Mick Malthouse: The risers and sliders from the first 19 rounds of the AFL season

In the AFL, we generally have a very predictable ladder. The clubs that have been near the top remain there and the bottom dwellers stay weighed down.

But we love surprises.

Here are the risers and sliders from the first 19 rounds of the season.

THE RISERS

Without doubt the biggest improver this year is Melbourne with 12 wins. In the corresponding round last year, they had just six.

New coach, Steven King has installed a genuine confidence within the group.

They’ve got no Christian Petracca or Clayton Oliver, who are at other clubs, or Jack Viney who has been out injured. The Demons improvement has come from player development. The good players are expected to be good, and Jacob Van Rooyen has become far more consistent, while Daniel Turner is probably their best key back now, Matthew Jefferson is strong and reliable, and their best recruit, Jack Steele has added some real leadership.

Fremantle has gone from 12 wins this time last year to 16 currently. It is well established how well they are going.

Remarkably, Sydney has increased its win-loss ratio by four. But is their position on the ladder false given they can’t beat the top teams? The Swans have perhaps the easiest run home, so we won’t know that answer until September.

West Coast has shown great growth this season. They have an opportunity to finish off the season with two more wins to make it six, which is a pass mark and a terrific launch pad for next year.

THE SLIDERS

While North Melbourne has increased its wins count, I’d almost put them in the disappointing basket, because with many early draft picks and good recruiting, far more was expected of them.

The real question is, where are they going to end up? They still can’t beat any teams in the top six and until they can, they are always going to be a poor relation.

Collingwood has dropped games mainly due to injuries, so has Geelong. Both clubs are currently in similar positions to last year.

Adelaide and Brisbane are practically the same as last season, as too are the Western Bulldogs.

And Carlton and Port Adelaide, with coaching shakeups and mass injuries, are predictably sitting lower than last season.

Greater Western Sydney’s dip is a bit of a surprise. They’ve admittedly lost one of their best players in Tom Green, but now face the prospect of losing their captain for good as a result of this season’s slide.

Richmond has also been hit hard with injuries and with two wins is very much off pace from last season’s five.

Essendon are four games behind last year and has simply been horrible.

But the two clubs that have dropped off the most, in my mind, are Gold Coast and St Kilda.

The Suns are on three less wins than last year, after a wonderful finish to that season defeating Fremantle in a final, and a four-game head start this year. So, what’s happened to them?

They improved the team list with Petracca, but has he disrupted an already efficient midfield? Touk Miller is not playing with the same effectiveness, and Matt Rowell is only now regaining his feet after injuring himself in the State of Origin match in February, while Jarrod Witts can’t get a look in.

Gold Coast is a shadow of what it was last season.

Damien Hardwick is a hard taskmaster and needs to be. Maybe this is the year the Suns need, to learn what is unacceptable and to stop being so precious.

St Kilda has made inroads with eight wins compared to five last year but hasn’t advanced nearly as much as they should have.

The Saints were hell bent on getting the big fish, like Tom De Koning. You simply do not pay that sort of money for a ruckman when you already have a top ruck, in Rowan Marshall.

Jack Silvagni was the cheapest recruit and has held up well. Max Hall and Darcy Wilson are real positives. Jack Macrae can’t get a game. Max King can’t get on the ground. And Liam Henry has gone backwards.

Given all the pre-season recruiting, the Saints are a mess, and their season is a complete failure.

So, the predictable ladder hasn’t actually changed that much, with Melbourne the only club to enter the top eight. Given that the AFL is now rewarding mediocrity with a wildcard round and has the audacity to call it a final, then September will look a little different. But not much.