IT has been a dramatic year for Division 1 so far.
The early benchmark was East Keilor, who set the world on fire with three 100-plus-point wins in their first four games under new coach, Pat Christofi.
But the Cougars have since come back to the pack after going down to fellow contenders Westmeadows and Tullamarine in consecutive weeks.
While there is a two-game gap between the top four and the bottom five, you could easily argue that up to six teams are still in the finals hunt, while relegation is set to be a tense three-way battle in the second half of the season.
Here's a club-by-club look at how Division 1 is tracking ahead of our Queen's Birthday break.
Click on the Division One logo to view the current ladder.
Ladder Position:
1st at 6-1 (133.51)
Form:
W - @ Westmeadows
L - @ Craigieburn
W - vs West Coburg
W - vs Taylors Lakes
BYE
W - @ Oak Park
W - vs East Keilor
W - @ Hillside
Leading Goal Kickers:
16 - Ryan Pretty
12 - Caleb Harward
11 - Bradley Allen
10 - Anthony Prestia
9 - Ethan Hope
Times Named in Best Players:
4 - Timothy Barresi
3 - Anthony Prestia
3 - Daniel Devine
3 - Dean Bartrop
3 - Joel Bonnici
3 - Timothy Matson
Remaining Draw:
@ Roxburgh Park
vs Westmeadows
vs Craigieburn
@ Taylors Lakes
@ West Coburg
vs Oak Park
BYE
@ East Keilor
vs Roxburgh Park
vs Hillside
EDFL Media says:
The Demons were underwhelming early but have since established themselves as Division 1's current premiership favourite. Recent wins over East Keilor and Hillside have proven the Demons will again be there at the pointy end.
Ladder Position:
2nd at 5-2 (184.41)
Form:
W - vs Taylors Lakes
W - vs Roxburgh Park
BYE
W - @ Hillside
W - vs Oak Park
L - @ Westmeadows
L - @ Tullamarine
W - vs Craigieburn
Leading Goal Kickers:
33 - Dion Hill
18 - Josh Grabowski
9 - Cooper Perry
9 - Ethan Langwell
7 - Charles Van Der Byl
7 - Jackson Barrett
Times Named in Best Players:
6 - Ben Caluzzi
3 - Dion Hill
3 - James Carey
3 - Josh Grabowski
3 - Nathan Lyons
3 - Vincent Madaffari
Remaining Draw:
vs West Coburg
@ Taylors Lakes
@ Roxburgh Park
vs Hillside
BYE
vs Westmeadows
@ Oak Park
vs Tullamarine
@ West Coburg
@ Craigieburn
EDFL Media says:
East Keilor is arguably the most fascinating team in the entire EDFL and have made plenty of noise so far. Offensively, the Cougars are unquestionably sound, but they can be opened up the other way if you can at minimum break even in the midfield battle. They have a very tricky run home, so expect East Keilor to look to go big once more after the mid-season break.
Ladder Position:
3rd at 5-2 (160.57)
Form:
BYE
W - vs Tullamarine
W - @ Taylors Lakes
L - @ Westmeadows
W - @ Roxburgh Park
W - vs West Coburg
W - @ Oak Park
L - @ East Keilor
Leading Goal Kickers:
18 - John Bellino
15 - Brock Chircop
15 - Shannon Smith
13 - Jesse Davies
12 - Brent Gordon
10 - Caelan Anderson
Times Named in Best Players:
6 - Billy Morrison
3 - Ben Fynch
3 - Brock Chircop
3 - Liam Middleton
3 - Nathan Perrone
3 - Steven Boyall
Remaining Draw:
vs Hillside
BYE
@ Tullamarine
vs Westmeadows
vs Taylors Lakes
@ West Coburg
vs Roxburgh Park
vs Oak Park
@ Hillside
vs East Keilor
EDFL Media says:
The great unknown. At times, Craigieburn has looked like the best team in it. But in both of their slip ups in Rounds 4 and 8, they revealed their vulnerabilities. We haven't yet seen the Eagles field a side that is close to their best 22 and until we do, they're nothing more than one of four vying contenders that all seem to be pretty close on exposed form.
Ladder Position:
4th at 6-2 (131.97)
Form:
L - vs Tullamarine
W - @ West Coburg
W - @ Oak Park
W - vs Craigieburn
W - @ Taylors Lakes
W - vs East Keilor
L - @ Hillside
W - vs Roxburgh Park
Leading Goal Kickers:
33 - Omar Saad
13 - Josh Flower
13 - Mitch Church
11 - Robbie Castello
Times Named in Best Players:
5 - Omar Saad
4 - Jordan Hollow
3 - Aaron Evans
3 - Daniel Callegari
3 - Francis Keenan
3 - Leigh Owen
3 - Robbie Castello
Remaining Draw:
BYE
@ Tullamarine
vs West Coburg
@ Craigieburn
vs Oak Park
@ East Keilor
vs Taylors Lakes
vs Hillside
BYE
@ Roxburgh Park
EDFL Media says:
The Tigers should be very happy with where they're at. The new acquisitions of Omar Saad, Robbie Castello and the returning Mitch Church have all contributed to Westmeadows' improvement and they have proven their premiership credentials with wins over Craigieburn and East Keilor. The run home is tough, though, with away games against Tullamarine, Craigieburn and East Keilor all still to come.
