AFL 2022: Every club’s bogey and bunny teams revealed
The Blues are unbeaten but their biggest bogey team is lurking just around the corner. See who your team hates to play against and your ultimate bunny.
AFL
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Every AFL club has a side they hate playing.
Then there are those opponents that teams will circle on the calendar every year, as they hunt an easy win.
These are the bogey and bunny sides.
With the help of Champion Data, we have crunched the numbers for all 18 clubs, breaking down their best and worst records against every team since 2017.
For reference, we have also calculated how each team has fared against top four, top eight and bottom 10 opposition last season.
Stream every match of every round of the 2022 Toyota AFL Premiership Season Live & Ad-Break Free In-Play on Kayo. New to Kayo? Try 14-Days Free Now >
ADELAIDE
Bogey: Collingwood 0% (Played 5 – won 0, drawn 1, lost 4)
Bunny: Gold Coast Suns 83% (Played 6 – won 5, lost 1)
2021 RECORD
Top 4 teams: 2-4
Top 8 teams: 2-8
Bottom 10: 5-7
When it comes to a battle of the birds, Adelaide’s record against the Magpies isn’t one to Crow about. The Crows haven’t won a match against the Magpies since Round 17, 2016, when they triumphed by 28 points at Adelaide Oval. Not good news, considering the Crows face the Magpies twice this season – one loss already in Round 2 at the MCG and again in Round 18 at home. On the flip side, the Crows will be disappointed they only have the one meeting against Gold Coast this season – in Round 14 – after dropping just one game against the Suns since 2017
BRISBANE LIONS
Bogey: Richmond 22% (Played 9 – won 2, lost 7)
Bunny: Gold Coast Suns 89% (Played 9 – won 8, lost 1)
2021 RECORD
Top 4 teams: 2-2
Top 8 teams: 4-4
Bottom 10 teams: 11-3
On their way to three flags in four years, the Tigers inflicted a lot of pain on rival teams and their fellow big cats were not immune. In the past five years, the Lions have failed to roar against the Tigers with just two wins from their nine encounters. Fortunately for the Lions, the 2022 fixture has only one meeting against Richmond in Round 20 at the MCG. But the Lions would be circling two Q-clashes against Gold Coast this year – in Round 6 and Round 19 – on the calendar after smashing the Suns 8-1 over the past five years.
CARLTON
Bogey: Port Adelaide 0% (Played 6 – won 0, lost 6)
Bunny: Essendon 67% (Played 6 – won 4, lost 2)
2021 RECORD
Top 4: 0-5
Top 8: 1-9
Bottom 10: 7-5
Carlton v Essendon is one of the most celebrated rivalries in the game. And Blues fans would be rubbing their hands together in glee knowing Essendon has been their team’s biggest bunny across the past five years. Boasting a 67 per cent winning record against the Bombers, the Blues have only the one clash against Essendon in Round 13 this year to look forward to. But the Blues would be breathing a sigh of relief that Port Adelaide appears on the club’s fixture only once this season based on the team’s recent track record against the Power. But then again, new coach Michael Voss would have very handy insights after spending the past seven years at Alberton as an assistant coach. The Blues haven’t won a game against the Power since Round 8, 2016, when they got up by two points at Marvel Stadium.
COLLINGWOOD
Bogey: GWS Giants 14% (Played 7 – won 1, lost 6)
Bunny: Adelaide 80% (Played 5 – won 4, drawn 1, lost 0)
2021 RECORD
Top 4: 1-5
Top 8: 1-10
Bottom 10: 5-6
It seems the Magpies aren’t much of a fan of that big big sound from the west of the town. In the past five seasons, Collingwood has won only one of its seven clashes against Greater Western Sydney. The Magpies’ last win against the Giants came in the 2018 semi-final at the MCG when they won by 10 points. This season, only one game against the Giants beckons in Round 15 at the MCG. But for every bogey, there’s a bunny and the Magpies have two clashes against Adelaide this season to take advantage having not lost a game to the Crows in the past five years.
ESSENDON
Bogey: Richmond 0% (Played 6 – won 0, lost 6)
Bunny: North Melbourne 100% (Played 7 – won 7, lost 0)
2021 RECORD
Top 4: 0-4
Top 8: 1-8
Bottom 10: 10-3
Watch out, Bombers. Your bogey team is coming at you twice this year – and it couldn’t be a bigger match-up. Two of Victorian football’s biggest rivals, the Bombers have suffered at the hands of Richmond in the past five years, losing all six of their battles. In fact, Essendon’s losing streak against the Tigers dates back to Round 11, 2014, when they scored a 54-point win at the MCG. But the Bombers will be getting the marshmallows ready for their Round 20 clash against the Kangaroos, who they have won every game against in the past five years.
