SEN’s Kane Cornes has gone through all 18 AFL teams and stated whether they have overachieved or underachieved in season 2021.
Speaking on SEN Flip, Cornes opted not to sit on the fence, making a call on every team and not awarding anyone a par season.
See his thoughts on every side below:
North Melbourne: Overachieved
“Can a team that has won four games for the year with a percentage of 70 overachieve on expectation?”
“I think the answer is yes. If they can win two more out of their last four it could be a very solid start for David Noble in his first year as coach and a significant springboard for 2022.
“I think we all agree they’ve overachieved.”
Hawthorn: Underachieved
“There wasn’t a heap of expectation on the Hawks coming into the season, but 17th on the ladder with just four wins is really bad.”
“The Hawks have underachieved.”
Collingwood: Underachieved
“From winning a famous final in 2020 to languishing in 16th after 19 rounds this year.”
“It has been a gigantic mess at the Pies.
“The Pies have underachieved.”
Adelaide: Overachieved
“Three wins from 17 games and the club’s first wooden spoon in 2020. Expectations were incredibly low weren’t they?”
“Three wins from the first four games this season was unexpected and it had spirits pretty high at West Lakes, but the season has petered out from there.
“Six wins and a lot of exposure to a lot of their young players, even I will admit the Crows have overachieved.”
Gold Coast: Underachieved
“They’ve been the same old Gold Coast. I’m not sure they can underachieve when we never really place any expectations upon then.”
“What I will say is I am glad that they’ve stuck it out and fought through the season because at one point it was looking really ugly.
“But Gold Coast has still underachieved.”
Carlton: Underachieved
“We know Carlton expected to play finals and in their own words the time for development was over.”
“They’d gone 18th, 16th, 11th and obviously they expected to improve with the recruits they landed and play finals this year.
“They sit in 13th with seven wins and they have significantly underachieved.”
St Kilda: Underachieved
“Not that long ago this team beat the top of the ladder Bulldogs in a final – at the end of last year!”
“Not much has gone right at the Saints and they’re at an interesting point, St Kilda.
“They are all-in with this group, but the players aren’t all-in with their effort. The season started with so much promise and it’s going to end in massive disappointment and so many unanswered questions.
“The Saints have underachieved this year.”
Richmond: Underachieved
“Premiers to potentially missing the eight.”
“Enough said about Richmond. They have underachieved.”
Fremantle: Underachieved
“I really like what Fremantle is building, but they have shown they’re a long way off competing against the really good teams and they’re miles off thinking about winning a final.”
“Next year I reckon there will be significant expectations on the group and they will be expected to play finals.
“The performance this year has probably been on par, but I’m not going to sit on the fence. I’m going to call it. The Dockers are underachievers in 2021.”
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Essendon: Overachieved
“Despite the disappointment on the weekend, I think the Bombers have overachieved.”
“The walls were caving in with Joe Daniher and Orazio Fantasia and Adam Saad leaving and now the future is looking so exciting.
“Well done, you overachievers.”
GWS Giants: Overachieved
“They were a little bit like Essendon on expectation for me at the start of the year. Jeremy Cameron, the club’s best player, followed the lead of many players before him and fled in the off-season.”
“I actually thought that might break the club and I thought their performance could significantly dive and it didn’t.
“They’re a resilient group, the Giants and despite some inconsistent results they are in eighth position right now and I didn’t expect that. Credit to them, they’ve overachieved.”
West Coast: Underachieved
“Listen to this. A team that has Nic Naitanui, Tim Kelly, Andrew Gaff, Luke Shuey, Elliot Yeo, Jeremy McGovern, Josh Kennedy, Dom Sheed, Jamie Cripps, Jack Darling, Brad Sheppard, Liam Ryan and Shannon Hurn it’s line-up and it’s not in position one or two on the ladder and in the hunt for a flag.”
“They have underachieved. Full stop.
“They have, I think, the most talented team in the competition and they have underachieved on expectations and what they should be delivering.”
Sydney: Overachieved
“Five wins and 16th in 2020 to hunting down a top four spot and absolutely in form that suggests they could finish top four this year, all while living out of a suitcase for two months.”
“So congratulations, I think the Swans have been the biggest overachievers in the AFL this season.”
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Brisbane: Underachieved
“If you had to call it, I reckon the Lions have underachieved so far this year, but not by much.”
Port Adelaide: Underachieved
“They’re in a similar position to Brisbane. It’s hard to be too critical of a team that sits in fourth spot, but the form against the best teams has me worried.”
“A par performance coming into this year by their own expectations was to play-off in a Grand Final this year.
“I’m not sure they’re quite good enough to do that so probably slightly underachieved, Ken Hinkley and his men.”
Melbourne: Overachieved
“To put it simply, they have overachieved and they’ve overachieved significantly.”
Geelong: Overachieved
“They’re the same, they’re just a phenomenal football club and continue to overachieve every single year.”
“I think if my team doesn’t win the flag I’d be more than happy to see Geelong win it with how strong they’ve been as a footy club for such a long time.”
Western Bulldogs: Overachieved
“Of course they’ve overachieved. A phenomenal performance. They’re on top of the ladder.”
