SuperLadder: How is your club placed after Round 2 of the 2018 season?
THE Tigers wouldn’t want Dustin Martin to fall over because no team is more reliant on a single player, and why Demons fans should be salivating. Where does your club sit at Round 2?
AFL News
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
THE ladder has had a major reshuffle after two round with four new teams climbing into the top eight, and North Melbourne climbing an incredible 10 places.
Where does your club sit at Round 2?
1. GWS GIANTS 8pts 175.4%
Just starting to get key injuries with Scully, Setterfield and Williams. And on the subject of injuries, surely the AFL has a duty of care to instruct broadcasters not to keep replaying them?
2. PORT ADELAIDE 8pts 155.7%
Ryder out, so Dixon and Westhoff offer the best one-two backup in the comp. Maybe Port is the team we thought was going to be the left-field option. Hard bodies, good games profile and a touch of brilliance.
THE TACKLE: CASE OF BOMBERS’ INVISIBLE FORWARDS
GAME CHANGER: HOW TOM TURNED INTO A LETHAL WEAPON
3. GOLD COAST 8pts 147.2%
Naturally the talk is all about Lynch and winning helps keep him, but the Suns would be happy with Holman and MacPherson. Martin’s star is starting to shine as brightly as predicted.
4. HAWTHORN 4pts 150.8%*
Clarkson is more about team defence than hard tags so maybe we will see Mitchell-O’Meara-Smith running against Ablett-Dangerfield-Selwood, although Shiels may get the nod for Gazza or Selwood.
5. NORTH MELBOURNE 4pts 136.7%
Waite is an extraordinary player and he has no AFL clone. As good as he is at 35, you still believe he could be better, such is the ease with which he plays. And who’s to say he can’t play on?
6. MELBOURNE 4pts 113.4%
Hogan is the 2018 prototype of a forward, equally capable in contested marking as aerobic feats. When Tom McDonald gets back, Dees fans should salivate at the partnership.
7. ADELAIDE 4pts 113.3%
A win of character and of the future given the contributions of Doedee, Murphy, Milera and Fogarty. And the Crows mightn’t have to keep hearing ‘Yellow and Black’.
8. WEST COAST 4pts 111.9%
Skipper Hurn gets total “unders” for the effectiveness of his role. But for the Eagles to make a run at the eight, they need to keep finding big games from unlikely types like Ryan and Lycett.
9. SYDNEY 4pts 103.3%
Most of the Swans’ good players were fine, so it comes down to how the foot soldiers perform and they just went. Buddy can’t do it all, so Reid becomes a key component.
10. GEELONG 4pts 103.2%*
Team selection would suggest Geelong is banking on stretching an undersized Hawk defence today. Dangerfield went 75 per cent/25 per cent midfield/forward in 2017. Expect those percentages to be closer to 60/40 this season.
11. ESSENDON 4pts 97.9%
Zach Merrett played like someone who had been knocked out a week before, irrespective of what concussion test he passed. As for Stringer, play him forward where he’s suited.
12. RICHMOND 4pts 95.3%
God help the Tigers if Dusty falls over because no team is more reliant on a single player (Sydney and Buddy possibly the closest). On the surface Richmond has room for plenty of improvement.
13. ST KILDA 4pts 84.8%
Watching St Kilda traverse its way forward was an act of cruelty. A wretched Bad Friday, one where long-suffering Saints started to question the way forward. Maybe they just aren’t that good.
14. FREMANTLE 4pts 83.0%
Possibly the most significant words of round, no, make it season to date, came from Ross Lyon saying he wants his team to attract members via entertaining play. Mundy up forward was a good start.
15. BRISBANE LIONS 0pts 75.4%
Cameron was the star who fell in the Lions’ lap but Christensen’s journey has been a torturous one. A star for the Cats in a flag seven years ago, are we finally seeing him blossom?
16. COLLINGWOOD 0pts 74.5%
Pardon the pun but most gave them Buckley’s hope before the game, so this was a credible loss. Actually, when was the last time the Pies were flogged under Buckley? But it’s a winning game.
17. CARLTON 0pts 73.0%
The Blues go into their forward line with fear and trepidation, a Bermuda Triangle of the AFL. But they’re a side that plays exactly as they are and that is one that hasn’t been together long.
18. WESTERN BULLDOGS 0pts 47.6%
An Australian version of Confucius says “Young teams who win flags before their time fall off the cliff”. He was a wise man and this team is no hope to climb back up that cliff.
*Playing on Monday
LIVE stream the 2018 Toyota AFL Premiership on FOX SPORTS. Every match of every round LIVE in HD, with no ad-breaks siren-to-siren! Get your 2-week free trial now >
Breakout Bulldog? Young gun steps up to fill Treloar void
Just days after Adam Treloar’s injury, a young gun at the Dogs has staked his claim for a spot in their midfield, as Luke Beveridge waits on scans that could cause another selection headache.
Blue bolter? Unknown young gun turning heads at pre-season
The Blues are in no rush to decide on their final list spots for the upcoming season, but one VFL livewire is doing all he can at pre-season to get himself on the list.