AS SOON as two sides were beaten by over 100 points last weekend, there was always going to be a renewed focus on the perceived gulf between the best and worst teams at this stage of the season.

And as usual, the issue has snowballed into a range of different issues with the game - the football department “arms race”, the ability of Gold Coast and GWS to compete in their early years, and even the length of matches has been brought into question.

But is there really an issue with a widening gap between the best and worst teams? And is football department spending really influencing results as much as some might think?

There have been nine margins greater than 100 points so far this season. Three of those involve the Gold Coast Suns. Even the most positive football fan would’ve predicted a few blowouts in their first season, so there are no real surprises there.

If you take away the expected big margins against a team in their first year of competition, there have been six margins of 100 points or more. Hardly a massive leap from 2010 when there were four.

Practically every season has one or two standout teams. Collingwood and Geelong have proven to be ahead of the rest of the competition in 2011 - they have inflicted four 100+ point defeats between them this year.

One interesting argument centres on the impact of rotations on these sorts of results, and by extension the flow-on effect of the substitute rule. And the numbers tend to back up a few of those theories.

The introduction of the substitute and the restriction it placed on how many rotations were possible each quarter was largely designed to open up the game in the second half and reduce the number of players around each contest.

As a result, have we seen the game open up so much that the better sides can exert their dominance more easily? Are the opposition now too tired to pressure and chase towards the end of the match?

Consider that Collingwood averages 23 more points than their opposition in the final quarter, clearly the biggest difference across the competition. While the Magpies had well and truly put the game beyond doubt before half time against Port Adelaide last weekend, they saved their highest score for the final term.

Geelong did a similar job on the Gold Coast, scoring 8.6 in the final quarter.

There were only eight stoppages around the ground in that time as the game opened up even further.

Some have suggested that the high number of rotations in the game means that the better midfields are much more fresh, allowing them to “beat up” on their opponents for longer periods of time.

When momentum is against a team and fatigue sets in, are they so tired that placing numbers behind the ball has little effect? This is definitely something the AFL and the clubs will monitor closely.

On the flip side, the number of close contests hasn’t really changed at all. There have been 25 single-figure margins so far this year, exactly the same number as this time last season. And 11 of those clashes this season have involved two sides currently in the top 8.

In 2009 there were 27 at the same stage, so there can’t be any complaints about a decline in thrillers this season. But you can forgive footy fans for having a short memory in this case.

While there have been some big margins in recent weeks, there could be a number of reasons behind the one-sided contests.

And we’ve only just touched the surface.

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