We’re eight weeks through the AFL season and the reigning premiers remain undefeated.
Round 8 told us a lot about some clubs, while the top eight might already be set after just two months of action.
Here’s what we learned from the weekend’s games:
We might already have our top eight
It might sound ridiculous after just two months of footy, but the top eight may already be locked in.
The likes of Melbourne, Fremantle, Brisbane, Geelong, Carlton and Sydney look like September locks, while St Kilda and Richmond also appear a level above the chasing pack.
Richmond and Collingwood are the two teams sitting with a 4-4 record, but you’d expect the tried and tested Tigers to put some distance between them and the Magpies as the long season drags on.
On paper, the Bulldogs are probably the team that you’d fancy could break in, but on current form, they are miles off.
There’ll certainly be jostling for spots in the finals finishing places, but it’s genuinely hard to see anyone breaking into that group at this early stage.
In-form Lynch proves Richmond can make a dint in 2022
Richmond forward Tom Lynch might be in career-best form, a scary thought for opposition defences.
The two-time premiership player and 2016 All Australian leads the Coleman race with 27 majors, including 13 from his last two games.
His first half against Collingwood was genuinely one of the best in modern history, with five goals and 18 disposals helping bridge a buffer that the Tigers would never look back from.
As higher scoring has led to the added importance of key forwards, Richmond will be hard to beat against anyone if Lynch continues his upwards trajectory.
Add in Dustin Martin’s successful return and the fact that 19 premiership players ran out for the Tigers on Saturday, and you’ll find the ingredients of a team that can contend when they find their best form.
With Hawthorn and Essendon in the next two weeks, Richmond could begin their charge now and set themselves up for another tilt in 2022.
We’re set for a thrilling Rising Star race
A raft of young players have made big impacts so far this season as the battle for the Rising Star award heats up.
Collingwood’s Nick Daicos is the bookies’ favourite, with the classy father-son proving his ball-winning ability with 25.1 touches a game – but he’s got some serious challengers to fend off.
Essendon’s Nic Martin and Hawthorn’s Jai Newcombe have had even bigger impacts than the young Magpie as both would probably sit inside the top five in their club’s best and fairest counts, while Josh Rachele and Jack Ginnivan have lit up crowds with their goalkicking exploits.
At the other end of the ground, Melbourne’s Jake Bowey has been a big performer as he’s yet to lose a game from 15 tries, while Jason Horne-Francis has shown flashes of his enormous potential for North Melbourne.
There’s a fair chance all seven of those players would be the favourite in any other year.
We’re truly spoilt for choice in 2022.
Reality is setting in at Hawthorn
Hawthorn looked one of the surprise packets after the season’s first month, but they’ve since come crashing back to the ground.
With five losses from their last six games, the Hawks look like the rebuilding team that they were expected to be at the beginning of the season.
That’s not a knock on the club, but simply a reflection of where their list is realistically at after finishing 14th in 2021.
There’s no doubt they can do better than that this time around, but their status as a finals threat seems to be diminishing by the week.
With their next two games coming against Richmond and Brisbane, the win-loss record for the Hawks will start to prove less important as development of their youth takes priority.
The bottom two are miles off the remaining 16 teams
West Coast and North Melbourne hold the bottom two positions on the ladder and it’s hard to see either of them dragging themselves off the canvas after horror starts.
Their respective Round 8 performances were always going to be ugly - going up against Fremantle and Brisbane respectively - but it was also a stark reminder of where they’re at.
Essendon and GWS currently sit 16th and 15th, and while they’ve endured rocky starts, they can both still match it with good teams on their days – something you can’t see either the Kangaroos or Eagles doing at any point for the remainder of this season.
North Melbourne’s percentage of 55.6 and West Coast’s of 52.0 are further proof of that, and you can lock it in that they’ll be battling it out for the wooden spoon in 2022.
Hopefully their trajectory improves, but at this stage they’re both genuinely uncompetitive.
It’s a big week for the Western Bulldogs
Entering the season as one of the competition favourites, not many would’ve had the Bulldogs sitting 10th with a 3-5 record after eight rounds.
Their most recent loss would’ve been particularly disheartening, being outclassed by a Port Adelaide team that went winless through five rounds.
With their chances of doing anything with the season diminishing by the week, it’s looking like it’s now or never for Luke Beveridge’s side.
Collingwood looms as their next test, and while the plucky Magpies have proven they’re a better outfit than they were last season, they’re still a team the Bulldogs should beat if they have any sort of September credentials.
The footy world will be waiting for a big response on Friday night.