WHEN it comes to injury, suspension and losing players to free agency, it's not so much how many. 

It's who and when.

And so far it's this season's poorest performers that have been hit hardest with injuries to their key players. 

They are also the teams that can least afford to lose them. 

Using the rough measure of games missed by players who finished top 10 in their club's 2012 best and fairest, it's clear Melbourne, the Western Bulldogs and Gold Coast have been hit hardest.

The Suns have performed well anyway with four wins and four losses, despite getting just 57 of a possible 80 games out of last year's solid performers. 

They can cover the losses because Gold Coast's talented youngsters are maturing and beginning to reel off the sort of consistent performances that lead to top-10 finishes in best and fairests. 

Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs have managed 58 of a possible 80. Both teams lost a key defender during the off-season – Jared Rivers to free agency and Brian Lake to a trade that realised a draft pick – and have already lost 14 extra games through injury to their best players from last year. 

Injuries to Jack Grimes, Jack Trengove and Tom McDonald at Melbourne and Matthew Boyd, Robert Murphy, Ryan Griffen and Tory Dickson at the Bulldogs have exposed a lack of depth at both clubs. 

It's the same story at GWS with Luke Power retired, Chad Cornes absent and now Phil Davis missing with a back injury. The Giants have managed just 59 of a possible 80 from their best 10 last season. 

Add the absence of Chris Dawes and Mitch Clark and the Demons' woes are complete. 

Not that many care for such reasons. They just point to the scoreboard. Such is life at an AFL club. 

Collingwood and Fremantle have hung in there despite injuries to key players. 

The Magpies' best and fairest winner from last season, Dayne Beams, has not played a game. The only other 2012 best and fairest winners to miss games have been Boyd (played five of a possible eight games), Lenny Hayes (five), Heath Scotland (six), Tom Hawkins (seven) and Trent Cotchin (seven). 

Matthew Pavlich has been the biggest loss for the Dockers but it has been two players - Luke Ball and Aaron Sandilands - who missed a lot of football in 2012 that have been sorely missed again by their respective clubs in 2013. 

For these clubs, it's about hanging around the mark until their best players can return because the tide does turn. 

Of course, using the top 10 in the best and fairest from last year is a loose guide only. 

It also doesn't include Nic Naitanui, surely the most significant absentee in 2013. It's hard to believe but Naitanui was also absent from the top 10 of the Eagles' best and fairest in 2012. 

That's hard to believe because the Eagles have appeared a different team from the moment he walked on the ground midway through round six against the Bulldogs. 

By contrast, apart from Sam Wright missing one game, the only absentee North Melbourne has had this year from 2012's top 10 has been Brent Harvey, who was suspended for the first six rounds. 

Its depth is yet to be truly tested yet close losses have left the Kangaroos with just three wins in eight rounds. 

The Sydney Swans have also had a dream run. From the top 10 in their best and fairest count last season, only Craig Bird has missed. He was injured for the first game and then was omitted for round four. 

Funnily enough, both of last season's grand finalists have had a good start when it comes to injuries to key players. 

Brad Sewell has been hampered and Cyril Rioli will be missing for an extended period with a hamstring injury but the remaining eight players from Hawthorn's top 10 have played every game so far. 

It's worth making the point, too, that for all the hype that surrounds trade week, few players who switched clubs have made a huge impact. 

There were 39 players traded and they have played 54 per cent of possible games (167 from 312 possible). 

Eight traded players have not played a game while six have played every game. Three of that six – Lewis Stevenson, Angus Monfries and Jake Neade (traded by GWS as a a pre-draft selection) – have played for Port Adelaide. 

It's not a great time to be down the bottom. The compromised draft and free agency have made it tough to re-emerge quickly. Add injuries and that anchor becomes even heavier. 

23 Gold Coast 

22 Western Bulldogs, Melbourne

21 GWS, Port Adelaide

16.5 Collingwood*

16 St Kilda

15 Carlton 

14 Adelaide, Essendon 

11 Brisbane Lions 

9 Fremantle

8 Geelong

8 Richmond*

7 North Melbourne

6 Hawthorn, West Coast

2 Sydney Swans