We’re nine weeks through the AFL season and the reigning premiers remain undefeated.
Round 9 told us a lot about some clubs, while the reality is setting in for some fast starters.
Here’s what we learned from the weekend’s games:
The Bulldogs aren't on the canvas just yet
We said it was a big week for the Bulldogs at the end of Round 8, and boy did they respond.
On paper, the Bulldogs have one of the best midfields in the competition, but through the opening two months, they weren’t at anywhere near their best.
That all changed on Friday against Collingwood, with the Dogs dominating at the source to ultimately put together a dominant win.
The top seven possession getters on the ground were wearing Bulldogs colours, and the all-important clearance stat was dominated 43-27, and that’s without Tim English or Stefan Martin.
While it’s hard to see any of the teams currently in that top eight sliding out, surely the Bulldogs are too talented to not play finals football.
Their next two weeks against the Suns and Eagles could set them up for another tilt at the big prize.
St Kilda is a genuine top-four threat
When St Kilda dropped their Round 7 game to Port Adelaide, one had to wonder whether their early season form was wasted with games against Melbourne and Geelong on the horizon.
Staring down a middling 5-4 start after putting together five wins on the trot, the Saints knew they had to pick up a big scalp if they were to prove themselves as a top-four contender, and how better to do that than beating a proven side in Geelong for the first time since 2016.
With the 10 point win, the Saints now hold a strong 6-3 record while proving that they can match it with the league’s best teams, something that even they may have been unsure of.
While the loss of Jack Steele to an AC joint injury will hurt, it looks as though they’ve sailed through the storm with games against the Crows and Kangaroos set for the next fortnight.
Win those games and they’re 8-3 and well and truly on their way to a September birth.
The top four may just await them at the season’s end.
Shrewd recruiting paying dividends for Suns
Gold Coast’s off-season recruitment of Mabior Chol and Levi Casboult has worked better than anyone could’ve hoped for.
While the original plan would’ve had them playing alongside Ben King, the star forward’s injury put the load on the pair’s shoulders – and they’ve well and truly stood up to the task.
In combining for six goals in the upset win over Fremantle, the duo now has 38 goals to their name, more than four per outing on average.
Chol and Casboult are going so well that the Suns can stiff the top eight, with Stuart Dew’s side sitting 4-5 and just on the brink of jumping in.
While it’s a little early to anoint them as a September threat just yet, one area of their ground that’s sorted is up forward – which is often the hardest section to get firing.
Against an undermanned and undersized Bulldogs defence next week, it wouldn’t shock to see the pair lead the Suns to another win.
Leon Cameron won’t be lost to footy
Outgoing GWS coach Leon Cameron couldn’t muster a win in his last game, but that won’t put any dampeners on his time at the club.
As just the second coach in Giants’ history, Cameron proved he was one of the best in the business as the turned the start-up club into a perennial contender.
While he never tasted the ultimate success, going out with a win-loss percentage in his favour speaks volumes considering the side he took control of in 2014.
A break might be just what Cameron needs, but you’d expect clubs to come calling for the former Bulldog this off-season.
Whether it’s another head role, assistant position or something entirely different, any club that acquires Cameron’s services will be better off for it.
Essendon are fundamentally broken
Last week’s win against Hawthorn had some thinking the Bombers had finally turned the corner, but that was proven a false dawn as they were thrashed by Sydney at the SCG on Saturday night.
While there’s no shame in going down to a quality outfit, it was how they lost that would’ve been most concerning.
For a team that prided itself on pressure en route to a 2021 finals appearance, the Dons have seemingly lost that edge to their game as teams continually transition the footy with ease against them.
Being beaten in the tackle count 56-30 is hard to fathom given they were chasing tail for most of the night, and that probably tells the story of where Essendon are at.
While they’ve had a tough fixture thus far, that’s no excuse for effort, and that’ll be what hurts Ben Rutten most.
No one’s expecting them to beat a firing Richmond side at the MCG on Saturday night, but they’d at least want to show a response by hunting their opponent and bringing the game to them.
Another performance like Saturday’s has the potential to cause enormous damage at Tullamarine. It’ll be an interesting watch to see how they respond.
It’s a big week for Geelong
Geelong would’ve been disappointed in going down to St Kilda after leading comfortably in the third term on Saturday, with the loss consigning them to a mediocre 5-4 record through nine rounds.
This is a team that on paper should be a top-four side, and at this stage, they seem a fair way off that.
With the age profile of their list, the Cats will be desperate to strike while the iron’s hot, but they won’t be able to do that from too far back.
A resurgent Port Adelaide awaits them next week, they’ll be desperate to take care of them and steady the ship as they look to contend once more.
Their last game at home resulted in a three-point loss to Fremantle, they’d hate for that to happen again come Saturday afternoon.