We’re eight weeks into the AFL competition for 2022, and in a 23-round season that constitutes close enough to a third.
It’s often said that the top eight doesn’t change a great deal from this point in the year, so let’s have a brief look at where every team is at.
Melbourne Demons
It was obvious coming into the year that the Demons were streets ahead of the competition and would be there on preliminary final weekend, and at 8-0 so it is proving.
There are only two games that really matter for them this season: preliminary final and grand final. They essentially have a six-month preseason until then. Their defence is in great order, their midfield is an established powerhouse and they have plenty of avenues to goal.
(Photo by James Elsby/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
Fremantle Dockers
The Dockers probably got teams at the right time in the first month or so of the season, beating the likes of West Coast, North Melbourne and Essendon as well as a disappointing GWS and eeking out a win in Adelaide against the Crows.
But the doubters have been put to bed with victories over fellow top-four contenders Carlton and Geelong to put some space on those rivals. There was no fluke about these wins, showing elements of both explosiveness and true grit, built on a foundation of defensive resilience.
Sean Darcy and Matt Taberner haven’t had a clean run at it yet, Nat Fyfe is yet to be seen and there have been many others missed games here and there due to COVID and the like. Freo might just be here to stay.
Brisbane Lions
Many had the Lions as the main challenger to Melbourne entering 2022, and here they are at 7-1 with a percentage over 150. Once again they are the dominant scoring team in the competition – and despite no Eric Hipwood yet and now with Joe Daniher and Daniel McStay out for periods too.
Mid-sized forwards like Lincoln McCarthy and Cameron Rayner are great marks so can still provide leading targets, and perhaps Oscar McInerney plays as a key forward to cover the injuries. It will surprise if they don’t find a way to keep scoring.
As always with this iteration of Brisbane, we know they can win home and away games, but they haven’t proven they can win finals. They can only show true growth once we reach September.
(Photo by Russell Freeman/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
Carlton Blues
The Blues have played some of the most powerful football in the league to command a top-four spot at this stage of the season.
They’re another team that has caught opposition sides at a good time, but that’s where confidence and belief are built. Losses to Gold Coast and Fremantle, both on the road, are steadiers, but they won’t be the only team to come unstuck at those venues this year.
The Carlton forward line has looked a million dollars when they’re on top, particularly against weak opposition in recent weeks, and with a deep midfield feeding them, they should be in the top-four mix all year.
Geelong Cats
The Cats always drop a game they just shouldn’t lose in the first half of every year, and that’s already happened with a loss to Hawthorn. Outside of that, they’ve won five and lost to Sydney and Fremantle. A win over Brisbane by ten points was the highlight, but the fact is they are 1-2 against fellow top-eight sides this year.
The Geelong midfield isn’t as good or as deep as it once was, and while Tom Hawkins and Jeremy Cameron are a formidable duo, they are only as good as the supply they get, and the latter is still prone to go missing more than he should.
(Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
Sydney Swans
The Swans are at an interesting stage both in their overall development and for this season. There is a sense that their age profile is slightly out of kilter, both too old and too young at the same time without enough yeast in the middle.
The gloss has come off a 5-1 start, having dropped their last two to Brisbane and Gold Coast, both at the SCG. After Essendon this week they have Carlton, Richmond and Melbourne before the bye. We’ll know more about them after that run of games.
St Kilda Saints
The Saints look to be back where they were in 2020: in the bottom half of the eight, possibly within reach of a finals win but never going to get anywhere near the best teams when it counts.
Max King is proving he can win games off his own boot, but there’s still something meat-and-potatoes about the whole line-up. Still, the Saints are the only team to beat Fremantle so far this season, and they did it in Perth too. It doesn’t look like many will be able to claim that this year.
The best St Kilda can hope for is to use this season as a stepping stone to something greater, but this group looks destined to fall short in the next few years.
(Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
Richmond Tigers
The Tigers are still threatening to be the sleeping giant, finally sneaking into the eight for the first time this season after two wins in a row. Their loss to Adelaide feels like it could haunt them all year, potentially ruling out a top-four or top-six position come finals.
Richmond are the second-highest scoring team and will continue to be an offensive threat while Tom Lynch holds his present form. However, their defence has let them down, ranking tenth for points against and having several big runs of goals kicked against them.
The Tiges still have 21 premiership players running around and arguably the healthiest list in the competition. The ball is completely in their court from here.
Collingwood Magpies
It’s been fun to watch the Pies this year, a claim that hasn’t been made for a long time. As much as Craig McRae has turned heads with the way he’s got his team playing, Nathan Buckley’s coaching stock has plummeted.
Collingwood are still finding their level, and there’s no hurry on them this season, but at least their fans can have some fun going to the footy again.
(Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
Western Bulldogs
What to make of the Bulldogs in 2022 so far? The surprising thing has been just how many excuses have been thrown around by fans and media alike. When you make a grand final one year and start 3-5 the next, then you’ve been poor and need to be acknowledged as such.
Their midfield has been inconsistent, the forward line mostly unthreatening and the back line scored against easily enough. Everything about them screams mid-table mediocrity this season unless they can click into gear at some stage.
Supporters will point to the fact that the Dogs made grand finals in 2016 and 2021 without finishing in the top four as if that is some sort of badge of honour. What it actually says is this is a group that has wildly underperformed in the last five-and-a-third seasons.
Port Adelaide Power
The Power are trying to be the Lazarus of 2022, similar to what we saw from Sydney in 2017 and Richmond in 2015, when those two clubs were able to turn a prolonged terrible start into a finals berth. History shows that rather than carry momentum into a successful finals campaign, it’s more likely you peter out having been ‘up’ for too long.
Ultimately Port have beaten a horrible West Coast, won a coin toss against St Kilda in Darwin and beat an out-of-sorts Dogs. This is a playing group crying out for a new coach, and Ken Hinkley is a coach crying out for a new group of players. Just like it was for Nathan Buckley at Collingwood after ten years, sometimes enough is just enough.
(Photo by James Elsby/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
Hawthorn Hawks
Many had the Hawks pegged for a bottom-four spot this year, if not the outright pick for a wooden spoon. Similar to Collingwood though, they have surprised plenty of people and looked good doing it.
Sam Mitchell is proving himself to be an inventive coach, and the players mostly look like they’re enjoying a breath of fresh air. If this can be true after the departure of a legendary coach like Alastair Clarkson, heaven only knows why Port and GWS are keeping theirs. Similar could even be said about Chris Scott, Adam Simpson, and even Damien Hardwick.
Hawthorn have shown themselves to be incredibly inconsistent both between games and in them, but that comes with the territory for now.
Gold Coast Suns
They’re a funny team, the Suns. Their three best performances have been full of merit against top-six teams – wins against Sydney and Carlton plus a two-goal loss to Melbourne. There is some quality here.
Yet they’ve also lost to GWS and Collingwood and could have been more competitive against St Kilda and Brisbane.
Stuart Dew has done a fantastic job with a patchwork quilt of a forward line in the absence of Ben King, consisting mostly of rejects from other clubs, like Levi Casboult, Mabior Chol and Nick Holman. It’s still hard to escape the fact that Gold Coast are in permanent no-man’s-land.
(Photo by Matt King/AFL Photos/via Getty Images)
Adelaide Crows
The Crows have left a bitter taste in the mouth after the last two weeks, getting thumped by ten and eight goals against GWS and Carlton respectively. This is especially so off the back of what were supposed to be defining wins over Richmond and the Western Bulldogs.
They can’t be trusted again now, and they have Brisbane, St Kilda and Geelong in the next three weeks. Season over beckons.
Greater Western Sydney Giants
What’s true after Round 8, 2022, is what has been true for a year or two now. Leon Cameron has to go. How some rate him as a coach is beyond comprehension given the talent he has had access to and the boring unimaginative football they so often play under him.
Essendon Bombers
The Bombers finally fired off a response against Hawthorn after coming under plenty of media heat, but why does it have to be this way? They have too many experienced players who aren’t uncompromising and seem to want things on their own terms.
Sydney, Richmond and a resurgent Port await, two of them interstate. Let’s see what they’re made of in a few weeks.
North Melbourne Kangaroos
At this point last year I wrote that the Kangaroos were Melbourne-under-Mark-Neeld bad, which is about the biggest insult that can be said about a team. Nothing’s changed. Imagine sitting 1-7 with a percentage of 55 and not being last.
West Coast Eagles
Something is seriously wrong and seriously broken at this football club. The Eagles have played some of the most insipid football of any club this century, but there doesn’t seem to be a lot of hurt there among the playing group.
M. Rockatansky
Guest
I'd agree with Brian's 1st tier assessment, I don't think Melbourne are out somewhere high above all the rest, they haven't been overly convincing in their wins across 8 rounds, including only a 10 point win over Hawthorn, and I think Freo being below Brisbane ignores the fact that Freo were in control over Geelong at GMHBA for much of the game before winning, whilst Brisbane couldn't get the job done over Geelong, so based on that I'd say Freo, Brisbane and Melbourne are on the same line of odds. The only knocks on Freo were just barely getting past Adelaide, and a loss to St Kilda at home, however their form has improved since then with Fyfe still to return, and assuming he plays midfield, this should strengthen them further with plenty of depth in reserve along all three lines.
Handles
Roar Guru
The years I have waited to read "..Melbourne are on a tier of their own..", and not have it mean the bottom tier.
