HPN

Two of the most common predictions before the 2019 season kicked off in earnest were, in no particular order: Melbourne are locks to finish top 4; and Gold Coast are locks to finish with the spoon (or at best bottom 2). There were immediate issues with both predictions, although this

A constant topic of discussion among football watchers is how much money each club gets, and why. For the last three years HPN has tried to break through the web of footy related financial reports, and break down each club’s financial allotments. The AFL recently released its Annual Report for

With about five minutes to go in the third quarter of AFL football in 2019, one of the worst nightmares of Richmond fans came to pass. Coming down after a contested marking contest, Alex Rance landed badly and tore his Anterior Cruciate Ligament, requiring season-ending surgery. Rance may or may

With the AFL season now hours away, the attention of fans and pundits everywhere turns to not only the action in week one, but who will sit on top of the ladder after the next 23. For the fifth year, HPN is attempting to answer the latter question, trying to

Despite starting the season almost exactly to script, the last month of football has thrown up a number of unexpected results that has left finals spots in season 3 of the AFLW up for grabs into the last week. No side has locked away their top two slot yet, with

With the halfway mark of the season in our rear view mirror, the finish line is firmly in sight. Due to the structure of the competition, zero (0) (nil) clubs are out of contention for the flag – although there may be a couple of eliminated sides after this weekend.

It’s always more impressive to go early in predicting an outcome than late – something that the media often struggles with when assessing the performance of public figures (including sporting teams). Commentary is often driven by change and controversy – by apparent rising fortunes or flagging days – whether the

We are nearly at the one-third mark of the 2019 AFLW season (seriously – extend the season next year, AFLHQ), and already some extremely surprising and unsurprising trends have emerged so far. Let’s start with the unsurprising. Scoring increased in round 2 Last week HPN told you that the first

For the entire (short) history of the AFLW competition, one of the prevailing narratives from the first round of play has been around scoring. Or more accurately, the feeling by internet manbabies has been that there is a lack of it: Staying at a total of 3 goals ,total goals