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The AFL pecking order turned upside down

10th April, 2017
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Jarryd Roughead has given up the Hawks captaincy. (AAP Image/Joe Castro)
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10th April, 2017
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Three rounds in to the AFL season, and we have no idea what the pecking order is.

The old guard are falling – Hawthorn into the abyss, Sydney into a situation becoming more delicate by the week, and North are about where they should be after making their first decisive cuts into a rebuild.

The Hawks are gone. We know that now, if there was any doubt. A huge concern for them is three of the experienced players they brought to the club, Tom Mitchell, Jaegar O’Meara and Ricky Henderson, have probably been their best across the first few weeks.

Their champions aren’t what they were, the young players can’t cut it yet, and those in between are proving to have been in the right place at the right time for Clarkson’s premiership winning system, but are ineffectual in a struggling side.

Jaeger O'Meara Hawthorn Hawks AFL 2017 tall

Sydney have exposed several young players to major game time in the first few rounds, thanks to an injury list that contains some of their more celebrated names. Will Hayward, Nic Newman, Robbie Fox, Jordan Foote and Oliver Florent have all shown something to suggest that they can be relied upon as the year progresses, and John Longmire has always shown faith in his younger players.

The problem with so many inexperienced players is a lack of consistency across four quarters, and the Swans have effectively been beaten by one poor term in each of their matches so far.

North Melbourne have been in all of their games for the most part, a goal down to West Coast at half-time before losing by 43 points, four goals up against Geelong at three quarter-time before failing deep in time on, and in front against GWS late in the second term before losing by 42 points.

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Young teams struggle to run out four quarters, but the Roos are showing they’re up for the contest early, which is a great tick for Brad Scott, his coaching staff and the playing group in general. That they’re getting run over in second halves is natural.

Adelaide are the current testing material of the competition, impressive across each line, and based on what we saw last year, their form can be trusted.

GWS are showing ominous signs without really clicking into gear yet, but the fact is they got trounced by the only contender they’ve played this season, and they get to answer some more questions against Port this week.

Richmond have taken three scalps so far, each more impressive than the last in terms of the expected ladder positions of Carlton, Collingwood and West Coast this year, but the Tigers have benefited from a friendly draw that has allowed them to build confidence and momentum.

Geelong are a fascinating case at this stage of the season. Some teams are blessed with benefiting from playing the right teams at the right time, and the Cats are living that right now.

Patrick Dangerfield Geelong Cats AFL 2016

They got Fremantle at their oldest and slowest in Round 1, and on Saturday got Melbourne when they were missing Jesse Hogan and Jordan Lewis to suspension, and had the fortune of Max Gawn going down against them early.

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The talk has been that Geelong hasn’t been playing their best footy, but what if they have been, and this is who they are? They might just be an incredibly average side that has two absolute superstars at the top of their game, plus a gun key forward that is on track to have his best season.

Reliance on Dangerfield and Selwood? It’s a pretty stupid observation or criticism when you think about it. Well, yeah, if you’ve got them, so they should be relied upon.

Just like Carlton relied on Marc Murphy and Bryce Gibbs to help beat Essendon. Just like Richmond relied on Dustin Martin and Trent Cotchin to beat West Coast. Just like Rory Sloane and Taylor Walker got Adelaide over the line against Port, and Nick Riewoldt and Leigh Montagna did the same for St Kilda over Brisbane.

Of course, the balance is ensuring your bottom six or eight players can perform roles enough to support the guns.

Where are Melbourne right now? Where are St Kilda? Where are Collingwood? The latter two teams play each other this weekend, with the winner squaring their season ledger and the loser slipping to 1-3. The Demons take on a freshly-invigorated Dockers line-up this week in another huge game.

Brisbane and Carlton are showing they are more competitive than most thought, and Essendon started brightly in the first two weeks, but were out-toughed on the weekend. Both finals and bottom four are still in play for the Bombers.

Last year, the AFL was defined by the evenness of the top seven or eight teams, and how each of them could beat the other on any given day. This year, we may have gone a bit further, and while it’s folly to suggest that a Carlton or Brisbane could beat Adelaide or GWS, we are set for a season where unpredictable results are the norm.

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The pecking order is yet to be set, but the joy is in watching its evolving nature.

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