What now for the Geelong Cats, the AFL's most interesting team?
As you might expect, the washup from Week 1 of this year's AFL finals series has centred on the two eliminated losers. Well, that…
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Ryan likes his sport played efficiently, effectively and elegantly, like a Nic Naitanui hit out to advantage. Always searching for an interesting angle, Ryan loves nothing more than digging deep into the play and searching for the signal others miss in the noise. You can follow Ryan here (@RyanBuckland7).
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As you might expect, the washup from Week 1 of this year's AFL finals series has centred on the two eliminated losers. Well, that…
Hands up who picked this match-up before the beginning of the season? It wasn’t supposed to be this way, but now it is, and…
Are you ready for the most compelling AFL finals series ever? I hope so, because it starts tonight, and here’s everything you need to…
The third year of the AFL’s pre-finals bye felt like a real season momentum killer, unlike the two which preceded it. We cannot abide…
A team's record is rarely a perfect indicator of its underlying potential. So it is for this year's Brisbane Lions, who should harbour realistic…
Later on today the AFL will unveil the initial All Australian squad of 40, ahead of the team’s announcement on Wednesday. We can skip…
Port Adelaide could certainly beat Essendon this Friday night. But the Gold Coast Suns ain't beating the Cats at the Cattery. Ladies and gentlemen:…
The Melbourne Demons are playing finals for the first time in more than a decade, after overcoming the West Coast Eagles to win by…
Match result: The Melbourne Demons are playing finals for the first time in more than a decade, after overcoming the West Coast Eagles to…
It has been a tough fortnight for anyone bar the Tigers as we hit the final fortnight of the season. It leaves one pondering:…
It's Andrew Gaff week, and while I'd prefer to be discussing him in the context of a Brownlow Medal win or premiership victory, the…
Let’s just pretend yesterday didn’t happen, ok? The first five games of Round 20 were decided by less than a goal each – the…
The league has lost its mind, and thus so have I. As our entrée to the run home, here are some crazy, fearless predictions.…
The state of the game truthers were left red-faced once more as the footy threw us another series of curve balls in this tense,…
All the talk about football this year has focussed on what’s wrong. A lot is right, a fact which was confirmed in a weekend…
Can a single, four-centimetre piece of connective tissue change the shape of the AFL as we know it? Most certainly, in the case of…
That whole ten-teams-into-eight thing I’ve been spruiking for the last little bit? It might be time to toss it out and start again. Plenty…
Sitting a game and a whack of percentage on top of the ladder, this month’s AFL meme de jour is Richmond has the premiership…
At face value, we didn't learn a whole lot about the 2018 season in Round 16. But if you look hard enough, some novelty…
What a round, the AFL exploding into a fire of goals, tight finishes and upsets aplenty. If you weren't glued to the footy all…
It’s not a rating. It’s a sign that their underlying indicators suggest they will perform better in the second half of the year than they did in the first half.
Numbers game: Which teams will rise and fall in the second half of 2019?
Hawthorn (pre-season): https://www.theroar.com.au/2015/03/17/bucking-the-trend-hawthorn-will-be-flag-favourites-again-this-season/
Dogs: https://www.theroar.com.au/2016/04/06/why-cant-the-western-bulldogs-win-it-all-in-2016/
Tigers: https://www.theroar.com.au/2017/04/19/tigers-unleashed-richmond-breaks-out-of-its-cage-and-into-the-2017-flag-race/
Eagles (admittedly, early May): https://www.theroar.com.au/2018/05/03/west-coast-flying-high-test-begins-now/
Numbers game: Which teams will rise and fall in the second half of 2019?
Haha I’m fine, just stretched for time. I’m trying to keep it up but it’s getting tougher with three kids who’re getting older and my work life getting increasingly hectic.
Numbers game: Which teams will rise and fall in the second half of 2019?