FREMANTLE
Bogey: West Coast Eagles 11% (Played 9 – won 1, lost 8)
Bunny: North Melbourne 83% (Played 6 – won 5, lost 1)
2021 RECORD
Top 4: 0-5
Top 8: 2-8
Bottom 10: 8-4
Derby, darby, call it what you want, but the battle in the west hasn’t been a good day out for the Dockers in recent years. West Coast has had the wood over their cross-town rivals winning all but one of their nine encounters. If that trend continues, it spells trouble this year with the Dockers set to meet the Eagles twice – in Round 3 and Round 22. But the Dockers won’t be quite as daunted about their Round 8 clash against the Kangaroos, who they have beaten in five out of their past six meetings.
GEELONG
Bogey: Richmond 40% (Played 10 – won 4, lost 6)
Bunny: St Kilda 100% (Played 6 – won 6, lost 0)
2021 RECORD
Top 4: 2-3
Top 8: 4-5
Bottom 10: 12-1
After losing to Richmond in the 2020 Grand Final at the Gabba, the Tigers have emerged as the Cats’ No. 1 bogey team in the league. Since 2017, the Cats have managed only four wins from their 10 meetings with the Tigers but have only one encounter to brace for against them this year. But Geelong’s 2022 fixture features two match-ups against their competition bunny St Kilda – in Rounds 9 and 21. The Cats will be buoyed by their perfect winning record against the Saints, dating back to 2017.
GOLD COAST
Bogey: Port Adelaide 0% (Played 6 – won 0, lost 6)
Bunny: North Melbourne 50 % (Played 8 – won 4, lost 4)
2021 RECORD
Top 4: 0-5
Top 8: 2-9
Bottom 10: 5-6
When a team hasn’t finished any higher than 14th on the ladder in the past five years, there are not too many teams Gold Coast is going to boast a strong record against. But Port Adelaide sits at the top of the list of teams the Suns have had trouble with, losing all six of their encounters. In fact, the Suns have not won a game against the Power since Round 5, 2011. The best result Gold Coast has been able to muster is a 50-50 win-loss record against the Kangaroos, who they will meet twice this season in Rounds 12 and 23.
GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY
Bogey: Hawthorn 33% (Played 6 – won 2, drawn 1, lost 3)
Bunny: Collingwood 86% (Played 7 – won 6, lost 1)
2021 RECORD
Top 4: 2-3
Top 8: 5-5
Bottom 4: 6-1-5
Giants coach Leon Cameron plied his trade as an assistant coach at Hawthorn before he took on the senior coaching role at GWS but, more recently, the Hawks have been a thorn in his side. The Giants have managed only a 33 per cent winning record against the Hawks in the past five years, winning only two of their six meetings. But it is a different story for the Giants against Collingwood, who they have only lost to once in their past seven meetings. Unfortunately for the Giants, they will meet the Magpies only once this season in Round 15.
HAWTHORN
Bogey: Richmond 14% (Played 7 – won 1, drawn 1, lost 5)
Bunny: Collingwood 67% (Played 6 – won 4, lost 2)
2021 RECORD
Top 4: 1-1-3
Top 8: 5-1-4
Bottom 10: 2-1-9
Don’t look, Hawks fans. Your bogey side is coming at you twice this year. The Hawks have managed just one win from their last seven meetings against the Tigers, who they will face in Rounds 9 and 22 this season. Collingwood appears to be one team the Hawks get up for, having won all but two of their past six match-ups against the Magpies, who they will face just once in Round 12 at the MCG this year.
MELBOURNE
Bogey: Richmond 17% (Played 6 – won 1, lost 5)
Bunny: Gold Coast 100 % (Played 6 – won 6, lost 0)
2021 RECORD
Top 4: 4-0
Top 8: 8-2
Bottom 10: 9-1-2
Most pundits consider premier Melbourne the team to beat this season but it‘s the Tigers who have troubled the Demons the most over the past five years. Melbourne has only managed the one win against Richmond in their past six meetings, their only victory coming in Round 6 last year at the MCG en route to their drought-breaking flag win. The Demons only have one meeting against the Tigers this year in Round 6. Melbourne’s clear bunny is Gold Coast, having won all six of their meetings. The Suns haven’t won a clash against the Demons since Round 5, 2014.
NORTH MELBOURNE
Bogey: Geelong 0% (Played 7 – won 0, lost 7)
Bunny: Carlton 80% (Played 5 – won 4, lost 1)
2021 RECORD
Top 4: 0-5
Top 8: 0-1-10
Bottom 10: 4-7
The Kangaroos won’t be looking forward to their two meetings against Geelong this year as the Cats were revealed as the Roos’ bogey team. North Melbourne hasn’t won a game against the Cats since Round 15, 2015, at Marvel Stadium. The Kangas face the Cats at Blundstone Arena in Round 6 and down the highway at GMHBA Stadium in Round 16. Carlton, on the other hand, has proven to be a more attractive opposition for the Roos, losing one of their past five meetings against the Blues, who have started this season with a bang.
