Then: The golden era was supposed to be over after the premature finals elimination last year, the retirement of Matthew Scarlett and the remaining superstars getting another year older. How good would the kids be under the relentless pressure of senior footy? Who knew?
Now: Right in the hunt for another flag. The Cats have speed, skill, endless versatility and the hunger appears to be back. Geelong also bats deep in 2013 with 33 players already having played senior footy, all who would seem up to the rigors of finals footy if required.
Highs: Plenty when your record is 10-1. The Cats came from five goals down to beat the Hawks in round 1 and 41 points down to beat North the next week. They then put the Swans to the sword with one devastating quarter a fortnight later. From an individual standpoint, Steven Motlop has become one of the premier small forwards in the AFL while athletic ruckman Mark Blicavs has gone from project player to walk-up best-22 selection in half a season.
Lows: Paul Chapman has missed half the season to date because of a hamstring strain and may be missing for several weeks yet. Chris Scott will say that Geelong's propensity to blow teams away with one quarter of football is an issue. All teams should have such a problem, we say.
Key stat: Geelong has won just three opening quarters this season, the equal-third fewest of any side. It dominates coming out after half-time however, winning 10 of its 11 third quarters so far this season. (Champion Data)
Best and fairest: Steve Johnson has been a treat to watch all year. Not only is he the clubhouse leader in the best and fairest, he'll likely also be faring well in the Brownlow Medal.
Prognosis: Absolute morals for the top two with six games still to come at Simonds Stadium. A fourth flag in seven years shapes as a real possibility given Geelong's excellent season to date and fixture to come.
MELBOURNE (17th)
Then: The outlook for Melbourne was relatively rosy, coming off four wins in 2012, three of which came against the expansion clubs. The recruitment of Chris Dawes and the addition of some experienced bodies led to a belief, at least internally, that the Demons were good for perhaps eight wins this year.
Now: To call the year shambolic would be to put to kind a spin on things. The Demons are non-competitive, due mainly to a midfield that is below par and can't get its hands on the footy. When it does, soon after come the turnovers. The Demons are 1-10. To quote Sandy Roberts, "What more can you say?"
Highs: Melbourne kicked a club record 12 goals in the final quarter against Greater Western Sydney in round four, to turn what was shaping as a calamitous defeat into a stirring 41-point win.
Lows: Melbourne made a big noise about starting 2013 better than it did last year (a 41-point loss to the Brisbane Lions) but instead lost to Port Adelaide by 13 goals. It promised to rebound hard the next week and lost by 148 points to Essendon, its heaviest defeat ever at the MCG. Not helping Melbourne's cause has been injuries. Key forwards Mitch Clark and Chris Dawes have yet to play in the same team, while co-skipper Jack Grimes has missed a month of footy as well.
Key stat: Melbourne has averaged 103 fewer disposals per game than its opposition this season – the worst differential recorded by any side in the first half of a season. (Champion Data)
Best and fairest: Nathan Jones would be the favourite to go back-to-back. Colin Garland has had a good season down back, while Matt Jones has been impressive in his debut season.
Prognosis: A round 19 trip to Skoda Stadium to play the Giants might be their only chance of a win for the rest of the year. Note we said "might". Only four more games out of their remaining 11 are at the MCG. The main developments of note at Melbourne for the rest of the year will take place in the boardroom, president Don McLardy already stepping down on Friday.
Nathan Jones has been one of the good stories to come out of Melbourne in 2013. Picture: AFL Media
NORTH MELBOURNE (13th)
Then: Coming off the first finals appearance of the Brad Scott era in 2012, the next step for the Kangaroos was to push for the top six, although the big question mark hovering over the Roos this season was how they would deal with the toughest draw in the competition.
Now: Melbourne aside, has there been a more disappointing team than North in 2013? The Kangas have coughed up a series of leads this year and limp into the bye week with a 4-7 record and with a return trip to the finals appearing most unlikely.
Highs: The opening quarter against St Kilda a fortnight ago was very good – nine goals to one – and set up a thumping 68-point win and the perfect celebration for Boomer Harvey's 350th game. There has also been some sublime football at other stages this year, and you don’t rack up a percentage of 111.1 without keeping the scoreboard ticking over.
Lows: How long have you got? Giving up a 41-point lead to Geelong? Giving up a last-second mark and match-winning goal to Nic Naitanui? What about conceding a five goal lead to Adelaide in the last 20 minutes or skipping out to a five goal lead in the wet against Gold Coast, but to be behind at half-time and then lose.
Key stat: North Melbourne has gone coast-to-coast from a kick-in for a score 7.6 per cent of the time this season – ranked 15th. It has allowed its opposition to score from 18 per cent of kick-ins – the third-highest percentage conceded by any side. (Champion Data)
Best and fairest: Scott Thompson has enjoyed a really consistent year for North.
Prognosis: Finals look only a slim chance now. With four wins from 11, the Kangas next play Freo away and four of their last five matches feature Geelong, Essendon, Hawthorn and Collingwood.
A thumping win over St Kilda in round 10 was the perfect way for North Melbourne to celebrate significant milestones for two favourite sons, Daniel Wells and Brent Harvey. Picture: AFL Media
ST KILDA (16th)
Then: Opinion was divided on the Saints in the pre-season. Some thought there was one last finals campaign left in a group that so easily could have won the 2009 and 2010 premierships, while others believed the time for the rebuild had arrived. The departure of Brendan Goddard further clouded the thinking on St Kilda.
