Round 10 of the 2025 AFL season is in the books. So, it's time to react ... or overreact.
Has the Lions' last two weeks cost them a top four spot? Does the AFL stand up for its youngest team and demand better regarding its home ground?
Let's get to this week's overreactions, where we judge a few major takeaways as legitimate or irrational.
Brisbane's past fortnight will cost them a top four spot
The Lions were cruising. Chris Fagan's squad was 7-1 after two months of footy, their premiership defence looking as rock solid as can be. But the past two weeks have exposed all sorts of issues with this club, first drawing with lowly North Melbourne before falling, at home, mind you, to the struggling Demons. Brisbane remain in second spot on the ladder, only behind Collingwood, but should there be reason for concern?
Verdict: Not an overreaction
Go and have a look at any ladder predictor and you'll realise just how tight things will be come season's end. Our forecasting suggests half a dozen teams will end the home and away campaign split by just win. To that end, this past fortnight might not only cost the Lions a top four berth, it may in fact cost them a spot in September altogether!
Sure, Brisbane's win-loss record still looks encouraging, but the club's percentage of just 110 has to be a tad worrying. We say it all the time but percentage is the greatest indicator of whether a team is winning or losing the season. The Lions are winning it, but not by as much as we probably would have expected, especially compared to the teams around them on the ladder.
Things are about to get real difficult, real quick for Brisbane. This week they travel to Melbourne to face the Hawks at the MCG, before games against the Bombers, Crows, Giants, and Cats entering the bye. The Lions then end the year with games against Collingwood, Sydney, Fremantle, and Hawthorn.
The AFL needs an ultimatum: no more Sydney Easter show at ENGIE stadium
The GWS Giants returned to their (main) home ground for the firt time since Round 4 to play Fremantle last week, after being shipped around the country to play while the Sydney Royal Easter Show took over ENGIE Stadium for a fun-filled 11 days over April. All in all, that's 41 days the Giants were away from what should have been a proper home field advantage.
Verdict: Not an overreaction
Do the Dallas Cowboys accept, hat in hand, that AT&T Stadium will be unavailable for two home games because of a monster truck bonanza? Does Tottenham say 'oh well' about the prospect of a month-long concert residence at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium? Of course not.
This is a professional league, and these are professional players. Show them some respect, and tell the Sydney Royal Easter show to suck a lemon and find somewhere else. The turf looked still below par on Saturday, and this is nearly two weeks after the show ended. Are we genuinely serious here?
Yes, the Giants play well at Manuka Oval in Canberra and it's their 'home ground' as well. But to be on the road so early in the season stifles momentum not only for the team, but for the fans in Western Sydney who want to go and watch their side play footy.
It's an all-round bad situation. The AFL should stand up for its youngest team more.