Introduction
This is an eighth post about performance against ranking in three football codes in Australia.
You can find some background information about this project here.
Australian Rules
Week 8 saw Geelong’s first defeat of the season. Geelong was one of two teams that were leading at the end of the third quarter and lost the game (North Melbourne was the other team). The Gold Coast and Brisbane had good wins against higher ranked opponents from 2012 (defeating the Western Bulldogs and Essendon respectively). Sydney were held to a draw by Fremantle.
The average profile for winners this season and Round 8 averages are:
and for losers:
Rugby League
This was a volatile week for performance against 2012 ranking. The Bulldogs, the Cowboys, the Raiders and the Warriors all lost to lower ranked teams. Melbourne were held to a draw at home by the Sea Eagles. The Roosters and the Rabbitohs continued with their good runs of form. The Panthers had a very big winning margin over the Warriors.
Rugby Union
The Rebels, Waratahs and Cheetahs were the teams that played above their 2012 rankings this week. They defeated the Stormers, the Brumbies and the Reds respectively. The Kings were the team to have a Bye this week. The Chiefs, Crusaders and Bulls have extended their winning runs of form.
Photo Credit
Australia v New Zealand (Mathew F, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)