Round 8 is complete, barring the Q-Clash, with some enthralling games taking place over the weekend.
With rivalry games taking place across four days, fans were treated to some home and away games with genuine meaning.
We had upsets, thrilling finishes, standout individual performances and more!
With that in mind, here’s what we learned from the round’s results.
Another big game failure shows Port are a rung below
Port Adelaide has had their failures against other contenders, and now their Showdown record is beginning to haunt them as well.
Thursday’s 78-48 loss to the Crows marked their third loss from their last four games against their biggest rivals.
It’s further proof that when the pressure is on and the spotlight is on them, the Power shrink.
While they’re still no doubt a finals side, Port can’t be considered as genuine contenders until they at least begin showing up in these games of magnitude.
They’ve got a great chance to prove everyone wrong next Friday against the Cats at GMHBA Stadium.
Lose there, and it’ll only further solidify the concerns around this Power side in 2024.
Nick Daicos can carry the Pies to back-to-back
Nick Daicos produced an all-time performance in Friday’s 85-79 win over Carlton.
On top of his match-winning goal, Daicos stood up and was clearly the best player on the ground with 32 disposals, seven tackles, seven clearances and two amazing stoppage majors.
He’s a big moments player and the class that he possesses can only be rivalled by a few all-time greats of the game.
He’s had patches of his two-and-a-bit-year career where he’s been the best player in the competition. If he keeps playing like that, it won’t be long until that becomes a genuine fact.
With Collingwood’s game beginning to fall into shape around him as well, Daicos - much as he was for much of 2023 - can be that added icing on the club’s cake that could lead them to glory again.
We already knew he was the key in the club’s back-to-back push, but it hadn’t felt real in 2024 until Friday night.
They can do it if he continues to stand up like that under the brightest lights.
Swans and Dees push flag claims as top six begins to separate
In previous weeks we’ve had Carlton as the No. 1 seed, while GWS and Geelong have also held that claim.
Well, all three of those sides lost to fellow contenders in Round 8 with Melbourne, Sydney and Collingwood also proving that they can look like the best side in it on their day.
Sydney deserves some more flowers for their 7-1 start, while Melbourne is always thereabouts and sit top four through eight games as well. Collingwood also hasn’t lost since Round 2 and the fixture begins to open up for them from now.
It’s a top six of genuine flag contenders that are emerging as the only teams with a real shot at claiming it all come September.
You get the feeling that the premiership will be decided by who times their run best out of this group.
It’s Heeney’s medal to lose
While Isaac Heeney didn’t claim the Brett Kirk Medal in Saturday’s 98-69 win over GWS, he still solidified his claims for this year’s Brownlow.
Errol Gulden was adjudged best afield, but Heeney came second in the voting for his one-goal, 26-disposal, seven-clearance performance.
He’s polled Coaches’ votes in every game so far this season, and that’ll continue for an eighth game after his outing on Saturday.
Dogs great Brad Johnson thinks he could already be on 18 votes, and that could be 20+ now.
It’s a ridiculous start from the Swan, and he probably only needs another month or two of this form to continue to claim footy’s biggest individual honour.
The only question is if he can keep it up.
It’s a big week for Carlton
Carlton aren’t going as well as they were just a month ago.
After starting the season 4-0 with tight wins over Brisbane, Richmond and Fremantle inclusive, we all knew that we’d really find out where the Blues were at as the fixture began to tighten.
Well, they’re now 5-3 with losses in three of their last four to Adelaide, Geelong and now Collingwood.
While there’s no doubt Carlton’s best is amongst the most powerful in the comp, they’re not playing world-beating footy and are in genuine danger of falling back to the pack.
Even though they only just lost to Collingwood on Friday night, it could have been a far heavier defeat as they were genuinely outplayed for three quarters.
That’s two games in a row that they’ve been handled by their opposition, and they next face Melbourne at the MCG and Sydney at the SCG.
On current form, they could be 5-5 by the end of Round 10.
They’d want to find their best footy before this Thursday against the Dees if they’re to really prove they’re as good as many felt and still think they are.
All eyes will be on the ‘G for that huge game.
