One of the best things supporters get from AFL is the ability to debate which team is better than others and why. We're fortunate with our sport that 4 or 5 teams usually don't dominate for an extended period of time, such as European football leagues, due to financial might. However, some teams do perform better than others and it's due to certain factors, such as management, coaching, financial position, membership base, training facilities and so forth.
I wanted to see how teams performed over the last 15 years, in particular mine, in relation to one another and I wanted to see how they performed in the H&A season as well as the finals. What I found was pretty amazing.
Finals Since 2000:
Every club except for the expansion clubs have played finals with Richmond having the least appearances with 5. Carlton who are destined for the spoon this year have 11 including 1 preliminary final appearance, whereas Melbourne who've been a mainstay for some time in the bottom half of the ladder, have 9 finals appearances including 1 grand final appearance (2000).
Sydney have played the most finals games with 28, leading Geelong, Collingwood and Hawthorn who have 27, 26 and 23 respectively. Sydney and Hawthorn are also tied for most finals wins 16 a piece with Hawthorn holding a clear lead in finals wins percentage of almost 70% whereas Sydney have 57%. Brisbane on the other hand have the best finals winning record of all teams with over 75% of finals won, however have only played 17 games with a record of 13-4 (amazing!).
Of all teams above 10 finals appearances, North Melbourne have the worst finals record with 4 wins and 9 losses. Adelaide is next on 18 appearances with 6 wins and 12 losses. Amazingly Adelaide has not won a single away finals game. Adelaide have played in 4 preliminary finals, losing them all. Collingwood and Geelong both have the best preliminary final record with 7 appearances, winning 4, however Sydney and Hawthorn have higher win percentage with 1 less appearance but 1 less loss. Amazingly, every club except the expansion clubs have played a preliminary final. Although that doesn't always translate into grand finals, since Adelaide, Carlton, North Melbourne, Richmond and Western Bulldogs have not made any finals.
Collingwood have played the most grand finals with 5 appearances for 1 win, but is not quite as bad as St Kildas record which is 0 from 3. Brisbane, Sydney, Hawthorn and Geelong share 4 appearances each, but Brisbane, Geelong and Hawthorn have 3 wins and 1 loss, while Sydney has 2 wins and 2 losses.
Home & Away Since 2000:
Port Adelaide has finished 1st 3 times, leading Hawthorn, Geelong, Essendon and Collingwood who each have 2. However finishing 1st does not guarantee a grand final win. Since 2000, 6 winners have finished 1st, while 9 winners have finished 2nd or 3rd. Amazingly, no team has won the grand final who've finished lower than 3rd on the ladder. That truly is a stunning fact.
Geelong has the most top 8 finishes with 8, followed up by Sydney and Collingwood on 6. It's truly remarkable that Geelong still managed consecutive top 4 finishes in 2013 and 2014 when they were regarded as being considerably weaker than their grand final winning years.
A stat that might truly surprise everyone is the top 3 most winning teams. They are Geelong with an average of 14.6, Sydney with 12.8 and Collingwood with 12.7. Hawthorn is a close 4th with 12.53. At the opposite end of the scale, excluding the expansion teams, Melbourne has the highest average losses per season with a whopping 13.9! Carlton comes in 2nd with 12.73 and Richmond 3rd with 12.67. Believe it or not, but Fremantle rounds out the bottom 4 with an average of 11.27.
There is one stat that I found more surprising than any other stat, is that Sydney (yes, they are my team) have the best H&A record over the last 15 seasons. That's not to say that they might have the most wins or the least losses, but it is to say that they have the highest average finishing position on the ladder at 5.4. Geelong follows closely at 5.67 and Hawthorn trails at 6.33. Collingwood rounds out the top 4 at 7. I suppose when you compare those 4 teams Sydney has missed the finals 3 times, Hawthorn 6, Geelong 4 and Collingwood 5 times.
I've added break downs over 5 year periods, average scores in finals etc. Believe it or not, Richmond is the only team to have played finals who actually has a negative score differential, basically losing by more than they win by. It isn't much, just a difference of 5 points, but in the last 15 years they've only managed to win 1 final.
