The AFL JLT series. An indication of form or not?

It’s always nice to see your team have a good JLT series. And after your team has won both matches the media builds up your hopes and you look forward to a good season. But is it really any indication of the 2018 season form, or are they really just practice matches?

The 2018 JLT “ladder” (if there was one):

Five teams won both JLT matches in 2018. Based on this, are Richmond set for back-to-back flags, have Gold Coast quickly improved under new coach Stuart Dew, will Melbourne make the finals this year, is the young Carlton list really that good, and will Sydney be contending again this year.

Lets’ look back on previous years.

St Kilda finished top of the “JLT Ladder” in 2017, yet dropped to 11^th at the end of the home and away season. GWS finished 2^nd and dropped to 4^th. West Coast finished 3^rd and dropped to 8^th. Melbourne finished 5^th and dropped to 9^th.

But Richmond did finish 4^th and were the only team in the JLT top 5 to finish higher on the ladder at the end of season (finishing 3^rd then winning the flag).

In 2016 it was the NAB Challenge. There were 3 undefeated teams. Freemantle finished top of the “NAB Challenge ladder” before dropping to 16^th at the end of the home and away season. Melbourne finished 2^nd, then dropped to 11^th, and Collingwood finished 3^rd before dropping to 12^th.

So history has shown it means very little……let’s see how 2018 pans out.