Round 16 of the 2025 AFL season is in the books. So, it's time to react ... or overreact.
Is the current ladder proof the AFL has an equalisation issue? Should the league move the Sydney-Fremantle game from the SCG if the playing surface doesn't improve?
Let's get to this week's overreactions, where we judge a few major takeaways as legitimate or irrational.
Gap between top and bottom 9 more proof AFL has an equalisation issue
With eight rounds remaining this season, the ladder has taken on a very unique shape with the top nine teams all sitting pretty on at least nine wins, and 10th -- currently the Power -- sitting two wins and a chunk of percentage adrift.
The gap could widen even further this week, with all nine games featuring one side in the 'top nine' and an opponent in the 'bottom nine'. It's led to growing chatter that the AFL's equalisation measures might not be working.
Verdict: Overreaction
Yep, we get it, there's a clear split right now, but this is hardly evidence of a broken system. In fact, it's not uncommon to see a stretch in the middle of a season where the top sides do pull away, only for the pack to tighten late, or for it to look like there's a clear 'top bunch' before a late-season slide occurs.
That all happens because footy is chaotic (that's why we love it) -- upsets happen all the time, injuries can change a side's course, and form and momentum changes a season quickly.
More importantly, if we're talking about equalisation concerns, the ladder is one of the least reliable indicators. The real conversation lies around mechanisms like father-son and academy access, list concessions, and fixturing -- where teams get significant advantages over others due to travel and easy double-up opponents.
And it's not like the same teams are always dominating; last year's top eight included sides like Port Adelaide, Sydney, and Carlton who have since fallen away, while Collingwood (top right now) finished ninth in 2024 and Adelaide (third) was in the bottom four. Teams rise and fall in this league, and often quickly.
So this might feel like a year with a bigger-than-usual divide, but that's more to do with the quirks of the season rather than the failure of the system. If there's an equalisation issue in the AFL, this ladder isn't the proof.
Swans-Dockers must move from the SCG if the playing surface doesn't improve
This Sunday's clash between Sydney and Fremantle is already the subject of much debate. After the Swans and Bulldogs played at the SCG on Friday, the Swans will be backing it up this week against the Dockers, but the quality and state of the turf is the subject of much debate.
On Friday night, players were constantly slipping over, particularly up the Paddington end, causing both coaches and commentators to mention the unsafe conditions. The turf was put under stress becuase the venue hosted an Andrea Bocelli concert back in April, and it seemingly hasn't recovered as well as hoped in the, well, months since.
The AFL has sent a 'turf expert' up to the SCG to investigate, but with up to 90mm of rain forecast for Sydney on Tuesday, it could get worse before it gets better.
Verdict: Overreaction
The SCG is not the first venue to struggle with playing surface issues, and it won't be the last. Weather affects playing surfaces as well, with wet games producing more slippage than dry games (obviously!). Players will need to be more cautious at that end, as they are at other grounds which have had issues (think the centre square in years gone by, or the wings at Docklands before they were fixed).
It's not ideal, clearly, but the AFL won't be moving the game just days out from its scheduled first bounce. What are the other options? Homebush? Waratahs are playing the Lions. Engie Stadium? As if... The league will most likely just kick up a big stink publicly and make it clear to the SCG it's unacceptable going forward.
There is an easy solution to all of this however. Don't be hosting outside concerts, on a grass playing field, in footy season, in one of Australia's rainiest capital cities. It just beggars belief that Bocelli was ticked off at all for that venue.