ADELAIDE
Phil Davis made his AFL debut at centre half-back in place of the injured Nathan Bock in round four, but has since settled in the third tall position left vacant by Andy Otten. Davis' inclusion has allowed swingman Scott Stevens to switch to attack and help cover the loss of Trent Hentschel. Veteran trio Simon Goodwin, Andrew McLeod and Tyson Edwards have been spending more time in the midfield as the club battles to salvage something from the season. The Crows have also made the obvious change of kicking more at the stoppage situation, rather than using a chain of handballs.

BRISBANE LIONS
The Lions' defensive stocks have been depleted by injury in the last month while at the other end they've forgotten how to score, dropping from an average of 107 points per game to just 78. Jonathan Brown and Brendan Fevola kicked 32.22 between them to round four, but have contributed just 21.8 since. Delivery from the midfield might not have been as good, but opposition backlines are figuring them out. Both players are leading directly towards the kicker - rather than the 'fat' side of the ground - and often into each other's space. Third tall Brent Staker is now covering in defence, further limiting their options, so it's time for Brown and Fevola to mix their patterns up.

CARLTON
The Blues have impressed with their ability to go coast to coast and create scoring opportunities from kick-outs in a month that has seen them notch three wins against finals-quality opponents. Chris Judd, Heath Scotland or Bryce Gibbs are generally the main targets for the outlet kick to the pocket with a zone-busting long kick then setting up attack from defence. Ryan Houlihan has emerged as one of the league's premier defensive forwards with Corey Enright and Sam Fisher among those who have struggled to shake him. The best thing about him is he still kicks goals. Sam Jacobs is a different type of ruckman to Robbie Warnock; a better one. He's supposedly inferior to the man he replaced in round six around the ground, but is already averaging more disposals and marks and is better at stoppages too.

COLLINGWOOD
Chris Dawes has made quite an impression since breaking his way into the side. Going on statistics, it's clear his teammates have plenty of confidence in the big forward's ability. In the past four rounds, the Pies have gone to Dawes as their preferred target on 27 occasions - the most of any Collingwood forward. Travis Cloke is second with 17, while Paul Medhurst - who missed last week - is third with 11. Medhurst (19) was the go-to man to round four, with Leon Davis and Cloke behind him.

ESSENDON
A hamstring injury to Cale Hooker last round forced the Bombers to make immediate positional changes that - given their success - could be considered semi-permanent. Michael Hurley went back after a few weeks in attack, which left the ruckmen to spend more time forward. David Hille ended with four goals and Patrick Ryder three - evidence to suggest their combination is finally starting to fire. In the absence of Tayte Pears, Dustin Fletcher has found All Australian form by occasionally picking up the key forward and other times playing his usual loose role. Jake Melksham's addition to the midfield has also provided some poise and grunt.

FREMANTLE
Defensive pressure in the forward line has been a hallmark of Fremantle's season, with unheralded Matt de Boer making the role his own in the past month. De Boer has shut down the opposition's chief rebounder in recent weeks, with Shannon Hurn (15 possessions) and Heath Shaw (14) notable scalps. He also put the clamps on Richmond's Brett Deledio in round five. Michael Johnson has emerged as a key to Fremantle's structure, with the forward giving Aaron Sandilands ruck support and allowing Mark Harvey to play an extra midfielder. Sandilands has been targeted in the middle of the ground as an escape option at kick-ins, with the 211cm giant punching the ball forward for his midfielders to run onto.

GEELONG CATS
The greatest tactical shift over the last month has occurred above the Cats' shoulders with a group heart-to-heart after the loss to Carlton spurring a three-game run of massacres. Just when you thought Tom Hawkins was on the way out he gets thrown into the ruck and attacks his new task with the excitement of a Labrador puppy. Last round, he bounced around the Gabba chasing the ball which actually allowed him to forget about his goalkicking woes to boot four. Josh Hunt hasn't been getting a stack of the ball but his long, precision kicks out of defence have been one of the keys to Geelong's ability to break those tiresome zones.

HAWTHORN
Tactically, the Hawks are nearing the crossroads. The cluster that took them to the 2008 flag has been figured out by opposition clubs and with Josh Gibson sidelined, they're missing a key defender to base their system around. There does seem to be an increased emphasis on tackling and forcing stoppages. Shaun Burgoyne has played just one game but showed he can be the grunt worker in the middle. Luke Hodge is once again playing his rebounding role from the back half while Jarryd Roughead is being used as the main target up forward.

