AFL Watchability Rankings: Round 2

AFL Watchability Rankings: Round 2

GuyWhoLikesSport

The competition runs through New South Wales. Indeed, it runs through the northern states but I wrote about Gold Coast last week so we’re focusing on the Sydney teams, particularly GWS.

Last year few would have argued that Collingwood was the best list in football, but they were the best team.

Early in the season, it looks like GWS is both, and if it’s not GWS, it might be Sydney.

Do yourself a favour and look through GWS’ list and ask yourself how many players on that team are arguably in the top 15 players at their position?

I’ve done the work for you: Coniglio, Greene, Whitefield, Green, Bedford, Taylor, Daniels, Kelly, Hogan, Idun, Buckley.

GWS is stacked with elite talent but have exceptional supporting talent to prop up the stars.

Look at the GWS forward line for instance.

Obviously, the alphas are Toby Greene and Jesse Hogan, while Bedford is among the best forward pressure players in football. But the real value is in the depth.

Through two games, Callum Brown is going at double the rating points that he averaged last season and has already kicked 7 goals, but more than anything quantifiable, his size and athleticism is petrifying for defences.

Then there’s Jake Ricciardi who has slotted nicely into a Jon Bernthal type of role. Early in the North game he was the leading man and did it reasonably well, like Bernthal in We Own This City.

But he’s best as a sugar rush type, like Bernthal in The Bear or The Wolf of Wall Street, Ricciardi reverted when GWS put a target on Toby Pink, kicking it to whoever that poor bastard was playing on.

At points it felt like a kid killing ants with his magnifying glass.

Then there’s Aaron Cadman, who had among the worst first years in recent football history.

This year, he looks like he’s seen the inside of a gym for the first time in his AFL career and he’s reaping the benefits.

He’s an exceptional athlete and a straight kick who looks set to be a wonderful complimentary player this season and might very well be a superstar in the near future.

They’re built like a wide receiver corps in the way that complement each other’s skill sets.

San Francisco 49ers’ coach Kyle Shanahan has long maintained that he wants his receiver rooms to look like a basketball team, and that’s how the GWS forward line looks as well.

If the stars don’t fire, it doesn’t matter for GWS, they have so much depth and so many effective complementary pieces.

But it’s not just the list, it’s the game style.

GWS are the competition’s leading crowd pleaser along with being the competition’s best team.

Typically, the two are mutually exclusive but not here, they’re like the Canelo Alvarez or The Godfather of the AFL, simultaneously the best and the most entertaining.

They play kamikaze football under Kingsley, and it wasn’t just because they were playing North.

As a matter of course they back their stars, especially Tom Green, to win the ball in contested situations and the outside midfielders are more than willing to cheat forward to get The Orange Tsunami rolling.

While it has worked so far against Collingwood and North Melbourne, both of whom were overwhelmed by GWS skill, run, and carry, it will be interesting to see how they go against more stout defensive sides, or even sides who fight fire with fire and cheat the other way.

GWS play gash or be gashed football.

Part of me wonders if they’re so willing to play that high risk/high reward game style because their defence is so exceptionally balanced and so talent laden.

In a sense, they might view it as medium risk/high reward.

Maybe they’re right. Time will tell. I can’t wait to find out.

Onto the rankings.

1. St Kilda v Collingwood

It’s a Collingwood dynasty in the watchability rankings!

More than can be said on the field.

You have Collingwood slumping to 0-2 after their first two games.

Then you have the Saints, off a game where they scored explosively and ran forward ferociously for a rare time in Ross Lyon’s tenure as Saints coach, looking to even the ledger.

Can they stay aggressive against a team that can punish aggression when they’re on their day?

One player to watch is Max King.

He looked very peckish as the Saints were mounting their comeback against Geelong.

Is he having a bit of Christopher Moltisanti moment where, instead of reading his press clippings, he wishes he was in some?

2. Western Bulldogs v Gold Coast

Luke Beveridge was back on his bullshit in Round 1 starting Caleb Daniel as the sub.

His mad genius act is edging more toward the “mad” than the “genius” and the club’s patience is clearly wearing thin.

If they can’t beat a hot Gold Coast on their first trip out of sunny North Queensland for season 2024, in Ballarat no less, the blowtorch could be applied to him more quickly than you can say Bevo’s skateboard.

Also, Jamarra is spectacular.

3. Adelaide v Geelong

Geelong is still reliant on their old stars, but you can start to see the green shoots poking through in the form of Holmes and Dempsey particularly.

Adelaide is more interesting, though.

They looked toothless for most of the game against Gold Coast and missed Taylor Walker more than they should have given Tex’s age.

But then when they got rolling toward the end of the game on the back of Rachele especially, they were as electric as I expected coming into the season.

We’ll find out this week whether they were overrated coming into the season, or whether the rain is what killed their forward momentum last week.

4. Hawthorn v Melbourne

Under Sam Mitchell, Hawthorn is an incredibly exciting, play-on, attack the game team while Melbourne is trying to incorporate that kind of style into their game.

Having said that, Melbourne is bigger, stronger and better overall.

While Hawthorn is more comfortable in the mould, Melbourne is better.

It’s like The Rock playing a leading role versus Phillip Seymour Hoffman playing a leading role.

While The Rock leads more often and is more comfortable doing it, there’s no doubt who the better actor is.

5. North Melbourne v Fremantle

North was quite impressive against GWS. they were full-hearted and were able to get runs of goals on occasion, with Xavier Duursma looking especially impressive.

He, Larkey, Curtis and Zurhaar are the bones of a good forward line.

Fremantle, though, was remarkable against Brisbane.

They won all over the ground and played one of the best games of the Longmuir era.

I can’t tell if the game said more about Brisbane or Fremantle, however. I think we’ll learn something this week given North don’t look likely to be a team that will be beaten from the moment they get off the bus.

6. Richmond v Port Adelaide

Richmond is going to be a hard-working team this season, with Lynch back they might occasionally be okay but at no point will they be good.

They turn the ball over too often, are too often outnumbered and every time they kick a goal it feels like a minor miracle.

I regret the column I wrote in the preseason where I said that they would be good.

Port Adelaide should beat Richmond easily this week, even at the MCG.

(Yes, I am trying a reverse jinx.)

7. Sydney v Essendon

Sydney will win this game easily. The reason to watch this game is Isaac Heeney.

As a long-term resident on Heeney-island his start to the season has been exciting and I expect it to continue.

Though I am flabbergasted that it’s taken this long to unlock him.

8. West Coast v GWS

West Coast is going to be at the bottom of this until further notice.

They aren’t competitive.

Port kicked 24 behinds and still won by 50 points.

Does the AFL have a mercy rule?