We've since had plenty said and written about the woes of the Tigers and Magpies. The Dockers have also been a hot topic, and find themselves in another quirky debate as they prepare to host the Bombers at Domain Stadium on Saturday.

The winless Dockers have appeared – on occasions – to be soulless. We saw Ross Lyon's bake at quarter-time last week and listened to his reasoning as he dashed from the field.

The Bombers have only one win but, for the most part, have performed credibly considering their circumstances. Their public relations campaign has also helped, but it's been hard to knock the spirit in which they have played under John Worsfold.

So, heading into round 11, leaving aside the Dockers' injury ward of 14, and the missing Dons, who has the worst list?

Are the Dockers really that bad, or have they been so reliant on the likes of Nat Fyfe, Aaron Sandilands and Michael Johnson that Lyon's game plan, whether it be the tinkered product of the opening rounds, or the more reverted-to-type version of recent weeks, cannot function if forced to adopt Alastair Clarkson's mantra of "you lose a soldier, you replace him with a soldier"?

The Dockers have endured the greatest fall in history of any top-four team from one season to the next – but will still have 13 players from the 2013 grand final take to the field.

Lachie Neale is one of the league's elite (and most sought-after) midfielders, Chris Mayne, Hayden Ballantyne, Michael Walters and Michael Barlow are still solid citizens, while the likes of youngsters Ed Langdon, Sam Collins, Lachie Weller and Alex Pearce have embraced the opportunity. Matthew Pavlich, though, is struggling and the end is nigh.

Clearly, they are a wounded team but are they worse – right now – than the Bombers?

Former West Coast premiership forward Karl Langdon, now a commentator, says the answer to that question "is probably line-ball, to be honest".

"I think both of them, from a midfield perspective, don't have anywhere near their best," he said.

"It's pretty much line ball, from where I sit. That's why one of them has won one game and other none, and Gold Coast probably aren't too far behind now they have lost all their blokes.

"Their [Dockers'] game plan they are trying to change to is being exposed because they don't have the guys with the level of skill to execute it. Therefore, they turn the ball over too much."

The Bombers generally find themselves overwhelmed as a match unfolds but, individually, there is still some fine talent. Skipper Brendon Goddard, Joe Daniher and David Zaharakis would feature in most teams, Adam Cooney is a Brownlow medallist who has turned back the clock while former Cat James Kelly, who has been rested for this trip, has shown he had another season in him.

Ryan Crowley, one of the Bombers' top-up recruits, gets his chance against his old side. It's highly unlikely he would have thought his Dons would have had more premiership points than the Dockers at this stage of the year.

Darcy Parish is an emerging star, while Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti, Kyle Langford, Michael Hartley and Orazio Fantasia are among those who have benefited from the opportunity and helped the Dons be, according to coaching great David Parkin, "miles ahead" of pre-season expectations.

Talk of tanking has naturally preceded this clash, for the loser, particularly if it was to be the Dockers, would have a greater hold on the first pick in this year's national draft.

One bookie said earlier in the week this had been his "quietest" game of the round, as a result of the chat about tanking, for punters were unsure how the clubs would approach the match.

The Dockers began the week as the firm favourite among the bookies but, as the days unfolded, punters haven't been shy to plonk their cash on the Bombers.

Lyon has made his feelings clear – he plans on winning with the best available talent. He also cited the Demons – only now emerging from one of the darkest period's in club history – as a reason why tanking does not work.

"At the end of the day, culturally it's really hard to turn it around from [a losing mentality]. We want to establish our habits for success in adversity," he said.

"You don't just drift through a year, establish bad habits, and then next year practice great habits. It doesn't work like that.

"You don't flirt with that at all, because it's really difficult [to turn around], and you send confusing and mixed messages to your young players. That's why the tanking debate is all garbage."

AFL chief Gillon McLachlan said on Friday he believed both clubs had "genuinely" been trying to win.

What is clear is that this clash is a battle of the battlers – and a quick check of the key statistics shows both teams rank low. So, who will Langdon tip?

"I am going to tip Fremantle. They have still got enough players in that team with Walters and Ballantyne and Pavlich and, in defence, with [Zac] Dawson and [Lee] Spurr. I know [Garrick] Ibbotson has gone down, but with Lachie Neale and Danyle Pearce and those guys, they should still have enough blokes to win a game," he said.