15 rounds in and we've never been more perplexed over which teams are serious, and who's on fraud watch.
One thing is for certain, it is Sydney's to lose from here and it may take something miraculous to halt their surge to a sixth flag.
Below them lies unending confusion; the two sides with the second & third best percentage sitting outside the top eight.
10th-placed Brisbane sit less than two wins out of the top four, but the former bottom-dweller Hawks may be one of the four best teams going around at this moment.
As the ladder deceives us like never before, stars from every team are making a compelling case for their spot in the AFL All-Australian team.
In this edition, all but three sides are represented and five clubs have earned the honour of featuring multiple names.
Men we had thought set their names in stone by Round 10 have been stunningly omitted, through their own struggles or another's rise.
As always, a host of names remain stiff to miss, but here is the cream of the 2024 crop lucky enough to secure a spot in our Round 15 rolling side.
3. Forwards
We've held all three roosters from our last edition, Charlie Curnow, Jesse Hogan and Jake Waterman all doing enough to hold. Curnow sits tied atop the goalkicking tally while Hogan and Waterman draw third. All provide a potent forward-50 aerial presence and all have been accurate thus far in front of the sticks.
Marcus Bontempelli starts on a flank. With 22 goals and 19 assists from his 14 games, often shifting forward to evade a run-with opponent, he is clearly eligible for forward status.
Dylan Moore is another formerly underrated cog in the Hawks front half who has finally done enough to earn a gig with the best, renowned for his elite work rate and smarts in the high-forward role, winning a heap of footy in the front half and at times hitting the scoreboard in a big way.
Tyson Stengle and Izak Rankine may be the two players battling for the forward-pocket spot the rest of the year. For now Stengle starts and Rankine sits on the pine, but both are a nightmare defensive matchup for opposing defenders once the ball hits the ground or is held for a stoppage inside 50.
Stiff to miss:
