The six things we learned from Round 16

What a round of footy.

We had upsets galore, shock results, and even calls for the end of dynasties.

Here’s what we learned from Round 16:

Three-peat looks a bridge too far for Richmond

Many are claiming Thursday night’s shock loss to Gold Coast marks the end of Richmond’s dynasty.

While we may eventually look back at the 10-point loss as the last stand of this mighty Richmond side, it still feels too early to say they’re finished going forward.

There’s enough young talent and elite stars in their prime to keep Richmond challenging the best sides for the next two years on paper, but their continual loss of foot soldiers does loom as the end of their 2021 push.

Bachar Houli and Callum Coleman-Jones look to latest to join Toby Nankervis, Noah Balta, Nathan Broad and Ivan Soldo on the sidelines, while the absence of stars Tom Lynch, Trent Cotchin and Shai Bolton for periods of this season has helped consign the Tigers to ninth place with a 7-8 record.

From here, a finals finish would be a good result, but they’re well and truly out of the top four race and as a result so too that for the 2021 premiership.

We can just about rule Richmond out for ultimate success this season, but it’s still too early to do so with what their list shapes up to be for at least 2022 and 2023.

It’s over for this version of West Coast

With three premierships over the last four years, Richmond have earned the right to keep us believing despite all the signs telling us otherwise.

While West Coast has had their successes too, the warning signs are becoming that blatant that it genuinely does look like their run as a premiership challenger with this list is well and truly done.

Fox Footy’s David King described their 92-point drubbing at the hands of Sydney as “the end of an era”, with the Eagles’ aging stars unable to offer any kind of response against a hungry Swans outfit.

They’ve now lost four of the past six, and were probably lucky to get the better of Richmond in Round 13 as well.

The Eagles might fall into finals this season, but their days as one of the competition’s biggest premiership threats looks well and truly over.

Freo wasteful as golden opportunity slips

Fremantle could have finished the round in eighth spot with a win over Carlton on Saturday night.

Ultimately, the Blues would get the job done after getting the jump on Justin Longmuir’s side, but it wasn’t as if the Dockers didn’t have enough opportunities to win the game.

Fremantle were wasteful in the first half, trailing by two goals at the main break despite having 12 scoring shots to Carlton’s nine.

Despite their first half shortcomings, it would be their third and fourth quarters that will haunt Dockers’ fans most, with the side failing to capitalise on the scoreboard despite leading the inside 50 count 32-17 in the second half.

Their inability to turn field position into scoreboard output could come back to haunt the Dockers who now sit two points outside the eight with a poor percentage (92.2).

They’ll be desperate to bounce back against the Hawks next week.

Are Melbourne on the Dee-cline?

Melbourne’s last three weeks haven’t looked like that of a premiership contender.

While the loss to GWS at the MCG was surprising, their past fortnight of form wouldn’t have filled Simon Goodwin with much hope.

The Queen’s Birthday loss to Collingwood was the start of the mini-slump, and both the Pies and Giants used the same blueprint to nullify the Dees’ biggest weapon.

Despite boasting on of the competition’s most dangerous midfield units, increased attention towards ball-magnet Clayton Oliver has resulted in Melbourne losing the clearance numbers by 25 across the two losses.

Along with failing to capitalise on late-game inside 50 dominance on Saturday, Goodwin will know the area he needs to remedy to get his side going again.

With seven games left before they embark on a finals run, Melbourne will be desperately hoping to recapture their best form.

They’ll need it if they are a flag chance.

Giants stamp claims as genuine finals threat

GWS knew they’d need to get one back after losing to the Hawks last week, and they quickly made up for lost time with their upset win over Melbourne.

They’re a Jekyll and Hyde outfit GWS, their best is great, but their worst is genuinely bottom four.

Luckily for Leon Cameron, they were near enough at their best in Round 16, and it was a good week to do it as well with those in the chasing pack falling at their respective hurdles.

The Giants ended the round inside the eight with Richmond, Fremantle and Essendon going down, and they probably look like the one from that group on current form who could do some serious September damage.

The key now is backing it up and consolidating their spot.

That starts next week with a clash against a confident Suns side that’s also coming off the back of an upset win.

It’s a big week for St Kilda

St Kilda has somehow re-emerged as a potential finals hopeful in the past fortnight with wins over both Richmond and Collingwood.

While they sit 11th, they’re now just two points and percentage behind GWS in eighth spot.

It’ll be a long-shot to make it from here with a percentage of 83.7, but with every other team around them constantly falling over, it could be a situation of simply needing to win more than you lose from here to play September footy.

With their form trending upward, they face a big test against Brisbane in Round 17.

Win there, and we’ll genuinely believe in the Saints’ ability to make a finals push.

Lose, and 2021 will likely be remembered as a season of missed opportunity for the men from Moorabbin.