WEST COAST
(9th:11 wins 11 losses)
Rating 5/10

The Eagles started well enough with three wins against weak opposition, ended OK with four wins in the last five games offering a shot at finals, but at times in between were awful. Just one victory in a string of eight games between rounds four and 12 the low point.

Adam Simpson took charge of a team that was widely considered to have underachieved, and had early impact with some subtle changes of game plan, including a more possession-based game.

But a lack of depth and, more tellingly, a lack of pace in midfield was soon revealed, and West Coast's much-vaunted tall forward set-up too often failed to click, thanks as much to some haphazard delivery as any shortcomings on the part of Josh Kennedy, Jack Darling and co.

The Eagles probably ended up as 2014's flat-track bully, their average winning margin of 50 points the highest in the AFL, but their victories confined to the teams beneath them. West Coast lost all nine games played against final top-eight teams.

Matt Priddis had an outstanding year, and got more support later on from the likes of Luke Shuey and Andrew Gaff, while Eric Mackenzie was solid in defence, but West Coast needs far more hands on deck in 2015.

ADELAIDE
(10th: 11 wins 11 losses)
Rating 5/10

On an individual level, there were some decent performances from the Crows. Collectively, they revealed a soft underbelly and a lack of mental toughness far too often in their third season under Brenton Sanderson.

Adelaide could never string decent form together, and in 16 games after round six, it could only once win consecutive matches. Second, the Crows just couldn't get over the line in the close ones, with one victory and five losses in games decided by 10 points or less.

The more positive outlook would be to say that luck played a fair share in Adelaide's demise, yet a harsher but perhaps more realistic appraisal is that it simply wasn't good enough, given the unimpressive score line of just 2-8 in 10 clashes with top-eight teams.

Pluses were the form of key defender Daniel Talia and rebounding half-back Brodie Smith, while recruits James Podsiadly and Eddie Betts, along with Taylor Walker, at least gave the Crows' forward line potency.

But Adelaide could probably still use more quality midfield support for Patrick Dangerfield and Rory Sloane.

COLLINGWOOD
(11th: 11 wins 11 losses)
Rating 4/10

A tale of two decidedly different halves of a season for the Magpies, sitting fourth on the ladder at 8-3 after 11 games, and winning just three of 11 in the run home.

Injuries, clearly, played their role, the Magpies' official list containing a ridiculous 21 names by the final week of the season, but the problems ran deeper than that.

Even when the Pies were playing well, and they did manage victories over Sydney, North Melbourne, Richmond and Essendon early, there was an unhealthy reliance on Travis Cloke and small forward Jamie Elliott for goals.

That came home to roost in a big way. From round 13, the Magpies averaged just 72.7 points a game for a lowly ranking of 15th.

A defence weakened by injuries to Ben Reid and Nathan Brown battled manfully, and turned up prospects in Jack Frost and Tom Langdon, but struggled under the strain of opposition attacks once now-retired Nick Maxwell was injured.

While new skipper Scott Pendlebury was outstanding again, and Steele Sidebottom serviceable, Dane Swan and Dayne Beams struggled by their lofty standards, and more trading in of experienced players again didn't work.

Coach Nathan Buckley and his team have some serious work to do over summer.

GOLD COAST
(12th: 10 wins 12 losses)
Rating 6/10

Clearly the defining moment in Gold Coast's season was the loss of skipper and champion Gary Ablett after a famous round-16 victory over Collingwood.

Until then, the Suns were looking increasingly likely to play in finals for the first time. Afterwards, they won only one of their final seven games, with the absence of not only such a great player, but the steady hand on the ship he offered patently obvious.

Gold Coast still finished with 10 wins - two more than last year - and benefited from the further maturation of Dion Prestia, Jaeger O'Meara, David Swallow and Harley Bennell.

Particularly early, the Suns' forward set-up looked imposing, with talls Tom Lynch, Charlie Dixon and Sam Day dangerous after each had overcome various injury problems. Yet the fewer opportunities post-Ablett ended up telling on the scoreboard, too, with the Suns only ranked 15th for points scored from round 17.

Next season still promises plenty, but the dependence on the skipper remains an issue that hasn't yet been fully resolved.

CARLTON
(13th: 7 wins, 14 losses, 1 draw)
Rating 5/10

At 4-10 after round 15, Carlton's season was resembling a train wreck. Yet while the Blues still managed to win only three of their remaining eight games, things didn't look quite as apocalyptic by the close of proceedings.

Carlton ended up with good wins over North Melbourne and Gold Coast on the run home, pushed Fremantle and Geelong to within a kick, and drew with Essendon. The Blues lost six games by 12 points or less.

Bryce Gibbs finally came of age as a quality midfielder. Sam Rowe made his mark as a quality key defender. Troy Menzel now looks a very handy long-term bet as a dangerous smaller forward. Recruits Andrejs Everitt and Sam Docherty played a decent part. And biggest-name recruit Dale Thomas had started to turn a significant corner towards the end.

But coach Mick Malthouse still has some big decisions to make now about the futures of a number of Carlton's most experienced players, with Mitch Robinson, Jeff Garlett and Jarrad Waite all under the microscope.

WESTERN BULLDOGS
(14th: 7 wins 15 losses)
Rating 3/10

For a side that more optimistic observers were touting as an outside finals chance pre-season, the Bulldogs' much-vaunted potential failed to be translated into results.

