Of the 22 North Melbourne players who ran out onto the Gabba on Monday night, 10 are out of contract at the end of this season.
Schedule losses, an unusually deep defence and contrasts between good and bad kick-mark feature in Round 13's Notebook.
Unbelievably, we now have to endure three whole days without football, which is disgraceful. But at the end of 20 consecutive days with football, we may be starting to see some ladder separation.
First things first, an apology for no post last week. Thankfully there's a post this week with plenty to discuss both from a team and individual perspective.
Another two excellent matches in Round 11, even with the compressed schedule, leads us into a handful of vital clashes in Round 12. But before then, what caught the eye over the last few days.
Halfway through FootyMania, there's plenty to take in as we approach the home stretch building towards finals.
As we hit rotation season, with games being played nine times a week and broadcast for 37 hours a day, individual performances become tough to judge.
We’re at roughly the halfway mark of this topsy-turvy season and the ladder is starting to take shape.
It turns out when your opposition is extremely poor, there’s plenty of insight for what the optimum version of your own side looks like.
Let the madness begin. In 20 days we’ll likely have a clear view of what separates the top four from the top eight, and the race for the eight from the also-rans.
