Introduction
Round 7 has been completed in the 2014 AFL Competition.
The Competition ladder is:
After seven Rounds, the average points gap per game between winners and losers is:
Top Four and Bottom Four
The top four teams’ performance against their 2013 Ranking and points scored per quarter are:
Hawthorn
Port Adelaide
Geelong
Collingwood
The bottom four teams’ performance against their 2013 Ranking and points scored per quarter are:
Brisbane
Melbourne
Carlton
Western Bulldogs
Discussion
I visualise performance against ranking with this legend.
I anticipate that highly ranked teams from 2013 will be predominantly green if they are performing to their ranking. Lowly ranked teams who continue with their previous season’s form will be predominantly blue.
If a team can beat a higher ranked opponent then this has important consequences for progression. To date at the top of the Ladder, Collingwood has beaten two higher ranked opponents (Sydney and Richmond), Geelong defeated Hawthorn and Port Adelaide defeated Geelong.
At the bottom, Brisbane’s loss to the Gold Coast in Round 3 was an early alert to the threat the team faced during the season. Melbourne’s loss to GWS in Round 3 has been lessened by wins over Carlton (Round 4) and Adelaide (Round 7). Carlton’s season faced difficulties after successive defeats in Round 3 (Essendon) and Round 4 (Melbourne). Western Bulldog’s season has followed the 2013 season Ranking with the exception of a victory over Richmond in Round 3.
Photo Credits
AFL Western Derby 2010 (Michael Spencer, CC BY-NC 2.0)
Hawks “Cheer” Squad (Drew Douglas, CC BY-NC 2.0)