Max Laughton, officially flagged Adelaide as premiership contenders <\/a>\u2014 and Sunday\u2019s belting of Gold Coast did that narrative absolutely no harm. In fact, Collingwood\u2019s second straight slip-up now means their Round 23 clash could decide this season\u2019s minor premiership \u2014 a completely crazy change of fortunes from where Matthew Nicks\u2019 side sat 12 months ago. And perhaps the scariest part of their Round 19 win? Their big three in Riley Thilthorpe, Darcy Fogarty and Taylor Walker kicked just four goals between them, and Adelaide still posted a triple-figure score. As we know, anything can happen in the Showdown this weekend \u2014 but if they knock off Port and Hawthorn in the coming weeks, top spot is sitting right in front of them for the taking. Full steam ahead at West Lakes.<\/p>\nThis week: Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval, Saturday 8:10pm<\/p>\n
‘Hungry’ Crows impress Nicks | 11:13<\/p>\n
3. BRISBANE LIONS (13-1-4, 116.6%)<\/p>\n
Last week: Ranked 2nd, def. Western Bulldogs by 10 pts<\/p>\n
The well-oiled machine keeps chugging along. The Dogs came at them hard late in last week\u2019s game, but the Lions held firm. Still, through no fault of their own, they drop a spot in the rankings this week \u2014 and they might have their rivals Gold Coast to blame for it! So, what better way to exact revenge than by beating them for the 13th time in their last 14 meetings? The Lions well and truly have the wood over the Suns in the \u2018Pineapple Grapple\u2019, and this is a golden chance to get them once more while they\u2019re down. There\u2019s also a case to be made that it\u2019s their most winnable game for the rest of the season. A win this week and Brisbane fans can at least pencil in the first weekend of September off \u2014 but beyond that, no promises.<\/p>\n
This week: Gold Coast Suns at People First Stadium, Saturday 1:20pm<\/p>\n
4. GEELONG CATS (12-6, 128.2%)<\/p>\n
Last week: Ranked 4th, def. St Kilda by 31 pts<\/p>\n
The AFL\u2019s other well-oiled machine feels like it\u2019s about to hit its straps. St Kilda gave them a decent nudge in the first half (amid a Jeremy Cameron clinic), before being put away by simply the better team. Double-up games still to come against Essendon, Port Adelaide and Richmond should take them to 15 wins. Throw in a chance to go big against North Melbourne this week and a tune-up against Sydney in Round 23, and there\u2019s still a world where they make a late push for top spot. There isn\u2019t much else to report on out of the Cattery, which is far from a bad thing. And just quietly… how good is Shaun Mannagh?!<\/p>\n
This week: North Melbourne at Marvel Stadium, Saturday 7:35pm<\/p>\n
Scott: “The games too long, full stop” | 05:32<\/p>\n
5. GWS GIANTS (12-6, 116%)<\/p>\n
Last week: Ranked 5th, def. Essendon by 48 pts<\/p>\n
Sure, their most recent victory was against a depleted Essendon, but that\u2019s now five on the trot for Adam Kingsley\u2019s Giants. This is now very much shaping as the third year in a row where GWS step on the gas heading into September, with exceptional records after their mid-season bye in 2023 and 2024 respectively. Their record against cross-town rivals Sydney isn\u2019t great of late \u2014 but when they have won, they\u2019ve done it by the barest of margins. Their last four wins against the Swans accumulate to a total margin of… six points?! We won\u2019t say no to a Friday night thriller! But in the broader scheme of things, a win over Sydney (who we now consider a side of a top-eight calibre) gives them a clear path to the top four. We have them banked in for wins over North Melbourne and St Kilda given their current form, which takes them to the all-important 14 wins and a middle-of-the-pack percentage that still has room for improvement. Not a team you want to be playing in week one of finals on current form… assuming they get there!<\/p>\n
This week: Sydney Swans at ENGIE Stadium, Friday 7:50pm<\/p>\n
6. FREMANTLE (12-6, 108.9%)<\/p>\n
Last week: Ranked 9th, def. Collingwood by 1 pt<\/p>\n
