As the first month of fixtures drew to a close last Sunday evening, a belief morphed into empirical truth - 2021 is already rivalling last year in terms of unpredictability.
If you don't believe me, just take a look at the current ladder.
With the second month of the marathon season set to commence tonight, another set of questions remain ahead of both the men in the hot seat and their disciples in studded boots.
Whether flying high or having to continually dig deep for no reward, here are the latest set of quandaries facing each of the AFL's 18 teams.
West Coast
When will they produce a four-quarter effort?
For the entirety of this season, I have asked within the bounds of this weekly column when exactly the Eagles will start playing full games of football.
Across the first three weeks of 2021, West Coast have failed to win all four-quarters of any game, with their best effort coming in Round 1 against Gold Coast, where they won three.
Last week, I stated that of the 16 periods of football that the Eagles have played in 2021, they had only managed to win eight of them โ a 50% record for anyone that struggles with simple mathematics like myself.
Against St. Kilda on Saturday, West Coast jumped out of the blocks and won the first pair of stanzas. However, after conceding 10.7 to just 3.1 in the second half, their record remains at exactly 50%.
โIt was a game of two halves, but we couldnโt handle the pressure.โ
Jeremy McGovern pic.twitter.com/j5cHISXQPG
— West Coast Eagles (@WestCoastEagles) April 13, 2021
Despite their outlier performance against Port in Round 3, on current form, it would appear unlikely that the Eagles would dominate from 'go to whoa' against any of their next pair of opponents โ Collingwood and Geelong.
Still, with a stacked side of talented footballers and a premiership coach at the helm, things could turn around quickly for the ageing team. However, if their patchy performances and leads of over five goals continue to be reeled in, expect Adam Simpson's hair to keep greying at pace.