Round 9 had a couple moderate surprises — like just how quickly the Bulldogs came out of the gate against Collingwood, and how Hawthorn had a good fourth quarter but only after a pre-halftime flameout — but there was an air of predictability to a lot of the round. We saw Port easily dispatching an undermanned North squad, Sydney playing like they should again versus Essendon, and the Lions and Demons picking up easy road wins in Adelaide and Perth respectively. I hate to admit it, but I also saw GWS falling flat early and never being on exactly the right foot in Leon Cameron's finale, though they did make the Blues sweat at times, as well as St Kilda storming home in the second half against Geelong.

Then there was the other game. We said last episode that at least one game this round would make us seppos (a term Ethan now understand) look like fools, and that game was Gold Coast v Fremantle. An inability by the Dockers to make their entries count combined with the Suns' best all-around game this year makes both teams' immediate trajectories topics of intrigue.

Also featured: our Mark and Goal of the Week picks, and thoughts on more questionable suspension lengths.

It’s the rounds that don’t grab your eye initially that end up providing a swath of pre-match headlines. Ins and outs on both sides of the round opener, Collingwood v Bulldogs, beckon at least a partial reconfiguring of our understanding of the matchup. The same goes for both early Saturday games, Hawthorn v Richmond and North v Port; in each case, the home team is copping the blows more than the visitors. St Kilda and Geelong is arguably the marquee matchup of the round, with top-four aspirations potentially slipping away from the loser. The Swans look for their first win on their three-round homestand against a motivated and largely replenished Bombers squad, while Matthew Nicks has dropped the list hammer on his Crows ahead of their hosting Brisbane.

On Sunday, Will Brodie revenge game (Gold Coast v Fremantle) is a big opportunity for the home Suns to continue playing their best against the top of the ladder. Then there’s the Leon Cameron farewell game between the GIANTS and Blues — we go into the ramifications of Cameron’s resignation at the end of the episode — before what should be a thorough steamrolling of a closer as Melbourne take their war machine to the West Coast. Make sure to stick around until the end to hear our thoughts on how the AFL's coaching landscape may begin to shift as a whole as this season's first domino falls.

Round 8 may not have been the most eye-catching as a whole from a matchup standpoint, but a couple of the results certainly caught us off guard. Take the round opener, for instance, in which Port's midfield outdid that of the Dogs while the visitors' defense crumbled again. Add a spate of injuries, and 2021's runners-up are in a somewhat dire state. Fremantle dispatching North was easy to see coming, and while we expected Richmond to defeat Collingwood, I don't think anyone predicted how much Tom Lynch would dominate in his matchup with Darcy Moore. Then, we threw all out prognostications out the window when the Suns played as complete a game as we've seen from them these past few years to give the Swans their second straight home loss. Geelong always controlled the game at GWS, but at Marvel, Essendon only dominated the very start and end, but their last-minutes explosion sent the Hawks to defeat in similar fashion as they were two rounds ago. Meanwhile, the Lions stayed the course against a top-up-bolstered Eagles. The round's Sunday action saw Melbourne have a surprisingly easy time against St Kilda before Carlton ran straight through Adelaide.

We follow up the round with game recaps and further questions, including asking which was most and least impressive this round, and wondering what it will take for a team to get past Melbourne. Listen along to hear our answers!

With how many list changes and late-breaking news items there were leading up to Round 8, I'm still surprised we got this episode out when we did! It's no for the Bont, but yes for Buku as the Dogs look to even their record at Port Adelaide to open the round. Fremantle are without a half-dozen pieces for their clash with North… but that's against North, so they're fine.

Five games take up three time slots on a high-octane Saturday, with returns highlighting the first slot — Dustin Martin for Richmond against Collingwood, and Paddy McCartin and Logan McDonald for Sydney hosting Gold Coast. The mid-afternoon tilt in Canberra between the GIANTS and Cats is poised to have massive ramifications for each team's season, because four points should be a stabilizer for either club. Essendon and Hawthorn had a couple great battles last season, and they're at it again in the late Saturday slot. …Oh, there's another game then? Well, we ought to have Alastair Lynch on the boundary to watch the Lions mutilate whatever the Eagles throw out there.

Thankfully after that Saturday nightcap, both Sunday games are excellent matchups with the footy air to themselves. Melbourne faces their toughest challenge yet in St Kilda, before Carlton and Adelaide close out the round with a whole lot of potential for firepower.

Well, both our teams lost in the first two games of Round 7, so we take a lot of time figuring out what went wrong for the Eagles and Cats… and what went right for their opponents, especially Freo, who are looking increasingly legit by the week. The round's true shock result came next courtesy of GWS rediscovering themselves in Adelaide, before Melbourne and Hawthorn displayed the transient aspects of their style in a well-fought battle. The Saturday night slot undoubtedly saw two games played… the Saints and Port in the calamitous conditions of Cairns in one, and a more traditional contest where the Blues just outclassed the Kangaroos in the other. Sunday brought out the best and worst (mostly the latter) of the Suns in their lone trip to the 'G against Collingwood, while Essendon put up a fight against the Bulldogs for a while until their opponents were simply too much for them. The round finale between the Swans and Lions featured top-tier scoring, midfielding, and forward-half pressure as the visitors made their case to be the second-best team in the AFL as of now.

