Injuries are renowned for ruining seasons for certain teams, but when a club finds itself in a situation where the team’s success is dependent on the health of one player, they’re in deep trouble.
Injuries this year to Jonathan Brown, Brian Lake, Jobe Watson and Aaron Sandilands, have shown the fragility of clubs whose structures falter in star-absence.
The injury to Daniel Merritt has shortened Brisbane’s hopes of avoiding a wooden spoon furthermore.
Looking at Collingwood and Geelong, there has not been a sole dependence on one single player and therefore, an even spread across the team has led to premiership success.
This is a no-brainer.
Taking a look at each team, let’s assess the dependence on one or two players from each team and rank the team between 0-10. Ten being an ideal spread and 0 being dire straits.
Adelaide – Ben Rutten – 7
Brisbane – Jonathan Brown/Daniel Merritt – 2
Carlton – Chris Judd/Michael Jamieson – 8
Collingwood – Darren Jolly – 10
Essendon – Jobe Watson – 4
Fremantle – Aaron Sandilands – 5
Geelong – Harry Taylor – 9
Gold Coast – Gary Ablett – 5
Hawthorn – Josh Gibson – 5
Melbourne – James Frawley – 6
North Melbourne – Andrew Swallow/Drew Petrie – 5
Port Adelaide – Troy Chaplin – 0
Richmond – Jack Rewoldt – 6
St Kilda – Nick Rewoldt – 4
Sydney – Adam Goodes – 6
West Coast – Matt Priddis – 8
Western Bulldogs – Brian Lake – 6
The teams who scored low are either proven failures in the absence of their key player or they simply have weak depth afterwards. With draft luck the way it is today, I suspect it would take three to five years to turn a
Who’s in your ultimate team? Pick the best team and compete with other fans for daily prizes on Draftstars. For the best odds on the game try out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Think. Is this a bet you really want to place? Set a deposit limit.
Brisbane star Charlie Cameron is free to face Geelong on Saturday after the AFL Tribunal used its discretion to turn his one-game suspension into…
Round 5 of the AFL provided plenty of action, from big scorelines to upset wins and pressure starting to build on some clubs and coaches already.
There's plenty of time left in the 2024 season, so there's a chance we will see a better win than what Adelaide produced to…
Geelong has been crafty and creative in its list management and has quietly assembled a very exciting young group of midfielders and half-forwards.
Brisbane co-captain Lachie Neale will be looking to lead his team to a victory against Melbourne in what will be his 250th AFL game.
If you're a Fremantle fan - and I'm basing this on the social media reaction to what happened on Saturday afternoon at the Adelaide…
