Round 8 power rankings: Bombers are back

Welcome back to my weekly column where I rank your side relative to every other side on the basis of their performance that week.

Please accept my apologies for my absence last week as I was otherwise indisposed. This round, the Bombers chalked up their second win of the season with their backs against the wall and with a massive five late changes, the Saints were exposed by a professional Melbourne outfit and the Swans struggled at home.

Read on for my power rankings.

18. North Melbourne Kangaroos (no change)
The Roos and the Eagles will be in and out of this spot throughout the year. They already have one hand on picks one and two respectively and David Noble would be bitterly disappointed by the lack of improvement that North have shown this year.

They’ve built from the inside out and it has left them lacking in the key posts. Robbie Tarrant leaving at the end of last year exacerbated what has been something of a self-imposed exodus following Ben Brown’s trade at the end of 2020.

The Kangaroos do have some talent in the midfield. Tarryn Thomas, Luke Davies-Uniacke, and Jason Horne-Francis presented a devastating punch as each can rotate forward and bring an element of polish to a blue-collar midfield.

17. West Coast Eagles (no change)
The Eagles outscored North despite the punishing absences due to COVID, including coach Adam Simpson. However, they’re still struggling badly.

That’s despite the solid efforts of Jake Florenca and Patty Naish, both of whom have grasped their opportunities at the Eagles with aplomb despite neither being listed at the start of the season.

There was some talk they should postpone the game however even the Eagles’ best would struggle against the in-form Lions. They are shaping as early favourites for the first selection at the national draft later this year.

The Eagles still have a solid core of veterans, who are integral to any rebuild. However the need to rebuild through the draft is becoming more and more apparent as their best players are all a year older and have less value at the trade table.

(Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)

16. Greater Western Sydney Giants (no change)
Four goals, 11 behinds is not a good scoreline for the Giants. They began this year with optimism. There was the expectation they could repeat their heroics of last year.

However, eight rounds in they only have two wins to their name. The Giants have shown themselves to be bereft of creativity and they struggle to get any forward momentum whatsoever.

They’ve clearly built their list from the inside out as shown by them winning both the clearance statistic and the contested possession stat. However they lack the outside run to be able to move the ball with any impetus.

It is Lachie Whitfield or bust at the moment and sides have shown that if they can nullify his output then the Giants have precious few runners that can provide his ability.

15. Hawthorn Hawks (down four)
The Hawks have a fourth-quarter problem. Against the Bombers on Saturday they conceded eight goals in the last term, giving up a vital 15-point lead.

That has become something of a trend made all the more apparent by their loss to the Swans a couple of weeks back. Yes, they’re a young side but their midfield is filled with too many of the same type of player and the Hawks struggled to go the distance with a hungrier and fiercer Bombers outfit that had it all to play for.

The bright spot continues to be James Sicily, who as an undersized key defender absorbed the pressure of the Bombers’ intercept ball seven times and gathered 22 disposals. He shapes as the heir apparent to the Hawthorn captaincy.

The Hawks need to work on their late-game fade-outs but I am giving them the benefit of the doubt. It’s clear to see they’re developing nicely under Sam Mitchell and while they may not make the finals this year, he has them well on their way to developing a new brand with a view to contend.

14. Gold Coast Suns (up one)
The Swans appear to be the Gold Coast’s bunnies, particularly on the tight confines of the Sydney Cricket Ground where the hard running and kicking game style of the Swans is not suited.

They played 18 men on 18 men as they were able to proficiently deny the Swans an outlet. They wore the Swans down and surprised everyone with a blue-collar victory by 14 points.

It was a prototypical small forward’s performance from Izak Rankine with 13 disposals and two goals. David Swallow was inspirational with seven tackles and 24 disposals in a vintage performance playing where he was needed. He was pressuring the more storied Swans midfield.

(Photo by Ryan Pierse/AFL Photos/via Getty Images)

13. Adelaide Crows (down four)
The Crows have put together a solid season to date. The reason they’re down so far is because I probably overrated the Crows in my last power rankings.

However, the Crows probably should have lost by more as they did well to hold back the deluge of inside 50s provided by the rampant Blues (74-49).

Additionally Jordan Dawson was a lone bright spot with 30 disposals, including 23 kicks and a goal. He shapes as a recruit of the year for the Crows, giving their midfield some much needed polish.

It’s clear that the Crows are still not a top-eight side, however they’ve taken the most significant strides towards that goal now in Matthew Nicks’ tenure. That is important for his continued success as head coach.

12. Essendon Bombers (up two)
Maybe the Bombers should have illness rip through their camp every week as the shackles were off. They faced a more heavily fancied Hawks outfit and ran over the top of them.

If you told me that eight rounds in Peter Wright would be equal third in the Coleman, I would have called you a liar, but here we are.

Wright was in marvellous form. His exemplary kicking came to the fore as he out-muscled all his opponents for his second best performance after his seven-goal heroics last year.

Nick Martin continues to shape as an unlikely favourite for the Rising Star award with another 20 disposals and two goals. He shows composure that is reminiscent of Blake Caracella.

