We are closing in on the bye at a record pace this year, and with that the seventh round I believe we can safely say that the top eight of the Australian Football League is beginning to take shape in unexpected and surprising ways.

This round was dominated by two beltings, and two matches ending by the slimmest of margins. Outside of the bottom three, the AFL would be ecstatic with their equalisation measures revealing the inherent attitude of ‘any given Sunday’. This round was one of the most intriguing as it finally became easier to tip much to my chagrin.

18. West Coast Eagles (down one):

Adam Simpson’s position is fast becoming untenable and with another hundred-point loss, there is little to be able to write home about. I think Shannon Hurn going back with the flight of the ball was something worthy of praise, however, Rhett Bazzo will be feeling extremely down and it will require a coaching master class to drag him back out as Charlie Curnow kicked nine goals. I believe Simpson is fast running out of rope as he plays with one hand tied behind his back as the West Coast Eagles are becoming a cautionary tale for the AFL community.

17. North Melbourne Kangaroos (up one):

Now there is little to write home about on this match, but I want to begin by saying my thoughts are with Charlie Comben and his family after he experienced an extremely ugly injury in the first quarter on Saturday night in a career that has been a little too dominated by injuries. I guess if I was to say one positive it would be that North Melbourne didn’t lose by 100 points thanks to a string of three quick goals in the last quarter despite the Dees hitting the mark halfway through the last quarter. But besides that, this was a performance where you burn the tape and move quickly on to next week as the honeymoon for Alastair Clarkson is now a distant memory. I do question how much pressure another coach would be under particularly as the Kangaroos actually do have a reasonably solid core of senior talent that feature heavily in every match. Given the financials at stake for the Kangaroos, it is certain that Clarkson will be given every opportunity to get the most out of his side.

16. Fremantle Dockers (down one):

Fremantle showed a new game style that reeked of desperation as they frequently handpassed the ball in traffic allowing the Brisbane press to catch them and blindside the ball in transition. Despite winning the overall possession count by eight, they lost the tackle count by one indicating a disconnect in the level of pressure which the Dockers were applying to the ball carrier. Now I am willing to account for Perth to Brisbane being one of the longest trips in footy yet this episode was another in a litany of many fast making this season a wasted one for Fremantle and putting their young coach Justin Longmuir under immense pressure.

15. Richmond Tigers (down four):

Damian Hardwick has become the first coach to lose to the Suns six times across his tenure and not be fired. That is an ignominious distinction, however, I believe that the Taranto-Hopper trades are fast becoming in the same light as the Tim Kelly trade where they risked multiple first-round picks to the Giants and run the risk of finishing below them this year. Now I am a big believer in not writing the Tigers off until the Dreamtime at the G game as they’ve always been able to pull a rabbit out of their hat after this match – even during their premiership years when their early season form often left a lot to be desired.

14. Hawthorn Hawks (up two):

The Hawks are in danger of losing the Harley Reid Cup as they’re no longer on the bottom of the ladder thanks to a string of close losses. This was the week they welcomed back former internet meme, and key forward Mitch Lewis back as he marked everything that came to him on his way to an inaccurate if optimistic performance with one goal four behinds to go with 16 disposals and a career-high eleven marks. The Hawks are now the best worst team with a string of close losses raising them off the bottom of the ladder yet leaving them with a paltry single win. Despite the loss, they were able to push their more experienced opponent well into the second half, even leading at one point. Perhaps detracting from the win somewhat was their reliance on Luke Breust to kick their scores with a team-leading three goals.

13. Sydney Swans (down one):

The Swans should not have lost to the Giants. Holding a 24-point lead after a Chad Warner goal at the 9-minute and 39-second mark of the final quarter, the Swans fumbled the game to lose by a solitary point. Making matters worse, they won the territory battle against an under-manned Giants outfit winning clearances (+9), inside fifties (+15), and contested possessions (+23) yet they lost it on the scoreboard, the one statistic that mattered, as the Giants ended the game with a frenetic pace moving the ball in a fashion that was reminiscent of the Orange Tsunami that was prominent during the successful period about four years ago. The Swans will be desperately hoping that Tom McCartin and Dane Rampe come back soon as they played a little too Lance Franklin-focused, the 36-year-old targeted 13 times heading inside fifty indicating the need for a reshuffle of game style.

