THE AFL RUBDOWN | Round 5 is now known as ‘Anzac Round’ and helps mark an important day in our nation’s history. Every game had a service, last post and a minute’s silence prior to the bounce. T

Any doubts about the Bombers’ on-field bona fides this season were removed on Anzac Day when they overpowered Collingwood by 46 points

St Kilda forward Stephen Milne is facing a one-game AFL ban and a $3000 fine after Saturday’s loss to Essendon.

THE AFL RUBDOWN | I’m gonna call it; we are amidst quite possibly the most dramatic, controversial and peculiar start to a footy season in living memory.

Essendon chairman David Evans and coach James Hird have made emotional speeches at the AFL club’s season launch.

The AFL crackdown on NAB Cup tribunal penalties will probably mean Geelong star Steve Johnson misses the round-one blockbuster against arch-rivals Hawthorn.

THE AFL RUBDOWN | If a week is a long time in footy, then Carlton’s week must’ve felt like a journey, by foot, from Geraldton to Adelaide.

AFL is many things. For some it’s a slight distraction for a few hours, for others, it’s the life force that flows through us and surrounds us, overcoming us with emotion and making other trivial aspects of existence seem insignificant (like food shopping).

Sydney, Adelaide and Hawthorn all clambered into the AFL top four with wins on Sunday to further widen the most open premiership race in years.

THE AFL RUBDOWN | Well, well, well…what have we here then? It seems that all of a sudden without anyone even realizing, the Swans of Sydney not only have been playing matches all season, they’ve managed to win enough to be on top of the FREAKING ladder!

THE AFL RUBDOWN | It’s happened again. The golden cliché that all clubs are supposed to live and die by has claimed some major casualties, and they don’t get much bigger than Collingwood and Essendon – falling victim to the most ancient rule in competitive team sports – ‘ONE WEEK AT A TIME’.

THE AFL RUBDOWN | Hungry Jacks Pty Ltd avoided going into administration on the weekend by the skin of their thickshakes, as the unpredictability of the AFL finally got predictable.

THE AFL RUBDOWN | Round 13 has just been completed, and it’s all downhill from here til September. What a cracking weekend it was too, with some true upsets, sublime contests and some of the most captivating beards you’re ever likely to see.

Momentum. It exists in most sports (well, maybe not ‘Dressage’…what sort of sadist dreamt that one up?) and it seems none more so than in the glorious world of AFL.

The Sydney Swans accept they face a real litmus test of their AFL finals credentials against Essendon on Saturday as they try to break their recent boom-bust cycle.

THE AFL RUBDOWN | Mums around Australia are currently considering legal advice after some of the most brutal, sickening and downright stupid injuries ever compressed into one weekend of footy. It was like watching one of those American montage videos of people copping horrific pain.

THE AFL RUBDOWN | Bob Dylan has been saying for years that ‘the times, they are a changing’. It seems he may well be on the money this time, as Round 3 showed that there may be a changing of the guard.

THE RUBDOWN | Finals Week 2 – The AFL coaching merry-go-round can’t detract from some superb Aussie Rules footy, with the Hawks and the Eagles setting up some seriously huge showdowns.

THE RUBDOWN: After a very juicy week one of AFL finals footy, there’s a few teams who will be ruing what could have been and a few who will be stepping up to the next level.