By far the biggest movers in these rankings from Round 19, the Dockers have now flipped the ceiling of their season on its head. I am legally obliged to remind readers that Collingwood\u2019s inaccuracy \u2014 and some sharp shooting of their own \u2014 was critical to the end result. But so was Patrick \u2018Prancing Pony\u2019 Voss. So was Caleb Serong. So was the team as a whole. These last two weeks from the Dockers are exactly what we\u2019ve been so desperately crying out for! We knew they had this sort of game (and by extension, result) in them. To beat GWS, Gold Coast and now the Magpies on the road this season is no mean feat \u2014 and the weekend, obviously, only strengthens their record against the competition\u2019s better sides. Their ball movement looked elite at times on Sunday afternoon, playing a big part in setting them up as a genuine outside chance for a September double chance \u2014 with Brisbane now the most likely to slip out from here.<\/p>\n
This week: West Coast at Optus Stadium, Saturday 4:15pm<\/p>\n
Is this the best version of Freo? | 02:34<\/p>\n
7. HAWTHORN (12-6, 119%)<\/p>\n
Last week: Ranked 8th, def. Port Adelaide by 38 pts<\/p>\n
A small incline in the Power Rankings for Sam Mitchell\u2019s side this week, thanks to Gold Coast\u2019s meltdown.Their win over Port Adelaide went about as expected, with a final-quarter rampage from Jarman Impey providing some sweet icing on the cake.<\/p>\n
Suddenly, though, Thursday night looms as a serious danger game after much-loved Blue Sam Docherty announced that their Round 20 clash would be his final AFL game. Beat Carlton, and they can smell finals. Lose \u2014 and the alarm bells start ringing louder. Given the Dockers beat them less than a fortnight ago, seventh now feels like an accurate reflection of where they sit.<\/p>\n
This week: Carlton at the MCG, Thursday 7:30pm<\/p>\n
8. GOLD COAST (11-6, 115.5%)<\/p>\n
Last week: Ranked 6th, lost to Adelaide by 61 pts<\/p>\n
They had their \u2018club-defining\u2019 win against Collingwood one week \u2014 and literally the very next Sunday, they registered their first-ever goalless opening half of football \u2026 that\u2019s saying something! Match-ups against Richmond, Carlton and Essendon should still get them to the magical number of 14 wins, but first, they need a genuine heat check against cross-state rivals Brisbane. Port Adelaide in Round 24 (before their \u2018Round 25\u2019 fixture against the Bombers) is no longer a match they can pencil in as a likely win; particularly given what could be riding on the result for the likes of Ken Hinkley and, quite possibly, Travis Boak at the Power. Does Damien Hardwick back in his three young tall forwards to do the job against the Lions? It\u2019s not clear-cut, but the three-time premiership coach may lean on more experienced heads in his forward half, with crunch time now looming large.<\/p>\n
This week: Brisbane at People First Stadium, Saturday 1:20pm<\/p>\n
Hardwick keeps it honest after loss | 06:59<\/p>\n
9. WESTERN BULLDOGS (10-8, 127.4%)<\/p>\n
Last week: Ranked 8th, lost to Brisbane by 10 pts<\/p>\n
We\u2019re telling Bulldogs fans anything they don\u2019t know, but their record against top eight teams is impossible to ignore; despite having not lost by more than 22 points all year. It isn\u2019t that bad in reality, but it also is? As Luke Beveridge said post-game, they\u2019re now a very real chance of needing to win all five of their remaining games to qualify for finals. They at least looked structurally sound against the Lions last Friday night, but in reality weren\u2019t really in the contest after quarter time (until the last five minutes). They get Essendon at the perfect time this Friday night to at least get themselves back on the winner\u2019s list (all things going well), before taking on the Giants under the roof in what is nothing short of a must-win clash. Do we hold the faith for at least that little bit longer?<\/p>\n
This week: Essendon at Marvel Stadium, Friday 7:20pm<\/p>\n
10. SYDNEY SWANS (9-9, 96.5%)<\/p>\n
Last week: Ranked 10th, def. North Melbourne by 31 pts<\/p>\n
At least the losses by the Dogs and Gold Coast help keep Sydney\u2019s mathematical finals hopes alive! But it\u2019s still one hell of a hill to climb for the Swans, who now look very much like the Collingwood of last year \u2014 a side whose season was ultimately defined by injury. To be fair, they do have the wood over their opponents this Friday night in GWS. Do we start hyping them up a little more with a win this round? Maybe. But it\u2019s still going to take upsets over both Brisbane and Geelong to see them finish with 14 wins. If Isaac Heeney can kick five from 34 disposals every weekend though, anything\u2019s possible! On a more serious note, hopefully the end of their season gives Dean Cox the confidence he needs to take the club back to where it was in 2022 and 2024.<\/p>\n