Ladder Position:
5th at 4-3 (119.16)
Form:
W - @ Oak Park
L - @ Taylors Lakes
W - vs Roxburgh Park
L - vs East Keilor
W - @ West Coburg
BYE
W - vs Westmeadows
L - vs Tullamarine
Leading Goal Kickers:
14 - Brandon Coletta
14 - Matthew Patane
13 - Raafat Rachrache
9 - Victor Micallef
8 - Stephen Syme
Times Named in Best Players:
4 - Liam Johnstone
4 - Raafat Rachrache
3 - Jake Bertollo
3 - Jeremy Hayes
3 - Jordan Sinclair
3 - Lachlan Rayner
3 - Victor Micallef
Remaining Draw:
@ Craigieburn
vs Oak Park
vs Taylors Lakes
@ East Keilor
@ Roxburgh Park
BYE
vs West Coburg
@ Westmeadows
vs Craigieburn
@ Tullamarine
EDFL Media says:
Would we be taking Hillside far more seriously if Brandon Coletta were healthy? The gun forward has only played three games but has 14 goals to his name. The big positive for the Sharks is that in Coletta's absence, the likes of Matt Patane, Raafat Rachrache and Liam Johnstone have all stood tall and the midfield is producing its usual output as well. Hillside has been very good at home, but will need to get better on the road in order to sneak into the final four.
Ladder Position:
6th at 3-4 (101.48)
Form:
W - @ Roxburgh Park
L - vs Westmeadows
L - @ Tullamarine
BYE
L - vs Hillside
L - @ Craigieburn
W - @ Taylors Lakes
W - vs Oak Park
Leading Goal Kickers:
20 - Liam Bowkett
8 - Tom Baravi
7 - Jesse Martini
6 - Anastasis Dounias
Times Named in Best Players:
5 - Abdikhane Fitaax
5 - Liam Bowkett
4 - Aaron Kelly
4 - Tom Baravi
3 - Dane Lucas
Remaining Draw:
@ East Keilor
vs Roxburgh Park
@ Westmeadows
BYE
vs Tullamarine
vs Craigieburn
@ Hillside
vs Taylors Lakes
vs East Keilor
@ Oak Park
EDFL Media says:
The Burgers have been fairly underwhelming. They lost four consecutive games against four of the division's current top five, which is probably indicative of where they're at. Liam Bowkett, Abdikhane Fitaax and Tom Baravi are all lifting their weight, but it's time for some team mates to start lifting theirs.
Ladder Position:
7th at 2-5 (49.77)
Form:
L - vs West Coburg
L - @ East Keilor
L - @ Hillside
W - vs Oak Park
L - vs Craigieburn
W - vs Taylors Lakes
BYE
L - @ Westmeadows
Leading Goal Kickers:
10 - Luke Capuano
9 - Harley Short
5 - John Colaidis
Times Named in Best Players:
5 - Harley Short
5 - Jay Barbera
4 - Jack Elliott
4 - Ryan Micallef
3 - Tom Baker
3 - Travis Cooke
Remaining Draw:
vs Tullamarine
@ West Coburg
vs East Keilor
@ Oak Park
vs Hillside
@ Taylors Lakes
@ Craigieburn
BYE
@ Tullamarine
vs Westmeadows
EDFL Media says:
The newly-promoted Magpies passed their two big tests with flying colours. The only real expectation for Roxburgh Park this year was to consolidate its place in Division 1 and so far, they've proven worthy of the higher division. But to ensure safety from relegation, the Magpies would ideally like to pick up at least one road win later in the year, against either Oak Park or Taylors Lakes.
Ladder Position:
8th at 1-6 (62.81)
Form:
L - @ East Keilor
W - vs Hillside
L - vs Craigieburn
L - @ Tullamarine
L - vs Westmeadows
L - @ Roxburgh Park
L - vs West Coburg
BYE
Leading Goal Kickers:
17 - Rhys Deacon
10 - Jake Hobbs
10 - James Vistarini
9 - James McGrath
7 - Josh Vassolo
Times Named in Best Players:
5 - Harrison Tanner
5 - Mark Polycarpou
4 - Jackson Wright
Remaining Draw:
@ Oak Park
vs East Keilor
@ Hillside
vs Tullamarine
@ Craigieburn
vs Roxburgh Park
@ Westmeadows
@ West Coburg
vs Oak Park
BYE
EDFL Media says:
Unfortunately for the Lions, their only win of the season now looks like an outlier. Too much of the load is being left to too few and if that can't be corrected, then Taylors Lakes is in serious relegation trouble. Next week's away clash against winless Oak Park is going to be Taylors Lakes' biggest game in quite some time.
Ladder Position:
9th at 0-7 (47.08)
Form:
L - vs Hillside
BYE
L - vs Westmeadows
L - @ Roxburgh Park
L - @ East Keilor
L - vs Tullamarine
L - vs Craigieburn
L - @ West Coburg
Leading Goal Kickers:
18 - Adam Meiorin
6 - Aden Harris
6 - Jack Kennedy
5 - Jack Pascu
5 - James Barnes
5 - Julian Valentino
Times Named in Best Players:
6 - Liam Molloy
4 - Daniel Rajab
3 - Bradley Cox
3 - Jack Pascu
3 - James Barnes
Remaining Draw:
vs Taylors Lakes
@ Hillside
BYE
vs Roxburgh Park
@ Westmeadows
@ Tullamarine
vs East Keilor
@ Craigieburn
@ Taylors Lakes
vs West Coburg
EDFL Media says:
Oak Park's woes haven't come as a complete shock given the quality of players that have left in recent years. That said, though, the Kangaroos should still be better than this. Their upcoming month will be telling, with winnable home games against Taylors Lakes and Roxburgh Park on the fixture.