It remains to be seen whether or not the Bombers can back it up next week or whether the praise of the media will go to the heads of their young players.

11. Collingwood Magpies (down four)
Collingwood have been hammered in the media this week for the lack of respect they paid to Tom Lynch and the Tigers.

However, it was five goals in the first half from Lynch and Darcy Moore eventually applied the clamps and the scoreboard became more respectable.

Jack Crisp has been a stalwart of the Pies this year. He had 30 disposals and a goal.

Darcy Cameron ably performed in the absence of Brodie Grundy with career highs in disposals. He was ably assisted by Aiden Begg as a skinny, undersized ruckman.

10. Western Bulldogs (down two)
It was absolute carnage for the Bulldogs as they ran out of players. Cody Weightman, Tim O’Brien, and Laitham Vandermeer all went down with injury.

That exacerbated the absence of Marcus Bontempelli. The Bulldogs are a far cry from the grand finalists they were last year as the out-of-form Power ran over the top of them for their third consecutive win.

(Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)

9. Richmond Tigers (up four)
The return of Dustin Martin dominated this game. With 23 disposals and two goals, he didn’t miss a beat.

The Tigers of old appear to be back. They had a modest 27-point win over the Magpies. The Tigers sent a shudder through the rest of the competition as they may very well bring the second-half-of-the-year antics that dominated the Tigers’ premiership years.

8. Port Adelaide Power (up four)
The Power are back. With their third win on the trot, the Power are surging back into contention.

With North this week and Charlie Dixon playing in the ressies, things are finally starting to show positive signs for the Power.

Also, Todd Marshall played an understated game as the outlet kick. He had eight marks and four contested marks to go with his 13 disposals and two goals.

The only question is who comes out for Charlie Dixon when he’s finally ready to play?

7. St Kilda (down three)
The Saints are still in form, I don’t doubt that. However they got a reality check against the competition’s best. Despite a second-half improvement, they showed how far off the pace they are.

It was an intelligently coached match as they moved Brad Hill to half back and Jade Gresham to the forward pocket to throw Melbourne off balance and narrow the margin to a more respectable 38 points.

6. Sydney Swans (no change)
The Swans are a good side, but the redevelopment of their game style has made them comparatively weak at home.

The man-on-man style that the Suns have played closed down the already tight confines of the SCG that little bit more and the Swans were unable to deal with it.

With the ageing of Luke Parker and Josh Kennedy, the Swans have lost that blue-collar style that previously defined their game plan.

(Photo by Matt King/AFL Photos/via Getty Images )

The glut of young talent are still developing and don’t have the body strength to run through the guts permanently. It means that John Longmire has to be more creative with the rotations to ease the stress on players like Isaac Heeney and Callum Mills.

5. Carlton Blues (up five)
With the win over the Crows, the Blues are now in the top four, so they should move up.

I still have concerns about the loss of Marc Pittonet but they alleviated those against a solid performer in Reilly O’Brien.

They also have Charlie Curnow playing like a new recruit. He kicked six goals to form the most dangerous key forward pairing this side of Tom Hawkins and Jeremy Cameron.

Both Harry McKay and Curnow are featuring at the pointy end of the Coleman Medal.

4. Geelong Cats (up one)
Jeremy Cameron is showing why they gave up so much to get him. He was magnificent. He had the strength of a key forward and the agility of a small forward. He is one of the toughest match-ups in the AFL.

Furthermore, Tyson Stengle kicked three goals. He added a small forward’s nous to a Geelong forward line that has all too frequently been lacking in this regard.

The Cats shut down a woeful Giants outfit and only did what was needed to win.

3. Fremantle Dockers (no change)
When Freo are good, it is truly a sign of the end times. They have an ignominious 27-year history in the AFL.

But on Friday night, they did what needed to be done to dominate a woeful North outfit.

Without Nat Fyfe, the Dockers seem no worse for wear. Andy Brayshaw is a future captain of the club. Sean Darcy is his vice-captain. The young brigade of Fremantle threaten to sweep the competition.

(Photo by Daniel Carson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

2. Brisbane Lions (down one)
The Lions do have concerns. Injuries to Dan McStay and Joe Daniher cleaned out the cupboard of key forwards.

However, their small forwards are still deadly. Zac Bailey, Charlie Cameron and Lincoln McCarthy are all threatening to dominate in an even forward line.

They had Hugh McCluggage put in a classic performance. He had four goals, 26 disposals and a massive ten tackles.

The only reason they’re down is their depth is very much challenged in the key forward department. But they still shape as the presumptive challenger from Melbourne.

1. Melbourne Demons (up one)
The Demons are presumptive premiership favourites this year. They’ve never had to get out of third gear for this entire year.

Ed Langdon was massive with 39 disposals. He shapes as the single most important player structurally to the Melbourne line-up.

Additionally, Kysaiah Pickett has started to work his way back into form with three goals alongside Ben Brown and Tom McDonald. That shows the potency of the Melbourne forward line.

The Dees will have to be beaten otherwise they’re the $1.01 favourite for the premiership.

There you have it, folks. Apologies again for my absence last week. What do you all think? Leave your thoughts below and I will do my best to respond.