It was Geelong and Greater Western Sydney’s turn to stamp themselves as contenders this week. Both had impressive wins over the weekend and are rewarded in this week’s Power Rankings. Down the other end of the ladder, the Lions beat the Bombers so that means they no longer hold up the Footy Prophet Power Rankings. These are the rankings for Round 19, do yours match up with mine?
#
TEAM
+/-
COMMENTS
1
HAWTHORN
–
They’re two games clear on top and aren’t remotely anywhere near top gear. Sam Mitchell had a lazy 38 disposals to celebrate his 300th game. Business as usual.
2
GWS
+3
A club-defining win on the road to Port Adelaide. They had to play tough, finals football and their young leaders stood up, particularly in the second half. Double chance is there for the taking if they’re consistent enough.
3
ADELAIDE
-1
Losing to Geelong in Geelong is nothing to be embarrassed about. Just shows how crucial a home final could be for this team which could catapult them into a grand final.
4
GEELONG
+2
A much-needed statement win. Friday night against the depleted Bulldogs should be another win in a match that will be focused on Bartel and Enright’s milestones. They let Boris down last year against Melbourne, they wouldn’t do it again surely?
5
SYDNEY
-1
A disappointing victory against Carlton in a game they deserved to lose. Real issues with the way they move the ball into the forward line at the moment and are relying on the brilliance of Franklin as opposed to their structures. Danger signs.
6
WESTERN BULLDOGS
-3
A bad performance on the field and it got worse with the injury toll. The scenes described in the Bulldogs dressing room were haunting and might derail their season.
7
WEST COAST
–
Five in a row for the Eagles! They’ve beaten Carlton and Melbourne by a combined 13 points. Everyone better watch out.
8
ST KILDA
+2
Four out of the last five and seven of the last nine. One of the hottest team’s in football right now and if they’re up to it they’ll beat North Melbourne on Saturday night. Are the finals just a dream?
9
NORTH MELBOURNE
–
Managed to stop the skid temporarily against the disappointing Magpies. Another do or die clash against the red hot Saints this week. Lose and they won’t be playing in the finals.
10
PORT ADELAIDE
-2
The Giants were there for the taking but the Power couldn’t capitalise. Maddeningly inconsistent is the story of their season. They might need a change of direction heading into 2017.
11
MELBOURNE
+1
After a poor performance against the Saints, they turned up in Perth and nearly snatched a win on the road. Their next step is to turn these honourable losses into wins.
12
COLLINGWOOD
-1
The Pies offered us so much hope after their last two weeks, so this week when we expected a little bit from them, they failed to deliver. The story of their season.
13
CARLTON
+1
Gutsy performance up at the SCG but it is definitely one that got away from them. Would a win on the road mean more than a draft pick for this young group?
14
RICHMOND
-1
There’s losing, then there’s losing like Richmond lost. Embarrassing.
15
GOLD COAST
–
The rest of this season should be dedicated to Tom Lynch, Sam Day and Peter Wright developing chemistry heading into 2017.
16
FREMANTLE
–
The Dockers have put the cue in the rack for 2016. Expect bruise-free football and plenty of mysterious injuries to senior players to finish season 2016.
17
BRISBANE LIONS
+1
That Tom Rockliff fella is pretty good, isn’t he? If that’s his performance every time he gets called fat, Leppa should be calling every journo in Australia to run a fat story on Rocky.
18
ESSENDON
-1
That’s three games in a row where they’ve kicked more behinds than points. They can’t afford to be this inaccurate going forward if they want to be a contender next season.