Only four teams changed places on the MARS Ratings ladder this week, with the Swans and the Eagles swapping 5th and 8th, and the Dons and Freo swapping 10th and 11th.

The Eagles could justifiably feel a little aggrieved, dropping three places despite knocking off the until-recently undefeated Cats this weekend. But, such is the congestion for teams ranked in positions 5th through 8th that a 2 Ratings Point gain proved insufficient to retain 5th spot. They remain only a single Ratings Point away from regaining 5th, however.

Eighth spot looks fairly secure for the Eagles, though, as they hold an 11.5 Ratings Point advantage over the Roos in 9th.

This week the interquartile range - the Ratings Point difference separating the teams in 4th and 14th - fell marginally to 48 Ratings Points, down about 0.5 Ratings Points from last week's season high. The gap between 4th and 8th fell more dramatically, from 20.3 Ratings Points to 14.0 Ratings Points, raising hopes for a more competitive Finals series.

Eight teams have, in net terms, gained Ratings points over the last 5 rounds, principal amongst them the Dogs, which has gained almost 11 Ratings Points and climbed from 7th to 6th in doing so.

The Eagles, Hawks and Pies are the only other teams to have gained more than 5 Ratings Points during this time.

Across those same 5 rounds nine teams have shed Ratings Points, in particular the Gold Coast, which has shed 11.6 points, and Richmond and Port Adelaide, which have shed over 7 Ratings Points each. The Lions are the team that has shed next most Points, having dropped almost 5 Ratings Points across Rounds 12 to 16.

This has left these four teams occupying the bottom four spots on the MARS Ratings ladder and over 6 Ratings Points adrift of the next highest team, Adelaide, rated 980.6.

Overall, MARS Ratings continue to be broadly aligned with those of the Colley and Massey Systems, with Essendon, Fremantle, the Roos, Melbourne, West Coast and the Western Bulldogs the only teams whose rankings differ by more than two spots across these Systems.

MARS ranks the Dons 10th to Colley's 6th and Massey's 7th, while Colley has Freo 8th to Massey's 12th and MARS' 11th. The Roos are 9th on MARS but 11th on Massey and 12th on Colley; Melbourne are 9th on Massey, 11th on Colley and 12th on MARS; the Eagles are 4th on Colley, 5th on Massey and 8th on MARS; and the Dogs are 10th on Colley and on Massey but 6th on MARS.

Here's the latest data on each rating System: