Rounds 1-8, 2009 – AFL Review

With a third of the home-and-away season completed, it’s time to have a closer look at each club and summarise their efforts thus far in 2009, as well as their prospects for the immediate future.  A second report will come after round 15 and a final report at the end of the season.  So, let’s begin – I’ll start at the top of the premiership ladder and work my way down.

1st – St. Kilda (8 wins, 0 losses – 195.32%)

Highlight: Being on top of the ladder after 8 rounds is the most obvious highlight – with 8 wins, no losses and a record setting percentage – they have demolished their opposition on an almost routine and repetitive basis each week – although they haven’t faced 4 of the current Top 8 sides yet this season.  Riewoldt, Dal Santo, Hayes and Goddard are all enjoying superb seasons.

Lowlight: None to speak of at this stage of the season.

Final 8 Prospects: A top 4 position is locked away – however with their current percentage and 10 games remaining in Melbourne – a top 2 spot would be their major objective.

2nd – Geelong (8 wins, 0 losses – 161.64%)

Highlight: Geelong is enjoying a stellar season of its own – and if it wasn’t for St.Kilda’s sensational start to 2009 – I’d be writing about Geelong’s opening 8 rounds instead.  The Cats have rarely been challenged, apart from their opening round defeat of Hawthorn.  The form of Tom Hawkins has been pleasing.

Lowlight: Similarly to the Saints, there are no real significant lowlights – except for the injury scare to Gary Ablett a couple of weeks ago, however he is due back next round and will hopefully continue to play some blistering footy.

Final 8 Prospects: As with St.Kilda, they would be aiming at a top 2 spot at worst.  It would be considered a minor disaster if the Cats were to not finish top 2 after this start.

3rd – Western Bulldogs (5 wins, 3 losses – 107.92%)

Highlight: An excellent start – with three consecutive wins – to open the season had the experts pencilling them in as legitimate premiership contenders.  Whilst it hasn’t exactly been smooth sailing since then, the Dogs would be ecstatic with the form of Jason Akermanis – whilst midfielder Shaun Higgins has met most of the lofty expectations placed upon his young shoulders so far this season.

Lowlight: The Dogs have 5 wins – all against teams currently ranked 12th to 16th on the premiership ladder (even Bruce McAvaney would be pleased with that little nugget of a statistic).  Their defeats have come against St.Kilda, Carlton and West Coast – 3 teams that are up and about this year.  Are the Dogs “flat-track bullies” (pun intended) or are they the real deal?

Final 8 Prospects: They will play finals, with a likely finish anywhere between third of fifth.

4th – Port Adelaide (5 wins, 3 losses – 104.67%)

Highlight: A win in the Showdown against Adelaide (round 6) would rank as the clubs best win of 2009; however wins against the Hawks and their last gasp win over the Tigers are also right up there.  Warren Tredrea, with 27 goals already this season, has been a revelation.

Lowlight: “Fremantle-like” inconsistency – up one week, down the next.  The return to the club of 2004 premiership player, Josh Carr, has not worked – resulting in him being dropped recently to find a bit of form.  Shaun Burgoyne needs to get back on the park and stay there for the Power to be any chance later this season.

Final 8 Prospects: Their finals chances are more than likely, however a current placing of 4th flatters them somewhat.  A finish anywhere between fifth and eighth is my tip.

5th – Brisbane (5 wins, 3 losses – 102.54%)

Highlight: The remarkable coaching debut of Michael Voss in 2009.  He has the players onside and he has even extracted a bunch of excellent games from Travis Johnstone, which is no mean feat.  2008 Draftee Daniel Rich looks like an absolute gem, whilst Power, Black and Brown are playing some good footy.

Lowlight: A 93-point loss to the Cats in round 5 threatened to derail their season, however three straight wins since that defeat have them sitting fifth, which very few would have predicted pre-season.  Like the Dogs, their wins have not come against any top sides – with their big test to come in round 9 against the Saints.

Final 8 Prospects: Very good, although they’ve already played five games at the Gabba, with just six more to come in the remaining 14 rounds.  A probable finish somewhere between sixth to eighth would be a good result.

6th – Carlton (4 wins, 4 losses – 123.30%)

Highlight: A barnstorming start to 2009, with a much discussed belting of the Tigers in round 1, followed by a convincing win over the Lions in round 2.  Chris Judd has been in scintillating form and will certainly be in contention come Brownlow night later this year.  The continued development of Gibbs, Murphy and Kreuzer is a delight to watch.

Lowlight: Essendon knew they were coming in round 3 – and took the opportunity to puncture a couple of tyres on the Blues bandwagon – which led to Carlton losing three of its next four games.  Brendan Fevola, seemingly, is never going to be a true leader – and the death of Richard Pratt must also be mentioned as a lowlight for the club.

Final 8 Prospects: If the Blues can start winning the close games, they will be there come finals time.  However the loss to Essendon in round 3, not to mention the last second loss to the Hawks in round 6, may yet cost them a finals position – however I’ll stick my neck out and predict a finish in the bottom half of the eight for Carlton.


7th – Hawthorn (4 wins, 4 losses – 97.17%)

Highlight: The highlight is winning four games out of eight – with the Hawks yet to field anything close to their premiership winning outfit of 2008.  The play of Brad Sewell in a more attacking role has been a standout, whilst Cyril Rioli continues to show his class in one of the few positives for Hawthorn so far.  Roughead also deserves a mention for his efforts this season.

Lowlight: Just ask the club – injuries, injuries and more injuries – although I’m growing a little tired of that excuse.  Franklin doesn’t look great, let’s be honest, but he is doing enough to stay out on the park.  I wouldn’t call it a premiership hangover just yet, but it’s awfully close.

Final 8 Prospects: It would be a shock if they missed finals; however I expect them to slip into the bottom half of the final eight.

8th – Essendon (4 wins, 4 losses – 96.67%)

Highlight: The Anzac Day classic against Collingwood, their memorable wins over Carlton in round 3 and Hawthorn in round 6 and most recently, pushing St.Kilda all the way in round 8.  The form of Brent Stanton and Jobe Watson is encouraging, but it is the emergence of David Zaharakis, Heath Hocking and a rejuvenated Paddy Ryder that would be exciting Bombers fans the most.  The non-appearance of Jason Laycock has also been a highlight for Essendon supporters.

Lowlight: The severe, long-term knee injury to David Hille was a devastating blow and will keep the ruckman out until 2010.  Scotty Lucas is struggling and is now trying to find some form in a Bendigo Bombers side that is getting flogged most weeks.

Final 8 Prospects: Surprisingly, the Bombers have a shot at finals in what is shaping as a very even season.  10 or 11 wins will most likely get you into finals and with a reasonable fixture, the Dons are every chance to snare one of the last couple of finals places if they continue to play their adventurous, exciting brand of footy.

9th – Sydney (4 wins, 4 losses – 94.64%)

Highlight: Outside of another classic against the Eagles in round 8, the highlights for the Swans have been few and far between.  Credit where it’s due – wins against the Hawks and Blues were handy – but they seem to be lacking the edge they had in 2005/06.  No individual players have stood out from the pack this season.

Lowlight: Losing to Fremantle would be a lowlight.  Barry Hall has been down in form and Michael O’Loughlin has been out of the line-up for most of the season.  The Swans have not really done anything to indicate they will be thereabouts come finals time.

Final 8 Prospects: I’m calling it now – they won’t make it.  They’re not good enough to climb much higher than their current position, but they are also not bad enough to drop much further.  In the current landscape of new clubs entering the competition very soon, finishing 9th on the ladder has never been as undesirable as it will be in ’09 and ’10.

10th – West Coast (3 wins, 5 losses – 93.32%)

Highlight: The Coasters would most likely view three wins from eight games as a positive start to their 2009 campaign – and I would agree.  Apart from their thumping against the Saints, their losses have been admirable, plus they’ve beaten a couple of pretty good clubs in the Dogs and the Power (both at Subiaco, however).  Dean Cox continues to dominate in the ruck whilst their other top contributors have included Selwood and Priddis.

Lowlight: Their performance against the Saints in round 3 was as bad a showing as you will ever see.  Daniel Kerr has been mostly ineffectual and appears lost in a midfield that does not include Judd and Cousins.

Final 8 Prospects: The Eagles will not play finals in 2009, however with some more games pumped into their promising youngsters – playing finals is not out of the question over the next couple of years, especially if their first round draft selection, Nick Naitanui, can get onto the field for 5-10 games before their season is done.

11th – Collingwood (3 wins, 5 losses – 92.92%)

Highlight: There has been very little to write home about for the Pies in 2009.  The highlights are honestly hard to find.  Scott Pendlebury has been the one beacon of light for the club in 2009 – averaging close to 30 disposals per contest.

Lowlight: Where to begin?  I was a first hand witness to their defeat to Carlton in round 8 and I would suggest it’s one of the worst showings I’ve seen from a Magpies team in many years.  Sorry Pies fans, but names like O’Bree, Wood, Toovey, Leigh Brown and Corrie don’t exactly strike fear into the hearts of the opposition.  All spuds of the highest order.

