Round 7 is complete with nine enthralling games taking place over the weekend.
With matches spread across five days due to Anzac Day, fans had plenty of footy to take in.
As a result, we’ve broken down the main talking points, so you know what really mattered from those contests.
With that in mind, here’s what we learned from the round’s results.
Geelong and GWS have separated themselves from the pack
Last week we said Carlton deserved to have the No. 1 seed, but that was snatched off them on Saturday afternoon.
While the margin was 13 points in Geelong’s favour, it was a controlling win by an efficient Cats team that led at every break and never really gave the Blues a proper sniff.
The professional performance was even more impressive given they were without Tom Stewart and at 7-0, they look like a top-four lock again.
The other side to really stamp their credentials this weekend was GWS, who rebounded from their first loss of the campaign last week to blow Brisbane off the park 113-59.
Although results have gone different ways throughout the season so far, the ladder doesn’t lie.
There’s no doubt that the Cats and Giants deserve to be right at the pointy end alongside Sydney who have also started brilliantly but have admittedly had an easy run of games since Round 1.
Collingwood’s older players are seemingly trending downward
While Collingwood was good enough to draw against Essendon on Anzac Day without many players standing out, there were still some concerning signs for Craig McRae’s side.
Although they proved last week against Port Adelaide that their best is scary, they have also shown in 2024 that they’re inconsistent and aren’t the team that they were last September unless their pressure is set to top gear.
That’s partly due to a drop-off from senior players like Steele Sidebottom and Jack Crisp.
Is it just because they struggle to get themselves up for early-season games? Or is it a sign of things to come?
Well, if they can’t get themselves up for Friday night against Carlton, it’ll probably be the latter.
Let’s see if these Pies are really still big game killers. If not, their premiership defence will continue looking pretty meek.
Freo’s midfield is scary if Fyfe can keep his form up
Fremantle’s midfield is already one of the best in the competition and they proved that on Saturday night in their win over the Bulldogs.
In that clash, they won the clearance count 47 to 30, thanks mainly to Caleb Serong who had a whopping 17 of his own.
But it was his running mate that really surprised most, with veteran Nat Fyfe helping himself to a huge 37 disposals.
While you can’t rely on Fyfe to do that week-in-week-out, it’s still nice to know that the two-time Brownlow winner still has those dominant games inside of him if his body is up to it.
If the Dockers can even get 80 per cent of that kind of performance from Fyfe going forward, they’ll be even more dominant on-ball.
It’s exciting to see for fans in purple.
St Kilda is where you don’t want to be as a team
St Kilda are in no man’s land.
At 2-5, they’re well off the pace of the top eight already, while there’s no doubt that they’re much better than a bottom-four team.
That leaves Ross Lyon’s side staring down a finish somewhere between 9 and 14 if they don’t turn things around soon.
It’s been the same old problem for the Saints in 2024. They have a red-hot crack but lack that real superstar difference to help them get over the top sides in the competition.
They’ve now lost to all of Port Adelaide, Essendon, Geelong, GWS and the Western Bulldogs.
While none of those sides are easybeats, it shows that the side is probably just a rung below real finals sides in 2024.
They’d want to turn things around quickly to prove that they’re not stuck in this predicament. They’ll get a chance to do that in the next fortnight with upcoming games against North and the Hawks.
Another tick in the book for Gold Coast’s Academy
We’d already seen Academy products Jed Walter, Ethan Read and Will Graham make impacts in their first few games and now Jake Rogers has done the same.
In his AFL debut in the 112–75 win over West Coast on Sunday, the teenager played as a small forward and caught the eye immediately with his pace and kicking shining through in his one-goal, 22-disposal performance.
His outing is another sign that the club will get four ticks from four first-round picks in one draft alone from the Academy.
You can see why Victorian clubs are getting a bit worried about the level of talent that area is beginning to produce, and how the Suns are already benefitting.
If they continue to get more of these types in the coming years, look out.
It’s a big week for … Friday night footy
What a game we have on our hands on Friday night.
Traditional rivals Carlton and Collingwood in front of 80,000+ at the MCG.
This game will tell us plenty. The Pies have shown flashes in 2024 but have been wildly inconsistent.
As for the Blues, they’re 5-2 but are 1-2 in their last three and before that won three of their four games by a combined 16 points.
Simply put, there are still huge question marks over these sides despite many believing that both of them are flag contenders.
You get the feeling that the winner will really stamp their authority on the season and prove that they’re a team to beat in 2024.
As for the loser, they’ll be back to the pack.
