There’s enough bad news in the world right now to sink a battle ship. And while Victorians stuck in Stage 3 restrictions can at least enjoy the footy, the misery of lockdown is perhaps only compounded by the frustrations of their team.

So today, rather than point out the blemishes, we thought we’d have a compliment for all 18 clubs, regardless of their win-loss status. 

Let’s start with the team in most need of a cuddle.

ADELAIDE

Winless, last on the ladder and likely headed for the club’s first ever wooden spoon. 2020 has been an unmitigated disaster for the Crows, however if there’s a silver lining it’s that they’re headed for the number one pick, while they should also feel comfortable that they’re previous three first round picks are on the right track. Both Fischer McAsey and Ned McHenry look good, while Chayce Jones, the #9 overall pick form 2018, looks a ripper.

FUN FACT- For 11 straight games Matt Crouch has been in Adelaide’s top 3 possession winners and is ranked #6 in the league averaging 24.9 touches per game. 

BRISBANE

The premiership and Stats Insider Futures Model favourites, there’s plenty to be excited about if you’re a Lions fan at the moment. However the cream atop all the excitement might just be the development of 2017, #1 pick, Cam Rayner. Rayner looks like an emerging star of the competition, and the kind of player who could add a different element to the Lion’s midfield going forward.

FUN FACT- Brisbane have won 26 of their last 27 games when they’ve had a three-quarter-time lead.

Was this the mark of the year that never happened? 👀#AFLDeesLions pic.twitter.com/3nzXOs9lbG

— AFL (@AFL) July 26, 2020

CARLTON

The Blues have been one of the competition’s big improvers, winning 4 of their last 7 games, including getting the best of the Cats at Kardinia Park, and pushing Port to the very edge a couple of weekends ago. They’re not short on optimism at Princess Park at the moment, while it’s also worth considering that all this improvement has come amidst a rather underwhelming Patrick Cripps campaign.

FUN FACT- At 1.85, the Carlton kick to handball ratio remains the competition benchmark, with a pronounced aggressiveness punctuating a much improved Blues squad. 

COLLINGWOOD

The Pies have breached 80 points just twice this season with questions marks emerging regarding the club’s firepower. Collingwood has however occupied a top-8 position for 44-straight weeks while Sunday’s capitulation against West Coast was without the services of former basketballer Scott Pendlebury, and league-leading possession winner, Adam Treloar. 

FUN FACT- The Pies are 7-0 in the first quarter in 2020, sporting a phenomenal 268.1 percentage.

ESSENDON

A narrow win against the league’s worst team needn’t cloud many of the strides the Bombers have made this season. While they haven’t always looked attractive, they’ve possessed a much more industrial vibe this year, leading the competition for both tackles per game with 58.4 and tackles inside-50 with 12.4.

FUN FACT- Andrew McGrath continues to put together a rather brilliant two-way season. Not only is he one of just 20 players averaging at least 22 touches, but his 6.4 tackles per game dwarfs all of the other prolific ball-winners on that list.

FREMANTLE

It appears as though the Dockers are headed for a fifth-straight season of finishing in the bottom-six, while their two superstars Nat Fyfe and Michael Walters continue to soar above the rest of the squad. On a more positive note is the return of Jesse Hogan, coupled with a seemingly very healthy Matt Tabener. Those two, coupled with Rory Lobb, have the makings of a potentially menacing Fremantle forward line. In fact, Taberner and Lobb have already combined for 83 marks and 19 goals this season. For context’s sake, the acclaimed Tom Lynch-Jack Riewoldt duo at Richmond have combined for 55 marks and 19 goals. 

FUN FACT- Thanks to the likes of Taberner and Lobb, the Dockers are +2.0 where contested mark differential is concerned. That’s the second best figure in the league behind only the Lions (+2.9).

GEELONG

The Cats are starting to get comfortable in their ever familiar top-four position. While 4 of their 5 wins have been against competition strugglers, their impressive win a fortnight ago against the Lions was convincing enough to suggest they’ll remain a legitimate threat throughout 2020.

FUN FACT- The Cats are the only team with multiple wins after being down at half-time this season. In fact, Geelong has been utterly ruthless in the second half of games this year with a whopping 180.3 percentage. It’s just 83.6 in the first half. 

GOLD COAST

One of the season’s biggest surprises and massive improvers. Remarkably, the Suns are 4-4 and still digging deep despite the loss of rookie phenom, Matt Rowell. A brutal month ahead however with games against the Giants, St Kilda, Essendon and Richmond. 

FUN FACT- If the season stopped right now (perish the the thought), their 10th place and 107.4 percentage would quite easily qualify as the club’s best ever return.

GWS GIANTS

Lots of questions have been asked of the Giants mostly pedestrian 2020 campaign, however it was a gutsy return to the winners list against Richmond, and a reminder of how potent the team remains. Josh Kelly had his best game in a while amassing 26 touches and 8 tackles, while Toby Greenewas ridiculous, kicking 5 goals.