I agree. There’s another interesting number that I didn’t put in here because I’ve not used it before in this context: uncontested marks. The top four on the ladder are the top four in uncontested marks, and are four of the top five in uncontested mark differential (Brisbane being fourth, they don’t concede many though rather than taking a lot themselves). Ball control is key this year it seems.
Numbers game: Which teams will rise and fall in the second half of 2019?
Preseason predictions are junk, I agree.
I used numbers to call Hawthorn, the Dogs, Richmond and West Coast premiership favourites inside the first four weeks of the season in the last four years.
Numbers game: Which teams will rise and fall in the second half of 2019?
Could not have said it better myself Josh. Spending today doxxing every single Carlton Big Footy user who gave me both barrels over my 2015 trade period piece.
Brendon Bolton was crucified to save SOS's sins
Not sure Mason Cox breaks back into this side until/unless Ben Reid gets inured.
How Collingwood mirrors the big AFL trend of 2019 - and why it works for them
To shake something is to cause it to move backwards and forwards. You cannot climb a goal post without shaking it. If it wasn’t against the rules why did the umpire caution Rampe to climb down?
The AFL’s administration has failed and it must be changed
I think any credible writer would have noted the same thing for Fremantle. Problem is there aren’t many of them out there.
There's only one AFL team we can trust with seven rounds in the books
Brendon Bolton is not the problem at Carlton. The problem is the club’s list was a travesty at the end of 2015. That doesn’t get unwound overnight. If the Blues’ leadership do move on from Bolton they might as well resign at the same time.
Brendon Bolton, it's time to pack your bags
Yeah there’s a little bit of sub-editing that appears to have been missed. Good pick ups, hopefully you understand what I’m getting at!
Ten significant digits three rounds into the 2019 AFL season
The last four April premiers have been Hawthorn, the Western Bulldogs, Richmond and West Coast.
Geelong has answered their most pressing off-season questions. Now for a premiership
That’s essentially a different way if saying the same thing though, because teams that win big in Round 1 are the ones that sit atop the ladder.
When a big Round 1 AFL victory is a sign of something more
Hi guys, just a quick heads up, this is going to be the form of my columns for the next few weeks on account of a very busy work life. Hopefully I’ll be back to the deeper dives soon. Cheers!
When a big Round 1 AFL victory is a sign of something more
Like I said, if you look hard enough you can work out who I have in my final eight, including (most) of the positions.
My 23 crazy, fearless predictions for the 2019 AFL season
Yeah I went back and had a look myself. Pretty happy all things considered, noting some of them were quite specific and a little bit out there.
My 23 crazy, fearless predictions for the 2019 AFL season
Yeah I’m already thinking that one needs to be revised. 110 goals between Riewoldt and Lynch.
My 23 crazy, fearless predictions for the 2019 AFL season
Paul I like to think you are a Roar reader who engages with the substantive portion of articles instead of the stuff at the periphery.
Where do I say Adelaide won the trade? Or that Geelong made a mistake?
Are the Adelaide Crows winning the Patrick Dangerfield trade?
It’s just a device to cover off two of the interesting teams in the league. The Dangerfield thing was more a realisation I had thinking about where Geelong and Adelaide are at, and then going back and looking at how the superstar acquisition circuit has performed in recent years. Headlines and lead lines are headlines and lead lines for a reason. I hope you and everyone else engages with the substance of what is in here because I write it for a reason. I could come up with wayyyy more interesting controversial and inflammatory opinions than this if that was my goal.
Are the Adelaide Crows winning the Patrick Dangerfield trade?
Josh Kennedy is great but he’s no Lance Franklin. He has dropped down the list this year too though.
The Roar's 2019 AFL Top 50: 20-11
You can blame me and my ranking method: pedigree + prediction. I’m worried we’re about to enter a phase of Josh Kennedy’s career where he plays every other week on average because of his age and the miles on his body.
That has to count against him: being available and able to perform at 100% is a skill.
The Roar's 2019 AFL Top 50: 20-11
You’re only a true West Coast fan if you hate the team. It’s part of the rules. I thought this was common knowledge?
The Eagles are a false flag contender