Third place on the ladder, St. Kilda stumbled against a powerful Adelaide (9. 11. 65 to 5. 7. 37). Neil Craig's men put in a mighty performance to defeat the Saints. The win is a much needed boost for a club that has "underperformed" in the 2010 season. Craig is hoping the performance against St. Kilda will help the club get back into dominant form in the 2011 season. For Adelaide, and many of the other clubs outside the top eight finals spots, it's time to review the season that was, and begin planning for the preseason training (often starting as early as October).
The Ladder leaders, Collingwood, went down to the Hawks in a cliffhanger (15. 8. 98 to 13. 17. 95). A stellar performance by Hawks champion Lance Franklin (six goals) pushed the Hawks to a narrow win. The performance leaves Collingwood with a decision: to be nervous about their weaknesses before the finals, or to be determined and aggressive in their next game against the Western Bulldogs.
Top eight team, Carlton, also suffered a loss - to Fremantle (13. 15. 93 to 13. 9. 87). Carlton, as the number eight team on the ladder, has the toughest draw in the finals. It starts for the Blues on Sunday afternoon as they travel to Sydney to play the Swans.
One game that went to plan was Geelong's demolition of the West Coast Eagles (16. 16. 112 to 10. 8. 68) . Gary Ablett's performance was a troubling sign for next week's opponents St. Kilda. Ablett dominated the West Coast game with four goals and 34 disposals.
Whatever has happened last week, it is this week that really matters. Finals footy fever starts Friday (Geelong vs St. Kilda).