The highlights were few and far between; a round-13 victory over Collingwood the pick, a win over Gold Coast in Cairns also handy, yet both failed to deliver the boost to momentum or performance you might have expected.

The Dogs consistently pulled up well short of the best sides, ending with a dismal record of 1-9 in games against top-eight teams.

Of long-term concern for coach Brendan McCartney would be the decline of his team for contested ball, the Bulldogs ranking only ninth on the differentials compared with its No.1 ranking in 2013. Their ball use was also poor, ranked 16th for kicking efficiency.

The Bulldogs still have a major issue that has plagued them for years, the lack of quality tall forwards. The shorter Essendon recruit Stewart Crameri was never really going to fill that breach, though he did end up winning the goalkicking, another medium-sizer in Jake Stringer the only other Bulldog to finish with more than 17 goals.

Potential Rising Star winner Marcus Bontempelli was an obvious bright spot, but the Dogs are going to need a few more of them if they're to start climbing the ladder.

BRISBANE LIONS
(15th: 7 wins 15 losses)
Rating 7/10

The Lions might have finished only three ladder spots away from a wooden spoon, yet on the field at least, things look a lot healthier for the club than many predicted after a mass exodus of talent at the end of last year.

Debutant coach Justin Leppitsch always faced a difficult task, but handled it pretty well, never appearing ruffled even by his team's more inept performances, and resolute in continuing to push through the younger faces who will form the nucleus of his team over the next few seasons.

They provided many of the highlights, too. The form of another two potential Rising Star winners in Lewis Taylor and James Aish encouraging indeed, Justin Clarke, Darcy Gardiner and Daniel McStay showing good signs in defence, and fill-in ruckman Stefan Martin a late-season revelation.

Indeed, several Lions seemed to go to another level, including mainstays Tom Rockliff, Pearce Hanley and Dayne Zorko.

Obvious areas for much more work are Brisbane's disposal efficiency, which remained poor, its failure to win nearly enough contested ball, and its inconsistency through games. The Lions won fewer quarters than any other team.

Yet the long roll call of talented players developing quickly, and the return from injury of class act Daniel Rich, should give Brisbane enough to look forward to in 2015.

GWS
(16th: 6 wins, 16 losses)
Rating 7/10

The Giants were never really going to top what they pulled off in round one - a stunning upset of Sydney, which seemed all the more unbelievable the longer the season went.

Yet there were enough highlights besides. Six wins was double what the Giants managed in their first two seasons put together, with significant performances also coming in the middle and end of the year.

They were consecutive wins for the first time in Giants' history, and two wins and a narrow loss to Collingwood at the end when the fledgling club had lost more than a little talent through injury.

The experienced mainstays of coach Leon Cameron's team could hardly have done more; skipper Callan Ward again outstanding, Shane Mumford always strong in the ruck, and Heath Shaw a constant source of rebound off half-back.

But this team is all about the kids coming through, and there's a host of them. Even as late as the final game, the likes of James Stewart and Cam McCarthy presented their claims in impressive fashion.

The much-heralded key-position forward, Tom Boyd, could be in for a much bigger 2015 given the knee injury to Jonathon Patton, but Jeremy Cameron will be back, and this season has seen considerable progress made again by the likes of Adam Treloar, Devon Smith, Dylan Shiel and Will Hoskin-Elliott.

MELBOURNE
(17th: 4 wins, 18 losses)
Rating 4/10

Just past the halfway mark of the season, Paul Roos was seen to be working miracles with the Demons, who had won four games, stayed at least competitive in most others, and managed to shave about six goals a game from their points against tally.

Unfortunately, that's just about where the fight ended, the last 10 games all losses and several of them decidedly uncompetitive efforts.

Roos made no secret of his intent to concentrate on the Demons' defensive efforts, but an increasingly vocal chorus began to ask at what cost. Melbourne was clearly the worst offensive team, scoring less than 60 points in no fewer than 10 games.

The goalkicking tally said it all at the finish, with Chris Dawes winning the "award" with a total of just 20. Dom Tyson was next cab off the rank with 16.

Tyson was one of a number of experienced recruits who boosted Melbourne's midfield competitiveness for a time, Bernie Vince and veteran Daniel Cross also having some decent input, but again it was co-skipper Nathan Jones who seemed to be left shouldering too much of the load.

There's still clearly a long, long way to go, and the likely loss of free agent James Frawley won't have many Demons feeling too satisfied at the later turn of events.

ST KILDA
(18th: 4 wins 18 losses)
Rating 4/10

It seems like an eternity ago, but St Kilda's 2014 got off to a pretty bright start with two wins in the first two games. But reality soon sank in and the Saints won just two more of the last 20.

New coach Alan Richardson was always going to be about development, and was at least true to his word in pushing through the kids. The Saints used 42 players - second only to the Giants.

The big pluses were the very classy-looking Luke Dunstan before he was injured, and Jack Billings, but other already-blooded Saints made strides as well, most notably Jack Newnes. There was a decent cameo from the highly rated Blake Acres, while the end of the season saw some good signs from tall Spencer White.

Structurally the Saints still have issues in defence, being the worst side in the AFL, leaking 110.7 points a game.

And there's no doubt the changing of the guard continues, the retirement of Lenny Hayes another flashpoint in St Kilda's recent history.

There's plenty of pain to go through yet for Saints fans, but Richardson at least hasn't shied away from his pledge to bring through a new generation on which a long-suffering fan base can base its hopes for the future.