This season has been a nightmare to tip and finally, we have had some consistency with which to draw some inferences. This round furthered the trends as the unexpected delights continued to delight, and the disappointments continued to give in to their worst foibles.

We had the annual clash between Essendon and Collingwood as well as the Melbourne vs Demons match on Anzac Day eve. This round provided innumerable highlights for all fans of all clubs, read on for my take on your clubs’ performance in the Round Six AFL Power Rankings.

18. North Melbourne:

It was Todd Goldstein’s 300th on the Gold Coast as the honeymoon period is well and truly over for Alastair Clarkson and his young charges. Worryingly North Melbourne was completely unable to adapt to the changes that Gold Coast threw at them including limiting wunderkind Harry Sheezel with the defensively strong Nick Holman running the deepest of tags to Sheezel in a performance which other coaches are sure to be taking notes. In more positive news it was the North veterans that led from the front as Ben Cunnington and Jack Zieball provided some highlights on an otherwise dour day for North along with Goldstein in his milestone match.

17. West Coast Eagles:

I don’t think I’ve been alive when both the Eagles and Fremantle have been this out of form. The Eagles are somewhat more justifiable given their casualty list is a mile long such that their reserve grade has had to call up players from their Next Generation Academy and even Will Schoefield who has not played reserve-grade football for two years. But the wins are secondary, the West Coast fans will need to settle for winning quarters and developing a new game style with which to return up the ladder.

16. Hawthorn Hawks:

I’m so glad I am not a Hawthorn supporter. The last two games have been painfully close with multiple clutch moments in both matches against the Giants and Crows respectively. The Hawks will welcome back Mitch Lewis next week enabling them to straighten up with a key forward target. Fergus Greene continues the Box Hill recruitment successes with another three goals to go with last week’s three indicating they might have a prospect in addition to the already successful Jai Newcombe and James Blanck as former prospects currently plying their trade on the Hawks list. Furthermore, there were tackles galore with 165 between both sides (the most this year) as the Hawks were able to hold the Adelaide backline accountable winning the tackles inside 50 count 16-8. The Hawks do have the bare bones of a structure that will challenge sides in the future, but they need to make the right selections at the draft.

15. Fremantle Dockers:

The Dockers are on struggle street, their ball use is impotent, their players old and slow, and it is a resounding failure for Justin Longmuir as he has shown a complete inability to adapt on the fly. The Dockers are the leading disappointments this year and it was on full display on Friday Night as they went down to the Bulldogs by 49 points as this season went from bad to worse. The Dockers need to improve every aspect of the ground and they’re getting dangerously close to writing off the season and just playing the kids.

Fremantle players leave the field. (Photo by Will Russell/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

14. Greater Western Sydney Giants:

The Giants are in a strange place as Adam Kingsley is slowly learning to manage the stresses of being a senior coach in the AFL, sporting a valuable rubber stress ball that is not likely to finish the season intact. The Giants were fast finishing on Saturday afternoon kicking an accurate 13 goals and nine behinds as the advantages of moving the ball through the corridor relied on the exemplary intercepting ability of Nick Haynes as he continues to wind back the clock as a backline general for the young Giants side. However, numerous questions remain and the Giants would be concerned by an injury to their star fullback Sam Taylor leaving them a little thin down back.

13. Gold Coast Suns:

The Suns have snapped a two-match losing streak, and while it was expected they would win on Sunday afternoon it was important for Stuart Dew to relieve the pressure that has built up over a disappointing start to the season. The performance of Ben King with five goals would bring a smile to the faces of all Gold Coast Suns supporters particularly in light of the rumoured trade to Collingwood gaining steam during the week. However, I would be remiss if I did not mention the injury to Touk Miller being serious with a lateral meniscus tear in an incident in the third quarter, it remains to be seen how this will affect Gold Coast going forward as Noah Anderson (28 possessions, 8 clearances) and Matt Rowell (20 possessions, 12 tackles) were more than able to make up for the absence of their key leaders in the midfield.

