• Nine things we learned from round 15
• Hawks by TKO: Ashley Browne scores Sunday's heavyweight bout in Tassie

THAT'S 0-3 for the Magpies in this, the defining month of their season.

An honourable loss to Fremantle, a blown opportunity against Hawthorn and then on Thursday night, a three-point loss to Port Adelaide, which while the narrowest of the three defeats, was the one the Pies looked least likely and which they least deserved, to win.

Next up is West Coast in a twilight game at Etihad Stadium on Saturday that just can't come around quickly enough for both sides.

But just as we have been judging the Pies on their past three weeks of footy, now it is time to place West Coast under the microscope. Eleven wins from 14 matches is a terrific effort until now; West Coast has done everything asked of it.

But the next six weeks will tell us more about the Eagles than the 14 games until now. Two of the Eagles' three losses came against top eight clubs, the Western Bulldogs and Fremantle, and in the next five weeks they play Collingwood, the Sydney Swans, Gold Coast, Hawthorn and then the Dockers and the Bulldogs again.

The Collingwood clash will be a huge test, although West Coast will be pleased to have it at Etihad rather than the MCG where it rarely plays. The Swans are always a stern test at home or away, Gold Coast is the longest road trip in the competition, Hawthorn has won four straight against the Eagles, Fremantle will be the home team for the derby and has won six straight against the Eagles, while the Bulldogs also travel well.

Mind you, the Eagles are well placed ahead of the most testing part of their season. The midfield is deeper and better, the backline is the third most miserly in the competition and as their percentage of 156.5 demonstrates, they keep the scoreboard ticking over.

Andrew Gaff's Saturday night against the Crows. Source: AFL Live Official App

Sign up for a free two-week trial of AFL Live Pass and fire up the AFL Live App to watch every match live and gain access to Coach features, including club and player heat maps.

It has been a remarkable coaching performance by Adam Simpson without two first-choice key defenders (Eric Mackenzie and Mitch Brown) out for the year, but the onball group at West Coast is the best it has been since the past premiership in 2006 and the addition of Jack Darling mid-season has added to the weaponry.

The Eagles have ticked every box so far, but the next six weeks will be the most illuminating of the year. 

• Forecast this season's final standings with the AFL Ladder Predictor

Some more observations

Quickfire thoughts out of round 15:

1. The first few minutes post-game at Adelaide Oval on Thursday night and Domain Stadium on Saturday night featured some of the most emotional scenes witnessed on a footy ground. Well played to all involved. It seems only fitting that next up for both clubs is another Showdown next Sunday.

• Crows, Eagles flock together for Phil

2. North Melbourne's form turnaround against Geelong on Saturday night was almost as predictable as the meltdown against the Suns the week before. The Kangas are no more 'back in town' than a week ago and they remain the most infuriating team in the competition. Drastic moves of the magnitude of axing of Lindsay Thomas and the benching of Brent Harvey should have occurred weeks ago.

3. Speaking of North, this column endorses pretty much everything North chairman James Brayshaw said on the weekend about the "KPI-driven" AFL draw for 2015. The suspicion here was that the abundance of Carlton matches (heaven forbid, the Blues feature again in a fortnight) on Friday nights was as much in the hope of a Mick Malthouse post-match dust-up live on national TV as there was a competitive game. In addition, the feeling is that his suggestion of two fewer games per season has widespread support around the football industry but the loss of income it would result in means it will never be agreed to by the AFL Commission.

4. That's four wins on the trot for the Western Bulldogs, and to put the last 10 goals of the game past Gold Coast – admittedly down on fit players by the end – was a mighty effort on the road by a team containing 12 players with 50 games or less to their names. It's the sort of win that will be remembered down the track when the Dogs are in premiership contention.

5. Bravo and thanks to all players, coaches, officials and parents who turned up to Auskick and junior footy on Sunday during the most inclement weather in Victoria imaginable. Three votes to all of you.

QUESTION TIME


Ashley Browne: Speaking to someone from the Cats on Sunday, they believed that the post-match events last weekend was where the commemoration for Walsh started and ended. Given that the club songs and general hoopla were back before the game, the Cats were right to think there would be no more observances after it.

AB: Alex Rance would be miles ahead for the first key position spot while both Michael Hurley and Cale Hooker have been great for the Bombers. Jeremy McGovern has been a revelation for West Coast. They'd certainly be ahead of Hombsch, who has been excellent for Port in a tough year.

• How did your club's players fare in this week's state leagues?
• Fantasy form watch: Round 15's Pig, Presti and Junior Swine