NOT all wins are created equal.

With more than half of all AFL clubs having played half of their games for the year, it’s a good time to take stock in how they’re all travelling.

But every side’s performance can only be evaluated against what has been expected of it; North Melbourne fans would be much happier with their 4-7 start than Hawthorn fans are, for example.

So let’s evaluate how every club is going through the achievement ladder. It rates the teams from first to worst in terms of whether they’ve delivered above or below what was expected of them.

Finals Week 1

Injuries matter, but they’re not an excuse. Let’s get to it.

1. RICHMOND

THE Tigers won just eight games last season and with Brett Deledio exiting, many tipped them to be a bottom four side and for Damien Hardwick to be on the hot seat. Instead with seven wins at the midpoint of the season, Richmond is flying. They should have won one or two more as well given three of their four losses have been by less than a goal. A revamped forward line, which is much smaller and puts on heavy pressure, has been key to the team’s improvement. Oh, and there’s that Dustin Martin fellow. They added Dion Prestia and Josh Caddy, but most impressively the growth has come from within.

2. PORT ADELAIDE

THE Power have a very fair case to be on top of this ladder, given they have the best percentage in the competition. If they had beaten one of Adelaide, GWS or Geelong (three of the teams above them on the real ladder), they would be. But as it is Ken Hinkley has turned this team into one that puts on enormous pressure all over the park. A relatively no-name back six (to most fans) is one of the best in the league, thanks to their excellent team defence, while Charlie Dixon is turning into a very dangerous marking forward who can also lay tackles at the other end of the park.

3. ADELAIDE CROWS

A STATEMENT win over Greater Western Sydney in Round 1 propelled the Crows into flag favouritism and six straight wins saw many suggesting they were unstoppable. But they have gone 2-3 since then, with demolitions of Brisbane and Fremantle sandwiched by losses to North Melbourne, Melbourne and Geelong. The latter is excusable; the former two weren’t, really, if this team wants to win a flag. The question is now being asked as to whether teams have worked them out, and the tagging of star Rory Sloane means their inability to acquire a midfielder such as Bryce Gibbs may end up coming back to bite them. Having said all that, they’ve seen growth from role players and are still well in contention.

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4. GEELONG CATS

THEY weren’t a top four side — on the ladder, achievement or real — after their three-match losing streak which concluded in that awful loss to Essendon. But since then Geelong has beaten three contenders in a row in prime time, showing the footy world how good they can be. They’re the same side as they were last year, although their game style is different, as they’re beating top eight sides and losing to those in the tenth to 14th bracket. Many would have had them around fifth or sixth on their ladders before the season began, so being a top four fancy is above par.

5. NORTH MELBOURNE

THIS may be an odd placement for a team that started the season 0-5, but the nature of this even season means there isn’t much difference between them and the seven or eight teams below them in this ranking. Having said that, what Brad Scott has done with North Melbourne is to be applauded. They were almost universally tipped to plummet towards the bottom four after dumping many veteran stars and yet the Kangaroos have won four games and been within a goal in another three; they are inarguably competitive. In what was probably supposed to be a rebuilding year, that’s an accomplishment.

6. GWS GIANTS

THE Giants are where most people picked them to be; on top of the ladder. But the way in which they’ve done it sees them worthy of credit. The view was that GWS’ flaw was depth, with a list comprising of the best 22 in the game and then a bunch of rookies. Injuries would have surely destroyed them. But they’ve shown heart in winning four games by single-digit margins, won in Perth, and put themselves in a position where they’re going to be high enough on the ladder when their guns get back to full fitness that this difficult patch won’t have hurt them. Being at par after hitting every drive into the rough on the front nine is a positive.

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7. FREMANTLE

MOST Dockers fans probably would have taken 6-5 if offered to them before the season began. The issue is whether they’re really as good as that record suggests. Fremantle has the percentage (81.4) of a bottom four side — so this becomes whether you trust their ability to win close games over the usually trustworthy metric of percentage. We’re grading achievements, though, and Ross Lyon has inarguably done well to turn a side that looked like a shambles at 0-2 into one that was 6-3 a fortnight ago.

8. MELBOURNE

THE Demons were tipped by many to sneak into the finals in eighth; they’re currently ninth on the ladder despite having played one fewer game than most of the sides above them; and they’re eighth on the achievement ladder. That says it all, really. Melbourne has contrasted very good performances (against Adelaide) with very poor ones (against Hawthorn) — in back to back weeks, no less — likely because they’re still so young. The talent is visible but so is the inexperience. They’re good enough to play finals, but at the same time they’re bad enough (some weeks) to miss them. What an enigma.

9. ESSENDON

THE Bombers were always going to be a tough team to place this season given the nature of their circumstances; at the midpoint of the season, it’s still tough to tip how good they can be. They’ve battled understandable fatigue issues from players who were still rounding into full fitness, but have also downed Geelong and West Coast in consecutive weeks. The win over the Eagles was particularly comprehensive. They were also in the games against Richmond and GWS over the last fortnight. That’s the form of a side that is a fringe top eight contender — that sounds like par to us.