12. Sydney Swans:

Three behinds or three points is the lowest second-half score since 1971. It is an unfortunate record that the Swans equalled on Saturday night as they went down by 93 points to a rampaging Geelong. The Swans are clearly missing the McCartin brothers and Dane Rampe as Geelong was able to take 22 marks inside fifty allowing the key forwards to shine. Making matters stranger, the Swans played Aaron Francis as a forward when he has played his best footy down back as an intercepting third tall or full back in a ‘break glass in case of emergency’ situation. The Swans are in dire straits without their key defenders as their lack of depth is being punished, dragging their weaknesses to the forefront.

11. Richmond Tigers:

The Tigers have hit the wall – they’ve suddenly gotten too old and the young talent they have coming through is not enough to replenish them. I would be remiss if I did not mention injuries to Tom Lynch and Toby Nankervis have taken their toll on the overall structure of the Tigers but the performance of Jack Riewoldt on Monday night (four goals) indicates they still have an unhealthy reliance on their over 30 brigade. For a side that was supposed to be challenging for a flag this year I don’t think there has been a bigger disappointment, they clearly overperformed against Adelaide but outside of that, there have been few highlights to write home about for the Tigers.

10. Carlton Blues:

That was disappointing from the Blues. Despite having the lion’s share of possession they were unable to convert it into the territorial dominance that is necessary to win games these days. They had an inaccurate performance from the twin towers in their forward line with Harry McKay and Charlie Curnow combining for four goals and five behinds between the two of them, and their small forwards and resting midfielders have been misfiring making it impossible for them to kick a winning score this season. The Blues are currently 14th for points and with a forward line that features two former Coleman Medallists, they’re dangerously misfiring in front of their rabid supporter base. They still have time to turn it around and will take confidence in that they’ve had a pretty difficult fixture to this point, but Michael Voss is faced with many challenges.

9. Essendon Bombers:

Good sides don’t drop a 28-point third-quarter-time lead, and they don’t concede the final seven goals of a match to run out 13-point losers. Am I being harsh on the Bombers? Yes, I am, only because they had multiple opportunities with which to put the game out of reach of the Magpies and they failed to do so. I am ecstatic that they’re playing with a substantially more solid structure, however, injuries and inexperience pervaded the annual ANZAC Day clash with the Bombers running on fumes by the end as Jayden Laverde and Mason Redman both nursed injuries in the last quarter, and Andrew Phillips left largely neutralised by the makeshift ruck department of the Collingwood side.

8. Western Bulldogs:

It was the Marcus Bontempelli Show on Friday night as he gave a classic captain’s performance with 31 disposals, two goals and an enormous ten tackles. The Bulldogs probably should have won by more given their relative dominance in inside fifties (+15), contested possessions (+26) and marks inside 50 (+8) as they comprehensively dominated the Dockers in all the fields where they are typically the stronger side. The Bulldogs have squared the ledger at three wins and three losses and now have a solid springboard with which to propel themselves into the season.

7. Geelong Cats:

Jeremy Cameron is a superstar. That’s it, that’s the summary as Cameron has single-handedly revived the Geelong season in the second half that brutalised the Swans that were direly missing the McCartin brothers in their backline. But this game was defined by the return to form of Tom Hawkins with another five goals himself as well as five goals to Cameron as he pursues that ever-lofty title of 100 goals in a season. Unfortunately given the lingering trauma of losing the grand final by 81 points, the early season form of Geelong as well as their usually strong form at GMHBA Stadium I believe that there are very few consequential inferences that can be drawn from this game despite the valuable percentage that was gained from their dominance.

