The numbers that matter
The big winners of Round 10
Gold Coast Suns extended one of the league's most curious winning streaks when they registered their tenth consecutive victory at Darwin's TIO Stadium (Marrara Oval) and held onto fourth place.
Boasting the best kicking efficiency (70.4%) in the competition thanks to a star-studded midfield and the second most intercept marks (15.7 per game), the Suns put 11 first half goals past a sloppy Port Adelaide to post a third straight win, albeit all against clubs outside the traditional top-eight.
Converting 65% of their scoring shots into goals certainly helped their cause, as did a wide spread of goalkickers.
It didn't come without cost, with Lachie Weller and Will Graham both coming off during the match with injuries, whilst some other players reported abnormally high fatigue after the match because of the injuries and the draining humidity.
Head coach Damien Hardwick suggested after the match that he isn't the biggest fan of playing in Darwin despite their ongoing on-field success, complaining on Saturday night about the soft playing surface and the cramped size of the coaching box, but recognised the club's growing connection with the Top End.
"We played eight quarters in pretty tough conditions," Hardwick said.
"The ground was really, really soft. We were pretty dominant for three quarters and then obviously the sting of the game started to get on top of us with only the three guys on the bench."
"We're charged with growing the game in south-east Queensland. We also have a responsibility to grow the game up here.
"Our players love coming up here. We have a large contingent of Indigenous players - possibly the most in the AFL.
"It's a fantastic ground and experience for our players - we'd also love to have some more home games in Queensland as well."
The Suns have another potential soft kill next week in North Melbourne before their next Q-Clash.
The big losers of Round 10
Western Bulldogs collapsed to a fourth loss from their last five matches, and this was by far the most concerning even despite the heavy margins suffered against Sydney (66 points) and Geelong (75 points), both of whom are again establishing themselves as credible Premiership contenders.
The Dogs were demolished in the centre of the park owing to crucial absentees Tim English and Tom Liberatore, losing the contested possession count by more than 30, having gone into the round averaging only four fewer contested possessions for than against across the season.
That lack of hard ball gets saw them enter the forward 50 only once in the first 15 or so minutes of the final term, during which Carlton opened up an unassailable 23-point lead at one stage.
A very disappointed head coach Luke Beveridge publicly called on his fit players to "pick up the slack" in the contested possession count, also suggesting he's short of other midfield options from a Footscray VFL side who lost to the Carlton reserves team by 20 points and are on their own three-game losing streak.
The Bulldogs' injury list isn't the longest but it does appear to be one of the most impactful. Rory Lobb and James O'Donnell could still be a week or two away, as could Libba, whilst even longer absences are expected for both Cody Weightman and Laitham Vandermeer.
Who kicked big bags this weekend?
It was an unusually quiet weekend for the sharpshooters of the league, with Patrick Voss (five) and Shaun Mannagh (five) the only two players in the competition to get more than three.
Team of the Week
Our team of the week comes courtesy of the best AFL.com.au fantasy scores for each specialised position (ruck, midfielder, full forward, full back, general forward and general back).
It was a very, very quiet weekend for full forwards with Geelong's Shannon Neale the only inside the top-100 of all scores overall!
West Coast ruck Bailey Williams gets an honourable mention with a score of 141.
Goal of the Week
Mark of the Week
The naughty boys
There are no proposed suspensions for this week, with only two high-grade fines imposed of $2000 (early plea) or $3000 (if found guilty at a tribunal).
Rory Laird (Adelaide) - Rough conduct - $2000 or $3000
Xavier Duursma (Essendon) - Rough conduct - $2000 or $3000
James Peatling (Adelaide) - Wrestling - $1000 or $1500
Colby McKercher (North Melbourne) - Wrestling - $1000 or $1500
Heath Chapman (Fremantle) - Melee - $1000 or $1500
Tom Sparrow (Melbourne) - Umpire contact - $1000 or $1500
Seth Campbell (Richmond) - Umpire contact - $1000 or $1500
Lachie Ash (GWS Giants) - Umpire contact - $1000 or $1500
Marcus Windhager (St Kilda) - Umpire contact - $1000 or $1500
Murphy Reid (Fremantle) - Umpire contact - $1000 or $1500
Zach Merrett (Essendon) - Umpire contact - $1000 or $1500
Next weekend's fixtures
