Seven rounds into the 2025 AFL season, and we’ve d=sorted the wheat from the chaff in terms of road teams. Or we’ve at least got a good idea which teams adopt the “anyone, anywhere, anytime” mantra that good teams possess.
And at the other end of the spectrum, we have the usual suspects, who cannot win at all, let alone pick up a win away from home.
We’ve heard it for years – the teams based outside Victoria have it tougher.
I get it, though. I really do. Forced to travel interstate almost every second week, some teams clock up enormous miles as they traverse the country to be part of this sport we love.
Meanwhile, we get some Victorian-based clubs cracking the sads when they have to play at Marvel Stadium instead of the MCG, and vice versa. Or those who get a little nasty when a move away from Kardinia Park is floated.
So, how do the teams fare away from home, and who is travelling best at the moment?
The Mongrel has devised a little ladder to assess who is the best road team in the league. Oh, the Vic teams will still get a look in if they’re good enough, and whilst I fully expect a number of fans to say this system is rigged to favour non-Victorian teams… I really don’t care. Stop your whining.
So, how does it work?
The Road Warrior Ladder is named after one of the best Tag Teams of all time. Don’t come at me with your Demolition garbage, or your Powers of Pain crap… they were Road Warrior rip-offs… who were, in turn, rip-offs of the 1980s movie, Mad Max.
It was called The Road Warrior in the United States because… geez, I’m not a film buff. Do your own homework.
Anyway, you get four points for an interstate win and two points for a win at an away venue that IS NOT played at the venue you consider your home ground. I don’t care if it’s not your home game – you’re still at the ground you play your home games. The Road Warrior Ladder Nazi isn’t concerned with your feelings – just facts.
Tasmania is considered a home game for Hawthorn. You choose to play your home games there – you cop it. Same with GWS and Canberra – if it’s your choice, you wear it.
Now that my belligerence is out of the way, let’s get to business.
THE ROAD WARRIOR LADDER AFTER ROUND SEVEN
1 – BRISBANE – 16 PTS (98 point differential in road wins)
2 – GOLD COAST – 12 PTS (197)
3 – COLLINGWOOD – 8 PTS (83)
4 – SYDNEY – 8 PTS (68)
5 – ESSENDON – 8 PTS (41)
6 – GWS – 8 PTS (31)
7- CARLTON – 4 PTS (71)
=8 – ADELAIDE – 4 PTS (61)
=8 – FREMANTLE – 4 PTS (61)
10 – WESTERN BULLDOGS – 4 PTS (32)
11 – HAWTHORN – 4 PTS (20)
12 – GEELONG – 4 PTS (19)
13 – ST KILDA – 4 PTS (17)
14 – PORT ADELAIDE – 4 PTS (8)
15-18 – MELBOURNE, RICHMOND, NORTH MELBOURNE, WEST COAST – ALL NO POINTS
ANALYSIS
Three road wins for the Suns at this point of the year – a massive turnaround from the 2024 season, where they had the eyes of the footy world on them, and the words of critics ringing in their ears.
Their 2025 away wins have come against some pretty ordinary opposition – West Coast, North Melbourne, and Melbourne, but that’s what you have to do on the road – make the easy kills.
The Lions have had a tougher time of it, but with their only blemish coming at home against the Magpies, their victims have included Sydney, Richmond, the Dogs, and St Kilda.
UPCOMING FOUR-POINT GAMES
FREO front up to Marvel on Friday Night to face the Saints
PORT ADELAIDE get stuck in Ballarat to face the Dogs – ugh!
CARLTON travel to Adelaide Oval to clash with the Crows
MELBOURNE hit WA to tangle with West Coast
UPCOMING TWO-POINT GAMES
GWS head to the SCG to face the Swans
GOLD COAST head to the Gabba to face off against Big Brother Brisbane
FOOTNOTE OF THE WEEK
It’s probably the Swans.
This upcoming game against the Giants looms as the most important Sydney Derby for the red and white in a long while. They’re all important, of course, but a loss here, and a 2-6 record, would be a complete disaster for the team that was a game away from the flag in 2024.
GWS aren’t exactly travelling beautifully, despite a strong start. Things just don’t seem to be meshing as well as they could, but compared to Sydney, they are a well-oiled machine.
Sydney need to find a way to play running footy again. They are fumbling, missing targets, and causing turnovers for themselves due to a lack of confidence in some, and extreme overconfidence in others. One does not balance the other out, unfortunately.
The Giants would relish the chance to send the Swans down to the bottom four at this stage of the season, and with several Swans not looking anywhere near the 2024 versions of themselves, they will need an abrupt change in fortune, or else that may become a reality… and whilst I am keeping the faith right now, I am not sure this group could sustain a big loss in Round Eight.
All eyes on Sydney this weekend.