Here’s all the big talking points from what has been an eventful round of footy!
Cold Pies could be on the slide
Collingwood has now lost two in a row to teams outside the top eight and has only kicked 12 goals in that same stretch.
It’s fair to say they’ve hit a slump, but it’s a bad time for them to do so.
They face West Coast (away), GWS (away) and Richmond in the next three weeks.
Collingwood will also have to get through Adelaide (away), Essendon, Melbourne and Gold Coast in their run home.
They’ve fallen out of second place on the ladder and with Brisbane, Richmond and the Eagles on the rise, they could stumble even further down if they don’t find some form.
The race for the bottom of the eight is heating up
The top six is set. Geelong, West Coast, Collingwood, GWS, Brisbane and Richmond aren’t going anywhere.
The two South Australian teams and Essendon have been jostling for spots seven and eight for a while, but new challengers are approaching.
North Melbourne and the Bulldogs are only a game outside of the eight and both are starting to peak at the right time. Fremantle sits in between those two sides, but their form is currently on the slide. You'd be foolish to rule out Hawthorn or Sydney making a run at the eight as well.
Port’s huge win over Adelaide has put a percentage gap between them and the other teams in the bracket and makes them the favourite to grab one of those two slots for now.
The Roos and Dons face off next Saturday afternoon in a game that could hypothetically see the winner finish the round in the top eight.
Richmond and West Coast are firing and could be the teams to beat
The winners of the last two premierships had slow starts to 2019, but are timing their runs perfectly.
The Eagles seem to have done it by design, building into their year beautifully.
Their demolition of the Dockers on Saturday night was something to behold, belting them by 91 points and only allowing two goals.
West Coast will start favourites in every game for the remainder of the season, with potentially the exception of Richmond at the MCG in Round 22.
The Tigers are now settling their side after getting seven players back from injury after the bye.
With Jack Riewoldt’s return around the corner, they could very easily find themselves back in the top four, and wouldn’t that scare Geelong if Richmond finishes fourth.
David Teague has solved Carlton’s scoring woes
Carlton has kicked over 100 points twice under David Teague. They’ve lost both of those games (and won the two where they haven’t scored 100 points).
What’s more impressive is doing it this weekend against the Demons without their two best forwards in Harry McKay and Charlie Curnow and also their best player in Patrick Cripps.
They’ve gone from a tepid side struggling to move the ball forward to one that can hit the scoreboard and fast.
Going five goals down in all four games under Teague and needing to claw back from there is the next issue that needs to be solved.
Can Brisbane win it all?
SEN Breakfast’s own Garry Lyon has been arguing all season that Brisbane can win the flag in 2019.
No one saw Richmond or the Bulldogs’ wins coming at the halfway point of the season, but both were attacking teams peaking at the right time with a young side wanting to prove themselves.
The Lions absolutely fit that bill and proved on Sunday afternoon against GWS in New South Wales that they can match it with the very best.
Melbourne has shown us that improvement isn’t liner and it’s on Brisbane to take advantage of their position when finals come around.