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 11th at the end of the home and away season. GWS finished 2nd and dropped to 4th. West Coast finished 3rd and dropped to 8th. Melbourne finished 5th and dropped to 9th.
But Richmond did finish 4th and were the only team in the JLT top 5 to finish higher on the ladder at the end of season (finishing 3rd 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 16th at the end of the home and away season. Melbourne finished 2nd, then dropped to 11th, and Collingwood finished 3rd before dropping to 12th.
So history has shown it means very little……let’s see how 2018 pans out.
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