FUN FACT- The Giants are still yet to win a single inside-50 count this season.

VINTAGE Toby Greene 👌

(watch #AFLGiantsPies on 7) pic.twitter.com/7wTgNYDkjC

— 7AFL (@7AFL) June 26, 2020

HAWTHORN

Finding positives where the Hawks are concerned isn’t the easiest task this year. Not only are they on a 4-game losing streak, but they’ve given away first round picks as though they were free guitar lessons in recent years, meaning the the club is devoid of young, high-end talent, routinely sending out the league’s oldest side. We are however here for positives and we’re nominating Tom Mitchell and his return to footy as one such example. The 2018 Brownlow medalist doesn’t appear to have missed a beat, seamlessly slipping back into his highly productive, pre-ACL reconstruction self.

FUN FACT- This segment almost didn’t have the words ‘Alastair Clarkson’ or ‘genius’ in it.

MELBOURNE

There was a point there were the Demons season was threatening to fall off the cliff, however by by winning 2 of their last 3, and almost knocking off the Lions, Melbourne have indicated that a Finals run mightn’t be beyond them. Further warming Demon hearts has been the remarkable Christian Petracca campaign, which has thankfully enjoyed the familiar and excellent support of Clayton Oliver and Max Gawn.

FUN FACT- Since Simon Goodwin took over in 2017, the Demons are 2-15 against top-4 opponents. On a more positive note, Melbourne has conceded the least inside-50s in the competition this season (269).

NORTH MELBOURNE

A promising 2-0 start has turned into a nightmare for the Shinboners. North are now on a 6-game losing streak and appear destined to miss Finals for a 4th straight season, which would be the club’s longest drought in almost 30 years. A positive for the Roos is that they are in possession of Melbourne’s first round pick this season, meaning that they could conceivably have two, top 5 picks at the draft.

FUN FACT- The Roos are ranked #2 in the league for both hit-outs and clearances per game.

PORT ADELAIDE

The Power have spent each and every week atop the leader this season, even if they have looked a little wobbly of late, getting blown apart by both the Lions and St Kilda in July.

FUN FACT- The Power have an incredible +424.5 metres gained differential this season, a full 164 more than the next best which is the Cats at +260. The biggest gap from the best to the next best was in 2015 when the Hawks +579 was 244 more than West Coast.  

RICHMOND

It still doesn’t quite feel like the truly menacing Tigers of the last 3 seasons, however they remain a clear and present danger. We’ll have a much better indication of the state of the Richmond over the next few weeks with massive assignments against the Bulldogs, Lions and Port Adelaide. 

FUN FACT- The Tigers have lost the clearance count in 42 of their last 50 games. 

ST KILDA

There mightn’t be a better story in footy than St Kilda, with the Saints currently sitting 4th having just topped the ladder-leading Power. They boast the league’s second best attack and are the only club in the league with at least 3 players to have kicked 10 goals. The Giants are the other. 

FUN FACT- 8 games, 8 different players have topped the Saints metres gained.

SYDNEY

The Swans are 2-6 since the league resumed, with wins over North and Hawthorn. Finding a positive for the Swans is somewhat bitter sweet. On the one hand Tom Papley is putting together an outrageous season and would an All-Australian lock. On the other hand, it doesn’t appear as though Papley will be in the harbour city beyond this season.

FUN FACT- The 12-goal gap between Papley (19) and Isaac Heeney (7) is the biggest discrepancy at any club. Josh Kennedy’s 8-goal edge on Eagle’s teammate Jack Darling is the next largest.

Tom Papley has kicked 19 goals so far in 2020 to be leading the Coleman Medal race, but where did it all start? Check out his First Goal Ever back in 2016 against Collingwood.

(Still loves a celebration 🥳) pic.twitter.com/xFxr1hnMAZ

— AFL (@AFL) July 28, 2020

WEST COAST

After an atrocious 1-3 start, the Eagles are once again flying high, winners of their last 4, and most recently annihilating Collingwood by 66-points. The music was even sweeter for West Coast with Josh Kennedy booting 7-straight along with Tim Kelly having his first 30-possession game as an eagle. 

FUN FACT- West Coast are back to their ruthless best. They’re scoring a goal for every 4.14 forward-50 entries which is the best mark in the league. When they won the flag in 2018, that number was at 3.97.

WESTERN BULLDOGS

After a highly concerning 0-2 start the Dogs have won 5 of 6. While they are yet to beat a top-8 team, a much higher level of accountability has been detected, conceding just 13 goals from the opposition’s last 90 inside-50 entries.

FUN FACT- Mitch Wallis has been the most accurate player in the AFL over the last 3 seasons, nailing 67% of his chances. He’s also leading the Dogs this season for both goals (10) and tackles inside 50 (11). 

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