Super Ladder: Jon Anderson reviews all 18 teams after a massive Round 15 in the AFL
TOO slow and too reactive. That has been the Demons for a few weeks now as the club continues to fall down the ladder. Jon Anderson looks at what’s next for Melbourne and where all 18 clubs are at in his Super Ladder.
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TOO slow and too reactive.
That has been the Demons for a few weeks now as the club continues to fall down the ladder.
How has this happened to the one-time premiership contender? Jon Anderson looks at what’s next for Melbourne and where all 18 clubs are at in his Super Ladder.
COACH SPEAKS: THOMPSON REVEALS HIS LIFE IS HELL
INJURY: HAS LYNCH PLAYED HIS LAST GAME FOR SUNS?
TRADE REVIEW: JAY CLARK’S 10 BEST TRADES OF ALL TIME
RICHMOND 44 PTS 135.3%
I wrote here a couple of months back that no side relies more on a player than the Tigers on Dusty. I was wrong. As for Riewoldt, when does he move from a very, very good player to a champion?
Injuries: Conca (ankle).
SC: Eight Tigers hit the ton, led by Riewoldt (135).
COLLINGWOOD 40 PTS 121.9%
Mayne is one of the game’s better recent stories, from laughing stock to an important role player. Sier’s form suggests a future while the kid Daicos looks more assured each week. Injuries: Dunn (knee).
SC: Grundy’s (136) seventh 130-plus score of 2018.
WEST COAST 40 PTS 121.0
They get a pass given their avenues to goal have been temporarily barricaded. But that doesn’t excuse a lack of both run and pressure when the game was up for grabs. Need so much more from Nic Nat.
Injuries: Nil.
SC: Gaff’s 12th ton of 2018 and his best score of the year (136).
SYDNEY 40 PTS 120.8
Sam Reid’s absence becomes more pronounced as they try to find alternative avenues to goal. The good news is he is close. Got to get more from the enigmatic Rohan. Could Kennedy finally win a Brownlow?
Injuries: Heeney (concussion).
SC: Top heavy scoring. Only three scored more than 91, but they all were 120-plus.
PORT ADELAIDE 40 PTS 120.8%
A hard team to get a read on given they are only percentage out of the four yet remain slightly unconvincing. Wingard returning to his sublime best was huge, while Gray might be the game’s best one-on-one player.
Injuries: Pittard (hamstring).
SC: Chad (122) best.
GWS 34 PTS 113.7
Reckon they find out where they sit this Sunday v Eagles in Perth. The best part of the Hawthorn win was Himmelberg’s form and big Dawson being competitive in the ruck. And then there was Ward, maybe the game’s most respected player.
Injuries: Nil.
SC: Ward’s (131) fourth ton in five games.
MELBOURNE 32 PTS 124.4%
Too slow and too reactive. You would hate to think any Melbourne player would think he and his team have achieved anything of note, but a couple seem to be on unrealistic terms with themselves.
Injuries: Nil.
SC: Gawn’s (146) fifth 140-plus score of 2018.
GEELONG 32 PTS 123.2 %
Had four players who may as well not been on the ground, making their non-selection of Menzel and Scott Selwood all the more surprising. As was not employing a spare back in the third quarter.
Injuries: Nil.
SC: Selwood (122) best. Impressive start from Narkle (73).
NORTH MELBOURNE 32 PTS 113.4%
The Roos were scored against too easily for a finals aspirant. Then again they don’t make finals unless Waite plays because he adds that vital, and unpredictable, option. They can’t roll over now.
Injuries: Nil.
SC: Higgins (113) best again.
HAWTHORN 32 PTS 113.2%
Mitchell would find a football in the Sahara desert. Double figures in every quarter, and he still found time to lay 13 tackles. Burton’s inconsistent form is a worry. They could fall into the eight but that would be it.
Injuries: Langford (finger).
SC: Mitchell (181) season best and second 165-plus score this year.
ADELAIDE 28 PTS 101.2%
The buzz, the excitement, it was all happening as they got some numbers back. But their percentage is ordinary as they prepare to relive their worst nightmare in Richmond. At least they know the song.
Injuries: Mackay (ribs).
SC: Jacobs’ 145 easily his best of the season.
ESSENDON 28 PTS 95.2%
Not sure how sustainable the Bombers’ run and gun style would be in September but you have to love it. They were clever with their entries inside 50m in bypassing Tarrant. McGrath has his explosiveness back.
Injuries: Nil.
SC: Myers (122) one of four Dons in triple figures.
FREMANTLE 24 PTS 85.3%
You don’t need the sound or the score to know how the Dockers are travelling, just look for the pained half-pie smile on the face of their coach. And they give him plenty to be pained about.
Injuries: Fyfe (hamstring).
SC: Neale (113) the only Docker in triple figures. Trading time for Fyfe owners.
WESTERN BULLDOGS 20 PTS 76.7%
Their kids were great, their stars were huge and their spirit was that same beautiful substance that may well see this group mount a 2019 challenge. Sometimes one win can provide the glue to go forward.
Injuries: Jong (collarbone).
SC: Even spread. Dunkley (105) best and, injured Jong aside, only one didn’t reach 50.
ST KILDA 14 PTS 73.5%
Good win but a few players highlighted just how ordinary they have been this year, because there is some exciting skill in this side. At least when the opposition allows them to run. Injuries: Brown (hamstring).
SC: Seven Saints hit triple figures.
GOLD COAST 12 PTS 62.8%
Average one day, ordinary the next. A side that through a combination of youth and lack of quality is unable to maintain intensity for four quarters. Their immediate future isn’t all that pretty.
Injuries: Nil.
SC: Three in triple figures, led by Miller (115).
BRISBANE 8 PTS 83.6%
Is this the second coming of the Lions, two decades on? Give them two or three years and they will be travelling south in September. And their ccademy has more fruit to bear.
Injuries: Nil.
SC: Martin (142) and Beams (129) best.
CARLTON 4 PTS 63.6
The past couple of weeks have been a darn sight better than that crap they served up against Melbourne. Petrevski-Seton had just four kicks but his work without the ball will ensure a rounded package.
Injuries: Nil.
SC: Milestone man Simpson (139) great, as usual.
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Originally published as Super Ladder: Jon Anderson reviews all 18 teams after a massive Round 15 in the AFL