Speaking of depth, keep an eye on Hawthorn. It was exciting to see the return of Mitch Lewis against Port Adelaide, with Changkuoth Jiath, Jack Scrimshaw, Max Ramsden and Luke Breust all lining up in the VFL. Josh Weddle and Will Day are also edging closer to return, while Mabior Chol was rested with soreness. That kind of internal pressure drives standards. It’s clear Sam Mitchell is still figuring out his best 22, and no one is safe. That uncertainty is keeping the Hawks hungry.
Defensive identity
Finals footy is brutal: contested, chaotic, and relentless. The best teams know now is the time to tighten up defensively – and test their systems under pressure.
Collingwood and Adelaide are elite at restricting scores, both from stoppage and turnover. It starts up the ground – forwards and mids swarm, forcing rushed entries. Defenders win one-on-ones, set up behind the ball, and squeeze territory. It’s connected, high-IQ footy.
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs should be on high alert. Now sitting one game behind eighth-placed Gold Coast, they’ve conceded more points than any other team in the top nine, despite boasting the league’s highest-scoring attack. Their offensive firepower is clear, but it’s defence that wins premierships.
Right now, they’re losing over half of their one-on-one contests in defensive 50, a clear sign the ball is coming in too hot and too often. That’s not sustainable come finals, when games tighten up and scoring dries up. You can patch defensive issues in-season, but pressure always finds cracks.
Over the next few weeks you’ll see teams are also rehearsing their game modes – the tactical switches that control momentum. Think tempo shifts, kick-mark, boundary plays, skinny-side set-ups, or throwing a forward behind the ball late. It all gets tested now so that, hopefully, it will be second nature when it counts.
The Bulldogs score heavily but need to tighten their defence.Credit: AFL Photos
Chris Scott keeps evolving Geelong’s gears. One week they have 165 marks in a slow build-up game. The next, they play direct and daring. Their ability to adjust to the opposition makes them dangerous, but the round 18 loss to GWS showed they’re not quite humming yet. Expect more tinkering in the weeks ahead.
The best teams know these tactical shifts must come from their on-field leaders, not coaches. That’s what separates the serious contenders from the pack.
Dress rehearsals
Much has been made of Geelong’s soft run home, but is it really the advantage it’s made out to be? A soft draw doesn’t always prepare a team well for finals. If anything, it can rob them of the chance to become battle-hardened. The expectation is to win, and win well – and that kind of pressure can be deceptive. It might improve your ladder position, but it doesn’t forge the grit needed in September.
But for a team like GWS, simply trying to consolidate its position, a softer fixture is gold. Their win over Geelong in round 18 kept their season alive. Every winnable game builds momentum, and momentum builds belief.
Is Geelong’s soft run home really an advantage?Credit: Getty Images
Friday night’s clash between Brisbane and the Bulldogs was massive – and so was the finish to Collingwood’s loss to Fremantle. These were finals dress rehearsals: high-pressure, contested, and played with high stakes. Games like these expose flaws and test systems. A statement win sends shockwaves – and that’s exactly what Fremantle and Adelaide delivered, laying down the law against fellow top-eight contenders.
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Gold Coast did it in round 18. They brought fierce, forward-half pressure that unsettled Collingwood – and it worked. That was no fluke. They played with the intensity needed in big moments. And it told the rest of the comp: “we’re not just here to compete”.
Still, they stumbled against Adelaide on Sunday – a reminder of just how hard it is to back up finals-like footy week in, week out.
Brisbane play four of the final top eight teams in the next five weeks. Their fixture is brutal – Suns, Pies, Freo and the Hawks. It will either forge them or fry them. The same goes for the Hawks, who have Adelaide, Collingwood and the Lions.
You can’t simulate finals intensity on the training track. You can’t smash your teammates three weeks out from finals. You need real-game exposure. If you don’t get it? The first final hits like a truck.
A constant fight
Every game for the top nine has the power to reshape both the top four and the eight. Even Sydney, sitting 10th, are applying pressure. And don’t be fooled – the ladder can hide as much as it reveals.
Take Gold Coast. They’ve played one fewer game, with a catch-up match still to come against the wounded Bombers. That gives them more flexibility than a glance at the ladder shows. For everyone else, it’s survival mode. No luxury of load management. No room for slip-ups.
The Suns have a game in hand on the rest of the contenders.Credit: AFL Photos
Teams either win the games they should, or stack pressure on themselves into the next week. The Bulldogs felt that after their loss to Adelaide, and now it’s compounded after falling to the Lions.
Hawthorn would’ve felt it, too, after slipping up against Freo. They responded with a strong win over Port.
Who knows, that final spot could be decided in round 24, with a cluster of mini elimination finals. At this stage of the season, every miss carries consequences. There’s no room left to stumble.
But there’s a cost to playing high-pressure footy for five straight weeks just to scrape in. What’s left in the tank when you finally get there?
That’s the risk. These teams aren’t just fighting to simply make the finals – they’re fighting to arrive in one piece. Whether their energy holds or burns out could decide their whole finals series.
Crunch time
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This is the stretch that separates the good from the great.
Having been part of three premiership campaigns, I know this is when leaders matter most.
Margins shrink. Stakes rise. And while there’s still time to tweak and improve, the best teams are already asking: Where are the cracks, and how do we fix them? What are our strengths – and how do we harness them?
Yes, luck always plays a part. But ladder position matters. Finishing high saves energy in September – home finals, the finals draw you land – these things shape your path. And they can be the difference on the final day.
Whether you’re resting stars, testing tactics, or just hanging on, it all shapes what happens next because the ladder doesn’t always tell the truth. But the next six weeks will.
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