Zero Hanger's mid-season review: Part 1

Port Adelaide (6-4, 8th) What's gone right: Their superstars have come to play. Port's reliable players are once again being reliable. Ken Hinkley can look at Robbie Gray, Justin Westhoff, Ollie Wines and Travis Boak among others and rely on them to pull their weight which allows time to develop the younger players and spend time on improvement rather than trying to help stars to get back to the way the used to be. What's gone wrong: All of their free agents haven't played at the level Port would've hoped for at the start of the season. Firstly, Jack Watts has been good for the team but hasn't taken over any games as you'd want from a former number one pick. He is averaging the lowest amount of marks per game since his rookie season. Tom Rockliff also hasn't been able to get back his All-Australian form as he's averaging his lowest number of disposals per game for his career with only 16 a game. Steven Motlop too has been quiet for the Power, and the free agents are going to need to put in a lot more if Port want to be fighting for a top four spot. Best and fairest: Fortunately for Port, they have many candidates for best and fairest. Westhoff and Wines deserve a shout but the award definitely goes to Gray. Most would have Gray as a lock for All-Australian, and with the numbers he's putting up, it's hard to argue. Season prediction: Port have seven of their remaining 12 games at the Adelaide Oval, after taking into account their current 3-1 record this season at Adelaide Oval, it means good things for the Power. They will end the season with a record of 13-9. [caption id="attachment_19914" align="alignnone" width="696"] ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA - MAY 12: Robbie Gray and Ken Hinkley of the Power celebrate their win during the 2018 AFL round eight match between the Port Adelaide Power and the Adelaide Crows at Adelaide Oval on May 12, 2018 in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by James Elsby/AFL Media/Getty Images)[/caption] Gold Coast (3-7, 15th) What's gone right: At the start of the season, there was a lot going right. Two wins in the first two games had Suns fans excited for what the season was going to hold. On top of the good start, Tom Lynch kicked eight goals in Round 2 against Carlton. Unfortunately since then, not much has gone right as they've won only one game out of their last eight. And that win came after Brisbane's Cam Rayner missed a potential game tying shot on the siren. What's gone wrong: There's a lack of talent in all positions for Gold Coast. They have quality players all around the park but lack depth, and in this day and age so many teams have over 25 players ready to play senior football that it makes it difficult for the Suns to keep up with the rest of the competition. And with all the focus on whether Tom Lynch is going to re-sign or not, the team isn't in a good place. Best and fairest: There's no clear favourite to win Gold Coast's best and fairest and come the end of the season the ladder may look completely different. As of right now though, Jarrod Lyons is Gold Coast's most consistent player and provides them with opportunities to be in the game every week. Very similar to David Swallow and Touk Miller, but edges them out barely due to his impact on the team. Season prediction: It's hard to see Gold Coast winning more than two games over the course of the season. Gold Coast will probably finish in the bottom four and look to off-season moves to help them with a stronger run next season. [caption id="attachment_19905" align="alignnone" width="696"] ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA - APRIL 28: Steven May of the Suns leads his players from the field looking dejected after the round six AFL match between the Adelaide Crows and Gold Coast Suns at Adelaide Oval on April 28, 2018 in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images)[/caption] Carlton (1-10, 18th) What's gone right: A few of their young stars have shown glimpses of reaching their potential. Charlie Curnow has put forth some dominant games as well as many of their other under-22 players. Unfortunately, they've struggled to put good games together as a team, it's often just one player pulling their weight, and it's a different player every week. What's gone wrong: Carlton have been plagued with injuries. It all started in the pre-season when their All-Australian Sam Docherty injured his knee and was forced to sit out for a year. Since then, Carlton have lost captain Marc Murphy, Caleb Marchbank, Matthew Kennedy, Matthew Kreuzer, Sam Rowe, Jacob Weitering, Tom Williamson, Ciaran Byrne, Levi Casboult and Alex Silvagni all to injury at some point of the season. All players you could argue are in the Blues' best 22. Best and fairest: Patrick Cripps. One of Carlton's only consistent players. Cripps puts up quality efficient games every week in a team that rarely performs. It's a no-brainer who takes home the award at the end of the season. Season prediction: 3-19. It'd be a win for Carlton if they manage to pick up two victories in the latter half of the season. Only able to pick up one win so far, the Blues could be only the second team since 1996 to win one game the entire season (The other being GWS in 2013). [caption id="attachment_20287" align="alignnone" width="696"] MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - MAY 20: Marc Murphy of the Blues walks to the coin toss during the 2018 AFL round nine match