It's the halfway stock take. A time to assess worth and recalibrate ambitions. That's true from head office to clubland and on to the pundits to reflect upon what's tracking as expected and what's veered horribly off course.

It led one expert to congratulate himself on nominating Collingwood as the pace setter. Which seemed akin to patting yourself on the back for predicting that Rapture wouldn't actually end the world.

Incidentally Collingwood isn't the pace setter. You might argue semantics except I don't think bookmakers paid out on So You Think for running second at Ascot no matter how it was argued he was the best horse in the race.

The AFL is well pleased with its season thus far. It's hard to dull the gloss on a $1.25 billion dollar Broadcast deal. It has set a course to strengthen the existing clubs in a time of expansion. The goal is not for the notionally weak to merely survive but thrive.

This is a bold challenge given the dilapidated state of Port Adelaide and the eternal struggles of North Melbourne but it is a worthy ideal.

The new addition, Gold Coast, is delighting its maker. The Suns' story has captured football fans. They've been, for the most part, fun to watch as evidenced by TV audiences and crowds at away matches. They have goodwill in their home town and plenty willing to visit on the early evidence.

Demetriou's surety presenting a good set of numbers is disarming. His charts are the envy of the sporting world. Prognosis: Rude Health.

The football itself is more in the eye of the beholder.

I'd put it in the category of fine without breaking into superlatives.

The stats back up your eye. There's more long kicking which brings in contested marking. There's a big swing to contested possession. The commitment to stoppages is strategic but hardly aesthetically pleasing. Games break open from midway through the third quarter when fatigue grabs hold.

In some games this leads to a chaotic frenzy. If the scoreboard is close it's a hell of a good show. If it's already won or lost there's an awful lot of playing out time.

And games are won in bursts more so than at any other time I can recall.

My personal view is the demands of footy are why Geelong and Collingwood are the dominating forces. Pace becomes irrelevant late in games. It's about stamina, strength, experience and nerve.

As panic sets in Geelong is the master of keeping order. I have no time for those who think repeatedly winning close games is luck.

Collingwood is living the cliche. The big blokes don't get any smaller. Cliches are born out of truth. The Magpies firepower becomes overwhelming as the physical toll reaches maximum.

Carlton's progression is entirely on schedule. They are the ultimate test case for the system. Time at the bottom stashing the riches leading to steady improvement as the demographics come to fruition.

The Blues should've won a final last year. They should make the top four this year. And win the flag next year. Plotting alone won't make it so.

Brett Ratten's team is proof of the age we live in. It's system ahead of talent. The Blues play the footy that is required in 2011. They bought the knowhow of the Collingwood press. Learnt and implemented it over the summer. The benefits are furnishing.

It's even more dramatic and meritorious with West Coast. It's been said playing against the Eagles is like being pressed by the LA Lakers. It's a lovely analogy.

The club is reaping the rewards of sticking by what it believed in and demanding excellence. John Worsfold was given full control of coaching again and a year to win his job. Here's the old dog learning new tricks.

The football department resisted the demands that Premiership servants be traded with whatever currency remained. None of this would have been possible without Dean Cox and Daniel Kerr. How wonderful it has been to see that pair regain their reputations.

Melbourne doesn't play 2011 footy. Its woes are obvious in the horrid variations of form. Dean Bailey doesn't believe in the press and he made that clear under questioning On The Couch.

The Demons don't apply it and they can't cope with it. It undermines the talent they have assembled.

The Western Bulldogs have figured out that the run-and-gun style they forged doesn't work anymore. It's a belated discovery with the season scuppered. They have undertaken change. Everyone of these last 11 weeks is vital to salvage something for the next campaign.

Overall there's a sense the second half of the season will largely be confirming what we already know. The top end looks set. The mash in the middle will be used to generate excitement. And there's too much crud at the bottom.

Gerard Whateley leads the Grandstand AFL team on ABC Radio