While this round gave us a grim reminder of last year, there are certainly some teams that wish they were still in 2020 form.
There was a top two battle, a few ugly scraps and even upsets in a round that had everything.
Here’s what we learned from Round 11:
Melbourne lay out Bulldogs blueprint
The Melbourne v Western Bulldogs game was billed as must-watch, but it didn’t quite live up to the hype.
While the Demons were coming off a loss and the Dogs an impressive win, it was Simon Goodwin’s side who proved their premiership credentials on Friday night.
Melbourne were successful in stifling the Bulldogs’ electric ball movement, with Christian Petracca explaining post-match that they forced them wide, took away their outlet pass and filled the corridor.
It’s a blueprint that many coaches will use going forward against the Dogs, but not every team has they key interceptors or as strong a defensive structure as the Dees.
The Dogs shouldn’t have much problem negating these tactics in the home and away season, but Melbourne know it's a plan that works if they face off again when it truly counts.
It’s time to start taking Essendon seriously
Essendon produced the upset of the round with a 16-point win over West Coast at Optus Stadium on Saturday night.
The Dons clawed back from 29 points down just before half-time to cause the boilover, winning when a lot of teams simply would have given up against a strong Eagles outfit.
The Bombers are now firmly in the chasing pack to make finals alongside Fremantle and GWS, and they’re clearly ahead of schedule with where the football community thought they’d be in terms of development this year.
While their win-loss record is impressive, the most pleasing aspect for Bombers fans would be their clear brand and identity that Ben Rutten has them playing with.
It’s an attacking style that plays into the hands of the in-form talent they have in front of the ball.
There wouldn’t be many teams happy to take on the Bombers at this stage of the season.
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We got through the Saturday day games…just
The three games on Saturday afternoon – Collingwood v Geelong, St Kilda v North Melbourne and Brisbane v GWS – were barely watchable for the neutral.
With a fair portion of footy fans in lockdown glued to the television, Saturday would have had some changing the channel.
We had Collingwood bring Geelong into a low scoring scrap, two of the bottom sides in St Kilda and North Melbourne fail to entertain, and the Lions quickly put the game out of the Giants’ reach.
We might not see a worse trio of games back to back for the remainder of the year, at least it can only get better from here.
The hurdle that Carlton can’t jump
Carlton’s loss to Sydney consigns them to a record of 0-6 against top eight teams in 2021.
The development has been there for everyone to see this year, but ultimately, it’s not turning into wins against the better sides.
All four of the Blues’ wins this year have come against non-finals sides (Fremantle, Gold Coast, Hawthorn and Essendon), with each victory being somewhat comfortable.
Looking at all of their results in 2021, the Blues have been in each and every one of their games, they just haven’t learned to win yet when it counts.
With their finals hopes slipping away by the round, next week’s clash with seventh placed West Coast is big to both give them a glimmer of hope, and to overcome what’s proving to be an insurmountable hurdle.
St Kilda have a Brad Hill problem
Big-money St Kilda recruit Brad Hill is horribly out of form.
The wingman had just six touches against North Melbourne on Saturday, the sixth time he’s had 16 or less touches in a game this season.
He’s proving too easy to shut at the moment, with novice tagger Bailey Scott doing a number on him for the Kangaroos.
Hill’s form is an issue for the Saints going forward due to both his big price tag and the fact that he’s so crucial to getting them going when he’s on.
He’s probably the Saints’ best ball user and the player they’d want to find to make an inside 50 kick.
If he’s on, the Saints are on, and Brett Ratten and his coaching staff desperately need to find a way to help him break the shackles of a hard tag.
It’s a big week for West Coast
The Eagles will be desperate to avoid their third loss in a row next Sunday when they face Carlton at the MCG.
That’s easier said than done, with the Blues a much tougher task than they’ve proven in recent years.
You get the feeling the Eagles would have pencilled in wins against both the Giants and Bombers over the past fornight which would have had them right in the top four race.
Now their biggest worry will be getting their win-loss record significantly back in their favour.
Right now, they’re barely treading water.
