After an unusually uncompetitive round, a few teams have some issues to resolve. Carlton and Brisbane need a win, but it is hard to see where they will get one, while Richmond and Sydney are already losing their chance of making the finals.

There is plenty of good news for fans of Adelaide and Melbourne (who moves off the bottom of this ladder), both getting their first wins this week. The Western Bulldogs move up a couple of spots, along with Collingwood and North Melbourne.

West Coast is a big faller this week, tumbling three spots after an awful performance.

Round six promises to be an interesting one, with the Geelong-Hawthorn contest standing out as the season’s first true blockbuster.

Team of the week: North Melbourne finally got a win in Sydney, in tough conditions that normally wouldn’t suit their quick style of play. A grinding victory is always good, and the Roos got one this week.

Weak team of the week: There is no shortage of candidates this week, but West Coast came to Geelong as contenders and played like a bottom four team. Three quarters without a goal is simply embarrassing.

1. (Last week – 1) Hawthorn Hawks – Record: 4-0

Hawthorn was powerfully impressive on Saturday night, and looked almost untouchable. The Hawks had winners everywhere, including the returning Sam Mitchell, who had 36 possessions. Not for nearly the first time, Hawthorn approach the increasingly traditional Easter Monday match-up against Geelong as the ones to beat. It may only be April, but a convincing win on Monday and the Hawks will have dealt with nearly all their challengers already.

2. (2) Fremantle Dockers – 3-1

The Dockers showed the form that puts them second on this ladder on Sunday, dealing with the Bombers comfortably after half time. With Essendon playing without a recognised ruckman, Fremantle dominated in the ruck and translated that into a victory in clearances. The more attacking approach Ross Lyon promised was in full view, with the Dockers looking dangerous every time the ball went forward. Fremantle travel to play Sydney this week and will hope to regain a spot in the official top four.

3. (3) Geelong Cats – 4-0

Geelong wound back the clock on Saturday night, with an old fashioned dismantling of an opponent. After three quarter time the Cats outscored the Eagles 80 to seven in what became a demolition. Matthew Stokes was instrumental in the midfield, while Jared Rivers had his best game for the Cats. Geelong are in great form and now line up against their fiercest rival Hawthorn on Monday, in what promises to be a huge game.

4. (4) Essendon Bombers – 2-2

After arriving in Perth without a designated ruckman, and leaving behind key veterans Dustin Fletcher and Paul Chapman, Essendon didn’t stand much of a chance on Sunday. Compounded by a hot day, with temperatures in the mid-30s, the Bombers were destined to run out of legs as the match went along. They did, and fell to a comfortable loss. Brent Stanton ran hard all day, while Dyson Heppell racked up 35 touches and 10 tackles. The Bombers have an easy month coming up, with the ANZAC Day match against the Pies the only match against a finals contender in their next four.

5. (6) Port Adelaide Power – 3-1

Saturday really was a dominate performance from the Power, smashing the Lions by 113 points. Jay Schulz kicked seven goals, equaling the entire Brisbane side, while Travis Boak set a new career best with 41 touches. It was a pretty perfect performance against a hapless opponent, one that should boost Port confidence as well as their percentage. The Power travel to Pert this week to meet the Eagles.

6. (8) North Melbourne Kangaroos – 3-1

The victory over Sydney on Sunday was a crucial one for North. The Roos took a big step towards the finals by winning a difficult game in the wet, thanks to a stand-out performance from star full-back Scott Thompson. Thompson not only took care of Lance Franklin, but he also managed to quell almost all of Sydney’s attacks. Without their two of their better contested players – Jack Ziebell and Andrew Swallow – North were decisively stronger over the ball and used the ball a lot better than their opponents.

7. (9) Collingwood Magpies – 2-2

The Magpie midfield returned to their stellar form in a convincing win on Friday night. The big three, Scott Pendlebury, Dane Swan and Dayne Beams all kicked goals and all left their mark on the match, humiliating the Richmond midfield. While Travis Cloke didn’t find form, Jesse White did in a promising display. Collingwood will hope keep their form up and get their win-loss into the positive when they meet North Melbourne on Saturday.

8. (5) West Coast Eagles – 3-1

The bubble burst for West Coast on Saturday night. After boasting wins against teams in the lower section of the ladder, the Eagles met a contender and overwhelmingly failed. While they left some key players in Perth, not scoring a goal in almost 85 minutes is an abysmal achievement. West Coast don’t appear to be anywhere near the danger they were seven days ago.

