BFNL MID-SEASON REVIEW: How the 10 BFNL teams are tracking

The Dragons have banked 34 of a possible 36 points through the first half of the season to be sitting in pole position at the midway point. Have eight wins and a draw and already got some of the competition's tougher away trips out of the way having played at Kyneton, Strathfieldsaye, Gisborne and Eaglehawk. Strangling their opposition defensively conceding an average of just 43 points per game. While the season is only half complete, to give that defensive number some context, since 1960 there have been only two teams - Gisborne last year and Strathfieldsaye in 2019, which both won the flag - that have conceded an average of less than 50 points per game. Not only the best defensive side in the competition, but ranked No.1 for clearances with 47.3 per game. Record - 8-0-1 Percentage - 227.8% Average for - 98 Average against - 43 Attack rank - 5th Defence rank - 1st Quarters won - 27 of 36 Goal conversion - 52.0% 1st half scoring - +236 2nd half scoring - +261 Top 3 best player votes: James Coghlan - 31 Hamish Hosking - 24 Cooper Smith - 20 Top 3 goalkickers: Lachlan Wright - 25 Matt Thornton - 18 Andrew Collins - 16 The highest scoring team in the competition averaging 120 points per game. Been involved in three thrillers that could have gone either way, during which Square has a 2-1 record with a seven-point win over Strathfieldsaye (round two) and three-point win over Eaglehawk (round eight), plus a one-point loss to South Bendigo in round four. Class forward Joel Brett is jointly leading the Ron Best Medal with 41 goals, while the Bulldogs are the best converting side in the competition at 57.3 per cent having kicked 160.119. The high conversion rate is significant given it was goalkicking that frustratingly cost the Bulldogs a berth in last year's grand final. Record - 7-2 Percentage - 213.2% Average for - 120 Average against - 56 Attack rank - 1st Defence rank - 3rd Quarters won - 24 of 36 Goal conversion - 57.3% 1st half scoring - +346 2nd half scoring - +227 Top 3 best player votes: Ricky Monti - 21 Ryan Hartley - 20 Jon Coe - 19 Top 3 goalkickers: Joel Brett - 41 Braydon Vaz - 18 Ryan Hartley - 15 The first season full-time at Harry Trott Oval for the Bloods, who are in their best position at the halfway mark for a decade in third. Best win so far has been their gripping one-point victory over Golden Square at Wade Street in round four in what was the club's first over the Bulldogs at Wade Street since 2009. Are 0-3, though, against the other three sides in the top five - Eaglehawk (lost by 10), Sandhurst (lost by 53) and Strathfieldsaye (lost 11) - with the Bloods having to play those three teams all away in the second half of the season. Have Premier Data's No.1 ranked player in ball magnet Brody Haddow, who is averaging 34 touches and nine clearances a game, while ruckman Mac Cameron has had a tremendous impact in his debut season. Record - 6-3 Percentage - 157.2% Average for - 101 Average against - 64 Attack rank - 4th Defence rank - 4th Quarters won - 22 of 36 Goal conversion - 55.8% 1st half scoring - +141 2nd half scoring - +190 Top 3 best player votes: Brody Haddow - 36 Oscar White - 26 Mac Cameron - 19 Top 3 goalkickers: Brock Harvey - 31 Will Keck - 26 Steven Stroobants - 25 The Storm were uncharacteristically slow out of the blocks, but now that their availability of personnel has improved significantly, so too has their results. What had been a 2-3 record after five games is now 6-3 on the back of four wins in a row - the past three against Kyneton, Maryborough and Kangaroo Flat in which they have averaged a score of 160. The highest-possession team in the competition averaging 404.4 per game (156.4 handballs, 248 kicks) as well as the most marks (122.4). Captain Lachlan Sharp leads the Ron Best Medal with Square's Joel Brett on 41 goals and gun midfielder Callum McCarty may well be leading the Michelsen Medal, despite playing a couple of VFL games with Essendon. Record - 6-3 Percentage - 156.3% Average for - 105 Average against - 67 Attack rank - 2nd Defence rank - 5th Quarters won - 23 of 36 Goal conversion - 48.2% 1st half scoring - +183 2nd half scoring - +156 Top 3 best player votes: Callum McCarty - 24 Daniel Clohesy - 21 Jake Moorhead - 17 Top 3 goalkickers: Lachlan Sharp - 41 James Schischka - 17 Callum McCarty - 13 The Hawks find themselves in fifth position in what's a season where they could also so easily be the team sitting on top of the ladder. Expected to be a big improver this year, the Hawks shot out of the blocks winning their first five games by an average of 94 points, which included holding Strathfieldsaye to its lowest ever score of 2.9 (21) in round five. However, since then the Hawks have lost three games by a combined seven points and had a draw - all matches they had led during the last quarter - to now be just two points inside the five. Doubt there would be too many sides across Victoria sitting fifth on the ladder with a percentage above 200 like the Hawks, who suffered a key injury blow last week with marquee recruit Jarryn Geary's broken arm against Sandhurst. Record - 5-3-1 Percentage - 201.1% Average for - 103 