After the weekend.

Ok ok ok round 21, it's been and gone who would have thought.

To Friday Night and Western Bulldogs hosted Geelong at Etihad Stadium. When Geelong came out and kicked the first goal or two I thought that it was going to be Geelong's night. But then out came the doggies that we know, fast paced and full of life and in the third quarter when the cats were down by over 30 points I thought they were totally gone and the Dogs were going to run away big winners. But to Geelong's credit, they came back and at three quarter time were ahead by 2 points and I thought that this was going to be a good finish to the game regardless of the result. But it was the Dogs night and they held on to win by 14 points. A couple of questions were raised from this game. Would the Dogs sustain this type of pressure and be a threat come finals time? And. How will the Cat's go with this lack of form going into the finals? Only time will tell I suppose.

To Saturday. Carlton hosted Melbourne at Etihad Stadium. I wanted to see how the young players of each team, in particular Melbourne would go under the pressure of a rising Carlton team who for the first time since 2001 will play finals. At first Melbourne did play well and forced Carlton to make mistakes who were uncharacteristic of them of late. But Carlton came out and turned it on in the second half showing why they should be in the finals and won by 57 points. Melbourne have a lot to learn if they are going to move forward next year and it will be interesting to see which way they recruit and build from here.
Over to AAMI Stadium and Adelaide hosted West Coast. This game had the potential to be a hard fort game that can go anyway. But Adelaide totally dominated from start to finish to win by 74 points. West Coast had three wins on the trot and has brought some much needed confidence going into next year where they could be a growing threat for the finals. Adelaide on the otherhand will either finish 5th or 6th and if they host a final they will be a strong contender in the finals. The Carlton vs Adelaide game will be a good one next week and will decide who finishes 5th and 6th.

To Saturday Night and Brisbane hosted Port Adelaide at the Gabba. The way that Port had been playing away this game should be a facinating one to watch. Port came out and kicked ten goals straight in the first quarter to lead by over 40 points and I thought wow it's going to take something pretty special here for the Lions to even get back in the game the way the Power is playing. It wasn't until after half time that Brisbane really started to come back and not only did they get back into the game they got in the lead and won by 15 points. To me what got me about his game is the way that Port didn't finish off the game. They had the potential to do something and they didn't have enough steam. To Brisbane's full credit though they turned a game that could have got ugly to them sitting pretty after the game. Well done Michael Voss you have got these boys into the finals! How far can you go? Only time will tell.
To the MCG at Richmond hosted Hawthorn at the MCG. This was Hawthorn's last chance to be in contention with getting into the finals, they lose and there is no hope! Richmond showed some bite early but the Hawks came out and dominated on their way to a 42 point win. It wasn't convincing but at least it gives them some sore of chance going into the last round.

To Sunday and St Kilda hosted North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium. After last weeks disappointing 2 point loss to Essendon, the Saints would want to put that behind them and have a good win. Well that's what they thought. North came out and kicked the first five goals and it was de ja vu to when they played early in the year, I was waiting for the saints to kick into gear and come back and win this one. They did come back but some stubbon football from North came out and they won in a thriller by 5 points handing St Kilda their second straight loss. It's amazing with regards to the fact that they appointed a new coach North Melbourne and they won for the caretaker, how thoughtful. People are now making statements like "Are St kilda getting a little wabbly" my answer to that is that they will be right this is going to make them stronger. After all look at who they still have in the side, that's more than what Geelong or any other team have got.
To the MCG and Collingwood hosted Sydney. For a brief second in the second quarter this game was close but realistically Collingwood were always going to win this game and they did by 41 points. Collingwood have a good starting block to win the flag this year, and I think they will play St Kilda. I can tell you if that was the Grand Final then the AFL will be rubbing their hands together!
To the last game of the round and Fremantle hosted Essendon at Subiaco. A win to Essendon here can cement a place in the eight and shut Port Adelaide and Hawthorn out. By Essendon's standards after their big win last week, this week they didn't have any of that and Fremantle totally dominated the game and won by 54 points. That leaves Hawthorn and Port Adelaide in the race for the finals although I personally think that Hawthorn has got the best chance out of the two. Next week we have Essendon and Hawthorn at the G on Saturday afternoon for the right to play in the finals. I will dicect the eight next week with the probabilities before the round 22 games to see what most likely would be the ladder.