12. Greater Western Sydney Giants (up two):

Toby Greene is a master thief because he stole that game at the death with four goals and 22 disposals in a prototypical captain’s performance where he just willed his side over the line by the slimmest of margins. Greene was ably assisted by his namesake Tom Green in the guts with 31 disposals, and an enormous 13 tackles ensuring that the Swans did not have a spare moment in the slippery and wet conditions at the SCG on Saturday afternoon. Now it’s very dangerous to rely on miracles to win the required number of games to make finals, yet the Giants would be ecstatic to get one over on their cross-town rivals, particularly as they were missing key defender Sam Taylor who is fast becoming one of the pre-eminent key defenders across the competition.

11. Gold Coast Suns (up two):

Ben King is a superstar with nine goals in the past two weeks. He has worked his way back from a long-term ACL injury and exploited an undersized Richmond backline as he had his way with them in a performance that would buoy the long-suffering Suns’ supporters. The Suns would also be ecstatic to see a metaphorical buddy cop drama unfolding in the midfield with Noah Anderson working his way into a rich vein of form with 32 disposals and nine clearances to go with five tackles, while Jarrod Witts is low-key becoming one of the best captains in the AFL with a rare goal to go with eight clearances and 16 disposals. While the Suns do have a lot of work to do before we can reliably say they’re a finals-contending team, they need to win the games that are in front of them.

10. Essendon Bombers (down one):

Now as an Essendon fan, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed after losing to the Bombers. They were beaten by what they knew which is the strength in the Cats midfield, and the man-handling of Tom Hawkins as he romped his way to eight goals in what was a career-best performance. There was a bit to enjoy in this game however as the Bombers worked their way back into the game thanks to the midfield cameo of Jake Stringer with four goals and 26 disposals, while Sam Weiderman also brought his best game in the red and black with five goals to go with 14 disposals. This stretch of matches was always going to be difficult for the Bombers, and I was very happy to steal a win against the more vaunted Melbourne Demons as the Bombers face a substantially easier second half of the year playing North Melbourne twice and West Coast twice.

Cats too good. pic.twitter.com/0a3DOeBy28

— Essendon FC (@essendonfc) April 30, 2023

9. Carlton Blues (up one):

Do wins count against the West Coast Eagles now? The Blues regained valuable percentage on the back of a herculean performance from Charlie Curnow with nine goals, three behinds and 16 score involvements as he rocketed into pole position for the Coleman Medal as the race for the ton becomes more and more curious. The Blues do still have some critical issues, particularly with regards to their one-paced midfield and their lack of contributions from their small forwards, instead relying on their Coleman Medalist duo in Curnow and Harry McKay with some cameos from Jack Silvagni. I expect the Blues will play finals this year but they need to show it against more solid opposition. They have the perfect opportunity this weekend as they face a raucous Brisbane Lions outfit at Marvel Stadium.

8. Adelaide Crows (down five):

You had one job Adelaide. There will never be a better opportunity to beat a resurgent Collingwood side away from home off a four-day break from Anzac Day. The Crows romped out to the early lead yet thanks to their inaccuracy they let the Pies back in to win yet another close game when they were down at three-quarter time. In particular, Josh Rachele, Luke Pedlar, Izak Rankine, and Chayce Jones were all multiple behind kickers in a game that was defined by contentious umpiring and inaccurate kicking as Matthew Nicks attempted to take away the Pies’ best weapons, forcing them into a game style that they were uncomfortable with.

7. Western Bulldogs (up one):

If ever there was a close win over a wooden spoon favourite this would be it. The Bulldogs celebrated their captain Marcus Bontempelli’s 200th game, running out comfortable winners in the second half. What would be most satisfying to the coaching staff was the even spread of contributors through the midfield only needing to rely on the aforementioned milestone man for 19 disposals, while Adam Treloar, Jack Macrae and Bailey Smith for 73 disposals combined featuring more heavily in the midfield rotation when they’ve been a little too reliant on Bontempelli at stages this season. The Bulldogs did their job in getting the comfortable win, but there isn’t much more for me to say about this win for the Bulldogs as they finally moved past a 0.500 record on the season.

