With the first month of the AFL season drawing to a close, narratives for all of the competition's 18 teams have begun to arise.
Whilst some are struggling and others are thriving, you can bet your bottom dollar that each of the league's list of polo shirt wearing pedagogues will still be desperate for improvement this weekend.
With this in mind, here are the key quandaries facing every AFL club ahead of Round 4.
West Coast
Have the cobwebs been blown off now?
Last week, I spoke about West Coast's inability to strangle teams and dominate contests.
Prior to their win over Port in Round 3, the Eagles had managed to win just eight out of 16 quarters of football, post on average 88-points per game and led games for just as long as they were losing them โ 50.26%.
However, when the siren sounded on Saturday night and their objectively woeful theme song rang out over Optus Stadium, Adam Simpson's men had almost raised the bar entirely.
Anyone with a basic understanding of mathematics will be able to tell you that the Eagles' final score of 108 is a larger number then their first fortnight's mean of 88 โ so they get a tick there.
Waking up with four points in the bank! pic.twitter.com/KM19b0iBnJ
— West Coast Eagles (@WestCoastEagles) April 3, 2021
Across the first two rounds, West Coast were only able to win half of the quarters of football they had played in. On Saturday night, nothing changed for the westerners, as Port Adelaide won the second half on the scoreboard.
One tick. One cross.
After a first quarter that saw them leading by 27-points, the Eagles kept their foot on Port's throat, and continued to lead the contest from โgo to whoa'.
Tick.
Despite this obvious improvement, Adam Simpson will still be desperate to piece together a four quarter performance โ something that has also been troubling me on a weekly basis.