I wanted to see how teams performed over the last 15 years, in particular mine, in relation to one another and I wanted to see how they performed in the H&A season as well as the finals. What I found was pretty amazing.
Finals Since 2000:
Every club except for the expansion clubs have played finals with Richmond having the least appearances with 5. Carlton who are destined for the spoon this year have 11 including 1 preliminary final appearance, whereas Melbourne who've been a mainstay for some time in the bottom half of the ladder, have 9 finals appearances including 1 grand final appearance (2000).
Sydney have played the most finals games with 28, leading Geelong, Collingwood and Hawthorn who have 27, 26 and 23 respectively. Sydney and Hawthorn are also tied for most finals wins 16 a piece with Hawthorn holding a clear lead in finals wins percentage of almost 70% whereas Sydney have 57%. Brisbane on the other hand have the best finals winning record of all teams with over 75% of finals won, however have only played 17 games with a record of 13-4 (amazing!).
Of all teams above 10 finals appearances, North Melbourne have the worst finals record with 4 wins and 9 losses. Adelaide is next on 18 appearances with 6 wins and 12 losses. Amazingly Adelaide has not won a single away finals game. Adelaide have played in 4 preliminary finals, losing them all. Collingwood and Geelong both have the best preliminary final record with 7 appearances, winning 4, however Sydney and Hawthorn have higher win percentage with 1 less appearance but 1 less loss. Amazingly, every club except the expansion clubs have played a preliminary final. Although that doesn't always translate into grand finals, since Adelaide, Carlton, North Melbourne, Richmond and Western Bulldogs have not made any finals.
Collingwood have played the most grand finals with 5 appearances for 1 win, but is not quite as bad as St Kildas record which is 0 from 3. Brisbane, Sydney, Hawthorn and Geelong share 4 appearances each, but Brisbane, Geelong and Hawthorn have 3 wins and 1 loss, while Sydney has 2 wins and 2 losses.
Home & Away Since 2000:
Port Adelaide has finished 1st 3 times, leading Hawthorn, Geelong, Essendon and Collingwood who each have 2. However finishing 1st does not guarantee a grand final win. Since 2000, 6 winners have finished 1st, while 9 winners have finished 2nd or 3rd. Amazingly, no team has won the grand final who've finished lower than 3rd on the ladder. That truly is a stunning fact.
Geelong has the most top 8 finishes with 8, followed up by Sydney and Collingwood on 6. It's truly remarkable that Geelong still managed consecutive top 4 finishes in 2013 and 2014 when they were regarded as being considerably weaker than their grand final winning years.
A stat that might truly surprise everyone is the top 3 most winning teams. They are Geelong with an average of 14.6, Sydney with 12.8 and Collingwood with 12.7. Hawthorn is a close 4th with 12.53. At the opposite end of the scale, excluding the expansion teams, Melbourne has the highest average losses per season with a whopping 13.9! Carlton comes in 2nd with 12.73 and Richmond 3rd with 12.67. Believe it or not, but Fremantle rounds out the bottom 4 with an average of 11.27.
There is one stat that I found more surprising than any other stat, is that Sydney (yes, they are my team) have the best H&A record over the last 15 seasons. That's not to say that they might have the most wins or the least losses, but it is to say that they have the highest average finishing position on the ladder at 5.4. Geelong follows closely at 5.67 and Hawthorn trails at 6.33. Collingwood rounds out the top 4 at 7. I suppose when you compare those 4 teams Sydney has missed the finals 3 times, Hawthorn 6, Geelong 4 and Collingwood 5 times.
I've added break downs over 5 year periods, average scores in finals etc. Believe it or not, Richmond is the only team to have played finals who actually has a negative score differential, basically losing by more than they win by. It isn't much, just a difference of 5 points, but in the last 15 years they've only managed to win 1 final.
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) and each 5 year group Sydney finishes in the top 4, 4th, 4th and 3rd from 2000-04, 2005-09, 2010-14 respectively. Incredibly Sydney is the only team over the 15 year stretch to average a top 4 finish including each 5 year block. That's quite incredible because from 2005 - 2014 they don't even have the 3rd or 4th best win ration, yet manage to average top 4.
