AFL Form Ladder: Which teams are hot right now and which teams’ form has slipped

With finals on the horizon and a logjam for top eight spots, teams need to be hitting top form now. But the numbers aren’t good for some hopefuls.

You’ve heard of the premiership quarter, but have you heard of the premiership quarter of the season?

Sure, it’s a bit more of a mouthful, but it’s rolling off the tongue nicely for a host of teams who are charging towards finals, with Champion Data’s form ladder over the past six games shaking up the premiership standings.

The Blues have won four in a row by 50 points or more, prompting one club legend to say it would be a failure if his former side didn’t qualify for finals from here.

“I expect them to jump into the eight and I think it’s a failure if they don’t because they’ve got enough talent,” Carlton great Mark Maclure said.

That’s not to heap pressure on his club, Maclure says, but a reflection of the turnaround in the past few weeks that has them knocking on the door of the eight.

A Champion Data analysis from rounds 12-18 puts the Blues sixth with a 4-2 record and the second-healthiest percentage (145.4), with their offensive potency now their key weapon.

“Simplicity has been a big change for them. Simplify it and do what you do best and enjoy yourself is more important than most other things,” Maclure said.

“Port Adelaide have been a pretty solid team and they completely destroyed them.

“That was a super win and their two or three wins before that when they played lesser sides, that gives you confidence to get better and all of a sudden you take on the big boy and they win.

“It’s now about how you operate and how you play. I think Vossy might have found the elixir.”

Carlton isn’t the only team hitting form when the whips are cracking. GWS and Richmond sit second and fourth respectively on the form ladder as they mount their case for a surprising finals berth with six games to go.

The Giants’ comeback win over the Crows on Saturday extended their winning streak to five games and Maclure says it’s more road wins like that which are necessary to secure a place in September.

“I think they (GWS) are OK, they pushed Melbourne up in the Northern Territory and beat them up there, it was a really good win,” he said.

“They need to beat more sides away from home is their key, because if you don’t, you’re down.

“They’re in a pretty good space at this moment, but that doesn’t mean that they get there.”

Charlie Curnow and the Blues are charging home. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Excluding a 65-point blowout against the Pies, the Giants’ average losing margin for the year is 14 points, highlighting their status as one of the most competitive teams all year.

Games against Essendon, Carlton and the Bulldogs to come – teams they lost to by under three goals earlier this season – as well as bottom six sides Gold Coast and Sydney have them right in the mix for a return to September.

The Tigers, meanwhile, have been flawless barring an 81-point drubbing by Brisbane in the last month, with Andrew McQualter’s time in the hot seat seeing him net five wins from seven attempts.

Both the Giants and Tigers have won four games against bottom-10 sides throughout this period, bouncing back from trickier starts to the year and establishing themselves as genuine contenders for the remaining spots up for grabs.

Collingwood tops the form ladder in no great surprise, with the Pies’ only loss in the past six games coming against the Demons, while Port Adelaide was on track to go through undefeated before Saturday’s loss to Carlton.

Marcus Bontempelli and the Bulldogs need to turn their form around to launch a finals challenge. Picture: Matt King/AFL Photos/via Getty Images

It is a different story for the Saints, who after sitting top of the table after six rounds have now slipped to sixth.

They’re 14th on the form table on the back of a 2-4 record in their past six games, failing against Brisbane, Melbourne and Richmond, with their defensive mindset bringing them undone according to Maclure.

“They’re notoriously defensive, that’s Ross’s metric, and if you can’t score 80 points then you can’t win,” he said.

“Everyone is kicking more than that and that’s where they fall out, that’s their problem.

“They’ve got a few injuries too, but everyone’s got that.”

Finals fancies Adelaide and the Western Bulldogs are in the same boat, with neither able to triumph over a top eight team over the past six games.

Only the winless Eagles and Roos, and the struggling Dockers have won fewer games over this period, with Maclure not convinced the Bulldogs have what it takes.

“I don’t know whether they have, the Doggies, to tell you the truth. I’m not certain they can win the grand final and I’m not certain they’ll make the finals,” he said.

“Adelaide, I think, have got some weapons, but they don’t play very well away from home.

“That’s the key – they’ve got to win away from home and they’ve got to win enough to get through to the finals because they’re right on the precipice.

“But so is every other team, it’s a pretty interesting competition at the moment.”

The Cats, Power and Demons have the best record against top-eight sides, each winning three games in this period, while it’s the Bombers’ record against the bottom teams that are keeping them in the hunt for September.

Originally published as AFL Form Ladder: Which teams are hot right now and which teams’ form has slipped