This week: GWS at ENGIE Stadium, Friday 7:50pm<\/p>\n
State of the game – “Eliminate this” | 02:02<\/p>\n
11. PORT ADELAIDE (8-10, 88%)<\/p>\n
Last week: Ranked 11th, lost to Hawthorn by 38 pts<\/p>\n
They were severely undermanned against the Hawks in diabolic conditions last Saturday, and their 38-point loss didn\u2019t reflect how well they fought. Former clubman Jarman Impey\u2019s three goals may have added a bit of salt to the wound, but without Connor Rozee, Jason Horne-Francis, and an in-form Esava Ratugolea, they were always going to be massive underdogs. Showdown 58 this weekend is essentially their grand final for 2025, with no better reason to get up and about for coach Ken Hinkley than one last victory over the arch rivals. The club also has a number of key contract calls to make in the coming weeks, so several players will be playing for their future between now and the end of Round 24. If they can jag three wins from Adelaide, Geelong, Fremantle, Carlton, and Gold Coast, they\u2019ve done pretty well \u2014 all things considered. And if we\u2019re being real, the biggest win they can get for the rest of the season would be the acquisition of a guy called Nasiah!<\/p>\n
This week: Adelaide at Adelaide Oval, Saturday 8:10pm<\/p>\n
12. MELBOURNE (6-12, 89.7%)<\/p>\n
Last week: Ranked 12th, lost to Carlton by 8 pts<\/p>\n
This week: St Kilda at Marvel Stadium, Sunday 3:15pm<\/p>\n
13. CARLTON (7-11, 94.6%)<\/p>\n
Last week: Ranked 14th, def. Melbourne by 8 pts<\/p>\n
This week: Hawthorn at the MCG, Thursday 7:30pm<\/p>\n
It feels fitting to talk about the Demons and Blues in the same breath; partly because they played each other on the weekend, but also because their seasons have followed strikingly similar paths this season. Their Saturday night clash at the MCG was genuinely a great watch. Melbourne will be able to stomach that loss better than Carlton would have, had the result gone the other way in Round 19 \u2014 but it\u2019s still pretty grim to think the Demons have only notched up six wins from 18 games. They should knock off St Kilda, but then again, it absolutely feels like the kind of fixture Ross Lyon could make his own under the roof at Marvel. As for the Blues, it\u2019s all about Sam Docherty this Thursday night. The entire football community will be behind them, and fingers crossed they can give the much-loved star the send-off he deserves. Bravo, Sam.<\/p>\n
Emotional Docherty reflects on career | 02:31<\/p>\n
14. ST KILDA (5-13, 85.3%)<\/p>\n
Last week: Ranked 13th, lost to Geelong by 31 pts<\/p>\n
Ross Lyon\u2019s side were solid against Geelong in the first half on Sunday, but 26 years without a win at Kardinia Park was never a good omen heading into the clash. Once again, the performance of Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera was the biggest talking point out of the match for the Saints \u2014 but geez, you\u2019d be getting nervous as a supporter on where he\u2019ll be next year. A win this Sunday against Melbourne under the roof has their DNA written all over it, but it\u2019s genuinely a 50\/50 clash on face value. And their win-loss ratio should improve (maybe even double? if they finish the season strongly, with games against North Melbourne, Richmond, and Essendon still to come before their Round 24 clash with GWS. Nine wins for the year would be… about right?<\/p>\n
This week: St Kilda at Marvel Stadium, Sunday 3:15pm<\/p>\n
15. NORTH MELBOURNE (4-1-13, 76.1%)<\/p>\n
Last week: Ranked 15th, lost to Sydney by 31 pts<\/p>\n
Valiant in the first half against Sydney, but they faded fast. Callum Coleman-Jones\u2019 477-day wait to play AFL again ended in heartbreaking fashion \u2014 hopefully we see him back at senior level before the season\u2019s out. Clashes with St Kilda and Richmond remain their two most winnable fixtures, and if they can scrape to six-and-a-half wins by the end of Round 24, at least the club can point to some tangible progress. If not, Kangaroos fans have every right to call it yet another underwhelming season.<\/p>\n
This week: Geelong at Marvel Stadium, Saturday 7:35pm<\/p>\n
Clarkson reflects on Roos’ fading fight | 09:37<\/p>\n
16. ESSENDON (6-11, 75%)<\/p>\n
Last week: Ranked 16th, lost to GWS by 48 pts<\/p>\n
This week: Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium, Friday 7:20pm<\/p>\n
17. RICHMOND (5-13, 68.5%)<\/p>\n
Last week: Ranked 17th, def. West Coast by 49 pts<\/p>\n
