After AFL Round 5, here’s how the model sees the competition.

πŸ“Š Current Rankings

Rank Team Rating Prev Move
1 β†’ Brisbane Lions 1700 1 0
2 ↑ Hawthorn 1692 3 +1
3 ↓ Western Bulldogs 1648 2 -1
4 β†’ Geelong 1646 4 0
5 β†’ Fremantle 1634 5 0
6 β†’ Sydney 1622 6 0
7 β†’ Adelaide 1603 7 0
8 β†’ Collingwood 1566 8 0
9 β†’ Gold Coast 1550 9 0
10 β†’ Greater Western Sydney 1540 10 0
11 ↑ St Kilda 1431 13 +2
12 ↓ Melbourne 1430 11 -1
13 ↓ Port Adelaide 1399 12 -1
14 β†’ North Melbourne 1381 14 0
15 β†’ Carlton 1363 15 0
16 ↑ Essendon 1314 17 +1
17 ↓ West Coast 1257 16 -1
18 β†’ Richmond 1227 18 0

πŸ“ˆ Biggest Movers

  • πŸ”Ό St Kilda (+2)
  • πŸ”Ό Hawthorn (+1)
  • πŸ”Ό Essendon (+1)
  • πŸ”½ Western Bulldogs (-1)
  • πŸ”½ Melbourne (-1)
  • πŸ”½ Port Adelaide (-1)

St Kilda is the biggest riser this week, climbing 2 places. Western Bulldogs slides the most, dropping 1 place from last week.

Melbourne and Port Adelaide slip as well after unexpected losses.

🎯 Predicted Top 4

  1. Brisbane Lions
  2. Hawthorn
  3. Western Bulldogs
  4. Geelong

The model’s current projected top four is Brisbane Lions, Hawthorn, Western Bulldogs and Geelong.

Brisbane Lions hold top spot with a rating edge of 8.3 points over Hawthorn – not much in that at all.

βš–οΈ Ladder vs Power Rankings

  • Underrated by ladder position: Brisbane Lions (ladder 6, power 1), Collingwood (ladder 13, power 8), Geelong (ladder 8, power 4).
  • Running hotter on the ladder than the power rankings suggest: North Melbourne (ladder 7, power 14), Sydney (ladder 1, power 6), Gold Coast (ladder 5, power 9).

πŸ‘€ State of Play

  • Brisbane Lions remain number one in the model after 18 teams were ranked this week.
  • Fremantle round out the top five and remain firmly in the finals-quality zone of the table.
  • The strongest upward move belongs to St Kilda, who rise 2 places on the back of this week’s away win over Port Adelaide.
  • The biggest falls belong to Western Bulldogs (bumped out by the Hawks rise), Demons and Port Adelaide – all down 1 place compared to the previous round.

πŸ”’ How it works

  • Elo-style rating system
  • Every team starts from a base rating
  • Ratings adjust based on win/loss, expected result and margin
  • Home ground advantage is included
  • Previous-season ratings are carried forward and regressed toward average

πŸ“… Notes

  • Opening Round is treated as Round 0
  • Updated weekly after the final game of each completed round