6. St Kilda Saints (down four):

Ross the Boss no more. Despite a five-goal opening term, the Saints were well held for the remainder of the proceedings, unable to run with the explosive midfielders of Port Adelaide indicating a severe lack of pace at the coal face. The Saints would rue the lost opportunities in the second quarter as they had the chance to put away Port Adelaide having the lion’s share of possession in the front half despite only coming away from four behinds from 16 inside 50s (the Power had ten inside 50s for four goals five behinds for reference). I don’t think that the Saints will drop their heads much at all, Friday night was the typical fluctuation of form for a young side that has several key outs punching above their weight. As a result, I cannot drop them very far down the rankings.

5. Geelong Cats (up two):

A career-high eight goals to Tom Hawkins lead to a comfortable win for the Cats who are fast working their way into premiership contention. It was a territory and clearance domination for the Cats (+17 inside 50s and +8 total clearances) as the Bombers had no answers for the Cats’ bigger bodies in the midfield. Patrick Dangerfield put the side on his back with 28 disposals, ten clearances, and 681 meters gained which becomes remarkable when you consider that he was only on the ground for 64% of the time enabling him to rest as he heads into the twilight of his career. The Cats are a fearsome opposition to face this year, they’ve got their confidence back after smashing the Swans and now the Bombers enabling their players to build the necessary confidence to win the needed number of games.

4. Brisbane Lions (up one):

When the Lions’ offence is on, they’re explosive. This was the fourth consecutive match in which the Lions kicked over 100 points indicating they’ve put their early-season foibles behind them. Despite the heavy score, it was the territory battle in which the game was won with the Lions running out comfortable victors with clearances (+17), inside 50s (+20), and contested possessions (+21) as the Lions focused less on possessing the ball for long chains instead, moving the ball forward at all costs to allow their forward line to exploit mismatches. They may have been playing against poor opposition in Fremantle Dockers, yet one can only beat their opponent on the day to which Brisbane heartily responded with a comprehensive victory showcasing all their positive developments in their game style.

3. Port Adelaide Power (up one):

This was a coming-out performance for Jason Horne-Francis who had the ball practically on a string as he showed his ability to move from inside to out at record pace with 25 possessions and 18 contested, the Saints had no answer for his explosiveness at the coal face. Ably assisting Horne-Francis was the boisterous Charlie Dixon who despite being well-held for most of the night managed to amass eight score involvements in addition to two goals and nine disposals. The Power have been an up-and-down side for the majority of the season, but Ken Hinkley has his charges playing a creative brand of footy that is tolerant of mistakes, enabling his elder statesmen to get the most out of what limited time they have left in the game.

Jason Horne-Francis celebrates a Port Adelaide win. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

2. Collingwood Magpies (down one):

I have been exceptionally impressed by Craig Mcrae and his willingness to call a spade a spade. When he sees something that makes no sense he calls it out, as was the case when Nathan Murphy faced a probable broken nose and no free kick was called. Additionally, he has his players playing a pragmatic style of footy where they go for the win regardless of how far back they’re starting in the last quarter – they rely upon their exemplary system to get the job done. In particular, Steele Sidebottom kicking a point rather than a goal at the death showed the inherent faith that Collingwood have in their system to triumph over their opponents. The only reason I have them down is because they’re still not putting sides away, and the Crows probably should have won given their dominance in the scoring shots statistic.

1. Melbourne Demons (up three):

A shellacking is a surefire way to beef up the confidence of the Dees as they’ve been extremely inconsistent this year. Unlike the Blues on the other side of the country, the Dees had an even spread of contributors with Bailey Fritsch (four goals), Kysiah Pickett (three goals), Kade Chandler (three goals) and Christian Petracca (three goals) all proving to be too much for the North Melbourne defenders to handle. It was the mosquito fleet that got the job done and the Dees would be happy to run out with an extremely healthy percentage, despite dropping a couple of games to objectively inferior opposition.

There you have it folks. Do you agree with my rankings this week? Leave your thoughts in the comments below and I will do my best to respond quickly.