SEN’s Dwayne Russell has named the five teams under the most pressure heading into Round 6.
Russell’s pressure meter ranks teams from 1-5, with number one having the most pressure on them and the most to lose heading into the round.
Check out Russell’s pressure meter below.
1 – Western Bulldogs
vs St Kilda – Marvel Stadium – Thursday night
“I think the Dogs are number one for me,” Russell said on SEN Afternoons.
“It might seem like the Dogs and the Saints should be under the same pressure to win heading into tonight given they are both two wins and three losses.
“This is an eight-point game and I doubt the top eight at the end of the year will be big enough for both of them and the Saints played finals last year, so the expectation is high for them to keep their spot and the Dogs missed the eight last year.
“But Luke Beveridge is under immense pressure at the moment. The fans are getting restless, and the disharmony last year is bubbling up again.”
2 – St Kilda
vs Western Bulldogs – Marvel Stadium – Thursday night
“I've got the Saints number two, big game tonight.
“In some regards, there should be more pressure on the Saints (than the Dogs), but Ross Lyon is under no pressure.
“As a coach, things are stable at Moorabbin and Ross is their guy.”
3 – Adelaide
vs Essendon – Adelaide Oval – Friday night
“I've got the Crows at number three, which might surprise a few.
“You can't win last week then follow it by losing a game. You're expected to win at home against Essendon, a team that finished below you last year.
“Matthew Nicks, he needs a few ticks. He coached well last week putting Izak Rankine into the midfield amongst other things, but it was three weeks after the whole world was telling him to put Rankine into the midfield and change the mix.
“If the Crows lose to Essendon and then they drop to 1-5, their season is on the brink of disaster again.”
4 – North Melbourne
vs Hawthorn – Marvel Stadium – Sunday
“I've got North Melbourne at four.
“Speaking to Gerard Whateley, he thinks I've got my order the wrong way round and it should be Hawthorn four and North Melbourne five.
“They play each other, both are winless. I'm glad it's early in the season because if this was Round 24 we'd be talking about, ‘Who's tanking and who wants the number one pick’, but they both desperately need a win.
“I think North Melbourne's at four and here's why … Alastair Clarkson is a four-time premiership-winning master coach.
“He has the best young midfield brigade in the AFL, a better midfield than Sam Mitchell's got to work with at Hawthorn at the moment.
“He's got Luke Davies-Uniacke, Jy Simpkin, George Wardlaw, Colby McKercher and Harry Sheezel if he wants to put him into the midfield, and he should, but he has been reluctant to do so.
“He's got a really good young midfield to work with and he has another weapon that Sam Mitchell doesn't have.
“He's got arguably the best full forward in the game in Nick Larkey who kicked 70 plus last year.”
5 – Hawthorn
vs North Melbourne – Marvel Stadium – Sunday
“I think there's more pressure on North Melbourne to get the job done than Hawthorn given the weapons and given Alastair Clarkson is a four-time premiership coach.”
