AFL update

After Round 15, with eight weeks of the season still to go, we already have our eight finalists virtually set in stone. In some order, the current lineup of Hawthorn (11-3), GWS (10-4), Geelong (10-4), Sydney (10-4), Adelaide (10-4), Western (10-4), North Melbourne (10-4), and West Coast (9-5) have been the teams in the top eight spots, and with Port Adelaide the only challenger within three games of them at 7-7, there's no reason to think that they won't be the eight teams battling in September.

Here's my projected finishing order, mostly based on how easy the schedules are between now and the first of September:
1 GWS (between 16-18 wins) 18-4
2 Hawthorn (between 15-19 wins) 17-5
3 Adelaide (between 16-18 wins) 17-5
4 Geelong (between 14-18 wins) 17-5
5 Western (between 15-18 wins) 17-5
6 Sydney (between 15-18 wins) 16-6
7 West Coast (between 12-15 wins) 15-7
8 North Melbourne (between 10-16 wins) 14-8

Meanwhile, Port, Melbourne, St. Kilda, Carlton, Collingwood, and Richmond are all battling around 6-8, hoping to be around should West Coast or the Kangaroos fall apart completely. At the bottom, Gold Coast is finally starting to get healthy and may break a few hearts in July and August as they play above their 4-10 record, while Fremantle (3-11), Brisbane and Essendon (both 1-13) long for the season to end.

In the Player of the Year race, Following Football has Geelong's Patrick Dangerfield head and shoulders above the field, with only the Bondi Billionaire, Sydney forward Lance "Buddy" Franklin in his rear view mirror. Sydney teammates Dan Hannebury and Luke Parker are excelling, as are GWS' Heath Shaw, Danger's running mate Joel Selwood, and Melbourne mountain man and fan fave Max Gawn.