July 23, 2025

AFL Predictions for Week 21

Team Ratings for Week 21

The basic method is described on my Department home page.
Here are the team ratings prior to this week’s games, along with the ratings at the start of the season.

Current Rating Rating at Season Start Difference
Adelaide Crows 23.94 2.69 21.20
Western Bulldogs 21.91 18.20 3.70
Geelong Cats 18.99 15.04 4.00
Brisbane Lions 18.01 22.65 -4.60
Collingwood 17.54 5.39 12.20
Hawthorn Hawks 15.68 21.95 -6.30
GWS Giants 10.91 9.08 1.80
Fremantle Dockers 7.95 5.99 2.00
Gold Coast Suns 5.46 -6.41 11.90
Sydney Swans 2.28 12.60 -10.30
Melbourne Demons -1.64 -0.21 -1.40
Port Adelaide Power -4.56 7.63 -12.20
St Kilda Saints -5.88 0.89 -6.80
Carlton Blues -7.19 5.01 -12.20
Essendon Bombers -23.70 -10.15 -13.60
North Melbourne -24.36 -37.08 12.70
Richmond Tigers -30.37 -31.00 0.60
West Coast Eagles -37.38 -34.67 -2.70

 

Performance So Far

So far there have been 161 matches played, 107 of which were correctly predicted, a success rate of 66.5%.
Here are the predictions for last week’s games.

Game Date Score Prediction Correct
1 Essendon Bombers vs. GWS Giants Jul 17 56 – 104 -19.50 TRUE
2 Brisbane Lions vs. Western Bulldogs Jul 18 86 – 76 6.20 TRUE
3 Hawthorn Hawks vs. Port Adelaide Power Jul 19 87 – 49 29.10 TRUE
4 Sydney Swans vs. North Melbourne Jul 19 84 – 53 39.70 TRUE
5 Carlton Blues vs. Melbourne Demons Jul 19 78 – 70 -8.10 FALSE
6 West Coast Eagles vs. Richmond Tigers Jul 19 56 – 105 11.90 FALSE
7 Geelong Cats vs. St Kilda Saints Jul 20 113 – 82 37.40 TRUE
8 Collingwood vs. Fremantle Dockers Jul 20 78 – 79 24.30 FALSE
9 Adelaide Crows vs. Gold Coast Suns Jul 20 107 – 46 24.40 TRUE

 

Predictions for Week 21

Here are the predictions for Week 21. The prediction is my estimated expected points difference with a positive margin being a win to the home team, and a negative margin a win to the away team.

Game Date Winner Prediction
1 Hawthorn Hawks vs. Carlton Blues Jul 24 Hawthorn Hawks 22.90
2 Essendon Bombers vs. Western Bulldogs Jul 25 Western Bulldogs -45.60
3 GWS Giants vs. Sydney Swans Jul 25 GWS Giants 12.60
4 Gold Coast Suns vs. Brisbane Lions Jul 26 Brisbane Lions -8.60
5 Fremantle Dockers vs. West Coast Eagles Jul 26 Fremantle Dockers 45.30
6 North Melbourne vs. Geelong Cats Jul 26 Geelong Cats -32.40
7 Adelaide Crows vs. Port Adelaide Power Jul 26 Adelaide Crows 28.50
8 Richmond Tigers vs. Collingwood Jul 27 Collingwood -47.90
9 St Kilda Saints vs. Melbourne Demons Jul 27 Melbourne Demons -4.20

 

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David Scott obtained a BA and PhD from the Australian National University and then commenced his university teaching career at La Trobe University in 1972. He has taught at La Trobe University, the University of Sheffield, Bond University and Colorado State University, joining the University of Auckland, based at Tamaki Campus, in mid-1995. He has been Head of Department at La Trobe University, Acting Dean and Associate Dean (Academic) at Bond University, and Associate Director of the Centre for Quality Management and Data Analysis at Bond University with responsibility for Short Courses. He was Head of the Department of Statistics in 2000, and is a past President of the New Zealand Statistical Assocation. See all posts by David Scott »

Comments

  • avatar

    Love the prediction for both NRL & AFL that come with their statistics.
    May you also provide NRLW prediction.
    Just asking.

    5 months ago

  • avatar
    Erick Wakakia

    I really love your NRL and AFL predictions with their statistics. May you also provide NRLW and super league. Just asking.

    5 months ago