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Four real winners emerge as Round 4 dishes out the thrashings

13th April, 2014
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13th April, 2014
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The early rounds of an AFL season can be confusing, with unlikely results doing strange things to the ladder. Now that Round 4 is done, the picture is a whole lot clearer.

Hawthorn and Geelong have locked in their positions at the top, just as they’ve done in so many weeks over the past eight seasons. Their perfect starts are not hugely surprising given both have had manageable fixtures, but the record of one will have to be blemished on Easter Monday, when they face off for the first time since Hawthorn broke the Kennett Curse on their way to last year’s premiership.

Almost every game this week was a thrashing. The winning teams had a combined margin of 557 points. Six of the games were decided by seven goals or more. But regardless of the scores, some teams had bigger wins than others. The biggest went to Port Adelaide and North Melbourne.

We know the Brisbane Lions were struggling, and now have an injury list that reads like a hospital manifest. But the flair and flourish with which Port took them apart was special to behold. So recently a laughing stock, Ken Hinkley has built a side with skill, flair and an appreciable lack of fear.

With their big forwards clunking marks, their small forwards using all their tricks, and a midfield fast approaching elite status, Port will upset plenty of sides. This wasn’t reflected on the ladder last week, drifting as one of seven sides level on points. This week they’ve jumped to third spot, with only three of those sides matching their tally.

North is one of those, sixth on percentage after narrowly beating Port last week. Questioned after an indifferent first-round loss to Essendon, they now have three in a row after travelling to Sydney and comprehensively beating one of the pre-season favourites. The thoroughness of the win was what impressed.

Fremantle have also confirmed their credentials, bouncing back after a heavy loss to Hawthorn to grab fifth spot by thrashing Essendon. This dropped the Bombers to seventh, one spot ahead of Greater Western Sydney. I’d love to know if anyone tipped the Giants to be in the eight after four rounds, but there they are, a combination of two wins and two narrow losses keeping them ahead of four others on percentage.

Collingwood and the Western Bulldogs were the big winners from outside the eight, climbing close enough to stare through the window at the feast inside. Both started poorly this year, but won this week to climb back to 2-2.

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Below them, the sighs of relief and shouts of triumph were coming from Adelaide and the Demons, climbing off the floor of the competition with their first wins of the season. The psychological effect of a zero in the points column would quickly become debilitating, so that’s one obstacle out of the way. Adelaide will expect to keep climbing.

As far as the losers go, there are several. Richmond and Sydney were routinely tipped to be top-four sides this year. Neither has remotely looked like it. They have lost to lowly opposition, barely turned up against merely competent teams, and turned in one win from four starts. In Richmond’s case, even the win was one they did their best to lose.

Earlier, we wrote these off as early-season glitches from teams that would hit their stride. They may yet, but Round 4 has consolidated Sydney and Richmond in 13th and 14th place, firmly among the bottom third of the AFL. Their tenancy is no longer a fluke.

Carlton is another from whom we expected more – perhaps not top eight, but not far off. Instead, they remain in the rapidly dwindling club of sides without a win, with only Brisbane now for company.

Having let slip their chances against St Kilda and the Bulldogs, GWS’s holiday in the sun should come to an end with this weekend’s trip to Adelaide to play the newly awakened Crows.

Those who’ll lose most in the next couple of weeks though are the West Coast Eagles. After three rounds they topped the ladder with a percentage over 200, statistically an arisen phoenix. The stats were skewed by home games against the Bulldogs and Saints and one away game against the Demons.

This week, in making the long trip over to Geelong, West Coast lost half a dozen players to injury and suspension, and barely showed up. After kicking four goals in a tight first quarter, the Eagles decided that was enough, playing out three goalless quarters to register their lowest score ever against the Cats.

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It’s been fun at the top, but that time is over. They’ve already dropped to fourth in one round, and until they can put a team together, there’ll be further rude descents in the weeks to come.

I do love a good dose of randomness, but anomaly season has come to a close.

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