Mick McGuane ranks and reviews every AFL club’s forward line for the 2022 seasonMick McGuane
News Corp Australia Sports Newsroom
February 21, 20221. Melbourne
2. Western Bulldogs
3. Geelong
4. Brisbane
5. Port Adelaide
6. RICHMONDThe top-liners: Shai Bolton (20 Games in 2021, 84 Average SuperCoach Score), Kane Lambert (13, 76), Jack Riewoldt (22, 70), Tom Lynch (18, 70), Matthew Parker (6, 62), Jake Aarts (20, 56), Jason Castagna (20, 56)
The top-ups: Hugo Ralphsmith (5, 42), Thomson Dow (5, 41)
MICK SAYSHaving the Tigers this highly ranked might surprise some. But I still think Jack Riewoldt and Tom Lynch have the ability to still influence games and, more importantly, they have a great understanding of how each other play. Lynch’s form was patchy last year yet still kicked 35.33 from his 18 games. If he can improve his accuracy a little it will bode well for the team. Many thought Riewoldt’s days were numbered last year – including me – but he still finished equal-sixth in the Coleman Medal with 51 goals. Coach Damien Hardwick would hoping for similar returns this year, as well as 50-60 goals between Dustin Martin and Shai Bolton – which is entirely possible. The challenge for Richmond is to get their pressure game back, which waned a little bit last year. The Tigers’ forward half pressure factor ranked 13th last year, after sitting 7th in 2020. There’s no excuse for that when you have the speedy smalls that Richmond has.
7. Sydney
8. Essendon
9. St Kilda
10. West Coast
11. Carlton
12. GWS
13. Fremantle
14. Adelaide
15. Hawthorn
16. North Melbourne
17. Collingwood
18. Gold Coast
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/afl/mick-mcguane-ranks-and-reviews-every-afl-clubs-forward-line-for-the-2022-season/news-story/3d297690388726cc05b578b8bb89c694