6. Melbourne Demons:

The Dees put last week behind them like it was a bad memory, and while the Tigers did lead for large portions of the match the fitness of the more experienced Dees eventually won out. While there was a healthy dose of luck as they had to come from two goals down late in the third and the Tigers missed several easily covered set shots in a row, the Des were still more clinical in their finishing with Jacob Van Rooynen the recipient of loud cheers of “Rooooo” in a dominant passage of a couple of minutes where he had three scoring shots on goal converting two of them fixing a game that was to that point rather middling for the young key forward. The Dees were also considerably more defensively sound welcoming back their captain Max Gawn from a short knee injury as he took eight marks with his 17 disposals including popping up for a goal.

5. Brisbane Lions:

It was seventh heaven for Charlie Cameron as he kicked seven goals to equal the record for the most number of goals in a single match at Manuka Oval, as the Lions were able to beat a fast-finishing Giants outfit. The Lions dominated territory winning the inside fifty count (+8) despite losing the overall disposal count (-97) indicating they had a brutal efficiency to their ball movement as Daniel Rich had the highest possession with 27 disposals, while the typically avaricious ball gathering of Hugh McCluggage, and Josh Dunkley with 21 disposals each was less substantial thanks to the number of rotations the Lions have going through the midfield.

4. Port Adelaide Power:

Now with the news that Mitch Georgiades has ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in the SANFL, Ken Hinkley would be very glad to bring in Brynn Teakle and Ollie Lord to play important positions along the spine to assist the brilliant form of Jeremy Finlayson (five goals). Additionally assisting matters, Connor Rozee with 29 disposals, two goals and seven tackles in a breakout performance that shows Rozee is ready to step forward and fill the void left by the ageing Travis Boak, and the drop in form for Oli Wines since his Brownlow winning year. The Power are still horrendously inconsistent and Ken Hinkley still has a Sword of Damocles hanging over his head in a contract year.

3. Adelaide Crows:

That makes it four in a row for a resurgent Crows outfit. – they found out the danger of playing the Hawks in their Tasmania fortress of UTAS Stadium in Launceston. A win is a win and the Crows would be extremely happy with their high-powered forward line brutalising opponents as Taylor Walker continues to add more goals to his career tally with another four, while Darcy Fogarty was clutch with a brilliant set shot with his three goals. Questions do remain about how applicable the Crows’ game style will be in the colder months and the pressure cooker of finals footy, but for the first time in Matthew Nicks’ tenure, the Crows are showing their worth and bringing enthusiasm back to the Adelaide Oval.

2. St Kilda:

This was a match of system vs superstars as St Kilda comprehensively proved the old idiom “a champion team is greater than a team of champions” as they ran out comfortable 22-point victors despite not having a single leading possession-getter in the top six and losing the overall disposal count by 86. Despite that St Kilda were able to flatten the spread of contributions across their entire side as the usually solid Callum Wilkie was well held by Jack Silvagni. Despite Carlton winning key statistical areas it was important for the Saints to be able to turn the tables on the Blues and they did so with their unique forward line that structures up nicely on every opponent they’ve had to this point. The Saints welcomed back Tim Membrey and will do the same for Max King in the near future as the Saints appear to be shaping up nicely.

1. Collingwood Magpies:

Now I really wanted to have Essendon here and if you asked me at three-quarter time on Tuesday afternoon I would have – the lid was well and truly off only for the Magpies to claw it back as they have done so many times before. They were able to start the final quarter like a house on fire with goals to Elliot Himmelberg and Ash Johnson smoothly closing the gap between the Bombers and enabling their experienced heads – along with Nick Daicos – to come to the fore as Daicos kicked two last quarter goals to go with six possessions on top of the 34 he had already gathered. The Magpies would be happy to snatch a win when they’re without their ruckman largely sharking taps from Sam Draper and Andrew Phillips all throughout the match. The Magpies are the real deal, but I believe Essendon would have lost no fans with their performance on Tuesday afternoon.

There you have it folks, do you agree with me? Leave your thoughts below and I will do my best to respond. Please accept my apologies for my absence last week but I will continue to write these lists where possible.