1. Tomorrow night, the Dockers travel to the SCG. It’s not the path they thought they would take to the last day in September but I think they will get through all the same.

The key to this game, as all the games in September have been so far, is the collective impact of each team’s tall forwards. Freo’s three-headed monster of Pat Voss, Josh Treacy and Jye Amiss are 1-1 this September .

The Swans group of Charlie Curnow, Logan McDonald and Hayden McLean are 1-0. Whoever has more impact out of these two groups of key forwards will win and I believe that will be Freo. They will get more opportunities provided by their three best score involvement players in Luke Jackson, Shai Bolton and Murphy Reid.

These three are the connectors and I think with Sydney’s outs, this will just be too much this week for the brave Swans. Errol Gulden won’t be enough this week. Fremantle will make the grand final.

2. It was always going to be tough for Geelong to go to Perth and knock off a team that won 19 games this season in Fremantle.

Top-two teams normally bounce back but the Cats made them fight all the way. What else would you expect from a club that continually contends more than anyone else? If a few things fell their way, they could have gone to an 11th preliminary final under Chris Scott.

Ridiculous when you think about it. They will contend again next year. They will get Toby Greene and maybe Rowan Marshall because why wouldn’t you want to play there? People make jokes about side deals etc but the reality is this club pick and develop players better than anyone else.

They rarely get high draft picks but when they do they nail them, like they did with Connor O’Sullivan. Another finals campaign in 2026 for the Cats and they will do it again in 2027.

3. The Adelaide Crows have won more home and away games than any other club in the last two years. That is a very impressive effort, no doubt about that.

They do a lot right, are good in the contest with the best pressure in the competition. They make it really hard for the opposition to move the football. They can score as well against most opposition, most weeks. They play a predictable brand and each player knows their role within it.

The problem is, this isn’t translating on the biggest stage in September. They struggle against the best and this makes it very hard to score against the top defensive teams. They lack a bit of sizzle and, apart from Izak Rankine, they don’t have the players that can break out of stoppage. This is why they pursued Zac Bailey so hard for 18 months.

Over the next month, it will be interesting to see if they have a Plan B in this recruiting space. I also think the game plan needs to evolve to bring in a bit more forward handball and run. The question is, do they have the players to execute this? Very interesting off season ahead.

4. I like what Collingwood are doing. They may be ‘Dads Army’ and trying to make sure they stay in the hunt and I like it.

Why wouldn’t you? It’s never been harder to bottom right out and rebuild. Ask West Coast, Richmond and Essendon fans. It will get even harder once Tasmania enters the competition, with all of the draft concessions they have. While you have a generational talent like Nick Daicos and a master coach in Craig McRae, you have to keep trying to stay up. Getting Lachie Neale and Jesse Hogan will help keep this window ajar. Geelong and Sydney don’t bottom out and I like that a club like Collingwood are going down this track.

5. Zac Bailey has stayed at Brisbane. This is huge for the Lions and the 2026 All-Australian.

This guy can split a game open with his movement and goal sense. But a few eyebrows were raised at the length of the deal, eight years for a soon to be 27-year-old. Seems a bit risky but he was in high demand with a big offer from the Crows on the table. You have to give the extra year or so to get him a bit cheaper than what the Crows had offered.

Over the eight years, the total player payments will increase so don’t worry about the overall dollars right now. They have Lachie Neale leaving and a handful more veterans that will be gone in the next few years. They can also vary the contract along the line if need be to spread the payments out front-end or back-end of the contract term. The deal will end up just fine for the Lions. These type of players are invaluable.

6. Rowan Marshall wants out of St Kilda and has requested a trade. This is not surprising in the slightest.

Marshall plays his best footy as the No.1 ruckman . He seems to thrive with the workload of being the man in that role 80 per cent of game time. He also played his best footy in a patch this season when Tom De Koning was injured. His three-week patch from round 17-19 was clearly his strongest for the season. His impact was noticeably better. It’s no surprise he wants to move on. He needs to be the man. But it will be a big loss for the Saints.

7. Tom Liberatore has called time on his sensational AFL career.

Libba was the ultimate team player for the Dogs over a long journey that included the 2016 premiership. Universally respected for the way he attacked every game and contest. He gave 100 per cent of what he had, no matter the situation of a game. I’m not sure many players could say that over a career.

A contest, clearance and tackling machine. His career-best contested possession game was 28. Only three players have ever had more in a game. His rundown tackle of the lightning-quick Brad Hill at Marvel one afternoon summed up Libba to a tee. A much-loved teammate off field, Libba is a Doggies great. Luke Beveridge was lucky to have him to select each week. Enjoy retirement Libba, I have full faith he will.

8. Mitch Cleary on Agenda Setters this week put on the agenda shorter quarters in next few years.

Yep, the AFL are looking at it when Tassie enters the comp. 7AFL then put the clip on their X account. There were not many fans commenting positively on this idea. I wholeheartedly agree.

The game to me is a war of attrition over a long season. Do we really want the sprint games of the 2020 COVID season? No thanks. I think most fans agree, as did Hawks coach Sam Mitchell. Let’s hope the AFL listen.

9. Since the finals system changed in 2000, 13 teams have lost a qualifying final by 50 points.

Remarkably, all 13 have gone on to win the semifinal the next week and go into a preliminary final. Brisbane are the latest team to do this and face Hawthorn Saturday arvo at the ‘G.

They are going to have to break a big trend though, as 12 of those previous teams then lost the preliminary final. I think the Lions can do it and make their fourth grand final in a row. They love the wide expanses of the MCG and have incredible scoring power. No team can put the foot on the pedal like Brisbane.

The Hawks will need to stop the Lions uncontested mark game. If they keep them under 90 marks, the Hawks should win. My tip is Brisbane though, to keep the three-peat dream alive.

10. The Victorian Government has copped a lot of heat for wasting taxpayer money. But the $15 million they spent to host the NFL in Melbourne was money extremely well spent.

The estimated return for the local economy is in excess of $300 million. Then there is the fact it was beamed into the USA in primetime, showcasing Melbourne and Australia. The pictures looked amazing and the flow-on effect will be huge. The game was your typical American hype and razzmatazz. The crowd loved it and over 100,000 people turned up.

As for the game itself, the 49ers arrived a week early and won over the public. The Rams turned up the day before the game, which was obviously well-planned and they were trying to stay in the time zone of west coast USA. Unfortunately, they still played like they were jetlagged. it didn’t work.

It was meant to be a Rams home game as well. I think a lesson was learned for whoever comes next year. Get there early and embrace the city. Everyone I know that went said the atmosphere was electric. Well done, Melbourne.