As for the Malthouse vs Buckley coaching debate that continues to rage – I would say the pendulum has now tipped into Buckley’s favour – given Malthouse declared post-match that he felt they were still in with a chance with 5 minutes left in the final quarter.  Was he watching the Carlton game or the 2002 Grand Final?

Final 8 Prospects: I don’t exactly know how they’ll do it, but I’m not counting the Pies out just yet.  If they can get their best 22 on the park, that would be a good start.  And get Leigh Brown out of that side right now!

12th – Adelaide (3 wins, 5 losses – 83.40%)

Highlight: From this point on, I may forget about the highlights because it’s like extracting teeth for some of these clubs. Perhaps the only highlight for the Crows so far would be their round 1 surprise victory over the Pies.  Patrick Dangerfield looks like a promising type.

Lowlight: The Crows are yet to be blown right out of the water (their largest defeat is 48 points to the Cats), however their five losses have been by an average losing margin of almost 35 points.  The “old guard” of McLeod, Goodwin, Edwards and Thompson aren’t having the same impact they once did, which is a worry for Neil Craig.

Final 8 Prospects: From what I’ve seen, the Crows are gone.  Their lack of a true key forward target is an ongoing problem.

13th – North Melbourne (3 wins, 5 losses – 77.64%)

Highlight: There have been very few highlights for the Kangaroos; however youngster Jack Ziebell is showing some very encouraging signs as a real player of the future.

Lowlight: The devastating arm injury suffered by Brent Harvey was a cruel blow to a side needing everything going for it right about now.  And as mentioned in a previous report, their newly designed “clash strips” are rather woeful.  What was wrong with that mostly royal blue jumper they used to wear sometimes?

Final 8 Prospects: Zilch – there’s nothing more to say.

14th – Fremantle (3 wins, 5 losses – 77.04%)

Highlight: Three consecutive wins in rounds 5, 6 and 7 against decent opposition has been the highlight of 2009 for the Dockers.  Matthew Pavlich and Aaron Sandilands have been very good so far this season.  Chris Tarrant has looked rejuvenated in his role down back.

Lowlight: Fremantle looked dead and buried (with Mark Harvey a quintessential dead man walking) following the 83-point demolition at the hands of the Saints in round 4, but they somehow lifted themselves off the canvas to string a few wins together after that loss.  But that’s what this club does – they suck you in, make you tip them, and spit you straight back out again.  Anyone who tipped the Dockers on Friday night must be livid, but if I remember correctly, I think I warned you…

Final 8 Prospects: They’ve been playing better footy but finals are not a realistic goal in ’09.


15th – Richmond (1 win, 7 losses – 79.17%)

Highlight: Their one victory – against the Kangaroos in round 5 – is the obvious choice.  It’s also been positive to see Ben Cousins get through consecutive games recently.

Lowlight: The opening round 83-point loss to Carlton was the most devastating of blows for a Richmond side that had, on the not so quiet, been considered a “finals fancy” in 2009.  I was at that game – and I’ve never seen a collective group of supporters go from excited and confident, to deflated and pessimistic, so quickly.  The defeat sent the club, and the media, into frenzy.  When you add the circus following the coaching career of Terry Wallace into the mix, not to mention the whole Ben Cousins saga and Richardson’s serious injury, 2009 has been a shocker no matter which way you look at it.

Final 8 Prospects: Yes, I’m sorry but it’s already curtains for the Tigers in 2009.  In fact you could argue it was curtains after round 1 – when the Richmond faithful realised that Joel Bowden racking up 40 uncontested possessions in the backline isn’t really taking them anywhere anytime soon… but it works wonders if you have Bowden in your DreamTeam!

16th – Melbourne (1 wins, 7 losses – 74.05%)

Highlight: A few highlights for the Demons – obviously their sole win for 2009 against the Tigers in round 4 – but also the form of Aaron Davey as well as youngster Cale Morton.  Melbourne has gone very close to snaring another win recently, falling short by just over a kick against the Eagles (round 7) and Dogs (round 8).

Lowlight: A couple of 50+ point defeats and some poor attendances are the main lowlights for the Dees.  Memo to AFL: Twilight matches on a Sunday against an interstate club on a wet and freezing Melbourne day will usually result in poor crowd figures.

Final 8 Prospects: Like the Tigers, there is no chance for the Demons this year.  The Demons must stick with their youth policy – but I like their list (more than Richmond’s playing list if I’m being honest) and can see some light at the end of the tunnel for a team that has missed finals for the last couple of years.

Thanks for reading.  Let me know your thoughts by leaving a comment.

Cheers,

Luke.