The numbers that matter
The big winners of Round 7
Both Fremantle and Hawthorn extended their winning runs to six games each to keep in touch with ladder leaders and Premiership favourites Sydney, who have made huge strides from sitting in a lowly 14th at this time last year.
The Hawks overran the Gold Coast Suns with four goals to nil in the final quarter of the early Anzac Day game, for the eighth consecutive time that they have 'won' the second half. Were it not for conceding eight first quarter goals to the Giants in Opening Round, they could well have been 8-0 ahead of a crunch clash with the Pies.
Fremantle were similarly destructive in the final quarter of their game against Carlton, piling on four goals in a six-minute period to put away any doubt that they were going to register a commanding win at home to the Blues.
Best on ground medal winner Shai Bolton (33 disposals and 2.2) was ably supported by some devastating individual performances from Luke Jackson (21 disposals and 2.1), Corey Wagner (27) and the returning Andy Brayshaw (26).
Jackson's domination of the ruck was arguably the most influential aspect of the Dockers' victory, despite Bolton ultimately being recognised with the Arthur Leggett Medal.
Next up, they're in Melbourne to face an undermanned and battered Bulldogs.
The big losers of Round 7
It's going to a long, looong 2026 for some of the league's most highly followed teams - and that could be bad news for AFL coffers.
The AFL have been celebrating record average crowds throughout the first several weeks of the season, boosted by a new Gather Round record of 270,018 spectators in mid-April, but there are a few clubs who are going to really be testing their members' loyalty.
Carlton, Richmond and Essendon are now deeply embedded in the bottom-four with only two wins between them in seven rounds - and one of them was Carlton's over Richmond in their traditional Round 1 opener.
ELO ratings from Wheelo Ratings show the Bombers and Tigers in particular have been left behind along with the Eagles in both attack and defence, whilst the lack of individual talent in the squads can be illustrated by the fact that these three also join West Coast in the bottom four for collective Supercoach points scored in 2026.
Collingwood made an absolute mess of the Bombers on Anzac Day, following up last weekend's narrow win over Carlton, but they are in need of a big scalp of their own to supercharge their season. They'll have plenty of opportunities coming up against Hawthorn, Geelong and Sydney. Lose all three and they'll be back outside the ten with a 4-6 record.
Who kicked big bags this week?
Charlie Curnow volleyed himself up the Coleman Medal rankings with his best performance so far as a Swan (seven goals), whilst Jack Gunston (five) and Nick Larkey (four) also made moves on clubhouse leader Ben King.
Elsewhere, there were four-goal hauls for Kysaiah Pickett (Melbourne), Mitch Georgiades (Port Adelaide), Brodie Kemp (Carlton) and Charlie Cameron (Brisbane), whilst Jack Higgins (St Kilda) booted five for the fifth time in his career.
The naughty boys
In a rare event, there were no players suspended this week, meaning it'll be very unlikely that the tribunal will be sitting.
Lachlan Cowan (Carlton) - Rough conduct - $2000 or $3000 fine
Nick Blakey (Sydney) - Rough conduct - $2000 or $3000 fine
Caleb Serong (Fremantle) - Tripping - $1000 or $1500 fine
Wayne Milera (Adelaide) - Careless contact with an umpire - $1000 or $1500 fine
Clayton Oliver (GWS Giants) - Careless contact with an umpire - $1000 or $1500 fine
Goal of the Week
There were some great grabs and goals in Round 7, but for the first time in the history of this blog, we're going to give both gongs to Melbourne dynamo Kozzy Pickett.
Mark of the Week
Pickett's goal had some challengers from Rankine and Luke Jackson as seen above, but this grab is almost certainly the current leader for the Mark of the Year.
Next weekend's fixtures