Now: Just two wins for the season – against GWS in round three and Carlton in round seven. It has all gone to seed for the Saints and they are now in a clear rebuilding mode, even if the word itself is verboten around Seaford. The plight of Nick Dal Santo sums up the state of play at St Kilda in 2013. A good player with something still to offer, but showing signs that it might be better for player and club if he moves on next year and the Saints grab a decent draft pick for him while they can.
Highs: Beating Carlton is always a high for the Saints, but even that came with a few anxious moments as the Blues came storming back. Nick Riewoldt has been in brilliant form all year, rolling back the clock to the days when he was the premier key forward in the competition. He might be so again.
Lows: The season got off to a sorry start with a loss to Gold Coast at Metricon and it has been a battle since then. Losing to the Western Bulldogs was a disappointment because the Saints had control for much of the game. The most recent defeat to West Coast, after leading pretty much all night was devastating for the Saints and told the story of their season. A for effort, E for execution, a bit of bad luck (read: poor umpiring) along the way.
Key stat: St Kilda has won a centre clearance from 37.5 per cent of centre bounces this season – ranked 17th. It has won a clearance from just 36.2 per cent of overall stoppages – again ranked 17th. (Champion Data)
Best and fairest: Riewoldt. By a mile.
Prognosis: The Saints 'host' Melbourne at the MCG after the bye, which offers the chance to start the second half of the season with a win. But there aren't too many more likely wins on their schedule after that. Of more interest at St Kilda is the future of Justin Koschitzke, Stephen Milne and Lenny Hayes and how the club moves them on. Hopefully with dignity and class.
Nick Riewoldt is far and way St Kilda's best player in 2013. Picture: AFL Media
SYDNEY SWANS (3rd)
Then: The reigning premiers. Fit and strong with a gentle start to the year, and with Kurt Tippett waiting in the wings. They were rated a big chance for back-to-back flags.
Now: The Swans don't believe in making fast starts to the season and sleepwalked through their first few weeks, but since losing to Hawthorn in round 7, their last month has been impeccable. Their beat-down of Adelaide on Saturday was the most impressive footy by any team this season and now Tippett is available for selection. They remain a huge premiership chance.
Highs: The Collingwood and Adelaide wins were the Swans' best of the year, but equally impressive has been the ability to regenerate last year's premiership side. Alex Johnson is out for the year with a knee injury, Marty Mattner has retired and Lewis Roberts-Thomson and Rhyce Shaw have also been hurt, yet Tom Mitchell, Andrejs Everitt and Dane Rampe have fitted in seamlessly. Just quietly, Jarrad McVeigh has morphed into one of the best captains in the AFL and Dan Hannebery into Brownlow calculations.
Lows: Losing Johnson and Mattner were disappointing for the Swans but hardly derail the premiership bid. The loss to Hawthorn was sour, perhaps the only time this year the side didn't display its trademark hardness. Then again, it was probably the wake-up call it needed.
Key stat: Sydney has been the most accurate side in the competition this season, scoring at an accuracy of 70.4 per cent from set shots (ranked No. 1) and recording an overall scoring accuracy of 64.0 per cent, again, ranked No. 1. (Champion Data)
Best and fairest: Hannebery would be the leader, although McVeigh is having an outstanding season.
Radar finally lands on Swans
Prognosis: A lock for the top four and a big chance to win the flag once again. The Swans close the home and away season against Geelong and Hawthorn and might need to win both to guarantee themselves two home games in the finals. It will be fascinating to see how they accommodate talls Mike Pyke, Shane Mumford, Sam Reid, LRT and Tippett in the same side come the pointy end of the season. Is there room for the lot of them?
No wonder the Swans are smiling: entrenched in the top four and Kurt Tippett is yet to play. Picture: AFL Media
WEST COAST (8th)
Then: How highly-rated were the Eagles in the pre-season? Eleven out of 16 AFL Media pundits picked West Coast to either win the flag or make the Grand Final. Great midfield, plenty of gun forwards and the best one-two ruck combination in the AFL is what fuelled the pre-season ardour for the Coasters.
Now: West Coast scrambled back into the eight on the back of a lucky four-point win over St Kilda on Sunday. The Eagles have a 6-5 record, but it is hard to put a line through their form.
Highs: It might have been a single piece of play - Nic Naitanui's last-second pack mark that delivered the match-winning goal against North Melbourne in round 8. It summed up the season to a degree; individual bits of brilliance but not much joy from a team perspective.
Lows: The Eagles haven't protected the fortress much this year, with just two wins from six games at Patersons Stadium. Against both Hawthorn and Richmond, the Eagles were humiliated. Injuries have also cut deep, with important players such as Beau Waters, Matt Rosa, Daniel Kerr and Naitanui all missing chunks of the season because of injury.
Key stat: West Coast has averaged 49.7 inside 50s per game – ranked 13th in the competition. It has been able to score from 58.5 per cent of forward 50 entries however, ranked No. 1 in the competition. (Champion Data)
Best and fairest: Darren Glass, Eric Mackenzie and Josh Kennedy have shown glimpses this year, as have Chris Masten and Matt Priddis. But no stand-out at this stage.
Prognosis: There won't be a return to the finals for West Coast if it can't do something about its woeful home record. The Eagles also lack genuine pace, which is the first ingredient needed to win at Etihad Stadium. And if the Eagles don't make it to September, what next for John Worsfold, who has been in charge for 12 seasons but whose contract is up at the end of the season?
Nic Naitanui's mark and after-the-siren goal to beat North Melbourne is one of the moments of season 2013. Picture: AFL Media
Ashley Browne is an AFL Media senior writer.
