The big winners of Round 8 were...
the Western Bulldogs, who had a roadtrip to Ballarat they won't forget for quite a long time.
In spite of a quarter-time deficit, they outscored Port Adelaide 15 goals to three from the second quarter onwards to record their third consecutive victory, joining another unlikely source in Melbourne for the longest active winning streak of the league.
It's a very welcome resurgence for a club who are not only facing one of the biggest off-season distractions of the season (Jamarra Ugle-Hagan's ongoing on-off relationship with the team) but also had a coach considered one of the most likely to be sacked one month ago.
That's not to mention they had one of the longest and most consequential injury lists early on, but the returns of key players like Marcus Bontempelli, Adam Treloar and Jason Johannisen have given their campaign an enormous boost.
They may even go to the Gold Coast as favourites next weekend, with the odds neck and neck on Monday morning.
The big losers of Round 8 were...
GWS Giants, who suffered a fifth consecutive loss to crosstown rivals Sydney despite going into this encounter as 5.5 point favourites.
That followed losses to the Bulldogs and the Crows, both of whom have leapfrogged them further up the eight.
The Giants were unable to get themselves going after conceding five first-quarter goals and couldn't take advantage of the Swans' profligacy in front of goal, missing multiple crucial opportunities themselves in the final term.
Their next two opponents, Geelong and Fremantle, both have their own claims on top-eight places at the moment, so Adam Kingsley's side are currently floundering their way through what could potentially be a season-defining period. They'll be one to watch for the next couple of weeks.
Coleman Medal leaderboard
There was very little movement at the top end of the Coleman Medal race with the existing top four - Ben King, Jack Higgins, Josh Treacy and Nick Larkey - all having very quiet weekends along with Riley Thilthorpe.
The man in the photo - Hawthorn's Jack Gunston - kicked three against Richmond (including the 500th of his AFL career) to move to 20.
Mark of the Year: Round 8 Nominee
Oh sport, the great leveller... in the space of one week, Steele Sidebottom goes from ANZAC Day medallist to becoming Steele Stepladder whilst copping a knee in the head from Ollie Dempsey's big fly.
Goal of the Year: Round 8 Nominees
A lot of credit must go to best on ground Tim English for the setup here, but this Ed Richards snap was simply outrageous.
We love the iconic 'mouth cover' Akermanis celebration here from St Kilda's Cooper Sharman, who simply threw the ball onto the boot and hoped for the best.
There's been an awful lot of boundary line magic in the AFL these past few weeks and this one from Cam Zurhaar could well be the best of the bunch.