AFL Power List: Round 19 (or does anyone actually want to finish 8th?)

Well Essendon and Lions draw, the Bulldogs lose, so does Geelong, and then Port. So much for it all being nice and orderly. The Pies’ win over the Crows nearly got them bumped up to 2nd, but to be honest, the game was there for the Crows to win, and they kicked it away, so I’ll keep Collingwood at third.

But really, I’ve got no idea what’s going on (obviously – Taylor Walker finally gets a game for the Crows, and he has a shocker), but let’s break it down: 

For the last spot in the Top 8:

Port plays Carlton (?), Brisbane (L), North (W), which puts them on 10 wins and 1 “maybe”.

Essendon play the Saints (L), Fremantle (W), Hawks (?), which puts them on 9 1/2 wins and 1 “maybe”.

Sydney play Geelong (L), Collingwood (L), Brisbane (L), which leaves them on 8 wins.

Hawks play the Crows (L), Richmond (W), Essendon (?). Which puts them on 9 wins and 1 maybe.

Port are completely useless, Essendon have forgotten how to win, Sydney are dreaming, and the Hawks are a basket case. Does it really matter anymore who gets there?

For the top 4:

Collingwood play Richmond (W), Sydney (W), Bulldogs (?), which puts them on 15 wins and 1 “maybe” – safe for third.

Bulldogs plays Brisbane (?), Geelong (?), Collingwood (?), which puts them on 12 wins and 3 “maybes”.

Brisbane the Bulldogs (?), Port (W), Sydney (W), which puts them on 13 1/2 wins and 1 “maybe”.

Carlton plays Port (?), Melbourne (W), Crows (?), which puts them on 12 wins and 2 “maybes”

Crows play the Hawks (W), Eagles (W), Carlton (?), which puts them on 13 wins and 1 “maybe”.

The Pies are safe for third, the Crows really needed the Lions to lose; a draw did them no favours. At this point I think the Lions will finish 4th, the Crows 5th, Bulldogs 6th, Carlton 7th. 

That would mean the first week of the final would be Saints-Lions; Cats-Pies; Crows-Port; Bulldogs-Carlton.

Though I am sure all that will change by this time next week.

	Rank	LW	Team	Record	Comment
Safe
	1	1↔	St Kilda	19-0	Even with half their side out, they were twice as good as the Hawks.
	2	2↔	Geelong	16-3	After threatening to do so over the past month, the Cats finally lost, and seem to be in a lull. A lot of teams would fancy beating them now.
	3	3↔	Collingwood	13-6	I think the score line flattered the Pies, but let’s be honest, so long as Collingwood don’t win the flag, most people will be happy.
	4	5↑	Adelaide	11-8	The Crows wasted almost every opportunity they had to beat Collingwood. A costly loss. Must beat the Hawks this week, or forget the rest of the year.
	5	4↓	Bulldogs	12-7	How quickly the season can go pear-shaped. That loss will have cost the Bulldogs a top 4 spot.
	6	6↔	Brisbane	11-1-7	Well they did well to come back, and the draw; whoever loses out of them and the Bulldogs this week will miss out on 4th.
	7	7↔	Carlton	11-8	No idea about how to tip Carlton, but as they meet Melbourne in a couple weeks, they’re definitely in the finals
Need	some	wins
	8	10↑	Essendon	8-1-10	The Bombers should have won, but now at least they don’t have to worry about percentage.
	9	8↓	Port Adelaide	9-10	Being a Port supporter this year is not something you’d wish on your worst enemy (which is usually what Port supporters are).
	10	9↓	Hawthorn	8-11	The Saints did all they could to give the Hawks a leg up but they were found to be completely legless.
No	chance
	11	11↔	Sydney	8-11	Sydney keep their mathematical hopes alive for another week.
	12	13↑	West Coast	6-13	The Eagles did some damage to the top of the Premiership table, and have demonstrated that wining sure beats the hell out of being accused of tanking.
	13	12↓	Richmond	5-13-1	The Tigers will do well not to be lapped by Collingwood this week.
	14	14↔	North Melbourne	5-13-1	In the traditional Melbourne derby, North beat the City team by… nah I didn’t care either.
	15	15↔	Fremantle	5-14	With Melbourne and Essendon still to be played, the Dockers could finish on a sort of respectable 7 wins.
	16	16↔	Melbourne	3-16	Great tanking by Melbourne. Kudos all round. Kudos.