This week: Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium, Friday 7:20pm<\/p>\n
18. WEST COAST (1-17, 63.6%)<\/p>\n
Last week: Ranked 18th, lost to Richmond by 49 pts<\/p>\n
This week: Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium, Friday 7:20pm<\/p>\n
They were spoken about in the same sentence last week, and they\u2019ll be again this week! To echo Max\u2019s sentiment from Round 18, it\u2019s hard to drop the Bombers below 16th given their injury crisis \u2014 and they actually showed some promising patches against GWS last Thursday night. They\u2019re getting a look at so many players which, while it might not translate into wins, should give them crystal-clear clarity on who\u2019s on the fringe when fully fit, and who\u2019s developing after being brought in via the mid-season draft. It\u2019s a little unfortunate for the Tigers in the context of these rankings, but they were excellent last Saturday night out west against the lowly Eagles. Five wins is already a huge pass mark for this season, regardless of what happens from here. As for Andrew McQualter\u2019s side, they were also 1-17 at this stage last year before jagging their second win. This time around, though, it looks far more likely that\u2019ll stretch to 1-18 \u2014 unless a Western Derby miracle comes to life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Welcome back to the Power Rankings. Adelaide have once again made a statement that points towards being a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15069,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[1142,9126,638,9199,16676,8406,64,63,689,55,639,16716,3423,3237,12923,16686,10143,16687,16701,16704,14385,10128,16698,16682,1818,12148,14348,16681,16709,16680,16708,6178,16688,13659,16713,2485,9130,11288,6278,16692,1809,12106,12141,10132,681,10400,7484,15631,663,16705,16691,16689,16712,16677,16685,16714,13127,16695,16683,13119,7197,16697,677,16699,16678,6082,16696,16684,13219,701,16694,14272,16715,3236,1124,85,1122,7200,16703,16702,16679,16690,16693,16707,12132,16706,660,16700,16710,698,16711],"class_list":["post-15068","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-adam-kingsley","tag-adelaide-crows","tag-afl","tag-alarm-bells","tag-alarm-bells-start","tag-andrew-mcqualter","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-ball-movement","tag-ben-waterworth","tag-brisbane-lions","tag-chris-scott","tag-contract-calls","tag-craig-mcrae","tag-crazy-change","tag-crunch-time","tag-crystal-clear-clarity","tag-damien-hardwick","tag-dan-houston","tag-danger-game","tag-darcy-fogarty","tag-david-king","tag-dean-cox","tag-disappointing-loss","tag-double-up-opponents","tag-end-result","tag-face-value","tag-final-quarter-rampage","tag-football-community","tag-gas-heading","tag-geelong-cats","tag-genuine-flag-contender","tag-gold-coast","tag-gold-coast-suns","tag-grand-final","tag-greg-swann","tag-hardest-fixture","tag-injury-crisis","tag-jason-horne-francis","tag-jeremy-cameron","tag-jeremy-howe","tag-jon-ralph","tag-justin-longmuir","tag-ken-hinkley","tag-lauren-wood","tag-luke-beveridge","tag-magnet-lies","tag-marvel-stadium","tag-mathematical-finals-hopes","tag-matthew-nicks","tag-max-laughton","tag-meltdown-their-win","tag-middle-of-the-pack-percentage","tag-mike-sheahan","tag-minor-premiership","tag-minor-premiership-claim","tag-multiple-stoppages","tag-must-win-clash","tag-neutral-venue","tag-oceania","tag-omen-heading","tag-once-improbable-minor-premiership","tag-port-adelaide","tag-prancing-pony","tag-premiership-contenders","tag-premiership-credentials","tag-queensland","tag-real-chance","tag-sam-docherty","tag-scariest-part","tag-senior-level","tag-south-australia","tag-sports","tag-st-kilda","tag-sydney-swans","tag-tangible-progress","tag-taylor-walker","tag-three-time-premiership-coach","tag-top-spot","tag-top-eight-calibre","tag-travis-boak","tag-triple-figure-score","tag-underwhelming-season","tag-victoria","tag-well-oiled-machine","tag-west-lakes","tag-western-bulldogs","tag-win-loss-ratio"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15068","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15068"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15068\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15069"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15068"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15068"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15068"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}