9. (7) Sydney Swans – 1-3

Sunday was a shocker for Sydney, and the loss to North leaves them in a bad position. If the Swans want to live up to the pre-season hype and be premiership contenders they can’t wait much longer to start winning or their chances of finishing top four will slip away. While their forward line continues to be dysfunctional, Sydney’s problems start in the middle. Their once0-vaunted midfield appears to be one paced and their attack on the ball was certainly wanting on Sunday. Joshua Kay tweeted that the Swans score of 48 was their smallest in Sydney in 25 years. If Sydney are going to become relevant on-field in 2014 they need to start winning, and fast.

10. (10) Gold Coast Suns – 2-2

The Suns copped a reality check on Saturday night, going down by a demoralizing 99 points. The Suns couldn’t get anything going on the night and were pretty well humiliated by the Hawks. Gold Coast couldn’t hold on to the ball or win it back, which led to a long, long four quarters. The Suns will hope it is just an aberration, but the loss does serve as a reality check that the Suns need to keep improving.

11. (12) Adelaide Crows – 1-3

Adelaide finally got their season up and going this week, with a crushing victory over St Kilda. The Adelaide midfield finally got up and running and they had a strong target up forward with Josh Jenkins and James Podsiadly finding form. The Crows showed the form that saw them become a serious premiership threat two seasons ago, and fans can only hope for more.

12. (11) Richmond Tigers – 1-3

Last week this column wrote that things were getting worrying for Richmond, now things are getting dangerous at Punt Road. Not only were the Tigers beaten, they were embarrassed through the first three quarters by the Magpies. Trent Cotchin was held to 13 possessions by Brent Macaffer, and the rest of the Richmond midfield failed to fire. Debutant Sam Lloyd was the only spark for the Tigers, kicking three goals in a smart display. Richmond now heads up north to play Brisbane on Thursday night in a truly crucial match.

13. (13) St Kilda Saints – 2-2

Sunday was a rude awakening for St Kilda, going down by 86 points. Despite getting Jack Steven back in the line up (and as skillful as ever), the Saints just simply weren’t good enough to compete with the Crows. Nick Riewoldt was terrific again, a sentence that has been written seemingly every week. St Kilda will move on now, and face a tough test on Saturday, taking on Essendon.

14. (16) Western Bulldogs – 2-2

Led by a powerful final quarter from Matthew Boyd, the Dogs got their second win in a row on Saturday. Boyd had 39 possessions, including (with thanks to Ethan Meldrum) 15 in the final quarter when the Dogs needed a lift. Western Bulldog fans will be happy to see forwards Stewart Crameri and Liam Jones combined for seven goals, as their team ran all over GWS in the finish. The Dogs face the Blues in round five, suddenly a game they should win.

15. (15) Greater Western Sydney Giants – 2-2

The Giants will be disappointed with the way they finished off their match against the Dogs on Saturday. GWS ran out of legs late in the match, and couldn’t stop the Western Bulldogs from running away. Jonathon Patton was very impressive, playing his best all-round game and displaying his immense talent, while his forward-line mate Jeremy Cameron chipped in with three goals. The Giants sit in the top eight officially after round four, and will hope to stay there when they travel to play Adelaide this week.

16. (14) Carlton Blues – 0-4

Things have fallen apart for Carlton. Last week this space questioned the direction of the Blues, and now it is clear that they are set to go downwards, and fast. Carlton have looked completely lost in each game so far, except maybe the second half against Richmond in round two. The Blues have no direction in their game plan at the moment, and without superstars carrying the team, it looks as though the Blues are treading water. Carlton meet a suddenly in-form Western Bulldogs in round five, a match that would have been written in as a win at the start of the season, Carlton will certainly not start as favourites.

17. (18) Melbourne Demons – 1-3

It’s all smiles for Melbourne this week, so much so that they have moved off the bottom of this ladder. It has been and will continue to be well documented how much trouble Carlton are in, but Melbourne were quite impressive on Saturday. Not surprisingly, the Demons looked so much better when they were winning, and it started with the forward line. Chris Dawes gave a target, while James Frawley lived up to his own price tag. Jake Spencer had a breakout game in the ruck, and Melbourne fans have something to smile about this week.

18. (17) Brisbane Lions – 0-4

This is not how Justin Lepptisch planned things. Brisbane are currently the worst team in the competition, and now they are missing two of their better players following injuries to Matthew Leuenberger and Pearce Hanley. The Lions had 11 scoring shots on Saturday, the Power had 39. Port had 114 more disposals, yet still had more tackles than Brisbane. Fans of the Lions can only hope this is rock bottom, and that there is only improvement from here.