Current ladder position: 12th (five wins, nine losses)
Form: LLWWW
The run home:
Brisbane Lions (6th) at Telstra Dome
Richmond (11th) at the MCG
Collingwood (7th) at the MCG
Melbourne (16th) at the MCG
West Coast (15th) at Subiaco Oval
Adelaide (5th) at Telstra Dome
Western Bulldogs (1st) at Telstra Dome
St Kilda (8th) at Telstra Dome
Where to from here?
It's going to be tough for the Dons to see September action from here. After three successive wins leading into the break, the finals are still a mathematical possibility, but it's very unlikely. Coach Matthew Knights made it clear early on that the kids would be getting a run, and that's likely to continue for the rest of the year.
Crunch games:
Round 15: Brisbane Lions (h)
Round 16: Richmond (a)
Round 17: Collingwood (h)
While September is a stretch from a football point of view, the next three matches will tell the story. All three teams are above them on the ladder but have shown a propensity to stumble, so the opportunity is there if the Bombers are good enough to grab it.
Injury list:
Tom Hislop (shoulder) available
Heath Hocking (groin) available
Henry Slattery (fractured cheekbone) 1 week
Darcy Daniher (back) 1-2 weeks
Bachar Houli (groin) 1-2 weeks
Courtenay Dempsey (leg) 3 weeks
Andrew Lee (shoulder) 3-4 weeks
Jason Johnson (calf) 4 weeks
Scott Gumbleton (collarbone) indefinite
Alwyn Davey (knee) season
Who's gonna save us?
There are plenty of young kids with potential down at Bomberland, but time will tell if promise can be turned into performance. Bachar Houli, Darcy Daniher, Scott Gumbleton, Leroy Jetta, David Myers, Jay Neagle, Kyle Reimers – plenty to choose from.
What the club says:
"We're probably two games and percentage [out of the eight], so we're a long way out.
"(So) we must work harder now to get better and execute the game style we want to play, keep going and developing players not only on the field but off the field, so that when we do get good, we stay good." – coach Matthew Knights
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