10. GOLD COAST SUNS

THE issue Gold Coast faces in terms of expectations is GWS. They’re always going to be measured up against their fellow new expansion side but it is beyond clear at this point that the two teams’ first half-decades went very differently. This is still a growing side. Based on that pass mark, the team has at least hit par, mostly thanks to wins over Geelong and West Coast. But they really should have beaten Brisbane in Round 1 and there have been multiple matches where they didn’t even look to have shown up on time. If we’re judging based on the temperature of Rodney Eade’s seat, it’s not like it has gotten much warmer.

11. ST KILDA

THE Saints have found themselves linked with the Demons as the two sides try to climb up the ladder, even if they’ve done it in different ways — St Kilda via a pre-planned blueprint of a rebuild, Melbourne via having to actually pick good players in the draft at some point. So while both teams are 5-5, and both teams have a statement win (Melbourne over Adelaide, St Kilda over GWS), the Saints don’t have the underlying performance of a contender yet. All five of their losses have been by more than three goals and in their most recent two games, against Sydney and the Bulldogs (who are both below them in this ranking), they weren’t in the contest. With growth displayed by several lesser lights like Seb Ross and Dylan Roberton, there is plenty of promise here, though.

12. CARLTON

IN LAST year’s midyear achievement ladder, the Blues were first, thanks to a remarkable 6-5 record from a team most expected to do nothing in Brendon Bolton’s first season. Carlton has shown flashes of that solid game plan and young yet dangerous team this season but is still 3-7. In a way they’re victims of their own success. This is where they should have been last year; and this is where they should be this year, too.

13. COLLINGWOOD

THE Magpies would have been lower if not for their last month of footy, which saw them very nearly beat GWS and then take out three consecutive wins. Even if those victories were against three of the worst statistical performers of the season (Hawthorn, Brisbane and Fremantle), they still show how much this team wants to play for its coach. Nathan Buckley’s seat isn’t hot right now, so 13th may seem harsh. But with how much criticism there was of the Pies four weeks ago and we can’t be too positive.

14. WESTERN BULLDOGS

THIS may seem unfair to some, particularly when you consider that the Bulldogs didn’t dominate in the home and away season last year either on route to finishing seventh. But any other reigning premier would be under pressure if they were 6-4 with a percentage only a bit in the positives at this stage of the season, so they are too. Their most recent game, a win over St Kilda, looked like they were back near their dangerous best and their game style should stand up in finals again. But there has been no moment this year where they looked dominant when compared to their opponent. You’d like to see at least one.

15. BRISBANE LIONS

MUCH like Carlton, there wasn’t any reason to expect big things out of Brisbane this season, but there have still been disappointments. One could fairly argue they’ve played two good quarters — the opening term against Gold Coast in Round 1, a game they won, and the opening term against Adelaide, when they led the ladder leaders at the first break. But they’ve allowed 96 points or more in every game and have scored in the nineties just twice, and recent top draft pick Josh Schache appears to be on his way out. An absence of growth in the second half of the year would be concerning.

16. WEST COAST EAGLES

YES, they have won more games than they have lost. And yes, they haven’t had Nic Naitanui all year. But West Coast’s last three weeks have still been bad. Very bad. The Essendon loss was poor and the Gold Coast loss might have been worse. Bringing in Sam Mitchell has also brought questions around whether both he and Matt Priddis can play in the same midfield — not the result you want from a pairing of Brownlow medallists. Overall, the expectation of being in the top eight may have been met, but they haven’t solved their away woes (with the exception of the win over Port Adelaide). They’re an average side right now. They should be more than that.

17. SYDNEY SWANS

THERE is a clear bottom two in this exercise. And while Sydney has won one fewer game than Hawthorn (having also played one fewer), the Swans still aren’t last because of extraneous circumstances. It would seem fair to say that at full-strength, last year’s grand finalists wouldn’t have started 0-6, so they have something to blame, and their three wins have all been promising. Yes, they lost to Hawthorn as well, but if you were tipping one of these teams to make a stunning run into September it would still be the Swans.

18. HAWTHORN

THE Hawks’ fall has been more dramatic because of the heights they reached over the previous half-decade. From three-time premier to losing to Gold Coast by 86 points? Losing to St Kilda at their Tasmanian fortress by 75 points? And it coincided with the stunning decisions to deal out Sam Mitchell and Jordan Lewis; it can hardly be argued that the two situations have nothing to do with one another. Even if Mitchell and Lewis wouldn’t have kept Hawthorn as a contender this season, it still marks a clear moment when this club’s trajectory changed forever.

THE ACHIEVEMENT LADDER

1. Richmond

2. Port Adelaide

3. Adelaide Crows

4. Geelong Cats

5. North Melbourne

6. GWS Giants

7. Fremantle

8. Melbourne

9. Essendon

10. Gold Coast Suns

11. St Kilda

12. Carlton

13. Collingwood

14. Western Bulldogs

15. Brisbane Lions

16. West Coast Eagles

17. Sydney Swans

18. Hawthorn