You might have predicted the former before the ball bounced down to start the season; there's pretty much nobody who could have forecast what would happen to Fremantle.

As the comp goes into its the second week of it's six-game "bye" weekends, it's a good time to take stock, analyse where the WA clubs are at and also assess the state of play with some of the game's bigger issues.

The Eagles:
They might win a string of games in the next six weeks - against the likes of Essendon, Carlton, Melbourne and Collingwood - but they aren't good enough, especially on the road. The Eagles are still not sure about their best 22, as evidenced by the fact Eric Mackenzie was sick one week and back playing for East Perth the next (read: dropped). And recruits Jack Redden and Lewis Jetta have been duds.

Fremantle:
Don't be fooled by the three wins in a row or the extra four or five the Dockers might pick up by the end of the season. Fremantle still needs to be very active with what it does recruiting-wise in the off-season or the 2017 resurgence Dockers fans are talking about just won't be happening.

Patrick Dangerfield:
Has his start to the season been as dominant as Nat Fyfe's last year? And if so has he already got the Brownlow stitched up? Whoever beats him almost definitely wins it. Luke Parker from Sydney will feature prominently and what about Joel Selwood? It's not unheard of for teammates to split two and three votes and for the less fancied of them to poll very strongly (think Ben Cousins and Daniel Kerr at West Coast).

Rotation reductions:
Definitely a fan of it and I think they can pull it back even more. We're seeing games open up more in the second half and the good players are on the field for bigger portions of the game. There was even Carlton's courageous victory against Geelong, when it was down two players for a significant chunk of time.

Ducking and diving:
I think we're slowly getting towards sorting out the issue of head-high contact - and the best solution might be to follow the lead of rugby league and focus on where the tackle starts, not necessarily where it ends. If it begins legitimately and the player getting tackled forces it higher, why should the tackler be penalised?

Three genuine contenders:
It seems like we're getting a point where there are three teams truly capable of winning the flag and they are usual suspects: Hawthorn, Sydney and Geelong. Of the rest of the eight, North Melbourne looks wobbly, Adelaide has an X-factor but now might be too soon, West Coast is a massive question mark away from home, GWS is completely unproven (and unexposed) on the biggest stage and the Bulldogs might still be too raw for September.

Blowing the whistle:
Four umpires are clearly too many. On Friday night between North Melbourne and Hawthorn we had 37 free kicks in the first half - after the average for an entire game last year was only 36. Nobody wants to watch that...

Deliberate v deliberations:
The new deliberate out-of-bounds rule is clearly being officiated more loosely than it was at the start of the season. And while it needs to marry up better with deliberate rushed behind decisions, it's a step in the right direction. On the other hand, the Match Review Panel continues to befuddle. Try finding anyone else who thinks Tom Hawkins should have been suspended for his "strike" on Phil Davis.

Of course, as we get to this stage of the season, it's pretty hard not to ponder whether the AFL is getting this whole "bye" concept right - especially when you reflect on the fact there will be no footy at all in Perth this weekend.

Clearly, a three-week stretch of six-game fixtures is preferable to entire weeks off. But here's a a novel idea: why not just play the whole season in one block, with no byes at all?

Hero of the week:
How many people get to leave their home town to chase success and then return to deliver it the way LeBron James has? To come back from 1-3 down in the NBA finals and deliver Cleveland a first title in 50 years the way he did was absolutely extraordinary.

Goats of the week:
North Melbourne and Brad Scott went before acceptances with their allegations about umpires making pre-medidated decision on high contact on Lindsay Thomas...and would up wearing egg on their faces as a result.

Things that make you go hmmmmm:
What the IBF has done in threatening to strip the belts of titleholders and the rankings of contenders who go to the Olympics, should be a lesson to all sports. Basketball, soccer and golf should also be leaving the Games to the amateurs.

Brad Hardie will pen his weekly AFL column for WAtoday each Tuesday morning. You can also hear him on Radio 6PR Sports Today with Karl Langdon on weeknights from 6pm to 8pm