Taking football 'one week at a time' may have been a throwaway line for many AFL players over the years but in 2017 the old adage could not be more accurate.

This season has been utterly stunning at times with how unpredictable and competitive the whole competition is; it has surprised just about everyone, myself included.

We've seen injury-ridden teams defying the odds to record victories on the road, premiership favourites humbled by bottom-four sides, and some of the competition's modern-day powerhouse clubs unexpectedly stumbling. I can honestly say I have never seen such an even season during my 17 years in the game.

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It's at the point now where I reckon the AFL is the most tightly and evenly contested professional sports league in the world. That may sound like a bold call, but where else do you see such a spread of unpredictable results week after week.

To illustrate how tight the ladder is after 14 rounds, the reigning premiers Western Bulldogs face the West Coast Eagles, both with a 7-6 record, on Saturday afternoon at Etihad Stadium. The winner could possibly jump into the top four by the conclusion of the round, while the loser could fall as low as 12th. In the bottom half, Sydney have fought back well from their disastrous 0-6 start to the season. A win for the Swans over Melbourne on Friday night could see them move into the top eight while a loss could drop them back to 15th, two games out of finals contention.

Lance Franklin and the Swans celebrate with fans after their comeback victory against the Bombers in Round 14. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/AFL Media/Getty Images)

Many soccer leagues around the world do not have a salary cap in place, meaning the wealthier clubs will more often than not break away from those with fewer funds.

The big four American sports (Major League Baseball (MLB), National Basketball Association (NBA), National Football League (NFL) and National Hockey League (NHL)) all have various measures in place -- from hard and soft salary caps to luxury taxes -- to limit a team's payroll. But in terms of consistent evenness, the AFL has them all covered.

While we should continue to marvel at and enjoy the unpredictability of 2017, we should stop and ask ourselves one question: Why is this season so even?

I feel as though it has a lot to do with the draft and the equalisation measures the AFL has put in place.

The likes of Hawthorn, Geelong and Sydney -- who have all enjoyed extended periods of recent success -- have naturally come back to the pack. Meanwhile, the teams that have spent more time in the bottom half of the ladder failed to benefit as much from the compromised recent drafts that catered for expansion clubs Gold Coast and GWS. As a result, we're now seeing everyone meeting somewhere in the middle.

Cats players celebrate after defeating the Dockers in Round 14. Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

When the Bulldogs won the premiership last year from seventh, everyone felt it was a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence; but I genuinely feel that gone are the days where you need to finish top four to be a real chance to win a flag. Anyone who finishes in the top eight can win it this year, there's no doubt about it.

In fact, I would go a step further and say it would be equally wide open even if we had a final 12 as opposed to a top eight.

The competition is so tight that at times we tend to unfairly slap teams with an inconsistent label. But it's extremely difficult to string together two, three or four wins. How many times do we need to write a team off only for them to just come back and win their next three?

I'm absolutely loving how even the competition is at the moment, and the fans are really benefitting. To have so many teams still vying for a finals berth two thirds of the way through the season is great for the sport.

Make no mistake, the confirmation of the top eight is going to come down to the final games of Round 23. So how good is that?