In four out of their five games, the Suns have been easily beaten, with the average margin in their losses being 122.5 points, and an average points against of 150 - or 25 goals.
Essendon added 26.7 to its percentage on Sunday in thumping the Suns. The Bombers now have the second-highest percentage in the competition.
Melbourne had its biggest win since round six of 2005 when it defeated the Suns in round four by 90 points and added 28.45 to its percentage.
Right now, that percentage booster puts the Demons in the eight ahead of the Swans.
Playing the Suns early in the season shapes as an advantage, as does playing them late when their youngsters will likely be tired. But playing them twice is likely to be the biggest bonus of all, with the possibility of not only adding wins but percentage, too.
Some will argue such an assessment is unfair to the Suns, particularly when you consider Richmond was in a similar position at round six last season (with no wins and a percentage of 49.14). The Tigers ended the season with six wins; the Suns already have one win.
There is no doubt, it is presumptuous. However, it's still worth contemplating which teams will benefit most if the Suns' form against finals contenders continues along the same path for the remainder of the season. (They have one win and a percentage of 44.53.)
The genuine finals contenders facing the Suns twice in 2011 - Geelong, Hawthorn, Adelaide, Melbourne and the Bulldogs - have, on paper at least, a significant advantage over other contenders such as Collingwood, Essendon, Fremantle and Carlton (which play the team only once) when the all-important starting positions for the finals are put in place. The winless Brisbane Lions are the other team playing the Suns twice.
Before you start raging about Geelong playing the Suns twice, the Cats also play Collingwood, St Kilda, Hawthorn, Adelaide and the Swans twice, so if they are in contention at season's end, they will have earned it.
As many have noted, Adelaide has two games against the Suns as well as two against the so-far winless Lions. That can, at this stage, be regarded as an advantage. Melbourne plays the Suns, Richmond and Port Adelaide twice. That is a handy draw that gives it a chance (on its opponents' current form) to make a big run at the top eight late in the season.
It is also one for the Melbourne observers to contemplate as the pressure builds on coach Dean Bailey after just one below-par result.
The Bulldogs know it is a long season so are not panicking but, with the Hawks, Essendon and Fremantle, as well as the Eagles, Swans and Suns on their fixture twice, they have a middling draw ahead and will need to play well to qualify high.
Hawthorn plays the Suns in round 24. Imagine the intensity of that game from the Hawks' perspective if percentage is an issue for them.
Hawthorn faces Geelong, Melbourne, Fremantle, the Bulldogs and Port Adelaide twice as well as the Suns (also round 13) again so they have a solid rather than favourable draw.
If the Hawks get an ascendancy over the Suns when they meet them, they will not want to slacken off, as percentage is likely to be crucial.
Percentage is often critical. In 2009, 0.31 per cent separated the third-placed Bulldogs from the fourth-placed Collingwood.
In 2008, 0.82 per cent separated fourth-placed St Kilda and fifth-placed Adelaide.
In 2007, 1.81 per cent was enough to give second-placed Port Adelaide a home final against the third-placed Eagles.
Of course, Port had played three of the top eight teams twice that season, as opposed to the Eagles just two, so earned its higher ranking.
The fixture is a lot like the Stawell Gift, with one team having a head start because of the imbalance in games scheduled against teams that are lower on the list.
Last season, Carlton (eighth) and North Melbourne (ninth) finished with 11 wins each, but the Blues qualified for the finals on percentage.
Carlton played other top-eight teams 10 times during 22 rounds and won just twice. It also lost to the Kangaroos. North Melbourne played the seven top-eight teams other than Carlton 11 times, also winning just twice. The Blues proved their credentials by defeating Geelong and St Kilda but caught lowly Richmond twice at good times to win by 56 and 89 points respectively. The Kangaroos played the Tigers only once, winning by 50 points.
In 2009, Collingwood defeated Adelaide in a season-defining game in round 19 and finished top four. That season, it played other teams from the top eight 10 times and won five.
The Crows played other top-eight teams that season 10 times and won three games.
Unfortunately for Adelaide, four of those games against top-eight teams were against the dominant St Kilda and Geelong whereas Collingwood played those two teams only once. The Magpies were one game ahead of Adelaide at the start of the finals (and defeated the Crows in a heart-stopping semi-final at the MCG).
Of course, one team having a better run than another is nothing new. Since 16 teams were part of a 22-game fixture, you can have bad luck one season and good luck another.
What supporters need to assess most is how their teams perform against clubs that notionally have a similar ranking because form patterns aren't as random as our footy tipping efforts might suggest.
In reality, the competition shakes itself out to A-grade teams, B-grade teams and C- and D-grade teams as the season unfolds.
Although upsets happen among teams graded differently, they're not that common.
I'd argue only two games this season have been genuine upsets: Port Adelaide (C-grade) beating Adelaide (B-grade) in round four and the Suns (D-grade) beating Port Adelaide in round five.
That does not mean you can accurately tip the winner of all games, just that games between clubs in different grades generally produce results as one would expect, home-ground advantage notwithstanding.
Games between clubs in the same grade (such as Geelong-Collingwood next weekend) are always hard to predict, and often come down to available personnel.
So, what does this mean for tipsters, either professional, or in the office competition?
Keep an eye on the way clubs move between grades, noting form and the availability of top-five players as assessable variables.
Such variables do change things quickly and the Suns will be hoping to turn around their form and move up a “grade” as key players return from suspension, teammates become more familiar with each other and they start to play at home at Metricon Stadium at Carrara.
And the last word is kept for Essendon, whose performance last week prompted these ponderings. With the bye in round 24, the Bombers will - if in top-four contention late into the season - be wondering whether the finals series could head down the same path as 1990 when they had an unforeseen extra week's rest due to a draw. At least this time they can plan for the break.
