Richmond
It’s been a yr of regeneration for the Tigers, and 6 wins from 11 feels about proper. They’ll be kicking themselves for dropping the Adelaide and Sydney video games nevertheless. They’ve misplaced 4 instances to prime eight sides, they usually’re nonetheless a bit shaky down again. Lynch apart, they’re beginning to method full availability they usually at all times relish the winter grind. They’re the final aspect you’d wish to face for those who completed fifth and copped them in an elimination closing.
Greatest and fairest: Shai Bolton
Collingwood
Ultimately, Buckley’s Pies had been a grim watch. With a brand new coach, and many very promising youngsters, they now take dangers, kick large scores and apply a whole lot of strain. They’ve crushed St Kilda, Fremantle and Carlton, and doubtless let one slip towards Geelong. However they utterly botched their free hit towards West Coast. With so many high quality sides hovering across the prime eight, it might come again to chunk them.
Greatest and fairest: Jack Crisp
Port Adelaide
“We’re workforce, we're squad, we're younger, we're constructing,” membership president David Koch stated following final yr’s preliminary closing. “There’s loads to look ahead to.” However a month into 2022, the soccer world was prepared to surrender on Port Adelaide. This columnist actually was. At half-time of the Carlton sport, they had been being dismembered. However they had been a totally completely different workforce after the bell, and doubtless ought to have pinched it.
They then had their free hit towards West Coast, with Simpson calling them one of the best 0-5 aspect he’d ever seen. That they had their audit down in Geelong, however with Dixon again and the midfield beginning to hum, they’re abruptly eyeing off finals. It’s a troublesome run house nevertheless, with away fixtures towards Fremantle, Richmond and Melbourne.
Greatest and fairest: Ollie Wines and Travis Boak
Gold Coast
Previously seven years, they’ve completed 16-15-17-17-18-14-16. And when Ben King went down over summer season, the belief down south was that they had been screwed. Clarkson was a certainty to come back in, punt his previous mate Dew, attempt to retain some expertise and endeavour to ship the joint into form. However with latest wins over Fremantle and Sydney, they’ve flipped the script. Maybe for the primary time ever, membership, coach and enjoying checklist are all in lockstep.
With 100 extra hit outs than another participant within the competitors, Witts’ return has been pivotal, whereas Chol and Casboult have been glorious acquisitions. They've a candy run house, and it appears like they’re lastly an actual membership, with a pulse, a objective and a future.
Greatest and fairest: Touk Miller
Hawthorn
The Hawks have had a tough draw. Like every workforce with a brand new coach, a brand new sport plan, and a younger checklist, they throw in some absolute shockers. They had been the one aspect that Essendon actually acquired a maintain off, which Mitchell was livid about. And so they didn’t look sufficiently invested up in Darwin towards the Suns. However they’re lethal on their day. They actually take you on. They provide you an opportunity. They launch off half again and assault by the center. If the Geelong, Adelaide and Brisbane wins are any indication, they’re heading in the right direction.
Greatest and fairest: James Sicily and Jai Newcombe
GWS
After in some way hanging on in an excruciating cut-throat closing performed below a pitch-black Tasmanian sky, nothing has actually gone proper for the Giants. Greene’s suspension sucked all of the swagger and vim out of them. Leon Cameron accused them of “boring” soccer, and was out the door a fortnight later. They’re a tantalising proposition for the incoming coach nevertheless. In the meanwhile, the interim coach has clearly launched the shackles they usually’rethe most harmful floater within the backside half.
Greatest and fairest: Josh Kelly
Adelaide
You possibly can see the long run at Adelaide. In spite of everything, with a pinch of luck within the Fremantle and Essendon video games, they may have been 5-1. However the current is an actual grind. They actually have a crack, however they are often very sloppy by foot and in entrance of aim. They had been dismantled within the blink of the attention by Carlton and GWS, they usually’re now on a five-game shedding streak, together with their twelfth loss in a row at Kardinia Park. They need to have the ability to fill their boots this weekend nevertheless.
Greatest and fairest: Ben Keays, Rory Laird and Tom Doedee
Essendon
Listening to Ben Rutten within the low season, you bought the sense that they nonetheless had an extended option to go, and that they’d exceeded expectations a bit final yr. In spite of everything, they solely beat one prime eight aspect in 2021.
In 2022, they’ve had a troublesome draw. They’ve had a whole lot of accidents. And so they have a whole lot of youngsters who're nonetheless figuring issues out. However the Bombers don’t get their arms soiled. They’re unwilling, or incapable, of grinding out ugly wins. And so they don’t defend as a workforce. All yr, opposition sides have merely sliced by them.
Off area, they’re an actual head scratcher. There have been a lot of excessive fives and slapped backs following the Hawthorn sugar hit. There’d be no evaluation, they insisted. Just a few weeks later, they introduced one. “Evaluate is a type of phrases that takes on virtually mystical significance,” the Chairman stated that week. It is going to be performed, as is the Essendon means, by three former greats of the membership.
Greatest and fairest: Darcy Parish
North Melbourne
There’s nothing horny about North Melbourne. They get the worst timeslots. When the wins don’t come, sure individuals wish to flick the issue off to Tasmania. There’s usually a way that it’s North towards the soccer world.
They beat wretched West Coast stacked filled with WAFL jobbers. They practically pulled off a stirring win on the SCG. And so they really weren’t that unhealthy towards Melbourne. However that was about it. They’ve misplaced half a dozen video games by greater than 10 objectives. Per week out from the mid-season draft, three senior recruiting employees give up on the identical day. For a membership pinning its hopes on figuring out younger expertise, it was a big blow, although maybe not the calamity it was made out to be.
Final week, there was a fireplace chat with the CEO, the top of soccer and the senior coach. They sat, socially distanced, on a few tan couches, and responded to a dozen or so Dorothy Dixers. The employees had been completely satisfied. The board was united. The coach was safe. “I’m not going wherever,” Noble stated. “He’s our man” the CEO stated. Stirring phrases. However a share of 53.2 speaks louder.
Greatest and fairest: Luke McDonald and Jy Simpkin
West Coast
They gained a premiership about 75 video games in the past. They’ve since been ravaged by Covid. Their checklist administration is up the spout. The “cabinet is naked”, the coach says. The Eagles are proper within the dialog as one of many worst groups we have now ever seen. For the final six weeks, their common shedding margin is greater than 80 factors. They’re at Fitzroy 1996 ranges. On the plus aspect, they only drafted a younger man who’s working at a charcoal hen store.
Greatest and fairest: Tim Kelly
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