Average against - 51 Attack rank - 3rd Defence rank - 2nd Quarters won - 24 of 36 Goal conversion - 51.2% 1st half scoring - +275 2nd half scoring - +190 Top 3 best player votes: Billy Evans - 29 Connor Dalgleish - 18 Kallen Geary - 15 Top 3 goalkickers: Lewin Davis - 14 Cam McGlashan - 13 Darcy Richards - 13 Shaky start to the season for the Tigers losing their first three games, before they got on a roll with five wins in a row to build some momentum. That momentum, though, was stifled last weekend with a 96-point loss at the hands of Strathfieldsaye when they were slow out of blocks and unable to recover. Two of their four wins against Gisborne (2 points) and Eaglehawk (1 point after the siren) came in games where the Tigers kicked a combined 24.8 to their opposition's 20.29 as they crucially took their chances in front of the big sticks. And it's those two tight wins which so easily could have gone the other way that has the Tigers starting the second half of the season in touching distance of the five and still with plenty to play for in terms of finals. Record - 5-4 Percentage - 101.4% Average for - 78 Average against - 77 Attack rank - 7th Defence rank - 7th Quarters won - 17 of 36 Goal conversion - 52.1% 1st half scoring - -82 2nd half scoring - +9 Top 3 best player votes: Cameron Manuel - 23 Jake Summers - 22 Harrison Huntley - 19 Top 3 goalkickers: Cameron Manuel - 23 Tom Quinn - 13 Jake Summers - 9 How the mighty have fallen as the reigning premiers have struggled their way to a 3-6 record in their flag defence. Season has been plagued by slow starts and poor conversion against quality sides, with the Bulldogs staring at the prospect of becoming the first reigning premier since Sandhurst in 2005 to miss the finals. The loss of Pat McKenna (broken ankle) in round six has made the challenge of scoring all the more difficult for the Bulldogs, whose standout player has clearly been inside midfielder Flynn Lakey, who leads the competition in both hard ball gets (53) and loose ball gets (70), handballs (200), contested possessions (162) and throw-in clearances (34). Record - 3-6 Percentage - 120.7% Average for - 87 Average against - 72 Attack rank - 6th Defence rank - 6th Quarters won - 19 of 36 Goal conversion - 46.6% 1st half scoring - -35 2nd half scoring - +170 Top 3 best player votes: Flynn Lakey - 36 Braidon Blake - 22 Liam Spear - 20 Top 3 goalkickers: Matt Merrett - 12 Harry Luxmoore - 10 Braidon Blake - 9 Without doubt the highlight of the Roos' first half of the season was their three-point win over Eaglehawk in round six - a result that has triggered a string of near-misses for the Hawks. Also served it right up to ladder-leader Sandhurst in round one at the QEO (lost by 8 points), so the Roos' best is more than capable, but the gap to their worst is significant as shown by last week's 143-point loss to long-time nemesis Golden Square and their second half against Strathfieldsaye in round seven when outscored 13-89. Will be intriguing to see what impact former No.1 AFL draft pick Jonathon Patton can have in the second half of the season as a key target inside 50. Record - 3-6 Percentage - 60.9% Average for - 58 Average against - 96 Attack rank - 8th Defence rank - 8th Quarters won - 11 of 36 Goal conversion - 45.9% 1st half scoring - -130 2nd half scoring - -206 Top 3 best player votes: Ryan O'Keefe - 31 Jordan Rouse - 24 Mitch Trewhella - 21 Top 3 goalkickers: Harry Whitty - 13 Sam Barnes - 8 Liam Collins - 8 Been an incredibly tough first half of the season for the Magpies where the results on the field pale into insignificance with what the club has had to endure with the death of 17-year-old Dallas Keogh-Frankling following the under-18 game against Kyneton on May 27. New coach Brendan Shepherd said pre-season one of his aims this year was to put an end to the ugly losses the club has been accustomed to in recent years. So far the Magpies have just two losses by more than 100 points, which is well below the five triple-figure defeats the side had copped at the same time last year. Record - 1-8 Percentage - 35.8% Average for - 40 Average against - 113 Attack rank - 9th Defence rank - 9th Quarters won - 3 of 36 Goal conversion - 42.2% 1st half scoring - -337 2nd half scoring - -325 Top 3 best player votes: Matt Filo - 28 Brodie Byrne - 22 John Watson - 17 Top 3 goalkickers: Callum McConachy - 7 Brad Keogh - 4 John Watson - 4 An incredibly challenging season for the Magpies, who are 0-9 with an average losing margin of 141 points. Joel Swatton has been a valuable addition from South Bendigo to add some experience, while Kya Lanfranchi is the No.1 player in the BFNL for one per centers with 57. Tough gig playing in the Magpies' backline this year with the ball coming in an average of 72 times per game. Record - 0-9 Percentage - 15.7% Average for - 26 Average against - 167 Attack rank - 10th Defence rank - 10th Quarters won - 4 of 36 Goal conversion - 31.5% 1st half scoring - -597 2nd half scoring - -672 Top 3 best player votes: Joel Swatton - 24 Kya Lanfranchi - 21 Chris Freeman - 20 Top 3 goalkickers: Chris Freeman - 5 Jai Howell - 4 Taj Bond - 2 Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content: