198 matches down, nine to go. The regular season is over, so is winter and so too are the AFL seasons of ten clubs.
The AFL finals begin next week and if this round was anything to go by, then we can expect a high-quality finals series as nine more matches, including the big one, are still to come.
But first, let’s look back at some of the moments that shaped the final round of the regular season.
1. Richmond come from nowhere to make the eight
Any Richmond fan who thought that, after the team slumped to 16th on the ladder mid-season, they could still make the finals would have been dreaming.
But eight straight wins later and the Tigers arrived in Sydney needing to win to clinch the last place in the eight and sentence the West Coast Eagles and Adelaide Crows to early exits.
Their intentions were made clear right from the very start when they kicked the first 33 points of the match, making for Sydney’s worst defensive first quarter this season.
The Tigers had clearly come to play, and by the end of it they finished three-point victors, enough to see them qualify for September in consecutive seasons for the first time in almost four decades.
For Sydney, a loss would not have been fatal to their hopes of winning their first minor premiership since 1996 but a loss by more than six goals would have seen them bumped down to second.
John Longmire’s men won’t dwell on the loss. With their trio of ex-Hawks in Ben McGlynn, Josh Kennedy and Buddy Franklin, as well as Mike Pyke and Craig Bird set to return next week, the Swans will be a formidable team ahead of their first round finals showdown against Fremantle this Saturday afternoon.
The Swans and Tigers could meet again in the semi-finals. If the Swans lose their qualifying final to Fremantle (who will have Nat Fyfe back from suspension) and Richmond upset Port Adelaide on the road, the stage could be set for another blockbuster between the two teams at ANZ Stadium.
2. Dead rubbers? What dead rubbers?
The West Coast Eagles and Adelaide Crows, the two teams that had to rely on the Swans beating the Tigers on Saturday, unleashed their anger at not being able to extend their seasons by at least another week.
The Eagles unleashed in the second half to win by 52 points on the Gols Coast as they pondered the season that could have been.
Adam Simpson’s men lost four matches by single-figure margins this year, but it will be their Round 21 loss to Essendon which will sting the most as they let slip a 34-point lead midway through the third term to lose by just three points.
The Adelaide Crows will also be left to rue a number of close losses this year, as they also lost four matches by single-figure margins, including two matches by less than a kick. Those conspired against them as they will miss the finals for the fourth time in the last five seasons.
Still, it didn’t stop them ending their own season, and the career of Ben Rutten, on a high, as they thrashed St Kilda by 79 points in front of over 44,000 fans at the Adelaide Oval.
3. Where to now for the Saints?
For the Saints, their match against the Crows had a meaning as not only was it Lenny Hayes’ final game, he also had the chance to set a record for most tackles laid, which he did, overtaking Sydney Swans legend Jude Bolton in the process with 1,496, six more than the previous best record.
Though it was their final chance to avoid the wooden spoon, the Saints never seriously looked like offloading it to Melbourne as they lost by 79 points – marking their tenth loss by more than 50 points this year.
Their last place finish was the first for a Victorian club since 2009, and their first since 2000 – and completes a massive fall from grace with the club having come within a wobbly bounce of winning the flag in 2010.
In the intervention, Ross Lyon controversially left the club to coach Fremantle, while Scott Watters was shown the door ten months ago, leaving it to Alan Richardson to rebuild the club.
In addition to Hayes retiring, club stalwarts James Gwilt and Clinton Jones were also delisted by the club after many years of service. The club will now have the first pick in November’s draft for the first time since 2002, which they are heavily favoured to use on Christian Petracca.
It will be a long road back to the top for the Saints but their fans will have to persist.
4. Hawks, Cats warm up for finals showdown with large victories
The finals series will kick off with yet another showdown between Hawthorn and the Geelong Cats, and if their recent meeting last week is anything to go by, then it shapes as yet another blockbuster.
Both teams warmed up for this Friday night’s showdown by recording large victories over hapless opposition – the Hawks putting injury-hit Collingwood to the sword by 65 points and the Cats upending the Brisbane Lions by 62 points.
The Hawks defeated the Cats last week for only their second win against their nemesis of the last six years since the 2008 grand final, thus giving them somewhat of a psychological edge entering the rematch this Friday night.
The Cats will be filthy about losing that match, which cost them second place on the ladder, but it didn’t seem to matter as these teams were always going to meet in the first round of the finals.
The impressive form shown by both clubs in their respective victories will make the second qualifying final very hard to predict with any real confidence. The fans will be out in droves to support their teams.
5. Freo’s reward for winning: a trip to Sydney, Port’s reward for losing: a home final
This shaped as the most intriguing match of the round, whereby the winner of this match would very likely have to travel to Sydney to face minor premiers the Swans in the first week of the finals, while the loser’s reward would be hosting a sudden death home final.
In the shootout for fourth spot and the double chance, it was Fremantle who prevailed by eight points after they fell behind by two goals in the third quarter.
Their reward is a trip to Sydney’s ANZ Stadium to face the Sydney Swans, whose star forward Lance Franklin will return after he was rested from their narrow three-point loss to Richmond.
The Power’s loss sees them host a sudden death final against the Tigers at the Adelaide Oval next Sunday – and they will be aware of a side which came from absolutely nowhere to reach the final eight.
And it’s possible that these two teams could meet again in the second week of the finals, if results unfold as expected.
If this is the case, then bring on Round 3 (the two teams also met in Round 8 earlier this year with Port winning by 18 points).
6. Another draw between Carlton and Essendon
Entering the final round of the season, there had not been a draw since Round 8 last year.
While the match was a dead rubber as far as Carlton were concerned, Essendon simply had to win (or at worst draw) to avoid travelling interstate in the first week of the finals.
What unfolded would be a match of momentum swings – first, Carlton streaked out to a five-goal lead before a quarter-time spray by Mark Thompson sparked the Bombers into action, after which they would conjure their own five-goal lead.
In the end, the Blues and Bombers would fight out the first and only draw of the season – and remarkably, their third in eight years after also drawing in Round 16, 2006 and Round 4, 2011.
7. A Giant finish to the regular season
What no better way than to finish off with the final match of the regular season between the Western Bulldogs and GWS Giants.
The stage was set for the season finale of all season finales – two teams out of finals contention in what was supposed to be a dead rubber that proved otherwise.
The Bulldogs were farewelling Daniel Giansiracusa while the Giants were doing likewise for Josh Hunt, who arrived at the club after 198 games and two premierships with the Geelong Cats.
Following on from the previous night’s thriller between the Sydney Swans and Richmond, the match between the Bulldogs and Giants provided so many highlights that would otherwise normally be reserved for a heavyweight clash.
And in what must be considered a spectacular finish to the regular season, Devon Smith kicked the final goal from 55 metres out to give the Giants a six-point win, giving them six victories in a season where they have remarkably improved.
Sadly, all good things must come to an end, and that was the case when both Giansiracusa and Hunt walked off the ground for the final time after both started their careers in 2001.
With most of their injured troops (with the exception of Jonathon Patton) set to return in time for Round 1, 2015, the Giants will in the near-certain future be very hard to beat.
Having won a season-best six matches in 2014, the only way is up for the Giants in 2015. Can the club build on this season and move further up the ladder next year? We will just have to wait and see.
Ladies and gentlemen, that was all she wrote for the 2014 regular season. Now, bring on the finals! Just nine matches from now and we will have our premiers for the year. Who will it be?
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