AFL Power Rankings: Round 11

Power rankings are a strange concept when the rounds are so convoluted, but, I’m forging onwards. Back to a routine Monday positioning from next week.

Last week: 1
Umpiring be damned, Port Adelaide produced a sensational victory. They have cemented their selves as premiership contenders but are thrust immediately into a battle with Geelong. If the Tigers win legitimised their chances, a win over the Cats will reaffirm just that.

Last week: 3
It may have taken until the final term to properly shake off the Blues, but that is not necessarily a bad thing in 2020. The Eagles would’ve known Carlton were a challenge, and they produced an entertaining duel before cracking down and sailing to a comfortable(ish) win.

Last week: 5
An unexpectedly comfortable win for the Cats. Their seventh of the year, they now move back into the top four and onwards to that aforementioned battle with ladder-leaders Port. It’s going to be a cracker.

Last week: 2
Has their bubble burst? No, not quite, but they’d be extremely disappointed by their loss on Saturday night. They were coming off a short break, but their effort (or lack thereof) just about proves that they’re not premiership contenders this year. Nonetheless, finals are very likely, and they should bounce back against Essendon on the weekend.

Last week: 4
I can’t begrudge them too much: they played a superb game, and not everything is going to fall their way. They should get back on track with a win over the Suns. Yet they remain a game outside of the top four with the five teams above them mostly all in bouts of form, making them no certainty for a position in that quartet.

Last week: 6
It would’ve been hard to produce a scoreline worse than the 4.17 they managed against Richmond, so Saturday’s 14.12 scoreline was a much-improved effort. That assisted the Lions with kicking away against the Bulldogs to lock in an important win that keeps them secure in the top two for now.

Last week: 7
Had the bye.

Last week: 8
I mean, they won, but Collingwood are close to if not the worst team in the eight at the minute. Injuries are a concern, but they struggled to put away the actual worst team in the league on Tuesday night. They did open up a comfortable margin in the second half, but not a lot could be learnt from their win.

Last week: 9
Heartbreaking. They were extremely undisciplined in the first half, but their second half performance was close to the best I’ve seen the Bombers this year, and they’ll be ruing letting their lead evaporate as quickly as they’d gained it in the final quarter.

Last week: 10
I’m loath to criticise any young player, particularly not one that I myself all but inaugurated as this year’s rising star, but Izak Rankine’s final-minute kick was the wrong move. He waited too long and seemed to go for goal at a distance he wasn’t going to make. It’s a learning curve, but a costly one.

Last week: 11
Another week, another loss for a Bulldogs side that is looking less and less like finals competitors. I don’t have a lot to say about the Bulldogs this week except for the fact that losing to the Crows this weekend will be a very Doggies thing to do this year.

Last week: 13
Two in a row. As a fan – and with a pure lack of objectivity here, if you’ll allow me – this week’s win was sweeter than last week’s for the fact that Freo dominated the clash in all facets for the first time I can recall them doing for a while. Carlton and Sydney up next: play their cards right, and they’ll have four on the trot.

Last week: 12
At the risk of reopening a can of worms, dubious umpiring undoubtedly contributed to the Blues’ loss of momentum in Saturday’s third term. It did not lose the game for Carlton, though: their inability to get back into the clash in the late stages of the third term and entirety of the fourth saw them slip away and lose the chance to grab a valuable four points.

Last week: 17
I may have been underrating the Demons, who finish the round in tenth position (they were ninth until Essendon’s draw). Somewhat surprisingly they have won three of their last five and find themselves a decent shout at beating Collingwood on Saturday.

Last week: 14
Had the bye.

Last week: 16
As a Freo fan I was honestly petrified the Hawks would continue the form they (re)discovered in last week’s sensational win over Carlton. Thankfully (for me) they didn’t. Lacklustre is probably an apt word.

Last week: 15
They were in it, and then they weren’t. That final quarter was a nightmare for the Roos, as they conceded the final seven goals of the clash. A date with the Lions on Saturday comes at a bad time.

Last week: 18
I have got to admit that I thought at half-time Adelaide’s long-awaited inaugural 2020 win was coming. It wasn’t to be, and they’re now nilch and 11. Pun intended, I don’t think it’s going the early crow to suggest they’ll be going winless this year.