Holy list changes, Batman! If we had more time this week we’d probably have another list-based bonus episode, but instead all that information is in the same place as everything else for our Round 7 preview. The Eagles and Tigers kick off the round out west, neither at full strength and both with all sorts of questions considering their dip in form compared to the past decade. Fremantle are without their top ruck and leading goal kicker as they head to the Cattery, but that by no means should rule them out. Adelaide and GWS, maybe the two teams we have the hardest time reading, square off around the same time, before Melbourne sans Simon Goodwin and four players take on Hawthorn in a matchup that has a lot riding on its first quarter. The Saturday night games include a Cairns affair between the Saints and Power that is bound to be strange, and Not-McKay Bowl IV between Harry’s Blues, who have several changes, and the Ben-less (and Xerri-less) Kangaroos. Sunday’s action sees a ruck debutant for the Pies as they host the Suns in the visitors’ only trip to the G this year, as well as Luke Beveridge not messing around as he cuts a couple notable names ahead of the Dogs-Bombers clash. However, all of that’s a prelude to the round closer: a top-4 Swans-Lions battle at the SCG that can go any which way.

This Anzac round only had one close ending (Bulldogs v Adelaide) and a couple real blowouts (North v Geelong, QClash), which makes our discussions of each game's events all the more nuanced. From teams battling inaccuracy on the way to victory (St Kilda, Adelaide, Geelong, Melbourne) to clubs whose latest defeat draws the panic button nearer yet (GWS, Bulldogs, Richmond), nothing is as simple as it seems… unless you're playing the West Coast Eagles. Congrats, Port.

The hyped-up matches kept our intrigue, with Fremantle’s victory over Carlton highlighting the Dockers' strengths while also confirming a painful Blues reality. The Launceston affair between Hawthorn and Sydney had a dramatic late reversal of polarity, and the traditional Bombers-Pies clash showcased a flashy teenage talent, but also left casualties in the victors' list. Hear our thoughts on all that and more as we pass the quarter point of the season!

From games in 5 states + ACT to rivalries old (Richmond v Melbourne, Essendon v Collingwood) and new (QClash 22, Hawthorn v Sydney), Round 6 has all the markings of Anzac week. Add on the rest of the round's slate, and you're likely as grateful as we are that none of the fixtures overlap! Toby Greene and Braydon Preuss rejoin GWS in Canberra to face red-hot St Kilda on Friday night, while the 2–3 Bulldogs and Crows get Saturday started in the Central Highlands. Port Adelaide and West Coast should be an all-out Sickos affair, but it'll also be the prelude to what we earmark as the round's best matchup in 4–1 shocks Fremantle and Carlton. On Sunday, North and Geelong get the chance to bounce back from losses of very different magnitude in Tasmania, before QClash and the traditional Anzac Eve tilt in Melbourne occupy the rest of the day. Anzac Day itself will see the Hawks and Swans (with Buddy, as we now know) in Launceston, with the Bombers and Pies renewing their holiday rivalry to cap off the round.

Easter weekend solidified a lot of what we had thought about various clubs over the first four rounds. The Lions solidified their place among the league’s best, while the Pies showed they’re coming along well. On Good Friday, North Melbourne remembered they were North Melbourne, and the Bulldogs remembered how to kick straight. The Buddy-less Swans flew while the Eagles fell mightily without Jeremy McGovern. Saturday saw the Saints continue their hot start as the Suns’ use of Matt Rowell prompted further questioning of Stuart Dew; additionally, Adelaide were up to the task of the Tigers at home, while Richmond left much to be desired in terms of their discipline. With no tag in sight (what’s up with that, Leon?), Melbourne then ran all over GWS. Easter Sunday’s two contests had massive third quarters — one in which the victors fell (Carlton v Port Adelaide), and one in which they rose (Fremantle over Essendon). Finally, the traditional Easter Monday showdown solidified Hawthorn’s progress under Sam Mitchell while exposing Geelong’s greatest weakness… a mysterious molecule called dihydrogen monoxide.

We’re thankful that none of the games in this Easter Week round overlap, because there’s not a dull fixture in sight! Brisbane and Collingwood open the action with a couple milestones, a debut, and some tall forward lines. The Kangas and Dogs should be a whole lot closer than their early-season meeting in 2021, while West Coast and Sydney have a lot of list questions but also plenty of room for excitement. In the Saturday affairs, Adelaide v Richmond has the potential for high scores, and Melbourne v GWS should have intrigue in terms of both sides depth, especially in the midfields and the GIANTS’ ruck. A key midfielder will miss the round for both Carlton and Port Adelaide, making it even more pressing that the sides prove themselves in their absence. The Bombers and Dockers have played each other close the past couple seasons, and we have a special place in our footy-loving hearts for that matchup. Finally, the traditional Hawthorn v Geelong game on Easter Monday should be exciting from back to front. Listen for our insight on all those games, plus some additional news from around the AFL!