Undefeated Hillwood have been the surprise packet from the opening eight rounds of the NTFA premier division season after finishing seventh last year.
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But their draw with reigning premiers Longford shows the Country Tigers are still in the mix to go back-to-back.
Second-placed Rocherlea, who have won five in a row, have been the other big performer.
Will the positions shift or will the top five remain the same across the next 10 rounds?
Hillwood (6-0-1, 213.03)
- Points for 605, against 284
The fact the Sharks and Country Tigers played a 5.6 (36) apiece draw in round eight said it all about their strong defensive units.
As The Examiner found out, Hillwood's rapid improvement has encompassed on-field and off-field elements.
Former Launceston Blues players Jacob Boyd and Jack Tuthill have had an instant impact but coach Jake Pearce has been quick to point to the development from within.
Young forward Archie Wilkinson is the league's leading goal-kicker with 26 and teammate Andrew Whitmore isn't far behind on 16.
The key taking from the draw with the Tigers is the Sharks need to work on their forward-50 entries under pressure.
Rocherlea (6-2, 206.49)
- Points for 764, against 370
Last year's grand finalists are building nicely after dropping early games to South Launceston and Hillwood.
The next month with be telling with a round 10 away game against the up-and-about Bulldogs and a round 12 match-up against Hillwood.
The City Tigers put in strong performances against Longford and Bracknell, including leading the Redlegs 33-0 at quarter-time of their Aboriginal Round match.
They're a scoring force with the most points-for this season and have four forwards in the top 10 goal-kickers with Josh Holton (22), Jordan Cousens (17), Andrew Cox-Goodyer (15) and Zane Brown (13).
Longford (4-2-1, 166.23)
- Points for 502, against 302
The reigning premiers are right in the hunt again this season, despite an early-season injury blow.
Losing ruck Michael Larby, their best on ground medallist in the last year's grand final, with a broken arm was always going to hurt.
On top of that, they lost scoring options in Jackson Blair, Jacob Wiggers and James Gillow during the off-season.
Since their one-point loss to Bracknell, the Tigers have displayed a willingness to dig in during final quarters with a come-from-behind win against South Launceston and a well-earned draw with Hillwood.
Much like the Sharks, the Country Tigers are hard to score against but need to work on their delivery into the forward-50.
South Launceston (4-3, 172.53)
- Points for 559, against 324
Having the most up-and-down season of the lot with their ins and outs having an impact.
At full-strength, the Bulldogs are premiership contenders but who will they have on the park at season's end?
Captain Jay Blackberry has had an instant impact since returning.
He hadn't played since round one due to going through the process to try and become a firefighter as reported by The Examiner in April.
Coach Jack Maher, in the past fortnight, said he wasn't sure how long the Bulldogs would have Blackberry for due to the firefighting pursuit.
Luke McCarty, Toby Lucas, Sam Mayne and Lachie Cocker also came back two rounds ago and the Bulldogs have comfortably accounted for Scottsdale and fellow finals-contender Bracknell.
Will be interesting to see how they fare against Rocherlea in round 10.
Bracknell (4-3, 123.74)
- Points for 516, against 417
Arguably the team that's had to do the most adjusting this season given they lost the likes of rucks Matty Dennis and Sam Douglas as well as midfielder Josh Holland and other experienced heads.
They brought in serious talent from Launceston Blues including Josh Woolley, Miller Hodge and Michael Musicka but Musicka sustained a broken collarbone against Longford in round three.
The Redlegs' highlight was coming from three goals down to beat the Country Tigers by one point but they have since struggled against the top sides with losses to Rocherlea and South.
A problem in both those games was giving up a five-goal start to each team before evening up the scoring.
The focus has got to about being ready from the get-go.
Bridgenorth (3-4, 70.51)
- Points for 361, against 512
The Parrots quickly turned around their worrying start to the season which included an upset loss to Deloraine and conceding 78 points in the first half to Rocherlea.
But their gallant second half against the City Tigers kick-started their campaign.
They followed up with a upset victory against South and have since accounted for George Town and Scottsdale.
Trailing Longford by two points at half-time in round seven presented as another big opportunity but the Country Tigers kicked six goals to none in the third term.
Bridgenorth's challenge is about handling the competition's strongest sides when they get on a roll.
Deloraine (3-4, 66.55)
- Points for 376, against 565
After winning one game last year, the Kangaroos jumped out of the gates with an uplifting 14-point win against Bridgenorth at UTAS Stadium in the opening round.
By round five they found themselves 3-2 after triumphs over George Town and Scottsdale.
Their 12-point round six defeat to Bracknell, including being 10 points up at half-time, was perhaps their best effort given the Redlegs' credentials.
The Roos' biggest dilemma has been scoring against the top-three with Hillwood, Longford and Rocherlea keeping them under 35 points.
Can they find a way to goal against them in the second half of the season?
Scottsdale (1-6, 40.19)
- Points for 299, against 744
Despite a mass exodus of players during the off-season, the Magpies got off to an ideal start with a 33-point home victory against George Town in round one.
They have suffered big losses since then but pushed Bridgenorth all the way last weekend, including leading by 11 points at quarter-time.
Forward Jacob Singline, Kyle Lanham and Joe Krushka have had strong seasons and were rewarded with spots in the NTFA representative team that took on the NWFL in May.
George Town (0-7, 38.13)
- Points for 286, against 750
The young Saints have been on the end of heavy defeats but have been right in some games too.
They've been two goals or less down at three-quarter time on three occasions.
The club debuted Tallis Trudgeon, Kale Fraser and Jobi Ellis in round one and they all went on to play in the NTFA under-18 representative team against the North-West.
The Saints have since blooded more debutants from the under-18s in a sign of a bright future for the club.
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