JamesH
Roar Guru
The old big bodied mid would probably be top of the wishlist, but I don’t feel like we’re desperate for anything in particular. Reid cutting his teeth in Defence and the impending return of Harry Jones will help at each end of the ground, and as far as small forwards go we’ll have Wanganeen and both Davey twins on the list at the end of the year. I guess there’s a question about whether we wait to see which younger players come on or whether we look for trades/free ageny to bring in more match-ready players in the short term. Given where we are now (and the mistakes we’ve made with trading out draft picks in the past) I’d rather take the time to develop the younger guys. We really shouldn’t be attacking the trade/FA period hard until we’re actually playing some consistent footy and ready to take the next step, with any list gaps glaringly obvious. I like the fact that in the last couple of years we’ve only really gone after (a) young players (Caldwell, Dunkley, Hill) or (b) guys who fill a specific need and cost nothing (Wright, Hind, Kelly). It just shows some longer-term thinking.
JamesH
Roar Guru
Easy to get a bit jaded, I feel you!
Yattuzzi
Roar Rookie
He is gold. Without him, number ten and Moore, they are bottom two.
Dusty does Danger
Roar Rookie
Ha Ha :laughing: I take the Hawks as a yardstick because of their round 5 performance? Seems like a number of teams drop off after they play the Tigs - Bulldogs, Pies, GWS. Maybe your boys might get a new coach a few weeks after playing the Tigs :silly:
Clear as mud
Guest
If/when Jack calls it quits this year, I would gladly take Mihocek on a 3 year deal, he would be a good foil for Lynch
Clear as mud
Guest
make it 2017. after trading Vickery we went in with Hampson Griffiths Nankervis our likely ruck order and then lost the first two. played Jack on his own, rucked Grigg for ruck's sake, and played Jack and the smaller fellas. Voss should be good enough to devise a system for what you have.
Clear as mud
Guest
we love Richo. but he is a North Tasmanian.
1dawg
Roar Rookie
The bye :laughing: :thumbup:
Chris M
Guest
It will be interesting to see if Sydney improve this weekend against Essendon if Tom Hickey is selected and how important he is to the side. The veteran players' decline in performance thus far hasn't been sufficiently offset by enough improvement in the younger players. The Swans could easily lose all of their next four games unless their recent form improves. A 3-1 win-loss record is the most likely best case scenario over the next month, but that's unlikely on current form. I can't see Sydney beating Melbourne this season unless it all comes together for them in a way that it has not so far.
Andrew
Guest
Don't think we're done yet, but a few players will really have to step up. Especially the replacements. As you said Macca, at least we're 6-2.
Macca
Roar Rookie
Not usre it is the longest but it is bad in the area's we can least afford it. Losing McKay & Pittonet means we go from having the elgitiamte tall targets up forward and 2 legitimate rucks to a forward line with no one over 195cm and a 22 year old inexperienced ruckman supported by a 194cm makeshift back up. Losing McGovern & McDonald (plus having Marchbank out) means we don't ahce a third tall intercepting defender. I am not sure we are "done" just yet as we have got into a good position at 6-2 and we still ahve some winnable games in the next 5 - even going 2-3 means we would probably only have to go 4-5 once McKay gets back (with games against the Crows Eagles & Pies still to come) to make finals, and who knows from there.
Yattuzzi
Roar Rookie
I know, now that Freo have made the Cats easybeats in Geelong.
Yattuzzi
Roar Rookie
The Cats will absolutely belt you. But I know it is tongue in cheek. Prestia is gone. Should be in the knackery. How can you take the Hawks as a yardstick. They are a bad team that has dropped of a cliff. A bit like the Doggies. So two easy givemes, then we will see. Two more weeks of glory. I can’t see you beating Swans, Blues and Cats. Heck, you may even lose the bye.
dab
Roar Rookie
Like the dogs, I think you might be done. Does Carlton have the longest injury list?
Macca
Roar Rookie
7 players on our list over 195cm, 3 injured and a 4th a long term project not really available to selection. I am tipping our 3 tall forwards will be Silvagni (194cm and relief ruck), Kemp (193cm) and Curnow (192cm) - very mobile but ball use will be key and TDK and CRipps will have to work hard to be outlet options.
Andrew
Guest
Thought we'd go 3-2, now I think I'll even take a 2-3. Hope we don't fall off a cliff now.
Prez
Roar Rookie
Won't make any difference as we don't have the talent on field yet. So get used to the poor shot selection for another 2 years. Need to get in some top end recruits for the midfield.
Waddster
Roar Rookie
Moving around the ground and so he and Hack are not spoiling each other. The remoras Rioli, Castagna et al are getting the crumbs