MELBOURNE
With Ricky Petterd injured since round six, the Demons have had to revisit their forward structure. Rookie Danny Hughes has come in, working as a running hit-up half-forward in his first two matches. With Liam Jurrah injured, Hughes has had to play taller than he is but Jack Watts' inclusion last round added some height. Watts switched between pushing up and playing deep in attack and will continue to be groomed as a key marking target. Paul Johnson resumed in round seven from an injury-interrupted pre-season to assist Mark Jamar in the ruck.

NORTH MELBOURNE
For those who have questioned why Brady Rawlings has continued as a small defender rather than a midfield tagger, there's evidence in numbers. Rawlings is third behind Scott McMahon and Michael Firrito for defensive rebounds, but his teammates clearly want the ball in his hands. He's comfortably leading the side in total and uncontested possessions, and is second for effective disposal (84 per cent). Granted, two-thirds of his possessions are handballs but he's as crucial to the side's switch as he is to its movement from stoppages. Often North will return the ball to true full-back - and Rawlings - in search of a better transition on the other side of the ground.

PORT ADELAIDE
The Power have tried to dictate the defensive match-ups over the past few weeks, with the aim of getting Chad Cornes into a position where he can work off his opponent. Cornes racked up 21 possessions and a goal playing as a loose man against Essendon in round seven, but was shut down by Carlton forward Ryan Houlihan last weekend. Centre half-back Troy Chaplin was used in a similar attacking capacity in the opening four rounds of the season, but often needs to play a strong defensive role - making Cornes the preferred candidate.

RICHMOND
It was clear in the weekend's narrow loss to Hawthorn that a new forward strategy was being used. Whereas the Tigers had previously been trying to pick their targets inside 50 and were continually burned on the rebound, they traded precision for speed and just blasted it in every chance they got. Having a fit Trent Cotchin grabbing it out of the middle has helped that strategy immensely. Nathan Foley's return from injury has also straightened them up. The move of Brett Deledio to the back half as allowed him to share kick-ins with captain Chris Newman, although the Tigers are still struggling to get the ball cleanly up to the wing.

ST KILDA
The Saints are yet to settle their forward structure since Nick Riewoldt's hamstring injury. However, in his absence it does seem that Sam Fisher will be the forward who leads to the flanks while Justin Koschitzke stays close to goal. Fisher's move does take away his ability to rebound from the back 50 and match up on a key forward, and that has poured extra responsibility on Sam Gilbert. Brendon Goddard seems comfortable in the midfield and can use his big body to win possession and launch a long kick into attack.

SYDNEY SWANS
The long-term loss of Mark Seaby has cut the Swans deeply, as the big man was just as important winning clearances as he was setting them up for his midfielders. Shane Mumford stepped up admirably against the Brisbane Lions and Geelong, but back-ups Jesse White and Mike Pyke don't have the same ability once the ball hits the deck. The Swans' resulting midfield struggles have forced Adam Goodes to move onto the ball for prolonged periods and this, combined with White's ruck duties during Mumford's suspension, has sent the forward line into disarray. It's a problem that isn't easily fixed tactically; coach Paul Roos simply has to wait until some of his key players return.

WEST COAST
After averaging 12 possessions a game in the first four rounds, ruckman Dean Cox has re-emerged as the extra midfielder so valuable to the Eagles, averaging more than 18 possessions since round five. The key big man has even pushed forward to kick a goal in each of his last six games. Midfielder Matt Rosa has also lifted his rating in the last month, becoming a key link player going into attack. He had seven inside 50s against Melbourne and just one critical error. Pat McGinnity and Scott Selwood are playing thankless team roles as defensive midfielders.

WESTERN BULLDOGS
After a few quiet weeks, Barry Hall booted five goals last round to offset the continued absence of Brad Johnson and a three-week knee injury suffered by Robert Murphy. As seen against Melbourne in round seven, Brian Lake has a free-to-play-forward-pass and Murphy can be sent to defence when a game is on the line. Lake has kicked three goals in the last fortnight and is a handy fix-it tool when scoring dries up. Jordan Roughead didn't look lost in his two games, giving the side a ruck alternative when Will Minson's struggling.

The views in this article are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.