MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - AUGUST 06: Sam Mitchell and Luke Shuey of the Eagles look dejected after losing the round 20 AFL match between the St Kilda Saints and the West Coast Eagles at Etihad Stadium on August 6, 2017 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

We all know this season has been one of the tightest in years and we have seen an incredible number of comeback wins.

But with so many tight contests and come from behind wins, it has also meant some teams have managed to record wins despite being down for a large portion of the game. Similarly, many sides have thrown away games despite leading for a large portion of the match.

Some teams, such as the Cats, who currently sit fourth, have just found a way to win the close games and be ahead at the right time of the game this season, despite only being in front 45 % of the time this year.

Inversely, West Coast struggle to finish the job when it matter most. The Eagles have been in front 61% of the time this season, second behind only Adelaide, yet sit ninth with only 10 wins and nine losses.

Fremantle incredibly has only been in front 32% of the time this season, ranked 16th, yet the Dockers have managed to record eight wins and sit 14th on the ladder.

If the ladder was based purely on time in front, it would look very different.

Below is a table of the percentage of the time each side in the competition has been in the lead this season, demonstrating what an incredible season it has been.

Club % of time in front
Adelaide 63%
West Coast 61%
Richmond 60%
Essendon 59%
Port Adelaide 56%
Sydney 52%
GWS 50%
St Kilda 45%
Geelong 45%
Collingwood 45%
Hawthorn 45%
Melbourne 41%
Western Bulldogs 40%
North Melbourne 40%
Gold Coast 36%
Fremantle 32%
Carlton 31%
Brisbane 23%