The volatile nature of the ladder and what the contending coaches are dealing with

It feels like Craig McRae has played every club in the bag as he tries to rouse one last stand out of Collingwood… but there’s a reality that looks like exhaustion that you can’t overcome.

Chris Fagan stayed relentlessly positive with his Lions and they’ve surged up the ladder, but the volatile nature of the season has him on guard that the gains can be given back as quickly as they were taken… and he’s now seriously short suited for tall defenders with Harris Andrews placed in the concussion protocols.

This time last year Michael Voss had unlocked the secret with Carlton and they had grasped momentum coming from a mile back. This year they are nestled in second but their game looks patchy… and the Tom De Koning injury is untimely.

Health is no longer Sydney’s ally so John Longmire is dipping into the reinforcements. Reinforcements that he has rarely needed.

Chris Scott is grappling with a horrible home performance.

Brad Scott might be playing the long game but the urgency to be better now is unmistakable and not squander what was set in train.

Justin Longmuir and Adam Kingsley are jostling for the double chance with all its inherent advantages.

Ken Hinkley is in the perpetual state of coaching for his job while trying to iron out a precocious and temperamental midfield.

Luke Beveridge and Sam Mitchell have their engines purring, but don’t have a place on the grid just yet.

Simon Goodwin is attempting reinvention and desperately needs his captain back.

While Damien Hardwick has been trying to solve travel sickness all year without success.

And the rest aren’t part of the fun, or the squeeze and or the tension, but there’s still almost a quarter of a season to go and those are not games you can waste.

The challenges are many and varied in the last week of July and if you’re playing the ladder predictor you’ll know just how volatile a single result can be.

23 swing games and 226,800 possibilities. It would drive you mad if you thought about it too much.