The official statisticians of the AFL – Champion Data – have today revealed their list rankings ahead of the 2020 season and, it’s fair to say, there are some controversial calls.
Each club has been ranked from 1st to 18th overall, as well as by defenders, midfielders and forwards. Predictably, reigning premiers Richmond sit atop the pile – although eyebrows have been raised by the seventh-place ranking of their midfield.
Other huge calls include reigning minor premiers Geelong allegedly having the third-worst defence, GWS being fourth despite supposedly being ranked 14th in defence and 12th in attack, North Melbourne having the competition’s second-best midfield and Gold Coast having a better midfield than Fremantle, Sydney, Adelaide and Carlton.
Champion Data earned significant ire ahead of the 2019 season after anointing Melbourne’s list the best in the AFL, only for the Demons to finish second-last.
We’re sure you’ve got plenty of questions too, so we’ve published the whole table here for you to look at. Make sure to have your say in the comments because there’s plenty to unpack here.
Club | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards | Overall |
---|---|---|---|---|
Adelaide Crows | 8th | 17th | 16th | 15th |
Brisbane Lions | 11th | 1st | 17th | 10th |
Carlton | 17th | 18th | 13th | 17th |
Collingwood | 4th | 3rd | 5th | 3rd |
Essendon | 6th | 11th | 8th | 9th |
Fremantle | 15th | 15th | 14th | 16th |
Geelong Cats | 16th | 5th | 4th | 7th |
Gold Coast Suns | 18th | 14th | 18th | 18th |
GWS Giants | 14th | 12th | 1st | 4th |
Hawthorn | 10th | 8th | 10th | 11th |
Melbourne | 9th | 9th | 15th | 13th |
North Melbourne | 7th | 2nd | 12th | 6th |
Port Adelaide | 3rd | 10th | 9th | 8th |
Richmond | 1st | 7th | 2nd | 1st |
St Kilda | 12th | 13th | 11th | 12th |
Sydney Swans | 5th | 16th | 7th | 14th |
West Coast Eagles | 13th | 4th | 6th | 5th |
Western Bulldogs | 2nd | 6th | 3rd | 2nd |