Round 8 is in the books with some big results occurring across the weekend.
With headlines on and off the field, these were the main talking points from another round of footy!
See the talking points below.
We need to reassess our expectations on Carlton
Carlton entered this season as what many considered a premiership contender, but perhaps that was both unrealistic and premature.
Yes, they appear to have stars in all of the right positions, but since mid-last year, something just hasn’t clicked for this side.
It’d be hard as a Blues fan to be sold so much hope - both by the club and the media – for the side to not improve in 2023, or even go backwards.
At 4-4, and with a tough month ahead, we need to consider Carlton as one of the competition’s mid-table sides where it would be a bonus if they were to play finals this season.
Their list is clearly built to win now, but it just doesn’t look like they’re going to do any serious damage this campaign.
It might be time to accept the reality that the Blues just aren’t the team many hoped they’d be in 2023.
Marcus Bontempelli deserves a Brownlow, and he might get it this year
Marcus Bontempelli is in the form of his life which is quite remarkable given his outstanding CV.
With four All-Australian blazers, four best and fairests, an AFL MVP, a coaches’ award and a premiership to his name, the Brownlow is the last accolade the Bont has to tick off.
Looking at his output so far in 2023, he may achieve that come September.
He’s going to have some tough competition in Nick Daicos and Clayton Oliver, but Bontempelli could easily have 12 or more votes just from his last six games alone.
With Josh Dunkley in Brisbane, the Bulldogs are relying on Bontempelli even more at the source and his impact is greater than ever.
There’d probably be no other player that’s more deserving of the medal, there’d certainly be no naysayers if he was to take home Charlie this year.
Beating the Eagles and Kangaroos tells us nothing
Nathan Buckley said it earlier in the week, and his thoughts rang true on the weekend – beating West Coast and North Melbourne tells us nothing about where teams are truly at.
Look at Carlton and Melbourne, last week they thrashed the Eagles and Kangaroos respectively, but one week later, the Blues fall to the Lions and the Demons just got over the line against the Suns.
With Richmond beating West Coast by and St Kilda beating North Melbourne by in Round 8, both sides will know that those results don’t prove anything for them.
Playing these cellar dwellers should be considered nothing more than a percentage booster.
The last thing you’d want is a sense of false confidence to come over a team after dishing out a lashing the week prior.
It’s going to be a long year for these two sides.
Tom Green has taken the next step
He was already tracking pretty well, but Tom Green is turning into a genuine superstar of the competition.
If Marcus Bontempelli doesn’t get the three votes from Saturday’s clash, it’ll be because the umpires simply couldn’t look past Green’s mammoth three-goal, eight-clearance and 38-disposal performance.
With Tim Taranto and Jacob Hopper now at Richmond, Green has immediately filled that void on the inside for the Giants, and he’s probably now the club’s second-best player behind Toby Greene.
Given GWS still have some genuine stars like Josh Kelly, Stephen Coniglio and Sam Taylor, that’s no mean feat.
Aged just 22, Green is beginning to come into his prime and it wouldn’t shock at all for him to pick up multiple All-Australian blazers across the next decade.
He’s a joy to watch and Giants fans would be thrilled that the club can build their midfield around Green as they look to contend in the coming years.
Despite three-straight losses, Essendon are going fine
In previous years three-straight losses would have caused an uproar from Essendon fans, but you get the feeling they’d be pretty pleased with their side’s last three weeks.
After being overrun by Collingwood on Anzac Day, Essendon battled well in defeat to Geelong before nearly holding on to beat Port Adelaide on Sunday.
While losing those games hurt, Essendon are without doubt not far away from properly matching it with the best teams.
It might be the thing that costs them later in the year come finals - if they keep beating the teams they should - but missing out is probably not the worst thing in Brad Scott’s first year.
He’s got the team playing his game style incredibly well already, it could be exciting for what’s ahead the more this group plays with each other.
Collingwood are becoming a winning machine
We said last week this team refuses to lose, and again on Sunday the Magpies simply found a way.
While the final scoreline of 29 points reflects a good outing, Collingwood were average at best against Sydney at the MCG.
Even though the Swans have stumbled out of the blocks in 2023, they’re still star-studded across the field and a tough opponent.
Looking at the stat sheet, no Magpie stands out apart from Brody Mihocek who kicked a career-best bag of five, and that’d be something that pleases coach Craig McRae.
It shows that their system stands up and that even without their star performers dominating, they can still beat quality sides.
It’s a mark of a true contender, and at the moment, the Pies are just that.