AFL MIDSEASON REPORT CARD
WEST COAST: Grade: A-plus.
Top with 10 wins from 11. The Eagles were meant to be on the slide after losing a batch of experienced players. But Adam Simpson’s side is setting a hot pace which could lead to two home finals. Win them, they’re in the big dance. Five home games to come and they play Brisbane away in the final round.
RICHMOND. Grade: A.
Second with nine wins, two losses. What a premiership defence thus far. The Tigers continue to be a masterly benchmark of the pressure-packed style which delivered last year’s flag. They only travel interstate three more times and meet the Suns, Bombers and Bulldogs in a kind run into the finals. Top two beckons.
MELBOURNE. Grade: A
Third with eight wins, three losses and a whopping percentage – 140.2 – which will come in handy for top-four reckoning later in the year. The Demons are the league’s highest scorers. Six more MCG games but a Darwin game, two trips to Adelaide and to Perth and Geelong in the run home. Not quite a top-four lock, but close.
SYDNEY: Grade: A
Fourth with eight wins, three losses. The perennial finalists will be there again. Five more home games and an encounter with GWS to come. The Swans face a challenging last month entering the play-offs with Collingwood, Melbourne, the Giants and Hawthorn. Genuine top-four claims.
GEELONG: Grade: B
Fifth with seven wins, four losses. The Cats are well positioned for yet another finals campaign under Chris Scott. They have been solid and there’s a feeling the spectacular could yet come if Gary Ablett hits his straps. Five more games in Geelong, four others in Melbourne in a favourable race to the finals.
NORTH MELBOURNE: Grade: B-plus
Sixth with seven wins, four losses. West Coast have taken the cake as 2018’s biggest surprise packet. But the Kangas aren’t far behind. Widely tipped to be down the bottom, Brad Scott’s side is pushing for a top-four spot. Five more Etihad Stadium fixtures with away games against Adelaide, Brisbane and Geelong. Can they keep up their hectic pace?
COLLINGWOOD: B-plus
Seventh with seven wins, four losses. A heartening half-season from Nathan Buckley’s Magpies, who have finally found attacking potency – only the top three Eagles, Tigers and Demons have scored more than the Pies. Collingwood have seven more MCG matches to come, and trips to Gold Coast, Sydney and Fremantle. Looking likely finalists.
PORT ADELAIDE: Grade: B.
Eighth with six wins, four losses. Played a game less than the rest and actually rose to eighth spot despite a defeat last Saturday. The Power remain an enigma: contender or pretender? Port have a nice stretch of eight home games to come, and away games in Melbourne, Perth and Ballarat. Well-placed for a late dash.
ADELAIDE: Grade: C-plus
Ninth with six wins, five losses. So much was expected of the Crows but injuries have cruelled last year’s losing grand finalist. They’ll hope the bad luck eases as they face a demanding stretch just to make the play-offs: five home games but meetings with finals-bound West Coast, Richmond, Geelong, Melbourne, Port and the Giants.
HAWTHORN: Grade: C-plus
Tenth with six wins, five losses. Proving more than capable but can they bridge the gap on the top-eight with some sought-after consistency? The Hawks travel to play GWS, the Dockers and Sydney in what looms as a pivotal last-round fixture. In their favour, eight of their remaining games are against sides currently below them on the ladder.
GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY: Grade: C
Eleventh with five wins, five losses, one draw. Don’t write off the Giants just yet. With a wave of injuries subsiding, and Toby Greene and Tom Scully to come back in a month or so, GWS has the cattle for a late charge. The Giants’ fate will be decided in the final three rounds: hosting Adelaide and Sydney before a trip to play Melbourne. Thereabouts for finals.
ESSENDON: Grade: D
Twelfth with four wins, seven losses. Such a disappointment, the Bombers. A season-opening victory, but also winless for a month to slip off the finals pace. Travel to the Gabba and Perth in consecutive weeks. And John Worsfold’s side play West Coast, the Tigers and Sydney among trips to the Gold Coast and Port Adelaide.
FREMANTLE: Grade: C
Thirteenth with four wins, seven losses. The Dockers are about where most pundits had them pre-season. Competitive, tough to beat at home, but short of the finals pace. Still have six home games and one against the Eagles to come before finishing with a tough two: the Cats away and Collingwood.
WESTERN BULLDOGS: Grade: D
Fourteenth with four wins, seven losses. As hangovers go, this one is a doozy. The Dogs have fallen off the finals face after winning the 2016 premiership. Luke Beveridge’s side probably needs eight more wins to have a sniff of September but have a rugged draw: only two games against clubs now below them on the ladder.
GOLD COAST: Grade: D
Fifteenth with three wins, seven losses. First-year coach Stuart Dew was always going to have it tough with so many early away games but the Suns have failed to shine again. They’re by some margin the league’s lowest scorers and face Sydney, Melbourne and Richmond in what is a horror month-long block to come.
ST KILDA: Grade: F
Sixteenth with one win, nine losses, one draw. The Saints remain mired in mediocrity. Coach Alan Richardson’s rebuild is now in a fifth year – and it’s as fruitless as those before. Eight more games in Melbourne and they meet five clubs currently stationed in the top eight. Also-rans again.
BRISBANE: Grade: D
Seventeenth with one win, 10 losses. Judged more kindly than the Saints as the Lions were always expected to get nowhere this season. Competitive in patches but miles off being a formidable foe. Six more home games and trips to Perth, Tasmania and Geelong and Melbourne remaining. Treading water.
CARLTON: Grade: F
Eighteenth with one win, 10 losses.The Blues are where everyone thought they would be: holding up the ladder. But it’s still an outright failure for coach Brendon Bolton in his third year. He’s in it for the long haul but another wooden spoon beckons, though they do only play two sides currently in the top eight in their last half-season.
