A few weeks ago we took a look at the top half of the ladder as the AFL season entered the bye period, and today we look at the remaining teams.
9. Western Bulldogs
The Bulldogs are in the unusual position of having the second best percentage in the competition, but sitting outside the eight. They’ve had some big flat-track bully moments, beating up on the likes of poor travelling teams like Gold Coast and West Coast, as well as likely bottom-four finishers St Kilda and Richmond, but have also been touched up by ordinary teams like Melbourne, Essendon, Fremantle and Brisbane throughout the year.
Consistency has never been a theme of the Bulldogs under Luke Beveridge, and never will be. They’ve got plenty of talented tall forwards, and there may be a question of where Aaron Naughton is best deployed given the rise of Sam Darcy and the latent talent of Jamarra Ugle-Hagan. Ultimately, similar to the ever-flaky Port Adelaide, you just can’t trust the Dogs.
10. Gold Coast
Gold Coast come out of their bye this week with their fate in their own hands – win this week, and they will find themselves in the eight with nine rounds to go, primed to make their first ever finals series. The problem is, they face Fremantle in Perth and are yet to win away from home this season. That’s right – all seven wins have been at home, and all six losses have been away.
Dan Butler and Mac Andrew clash. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
The surest sign of growth at the Suns is how many experienced hands have been making way for the youth taking their spots. Veterans Levi Casboult, Sam Day and Brandon Ellis can’t get a game, David Swallow has been the sub six times, Rory Atkins and Darcy Macpherson are on the outer after nine-ten years in the system. It might not be this year, but Gold Coast are coming.
12. Hawthorn
After a 0-5 start to the season, the Hawks are surging. In the nine games since, they have lost only twice – once to Sydney, which everyone is doing, and the other to Port after infamously holding a seven-goal lead. The question was whether that Power loss would derail the rebuild and dent their belief, or spark them onto greater heights – with four impressive wins in a row since then, the question has been emphatically answered.
What Hawthorn are doing under Sam Mitchell is spreading the load incredibly well. No player averages more than 23 disposals, there is no one dominant goal-kicker or clearance player, each backman can defend or rebound and play tall or small. Apart from the high-flying Sydney, and perhaps Collingwood with their ability to win from anywhere, no team is playing with more cohesion than the Hawks right now. It can take them far.
13. Brisbane
Many a losing grand finalist in recent times has fallen away the next year, and the clock is ticking on Chris Fagan’s Lions, both in season 2024 and overall. They have been up in contention for the flag since 2019, and might not have many more punches to throw.
Too many high-profile players have been in poor form or just generally inconsistent (primarily Eric Hipwood, Charlie Cameron and Zac Bailey) and their much-vaunted firepower could only splutter along in the first half of the season. Post-bye however, Brisbane have topped 100 points in both wins, showing signs of life. In Brisbane’s favour this year is that there is only one good team and 17 also-rans – they can get on a run and be one of the better also-rans.
14. St Kilda
The AFL could have done the competition a favour by sending St Kilda to Tasmania, but sadly it was not to be. Brett Ratten was sacked by the Saints after taking them to three seasons in a row of double-figure wins, but the messiah Ross Lyon is safe as houses on his way to a bottom-four finish. Make it make sense.
Ross Lyon. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
The problem with the Saints seems to be they constantly overrate where they are at, with a list full of honest goers. Jack Sinclair winning two best and fairests should have seen alarm bells ringing throughout Moorabbin, even if his non-threatening disposal tallies are perfect for the Ross Lyon gameplan of avoiding forward movement.
Their best football of the season was played last week, when losing to Brisbane, but at least it was watchable football. They are a fascinating case going forward.
15. Adelaide
The Crows have arguably been the biggest disappointment of the season so far. They got off to a slow start, but then looked to have recovered as they put together a solid patch of football – they beat Carlton in Melbourne, thumped North and West Coast, won a showdown against Port, and had a draw against Brisbane as well as losses by under a goal to Collingwood and Essendon.
However, Adelaide’s three games leading into the bye were below par again. Losing to Sydney has no shame attached, but conceding six goals in 12 minutes is unforgivable. And they never really fired a shot against Hawthorn and Richmond, two teams who they can rightly compare themselves to. Last year’s number one scoring team has dropped to mid-table, and they are lacking weaponry through the midfield and any cohesion going forward.
16. West Coast
The post-Covid era has been a bleak one for the once-mighty Eagles, recording only five wins across the 2022-23 seasons, and finishing with a dismal percentage in the 50s on each occasion.
While 2024 started poorly with three losses by a combined 191 points, and more of the same being predicted, West Coast have responded and been a much more competitive outfit over the last few months. They’ve won three games, but been competitive in several others, even if losing to North Melbourne at home before their bye was a bitter pill to swallow.
Jake Waterman and Harley Reid have been the highlights, and Jeremy McGovern has been approaching his All-Australian best, but the midfield is still shallow and not getting their hands on the football often enough.
Harley Reid. (Photo by Will Russell/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
17. Richmond
The Tigers have been at the forefront of the injury crisis that has beset the AFL this season, with no club having selected more players, or had less play every game. On several occasions, they’ve finished with multiple injured players on the bench.
Even still, there have been some abject failures in performance along the way, confusion around gameplan and what they are trying to do, and a fitness program that sees too many soft tissue injuries and no accountability.
The positives will be a top-three draft pick for the first time since Dustin Martin was brought into the club, and the unearthing of future quality players like Tom Brown, Seth Campbell and Kane McAuliffe.
18. North Melbourne
Despite, like West Coast, only having five wins over the last two seasons, things had become even more grim for the Kangaroos when they had their Round 12 bye. Only once in their first 11 games had they gotten within six goals of an opponent, and that was still a 26-point loss at home to Fremantle, who are hardly Hawthorn of the 80s.
The last two weeks have finally shown light at the end of the tunnel. They broke their 2024 duck with a road win in wet conditions against the Eagles, displaying heart and grit, and then took that confidence to race to a nine-goal lead against Collingwood last weekend. Yes, they gave it all back and suffered a heart-breaking loss, but they showed they could play with dash and dare, and gave a pointer for the future. Let’s hope we see more of it going forward.