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ADELAIDE CROWS<\/p>\n
Josh Rachele<\/p>\n
Glenn McFarlane says: \u201cHopefully he will available for next week\u2019s game. We know he\u2019s a fire starter, we want him back, he\u2019ll be outstanding. I think he\u2019s the guy to watch, he\u2019ll get better if he gets deeper into September. He can turn a grand final I reckon, he\u2019s got that in him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Izak Rankine<\/p>\n
Jon Ralph says: \u201cCollingwood had 30 extra inside 50s, they\u2019re really confident they will beat Adelaide. Then Adelaide would have a home semi-final and win the hard way. Then Rankine comes out and becomes the Norm Smith medallist.\u201d<\/p>\n
Glenn McFarlane says: \u201cI think it\u2019s a good one, Gryan Miers maybe. But that\u2019d be outstanding, Jack Martin. What a story that would be.\u201d<\/p>\n
GEELONG <\/p>\n
Jack Martin<\/p>\n
Jon Ralph says: \u201cSaw him at the start of the year training well. Those who knew well said he often played at Carlton when he is not fit and not ready and that (Geelong) would just park him until he is cherry ripe. They have done that, they have timed it to the letter. All he needs is a couple of big finals and he becomes the ultimate Geelong wildcard, which he couldn\u2019t be at Gold Coast or Carlton.\u201d<\/p>\n
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – AUGUST 23: Jack Martin of the Cats kicks a goal during the round 24 AFL match between Richmond Tigers and Geelong Cats at Melbourne Cricket Ground on August 23, 2025 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Jonathan DiMaggio\/AFL Photos\/via Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
BRISBANE LIONS <\/p>\n
Darcy Wilmot<\/p>\n
Jon Ralph says: \u201cHe\u2019s a loose unit … he\u2019s been fantastic, I just think he\u2019s the kind of bloke in multiple finals who can set up. He\u2019s amazing defensively and offensively, he\u2019s the perfect finals half back flanker.\u201d<\/p>\n
COLLINGWOOD <\/p>\n
Beau McCreery <\/p>\n
Glenn McFarlane says: \u201cNo Bobby Hill, so I\u2019m chips on in on Beau McCreery. He\u2019s the player they need. It\u2019s easy to say Jordan De Goey, he\u2019s feeling really good. But I just think McCreery can turn a game in a heartbeat with a chase-down tackle, with a run and a burst through half-forward. He\u2019s the man for me for Collingwood.\u201d <\/p>\n
GWS GIANTS <\/p>\n
Darcy Jones<\/p>\n
Jon Ralph says: \u201cThey need some heroics. I think the kid with the lid, Darcy Jones, is someone who\u2019s going to absolutely have to dominate. Given we know Jake Stringer is a bit uncertain with his hamstring … they\u2019re a great top-end midfield, but they get done for depth. They need players like Brent Daniels to come back and round out that compliment. He\u2019s had an adductor tendon issue since Round 14, so it\u2019s going to be really hard to win four finals. But I think (Daniels) is an X-factor for them and a finals wildcard.\u201d<\/p>\n
FREMANTLE <\/p>\n
Sam Switkowski<\/p>\n
Glenn McFarlane says: \u201cFremantle is really hopeful (he\u2019ll play despite a knee concern). He\u2019s almost my favourite player, I\u2019ve talked him up for a long time … the bottom line is he is the fire starter for Fremantle, he is absolutely the heart and soul for that team. If his body holds up, which I really expect it will, he can play a massive role. Deeply loved within the walls of the Fremantle footy club. I think if he plays he\u2019s going to be outstanding … he is as tough as nails, he\u2019ll get out there if he can possibly do it. I think everyone is pretty confident at Freemantle he\u2019ll get up. Fingers crossed, he\u2019s a star.\u201d<\/p>\n
HAWTHORN<\/p>\n
Tom Barrass<\/p>\n
Glenn McFarlane says: \u201cWe can change his name to Brian Lake, because he could be the man in that sense to produce in a grand final. He could be outstanding in a finals campaign.\u201d<\/p>\n
BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA – AUGUST 24: Jack Ginnivan of the Hawks celebrates a goal during the 2025 AFL Round 24 match between the Brisbane Lions and the Hawthorn Hawks at the Gabba on August 24, 2025 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Russell Freeman\/AFL Photos via Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
Jack Ginnivan<\/p>\n
Jon Ralph says: \u201cIt\u2019s the Mooney Valley kid for me. Outstanding form, good on the left, good on the right, high-possession winner. Sam Mitchell dropped him and he\u2019s got the right response. So I think Ginnivan across multiple finals, potentially a grand final, after little impacted for Collingwood on that big day (in 2023).\u201d<\/p>\n
GOLD COAST SUNS <\/p>\n
Daniel Rioli<\/p>\n
Jon Ralph says: \u201cHopefully will play four elite finals, it\u2019s exactly why they got him. The fire starter across half back, John Noble has had a great year a well. I hope Rioli can perform on the big stage in what would be a historic finals appearance.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The top eight is now set as all roads lead to September. And finals have been littered with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":100472,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[73087,9126,638,64,2347,63,689,55,639,14349,73079,651,3237,14390,2538,73078,19099,13213,73080,73088,667,1127,10145,73084,13659,61,2105,28450,2485,9130,11288,7492,73083,73077,8401,27763,1120,36879,681,73081,27725,45746,25049,12145,647,73082,677,701,672,6282,12936,71141,85,5338,69078,1117,73085,660,73086],"class_list":["post-100471","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-adductor-tendon-issue","tag-adelaide-crows","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-august","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-bobby-hill","tag-brian-lake","tag-brisbane","tag-brisbane-lions","tag-daniel-rioli","tag-darcy-jones","tag-elite-finals","tag-finals-campaign","tag-finals-series","tag-finals-wildcard","tag-fire-starter","tag-footy-club","tag-fox-footy","tag-garry-lyon","tag-gaz-amp-gerard","tag-geelong-cats","tag-gerard-whateley","tag-getty-images-inc","tag-glenn-mcfarlane","tag-gold-coast","tag-gold-coast-suns","tag-grand-final","tag-hawthorn-hawks","tag-historic-finals-appearance","tag-home-semi-final","tag-jack-ginnivan","tag-jack-martin","tag-jake-stringer","tag-john-noble","tag-jon-ralph","tag-jonathan-dimaggio","tag-jordan-de-goey","tag-josh-rachele","tag-kilda-saints","tag-knee-concern","tag-melbourne","tag-multiple-finals","tag-oceania","tag-queensland","tag-richmond-tigers","tag-russell-freeman","tag-sam-mitchell","tag-sam-switkowski","tag-sports","tag-the-gabba","tag-tom-barrass","tag-tom-de-koning","tag-top-end-midfield","tag-victoria","tag-wildcard-performances"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100471","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100471"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100471\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/100472"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100471"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100471"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}