Round 18 of the 2025 AFL season is in the books. So, it's time to react ... or overreact to the biggest talking points of the week.
Essendon and Richmond played one of the all-time stinkers over the weekend, and the injury-ravaged Dons still have four more prime time games to come in 2025. It's raised the question, should they be 'flexed out' of prime time? Plus, are the Bulldogs flat track bullies?
Let's get to this week's overreactions, where we judge a few major takeaways as legitimate or irrational.
The AFL should introduce 'flex scheduling' to get the Bombers off prime time
You have to feel for the Bombers. They've copped one of the worst seasons for injuries, have just been beaten by Richmond, AND still have at least four more Friday night or Thursday night matches to come, much to the ire of footy fans around the country.
It's raised questions about fixturing, and whether the AFL should introduce and NFL-like 'schedule flex' rule.
In the States, the NFL reserves the right to 'flex' games to prime time slots if playoff spots, or big rivalry games are on the line. Usually, these decisions are made a week prior to each game, and mostly between Weeks 11 and 17 (the back end of the season).
How would it work in footy? Well, you'd just swap out Essendon's Thursday night clash with GWS, for, say, Hawthorn's meeting with Port Adelaide.
Verdict: Overreaction
It would be so easy to say 'yep, bring it in', but it overlooks a key point, and that's that the AFL should have done its due diligence earlier in the season when it locked in its post-Round 15 fixtures back in May.
With all respect to Essendon, while they started the season brightly, it was never going to last, with injuries and form catching up quickly, and coach Brad Scott himself declaring they were in a rebuilding stage.
Despite the numbers the Dons will pull for the league's free-to-air broadcaster, the AFL simply had to be firm. To schedule Essendon for five prime time slots in the run home is a mistake, plain and simple, but it was totally avoidable.
Introducing a 'flex' rule would also be unfair to fans who plan their travel, accomodation, and tickets in advance. Those fans are already inconvenienced by having to wait until later in the year to know the late-season fixtures.
Not to mention the delicate balance of competing teams having adequate breaks between games.
Get better at scheduling, and there'll be no need for to 'flex'.
The Western Bulldogs are flat track bullies
The Bulldogs are very much in the finals race, currently sitting ninth with 10 wins and six rounds to go in what's become the most top-heavy season in years.
They've built one of the most explosive midfields in the competition, and have plenty of firepower in the front half. But there's a growing question around what they're actually capable of against the best, particularly defensively.
Verdict: Not an overreaction
There's no shame in beating the teams you're meant to beat and the Bulldogs are legitimately doing that better than anyone in 2025. They're 9-0 against sides currently below them on the ladder. But the other half of the stats sheet is damning, with just one win from eight attempts against teams above them.
That record says more than having the third best percentage -- or an abundance of talent on the list -- ever could, because they're yet to prove they really belong with the contenders.
Even the Dogs' 11-point loss to Adelaide on the weekend -- their first test against a contender in five weeks -- felt like a missed opportunity on their home deck. Don't get us wrong, they've been competitive (no loss has been bigger than 22 points), but these high-scoring games they seem to love so dearly often end with them getting outgunned. Their defence has been the knock all year, and it's what the better sides consistently exploit.
This doesn't mean they can't flip the script. Luke Beveridge definitely has the tools to win a final or even more, but until they start knocking over the teams above them, the 'flat track bully' tag fits. Beat the Lions in Round 19 and the conversation changes, but right now the proof is in the results.