — 32pts 94.8%
Their fans are in for a high-flying ride, with no team boasting the aerial acrobatics of Aaron Naughton, Hayden Crozier, Easton Wood and Tim English. The Dogs need to lure a gun midfielder next season, ideally one with serious wheels to compliment the grunt.
11. HAWTHORN — 28pts 100.1%
Chad Wingard provided some reminders of just how good he still can be for the Hawks. And Ricky Henderson, a player who does most things well, showed why he’s favourite to win a first Peter Crimmins medal. The Mitch Lewis story continues to grow in an exciting direction.
12. NORTH MELBOURNE — 28pts 99.5%
There is a slogan that reads SPEED KILLS, and it was never more evident than with the Roos on Saturday night. Short of convincing Usain Bolt to try out, they should be drafting serious leg speed. But their effort to work their way back into the game was commendable given Essendon’s dominanace for large portions.
13. FREMANTLE — 28pts 96%
Wouldn’t query their effort, just execution. Ultimately the Dockers rarely looked potent up forward given their missing faces. A dull game where the best entertainment came from viewing the pained looks on Ross Lyon’s face
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14. SYDNEY — 24pts 95.3%
With the man called horse staying as coach, and a promising bevy of cygnets, it’s all about whether Buddy Franklin at 32 can find two or three more seasons because that will make it so much easier for those developing forwards around him.
15. ST KILDA — 24pts 80%
The Saints tackling mindset was extreme, with Hunter Clark, Jack Steele, Jack Billings and Jade Gresham combining for 32. In fact the entire effort was that of a team playing for its coach.
16. MELBOURNE — 20pts 80.3%
Saw enough to suggest the dual ruckman experiment doesn’t work, with Braydon Preuss the big dog or nothing. But Harrison Petty can be a heartbreaker up forward. Things can change quickly but it’s hard to see that 22 challenging for a flag, so change at the Demons is required
17. CARLTON — 16pts 83.1%
David Teague is doing a fair old job as coach given he’s still on training wheels. Carlton is starting to reap the benefits of its recent drafting, many of whom have considerable improvement. And the Blues are becoming a more attractive destination club, and they will be active at the trade table.
18. GOLD COAST — 12pts 64.1%
The floodgates were always going to open given their list and injuries. It’s now closing on nine years for an AFL experiment that has been a disaster. But head office remains committed, so while that is the case they will keep pouring tens of millions in, and give them a priority pick.
Originally published as Super Ladder: Jon Anderson reviews every AFL club after Round 17 of the 2019 season
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