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So it turns out I’m taking the reins for the weekly Power Rankings – or at least until Josh Elliott sacks me for something I write about North Melbourne.
This isn’t just about who won or lost (we have the ladder for that), it’s about trying to figure out who is the best and who is the worst. There is some method to the madness, but we’re only a week in, and Round 1 is notorious for odd results that ultimately mean little by season’s end, so there’s no need to get too carried away with a win or a loss just yet.
I swear I don’t hate your team. Well, maybe just yours.
Ladder: 1st
The Crows couldn’t have been more impressive in their season opener. Sans skipper Taylor Walker and key defender Jake Lever, among others, they dismantled the Giants, outscoring the premiership favourites 132-62 after quarter-time. Adelaide controlled every area of the ground.
Rory Laird was dominant across half back, and Charlie Cameron, Rory Atkins and Wayne Milera would’ve had anyone with doubts on the Crows’ midfield depth doubting themselves. Up forward, Mitch McGovern and Josh Jenkins gave the GWS defenders headaches and Eddie Betts did Eddie Betts things. They’re a joy to watch and have set a very high bar so early in the season.
Ladder: 8th
The defending champs looked below their best in Round 1, but they got the job done nonetheless. Smashed at the clearances (-18) and in contested footy (-26), the Dogs got the four points thanks to their class and slick transition game – it wasn’t at all like the contested-ball territory beast that was the Bulldogs of 2016. They face a tougher test this Friday night.
Ladder: 4th
It turns out Sam Mitchell still has a bit in the tank, notching a lazy 38 disposals in his West Coast debut. After a first-half arm wrestle, the Eagles flexed their muscles in the second half to claim a comfortable and a handy road win against North Melbourne. Despite getting smashed in the hitouts, the Eagles broke even in clearances.
They won’t come up against many better ruckmen than Todd Goldstein, so that’s a promising sign for the Nic Naitanui-less Eagles. Josh Kennedy got his bid for a third straight Coleman medal off to a fine start with seven majors.
Ladder: 2nd
Much like the Eagles, the Cats travelled across the country and made light work of an inferior opponent. Geelong were never troubled by the Dockers. Joel Selwood and Patrick Dangerfield did their thing with solid support from Mitch Duncan and Steven Motlop, and Zach Tuohy looked right at home at halfback. The Harry Taylor forward experiment is not going well.
Ladder: 18th
There’s no need to panic, but the Giants were pummelled at Adelaide Oval and seemingly put up the white flag in the final term. Their defensive effort was woeful.
GWS could well turn it around and go on to claim the flag, but at some point they need to start performing against good teams on the road. To date, their only road win against a top-eight team is last year’s final-round victory against a North Melbourne side running on fumes. Pray for the Suns in Round 2.
Ladder: 14th
If any team deserves the benefit of the doubt, it’s the Swans. They face one of footy’s toughest tests – the Bulldogs at Docklands – to avoid a rare 0-2 start. Sydney were woefully inefficient against Port Adelaide, managing just 12 goals from 61 inside-50s. On a positive note, Sam Reid looks as fit as he has for a long time.
Fun stat: Since 2000, the Swans have started 0-2 only twice and both times they finished the season as beaten grand finalists (2006, 2014)
Ladder: 6th
The Demons dominated proceedings after quarter time on a muggy Saturday afternoon at Docklands. Melbourne booted 13 goals to three in the middle quarters to overcome a 25-point quarter-time win and run out comfortable winners. Young bulls Clayton Oliver (36 disposals, nine clearances) and Christian Petracca (23 disposals, two goals) showed the future might well be now for the Demons.
Last season, they followed a season-opening win against GWS with a loss to Essendon. This week they need to send a strong message against Carlton.
Ladder: 5th
Like Collingwood a day earlier, the Power dominated the contested ball against a team renowned for their toughness around the footy. Unlike the Pies, Port managed to turn that contested-possession dominance (+22) into four points after causing the upset of the round.
Port’s best player, Robbie Gary, had no impact on the match, which suggests there’s still improvement in the side. A home clash with the Dockers should see the Power start 2-0, but Ken Hinkley’s side has been anything but consistent in recent times.
Ladder: 7th
It was a dream night for the returning Bombers and their fans. The Dons controlled every aspect of the game against the Hawks to run out comfortable winners. Zach Merrett finds the footy by accident and new skipper Dyson Heppell was the best player on the ground with 34 touches and three goals.
It might be time to start including Orazio Fantasia in conversations about the best small forwards in the league.
Ladder: 3rd
Dustin Martin turned into a torpedo-launching Terminator and the Tigers did what they had to do in the season-opener. Their opponents put up little resistance, though, so we’ll have a better idea about Richmond after Thursday’s clash with the next team on this list.
Ladder: 11th
The Pies did a lot right against the Bulldogs. Their stoppage dominance was extraordinary, but they couldn’t convert that into a winning score. For all they did right, there were flashes of last season’s shoddy team defence as the Dogs cut them to bits on the turnover. Scott Pendlebury is the Matrix.
Ladder: 13th
What started so brightly quickly turned into a bleak afternoon for the Saints – it could have been apocalyptic if Nick Riewoldt’s knee injury had been as bad as first feared.
St Kilda just couldn’t get their hands on the footy, recording 117 fewer disposals than the Demons. The form of recruit Jack Steele was one of the few positives to come from the game, but they’ll need to turn a lot of things around to compete with the Eagles in Perth this weekend.
Ladder: 12th
The Hawks were made to look second-rate by the Dons. Thanks in large part to high-profile recruits Tom Mitchell and Jaeger O’Meara, Hawthorn managed to win the clearance battle and almost break even in contested possessions (-2), both areas of weakness in 2016, but with only 82 marks, compared with Essendon’s 135, they simply couldn’t maintain possession or dictate the tempo in the way we’ve become accustomed in recent seasons.
It will take a drastic improvement for them to make the Crows sweat on Saturday at the MCG.
Ladder: 15th
North were plucky for a half but ultimately lacked the depth and talent to compete for four quarters against a team with top-four aspirations. That will likely be the story of the season for the Roos, whose horror opening month will see them face Geelong, GWS and the Bulldogs in the next three weeks – yikes.
Ladder: 9th
Chris Fagan delivered the goods first up for the Lions, despite them trying their darnedest to cough up a seven-goal lead against the Suns. The veterans led the way for Brisbane, with Tom Rockliff, Dayne Beams, Stefan Martin and Dayne Zorko four of their five highest disposal winners.
If those guys can stay fit, and they can look something close to competent defensively – the 96 points they conceded to Gold Coast would have been their fourth-best effort in 2016 – they should be a much more competitive team than the one we saw last season. Now to back up that effort against the Bombers at the Gabba.
Ladder: 10th
This team shouldn’t be falling behind the Lions by almost 50 points. Rodney Eade’s seat will warm-up quickly if he can’t make the Suns competitive.
Ladder: 17th
It was hard to find a positive for the Dockers in their loss to the Cats; the 42-point final margin flattered the home side. It’s easy to forget this team won only one more game than the Bombers and Lions last season – maybe they’re just not very good.
Ladder: 16th
There were certainly positives for the Blues on Thursday night – Caleb Marchbank was excellent – but overall they were far too easy to play against. It’s going to be a tough season, but honest Carlton people knew that coming in, this year is all about the future.