BAD STARTS are a GOOD SIGN in the AFL…
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.พ. 2025
- Is it a good idea to start AFL seasons slow? The last 10 seasons show that most of the premiers have not been top 4 in the early months of the year. Brisbane in 2024 were no better example of this and it's something that we might see more often with our season getting longer.
It’s funny because nearly every premiership team or minor premiership team has a slump at one point in the season, and where that slump occurs can say a lot about the team
There does seem to be a common trend for clubs to have a bad run for a month.
Richmond in 2019 and 2020 and Geelong in 2022 went on dominant late-season runs following slow starts.
But it can help to have games in hand. It’s not like players don’t know their ladder positions.
Collingwood in 2023 had a big buffer and it was clear their play dropped off. But come the final round, when they needed a win to be certain of top spot, they utterly stomped Essendon.
Slow starts are likely also caused by the seasons beginning earlier than they used to - so if you played finals the year before, especially a GF, you didn’t get as much recovery time.
Another good angle TSE. My 2c worth. Finals/Premiership teams start their pre-season later as played later and have AFL mandatory break/holidays so haven't as much pre-season in by season start. Lower clubs go harder as early wins means memberships. Age of the list, older can't go as hard for long as younger bodies and like a good boxer they pace themselves through the contest/season. Many teams drag an unexpected win out with a big effort and are stuffed the next week. Good teams share the load so not as many players are overworked/targeted every week. As you covered, injuries/player management. If you have the depth can cover players and still have a good chance of winning, rather than players having pain management/injections.
Why are my beloved North Melbourne not on a six peat then lmao
So when my eagles start 1-7 this season I shouldn’t worry?
Injuries in the last 5 games are a problem,,ask freo