PORT ADELAIDE
Bogey: Brisbane Lions 38% (Played 8 – won 3, lost 5)
Bunny: Gold Coast 100 % (Played 6 – won 6, lost 0)
2021 RECORD
Top 4: 0-3
Top 8: 4-4
Bottom 10: 13-1
Port Adelaide haven’t had the power against the Brisbane Lions, who have emerged as the bogey team for the South Australian club. Port has lost five of its past eight meetings against the Lions, with the most recent win coming in Round 3, 2018. Port Adelaide’s record against Queensland’s other team makes for much better reading for Power fans. The team boasts a perfect record against the Suns, who they face in Round 14 at the Adelaide Oval, in the past five years.
RICHMOND
Bogey: Collingwood 50% (Played 8 – won 4, drawn 1, lost 3)
Bunny: Essendon 100 % (Played 6, won 6, lost 0)
2021 RECORD
Top 4: 1-5
Top 8: 4-7
Bottom 10: 5-1-5
In a premiership era that delivered three flags in the past five years, there are not too many teams that have troubled the Tigers on a regular basis. A 50 per cent win-loss record against the Magpies is as bad as it gets for the Tigers. But there has been some collateral damage on the way to those three flags and traditional rival Essendon has been hit harder than most. The Tigers boast a perfect record against the Bombers across the past five years. In a plus for the Tigers, they will face Essendon twice this season in Round 10 and Round 23 at the MCG.
ST KILDA
Bogey: Geelong 0% (Played 6 – won 0, lost 6)
Bunny: Gold Coast 100 % (Played 6 – won 6, lost 0)
2021 RECORD
Top 4: 1-5
Top 8: 3-8
Bottom 10: 7-4
Geelong is one of the last teams St Kilda would have wanted to face twice this season. The Saints haven’t won a game against the Cats since Round 14, 2016, at Marvel Stadium. But this year, they will get a double-dose, facing the Cats in Round 9 at Marvel and again in Round 21 at GMHBA Stadium. But the Saints have chased in on their match-ups against the Gold Coast Suns, unbeaten in their past six games against their bunny.
SYDNEY
Bogey: Port Adelaide 0% (Played 5 – won 0, lost 5)
Bunny: North Melbourne 83% (Played 6 – won 5, lost 1)
2021 RECORD
Top 4: 2-2
Top 8: 6-3
Bottom 10: 9-4
Sydney has not had a record to swan about against Port Adelaide, having lost their past five matches against the Power. Travelling to South Australia to play them has proven even more of an issue with their past three losses coming at the Adelaide Oval. The Swans’ last win against Port came in Round 20, 2016, at the SCG. The Swans only face Port Adelaide once this year, but it again involves a trip to the Adelaide Oval. Sydney would not be as troubled about their two meetings this year against North Melbourne – in Rounds 4 and 21 – having lost to the Kangaroos only once in the past five years.
WEST COAST
Bogey: Sydney 33% (Played 6 – won 2, lost 4)
Bunny: Carlton 100 % (Played 5 – won 5, lost 0)
2021 RECORD
Top 4: 1-3
Top 8: 1-8
Bottom 10: 9-4
The Eagles will have to wait until Round 17 for a crack at their bunny, Carlton, when they meet at Optus Stadium. West Coast has a perfect record against the Blues in the past five years. In fact, the Eagles have not recorded a loss against the Blues since Round 6, 2014. West Coast’s record against Sydney is less impressive, having lost four of their past six encounters.
WESTERN BULLDOGS
Bogey: Melbourne 33% (Played 9 – won 3, lost 6)
Bunny: Essendon 83% (Played 6 – won 5, lost 1)
2021 RECORD
Top 4: 3-3
Top 8: 4-5
Bottom 10: 11-2
Losing a Grand Final to Melbourne last year solidified the Demons’ status as the Western Bulldogs’ bogey side. The Bulldogs have managed only three wins in their past nine games against the Demons with the 74-point loss in the premiership decider at Optus Stadium the most painful of all. But the Bulldogs have had more bite against Essendon, winning all but one of their past six match-ups. They will face off against the Bombers in Round 7 at Marvel Stadium.
Trade live: Dogs, North still hanging on Daniel call
As Geelong and the Bulldogs stand firm on Bailey Smith’s trade value, premiership Dog Caleb Daniel is weighing up a lucrative offer from the Kangaroos.
The players that made Robbo want to do a top 57
The hardest spot to pick in the top 50 isn’t No.1. It’s actually No.50. Robbo names the players he wanted to fit into his annual list – but couldn’t.