August 28, 2025

AFL Predictions for Finals Week 1

Team Ratings for Finals Week 1

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
Geelong Cats 25.92 15.04 10.90
Western Bulldogs 25.54 18.20 7.30
Hawthorn Hawks 21.79 21.95 -0.20
Adelaide Crows 20.54 2.69 17.80
Brisbane Lions 18.32 22.65 -4.30
Gold Coast Suns 12.43 -6.41 18.80
GWS Giants 11.45 9.08 2.40
Collingwood 10.50 5.39 5.10
Fremantle Dockers 7.39 5.99 1.40
Sydney Swans 1.16 12.60 -11.40
Melbourne Demons 0.76 -0.21 1.00
Carlton Blues -4.46 5.01 -9.50
St Kilda Saints -6.98 0.89 -7.90
Port Adelaide Power -12.97 7.63 -20.60
North Melbourne -23.62 -37.08 13.50
Essendon Bombers -27.28 -10.15 -17.10
Richmond Tigers -31.46 -31.00 -0.50
West Coast Eagles -41.44 -34.67 -6.80

 

Performance So Far

So far there have been 207 matches played, 145 of which were correctly predicted, a success rate of 70%.
Here are the predictions for last week’s games.

Game Date Score Prediction Correct
1 Essendon Bombers vs. Carlton Blues Aug 21 56 – 90 -16.70 TRUE
2 Collingwood vs. Melbourne Demons Aug 22 82 – 76 10.90 TRUE
3 Brisbane Lions vs. Hawthorn Hawks Aug 23 89 – 79 6.70 TRUE
4 GWS Giants vs. St Kilda Saints Aug 23 104 – 93 32.70 TRUE
5 North Melbourne vs. Adelaide Crows Aug 23 100 – 113 -36.70 TRUE
6 Port Adelaide Power vs. Gold Coast Suns Aug 23 71 – 67 -13.80 FALSE
7 Richmond Tigers vs. Geelong Cats Aug 23 64 – 103 -48.70 TRUE
8 West Coast Eagles vs. Sydney Swans Aug 23 51 – 118 -26.00 TRUE
9 Western Bulldogs vs. Fremantle Dockers Aug 23 97 – 112 35.90 FALSE
10 Gold Coast Suns vs. Essendon Bombers Aug 27 153 – 58 43.90 TRUE

 

Predictions for Finals Week 1

Here are the predictions for Finals Week 1. 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 Adelaide Crows vs. Collingwood Sept 04 Adelaide Crows 21.00
2 Geelong Cats vs. Brisbane Lions Sept 05 Geelong Cats 11.60
3 GWS Giants vs. Hawthorn Hawks Sept 06 GWS Giants 0.70
4 Fremantle Dockers vs. Gold Coast Suns Sept 06 Fremantle Dockers 6.00

 

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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 »