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Bear in my I think teams played 22 games through till 2022? Since 2023 it's 23 games
Yep, I did mention that and include in my analysis (hence discussing 13 wins seasons as well).
The fact remains that even had Hawthorn beaten GWS, we would still be siting 9th with 12 wins and 8 losses. That's genuinely strange.
In fact, the lowest that I can tell from a quick scan through seasons that 12 wins and 8 losses has ever put a team before is 7th - that's the lowest ever previously. Most years it puts teams right around the top 4. To be not good enough for top 8 is genuinely unprecedented.
Even that there is only 3 wins between 1st and 11th is just a really weird season. Normally 1st and 11th is 7-10 wins apart.
The good news is that even if we do miss out in 2023...2024 is wide open cos there is little difference between the top 11 teams (and we have some of the best form of any team in the comp). We'll still need to step it up again and ensure that form carries over (as we've seen with many teams it can change quickly) but it's wide open for the taking over the next couple of years if the boys are up to it.