between the Carlton Blues and the Melbourne Demons at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on May 20, 2018 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Adam Trafford/AFL Media/Getty Images)[/caption] Hawthorn (6-5, 10th) What's gone right: Coached by one of the greatest to ever do it, Hawthorn have been a sound and efficient team in the first half of the season, other than the 'slip-up' against the Lions, the Hawks have beaten all the teams that currently sit below them on the ladder and have also taken down some of the league's best this season. Confidence in the game plan is what's key for this Hawthorn side. What's gone wrong: Firstly, losing by 56 points to Brisbane. But every team has a bad day. Consistently though, the Hawks aren't putting enough points on the board, they've failed to score over 100 every round since Round 4. Without a key forward it's understandable but it's something their premiership-winning small forwards are going to have to make up for. Best and fairest: Tom Mitchell. Getting more of the ball than anyone else in the competition, Mitchell averages 34 disposals a game and knows how to use the ball to punish the opposition. Many had Mitchell as their pick for the Brownlow Medal and if he can pull together a string of consistently dominant performances, he just may win the league's best and fairest award. Season prediction: 12-10. The Hawks are a mid-table team and will remain that way throughout the season. They will win the games they should win and fall to the league's elite, so you'll see them fighting for a spot in the eight come season's end. [caption id="attachment_19528" align="alignnone" width="696"] LAUNCESTON, AUSTRALIA - APRIL 28: Isaac Smith of the Hawks celebrates a goal during the 2018 AFL round six match between the Hawthorn Hawks and the St Kilda Saints at UTAS Stadium on April 28, 2018 in Launceston, Australia. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Media/Getty Images)[/caption] West Coast (10-1, 1st) What's gone right: They've only dropped one game halfway through the season and the only game they lost was in Round 1 against the Swans. West Coast are playing more as a unit than any other team in the competition. There's no one superstar, it's the overused cliche of everybody playing their role and sticking to the game plan. Adam Simpson has done a terrific job coaching this team for the first half of the season and arguably sits as the best coach in the competition this season. What's gone wrong: Not much has gone wrong for the Eagles. Other than an injury to Jack Darling and a first round loss, everything for the Eagles has gone better than expected. The forward line is gelling, their defense is impenetrable and they sit firmly atop the league ladder. Best and fairest: Arguably the hardest team to predict their best and fairest, there are so many players who have put in consistently good efforts each week. Right now, the nod goes to Andrew Gaff. Among the league's elite midfielders, Gaff is very important to the Eagles' success. Season prediction: They should easily finish top four, barring any major injury, and falling out of the top two would be disappointing. 19-3 record on this season. [caption id="attachment_20554" align="alignnone" width="696"] PERTH, AUSTRALIA - APRIL 29: Josh Kennedy of the Eagles celebrates a goal taking him to the scorer of most goals for the club during the 2018 AFL round six match between the Fremantle Dockers and the West Coast Eagles at Optus Stadium on April 29, 2018 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Daniel Carson/AFL Media/Getty Images)[/caption] Western Bulldogs (4-7, 14th) What's gone right: Again, not a lot has gone right for the Bulldogs who remain one of the bottom teams in the league. Jack Macrae's emergence as one of the league's best players is something the team cannot take for granted. Alongside Marcus Bontempelli, the Dogs have an elite young midfield and have something solid to build around. What's gone wrong: The Dogs have suffered injuries throughout the season that stunt any team's growth and always seem to have a big impact on the game plan. Valuable players in their 2016 premiership team such as Tom Liberatore and Liam Picken are out indefinitely, and without them the team just looks lost and fail to pick up victories over any notable teams. Best and fairest: Jack Macrae. Averaging seven more disposals a game than his career average this season, Macrae seems to be the only plus side to the Dogs this season. His impact around the ball makes it difficult for anyone to deny how deserving he is for the best and fairest award. Season prediction: 7-15. Bulldogs will be lucky to finish above the bottom six. [caption id="attachment_19717" align="alignnone" width="696"] BALLARAT, AUSTRALIA - MAY 05: Jackson Macrae of the Bulldogs celebrates after kicking a goal during the round seven AFL match between the Western Bulldogs and the Gold Coast Suns at Mars Stadium on May 5, 2018 in Ballarat, Australia. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)[/caption]

		P	W	L	PTS	%
1	FRE	19	17	2	68	146
2	SYD	19	14	5	56	130
3	HAW	19	13	5	54	124
4	BL	19	13	6	52	120.6
5	ADEL	19	12	7	48	113.7
6	MELB	19	12	7	48	107.8
7	WB	19	12	7	48	96.8
8	COLL	19	11	7	46	107.6
9	GEEL	19	11	8	44	116.5
10	STK	19	9	10	36	105.8

Zero Hanger’s mid-season review: Part 1

We look at how these six sides have fared so far in 2018.

Western Bulldogs (4-7, 14th)

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