2024 : Simulating the Final Ladder Before Round 0
/For reasons outlined last year in a blog post over on the General Probability and Statistics journal, and because I feel as though the simulations last year were fairly reasonable, I am now running only hot (aka Heretical) simulations.
For anyone who is curious about the precise methodology I’ve employed, there are also some details about this in that blog post. The short version though is that, within each simulation replicate, the results of a simulated game are used to update the teams’ Ratings and Venue Performance Values, which are then used for the following game. In other words, we treat the simulated results as if they were real ones, and alter the relevant parameters accordingly.
This year’s pre Round 0 (sic) simulations suggest that the teams can be roughly grouped as follows (although such grouping is much harder this year, such is the apparent evenness of the competition):
GWS and Adelaide: 70%-75% chances of being finalists; 13-17% chances of being Minor Premier
Melbourne, Brisbane Lions, Sydney, Collingwood, and Port Adelaide: 55-65% chances of being finalists; 6.5% to 10% chances of being Minor Premier
Fremantle, Carlton, St Kilda, Western Bulldogs, and Geelong: 40-50% chances of being finalists; 4% to 6% chances of being Minor Premier
Gold Coast, Richmond, and Hawthorn: 30-40% chances of being finalists; 2-3% chances of being Minor Premier
North Melbourne and Essendon: 15% chances of being finalists; 0.5% chances of being Minor Premier
West Coast: 5% chance of being a finalist; 0.1% chance of being Minor Premier