Round 5: Winners and losers

Five rounds in and it looks like the top eight is starting to take shape. We finally had a decent Friday night game and we now have a clear leader on top in North Melbourne. Lets take a look at the winners and losers for round 5.

Winner: North Melbourne

For the second week in a row, North feature as a winner, continuing their fine start to the season. The Kangaroos have now beaten both the Lions and the Suns in Queensland, a state they do not like travelling to very much. Usually known for their poor starts to seasons, the Roos are flying at the moment as they look to go one better than last year's prelim effort.

This week sees he Roos take centre stage with the Bulldogs on Friday night, under the roof at Etihad. It shows not just how far North has come, but how far both clubs have come since a few years ago. North had three Friday night games last season, this year they have five while the Dogs will place their first Friday night game since 2012.

Loser: Fremantle

The Dockers were deplorable against Carlton. This was the game Fremantle simply had to win and get the season going. A home game against a young, inexperienced and rebuilding Carlton side should have been a sure thing for last year's minor premiers.

However, it now looks like Fremantle is the team that need to rebuild. To make matters worse, Michael Johnson, skipper David Mundy, Aaron Sandilands and now reigning Brownlow medalist Nat Fyfe. With Nat Fyfe I saw it coming, he played last season's final series while injured and it's a big call to make this early, but I fear Nat Fyfe will never be the same player again.

Comparing this side to Geelong, Cats veterans Jimmy Bartel and Corey Enright are now the icing on the cake at Geelong rather than the cake, whereas at Fremantle, they are still relying on a 34-year old to kick their goals. Their team hasn't changed since Ross first walked in to the club. The same thing happened at St Kilda and now its happening at Fremantle. They play Adelaide this week away from home which looks like a definite defeat and from there, I can't see where they're going to get their first win.

Winner: Melees

There were two this week, at the Port Adelaide and Geelong game and the Richmond and Melbourne game. Now we don't condone violence in the AFL, but these two scuffles were good to see as long as no one gets hurt or injured, I actually welcome them. Footy is a emotional game and its good to see that emotion among players. The AFL should really consider getting rid of the mandatory fine that is given to every player involved in a melee unless their is an actual offence.

Loser: Gold Coast Suns

After such a good start to the season, the Suns have lost their last two in what were winnable games against Brisbane and North Melbourne at home. After three rounds, we thought this might just be the year the Suns finally crack the eight and prove the expansion sides have improved considerably.

I might be wrong and they may just turn around their form, but their next two games are tough. They travel to Geelong on Saturday night and then they host Melbourne the following week, who are no pushovers. The Suns need to improve and improve fast, otherwise they're risking being taken over by the Giants.

Winner: Mason Cox

It was great to see the big Texan makes his debut on Anzac Day against the Bombers and he made an impact straight away kicking the opening goal. At 211cm Cox offers Collingwood the ruck relief they need for Brody Grundy and they know he'll make a contest considering his height

Finishing with a goal and 10 disposals is not bad for someone that is not quite accustom to the game, he'll be hoping to improve on that performance against the Eagles this weekend, Its all well and good performing against a VFL Essendon side, i'll wait to see how he goes against the better clubs before I cast a judgement.

Loser: West Coast's away form

The Eagles are not great travellers and they've proved that early this season, failing to win on the road, with losses against the Hawks and the Swans. Adam Simpson's side buckled on grand final day last year and they must improve their interstate form to have any chance of featuring in the penultimate fixture, let alone winning it.

The next two away games for the Eagles are Geelong and Port Adelaide and they'll need to win at least one of those in order to be considered as a top two side come round 10. We all know what they are capable of, so maybe West Coast just haven't kicked in to gear as yet. They have the talent and the capabilities to explode into form at any minute.