As both the players and their coaches continue their strides in season 2021, distinctive groups have broken out throughout the race.
Some, like the Bulldogs and Demons, have dashed from the starter's gun, with the desire to create lightyears between themselves and the pack.
Sadly for others, they are barely attached to the peloton anymore.
Whether first, second, third or 18th along the road to the last Saturday in September, every side and their side coaching team still have question marks over their head.
Geelong
How important is Jeremy Cameron to their success this season?
Should you take a step back and look at Geelong's 2021 campaign so far, you will see that they currently hold a 3-2 record and the eighth rung on the ladder.
Dig a little deeper and the question arises, how long are their ugly wins likely to remain?
As pointed out by Fox Sports' David Zita, the Cats may have lost 637 games of talent this off-season, but they have been able to amply replace them with the additions of Shaun Higgins, Isaac Smith and of course, Jeremy Cameron.
Despite the fact that the latter is yet to pull on a hooped guernsey in a match for competition points, what has become abundantly clear is that the club has based their game plan around him.
In the hoop's first five games this season, they have gone inside 50 at an average of 53.2 times per game. From these entries, Chris Scott's prowl has only managed to turn them into a mean of 10.8 goals and 75.6 points per game.
This lack of conversion is compounded by the fact that even though Geelong average the fifth most marks in the league, and that Tom Hawkins sits second for grabs inside 50 this year, there is not another Cat currently within the top 60 players in the competition for the statistic.
Although the 2020 Coleman medalist has managed 10.15 in front of goal for the season, you can be sure the team's offensive numbers will rise once he is partnered with another Coleman winner.
Geelong: "Once he gets the green light from the medical & conditioning staff, then he'll play"
Cats Snr coach Chris Scott on Jeremy Cameron#AFL | @aflratings pic.twitter.com/Q8kYkolo35
— aflratings.com.au (@aflratings) April 22, 2021
With the former Giant set to be named this weekend, the proof will be in the pudding โ and also on the scoreboard.