The top eight reshuffled again, with West Coast and Melbourne replacing the Western Bulldogs and Essendon. Chances are it will continue to shift.

Dean Solomon broke a recent trend, failing to win in his first game as caretaker coach of the Gold Coast Suns. Ross Lyon suffered the biggest loss in his coaching career, his Dockers going down by 104 points to the Swans.

It opened suggestions that Lyon is interested in taking over Nathan Buckley’s senior coaching role at Collingwood, which they both whacked as fabrication.

It was a weekend of favourites, with just the the Cats ‘upsetting’ the Tigers at their Simonds Stadium fort. To most fans and experts, this was no huge shock.

If Richmond were genuine premiership contenders, they would’ve outmuscled Geelong’s undermanned lineup and taken the torch as Victoria’s supposed new powerhouse club.

The stage has been set for a herculean battle between the two form teams of the competition, Sydney and Adelaide, doing battle next Friday night. The ramifications are massive.
 

THE GOOD

Kennedy’s resurgence

Josh Kennedy remarkably regained the lead in the Coleman Medal race, despite missing six games earlier this season. He booted six goals against his old side and was ultimately the difference in West Coast’s 17-point win over a gutsy Carlton.

He was kicking them from all angles too. Following Sam Docherty’s clanger that went out on the full, Kennedy kicked an impossible goal from 50 meters out. The king of the forwards is back in town with 60 majors this season, leading Joe Daniher on 59.

Record-breaking

Throughout the years, we’ve seen ball magnets like Greg Williams, Dane Swan and Gary Ablett, but this guy is on a whole other level. Tom Mitchell’s 35-disposal game against North Melbourne marked the 18th time he’s recorded 30 disposals this season.

It broke Robert Harvey’s previous record of 17 times, achieved in 1998. That year, Harvey won the Brownlow Medal, throwing Mitchell into the frame of serious contention for this year’s after possibly gathering another three votes on the weekend.

Mitchell was used as in a number of roles at Sydney, namely a tagger, but at Hawthorn he’s been given a license to run free and is fast becoming one of the most prolific ball winners in VFL/AFL history.

A rising star

The Bombers didn’t leave Etihad Stadium with the four points, but a certain first-year player shined brighter than anyone on the night. Andrew McGrath, the first pick in the 2016 national draft, completely outdueled Eddie Betts in their matchup, holding him goalless for just the second time this season.

McGrath had 25 disposals himself and kept Betts to only seven, restricting the star small forward’s usual impact. This is the type of performance that will open eyes and could propel McGrath into favouritism for the Rising Star Award, which is currently owned by Hawthorn’s Ryan Burton.
 

THE BAD

Wines in trouble

Port Adelaide young gun Oliver Wines will come under scrutiny with the Match Review Panel for his hit on Collingwood’s Tom Landon. Wines elbowed Langdon in the head after he kicked the ball, a deliberate act that could’ve sent Langdon to hospital.

The reality is that Wines’ action was more deliberate than the one that may cost Patrick Dangerfield a Brownlow Medal, but Langdon’s lack of injury means it isn’t considered as dangerous. Safe to say there is a massive grey area the AFL has created with recent MRP sanctions that must be resolved.