Geelong captain Patrick Dangerfield looms as a key player in the Cats’ qualifying final against Port Adelaide. Photo: AFL MEDIA

SECOND QUALIFYING FINAL
PORT ADELAIDE v GEELONG (Adelaide Oval, Thursday 7:10pm)
One of the most remarkable home-and-away seasons in VFL/AFL history has been completed and with 10 teams already on holidays, it’s now time for the eight remaining sides to strut their stuff in the 2024 finals series. It all kicks off on Thursday night when the Power and Cats face each other in the battle of the resurgent clubs. Since Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley was booed off Adelade Oval following his team’s 79-point loss to Brisbane, the Power have gone on an incredible run, winning eight of their next nine games, including their last six, to catapult themselves from ninth to second on the ladder. And all looked lost for the Cats as well just 18 hours before Port Adelaide’s aforementioned shellacking when Carlton thumped them by 63 points to deliver them a sixth defeat from seven games. By they too rediscovered their mojo to win seven of their next nine games and clinch an astonishing 15th top-four spot in 21 seasons. The Cats head into this game unchanged, while the Power have brought in Charlie Dixon and Quinton Narkle at the expense of Kane Farrell (hamstring) and Dante Visentini (omitted). Hinkley heads into this finals series as perhaps the coach under the most pressure. While he has done a fantastic job to turn around his team’s fortunes in the last couple of months, that will all count for nought if Port Adelaide doesn’t at least make a grand final. Hinkley has a great record in the home-and-away portion of the season, this being his fourth top-four finish in five years, but having still not yet steered his team to a grand final during his 12-year tenure, anything less than a premiership decider this year will harshly, but fairly, be viewed as a failure. And to get those ambitions off to the best possible start, his star-studded midfield will have to play at their absolute optimum. Zak Butters, Jason Horne-Francis, Connor Rozee (despite his form struggles), Ollie Wines, Travis Boak and Willem Drew are the beating heart of this team. If they can overwhelm Geelong’s Patrick Dangerfield-reliant engine room, they’ll go a long way to booking a home preliminary final. But if they don’t, and Geelong’s dangerous small forwards, such as Tyson Stengle, Gryan Miers, Brad Close and Shaun Mannagh, manage to have a big say on proceedings, then the Cats will be well-placed. Power backman Aliir Aliir looks set to have the big job on Geelong superstar Jeremy Cameron, and one would expect Jed McEntee to follow Cats champion Tom Stewart wherever he goes on the field. The Port Adelaide forward line looks a little suspect, even with Willie Rioli on fire recently, but even though they’re also missing the suspended Dan Houston, they should still be good enough to get the job done in a close-run thing.
RONNY’S TIP: Port Adelaide by 8 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Geelong by 2 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Port Adelaide by 7 points.

SECOND ELIMINATION FINAL
WESTERN BULLDOGS v HAWTHORN (MCG, Friday 7:40pm)
The Power and the Cats might be heading into September in fine form, but the Bulldogs and Hawks resemble a pair of out-of-control steam trains. The Dogs and Hawthorn are arguably the two most in-form teams in the finals, which is quite incredible considering they finished their campaigns in sixth and seventh spot respectively. In just another example of how bonkers 2024 has been, the most anticipated match of the first week is probably an elimination final between two teams in the bottom half of the eight. Since starting the year with a woeful 3-5 record, the Bulldogs have realised the full potential of what so many onlookers believed their talent-laden list possessed to win 11 of their last 15 games and storm into another finals campaign. Along the way have smashed top-four teams Sydney, Geelong and GWS all away from home, while also taking care of Carlton, Collingwood and Fremantle, who were all touted as top-four chances at various stages throughout this topsy-turvy season. Oh, and they accounted for the Giants a second time for good measure in the final round. Meanwhile, the Hawks overcame a horror 0-5 record to win 14 of their last 18 games and return to the finals for the first time since 2018. Their hit list has been pretty impressive too, with wins over GWS, Brisbane, the Bulldogs and Carlton, as well as Fremantle and Collingwood, proving they belong with the big boys. Hawthorn’s confidence is sky high, and given full license by coach Sam Mitchell to express themselves, the young Hawks are riding an incredible wave of momentum built on exciting, care-free, dashing, hard-running, explosive football. But this week they take on the team whose best football is arguably the best of any team in the top eight. Led by a tremendous midfield unit comprising of Marcus Bontempelli, Adam Treloar, Tom Liberatore and Ed Richards, the Dogs have the capabilities to match the Hawks on the ball, and if they provide enough supply to their ominous forward line, that could be the game right there. As good as the Hawks have been, their one weak link is their undersized backline, which is why they’re after Tom Barrass and Josh Battle this off-season. Up against the land of the giants in Jamarra Ugle-Hagan, Sam Darcy and Aaron Naughton, the likes of Sam Frost and the banged-up James Sicily will struggle to limit the damage. The absence of Will Day is also a massive blow for the Hawks.
RONNY’S TIP: Western Bulldogs by 23 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Western Bulldogs by 4 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Western Bulldogs by 3 points.

PLEASE HELP US CONTINUE TO THRIVE BY BECOMING AN OFFICIAL FOOTYOLOGY PATRON. JUST CLICK THIS LINK.

FIRST QUALIFYING FINAL
SYDNEY v GWS (SCG, Saturday 3:20pm)
It is incredible to think that in 30 years, there hasn’t been one Western Derby in the finals, and just one Showdown in September in 28 seasons, yet we are about to be treated to our fourth Sydney derby final in the space of just nine years as cross-town rivals the Swans and Giants lock horns again in the most important month of the year. And, would you believe, little brother well and truly dominates big brother when it matters most, with the Giants boasting a perfect 3-0 against Sydney in the finals. You can bet your bottom dollar that will be grinding Swans coach John Longmire and his men, and with the enmity between these two clubs naturally growing steadily over the years, a fiery encounter can be expected this weekend. After a dramatic late-season stumble, which saw them lose five of six games, the Swans steadied the ship and won their last three matches to clinch their first minor premiership since 2016. And in similar scenes to their incredible revival last year, the Giants won seven games in a row in the second half of 2024 to grab their first top-four finish in seven seasons. This promises to be a sensational battle. There’s no doubting Sydney’s quality, with the likes of Errol Gulden, Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner and Nick Blakey all capable of taking a game away from the opposition. But the Swans’ forward line is iffy, and up against two of the very best negating key backs in Sam Taylor and Jack Buckley, they may very well find scoring hard to come by. Sydney ruckman Brodie Grundy seems to have been labouring in recent times, and that could open the door for GWS big man Kieren Briggs to have a real impact. And in attack, the Giants have two of the league’s most lethal weapons in Coleman Medallist Jesse Hogan and Toby Greene. In a further boost for GWS, Isaac Cumming (hamstring) and Jake Riccardi (finger) should be available, while the vastly-improved Toby Bedford (calf) is pushing his case as well. However, the Swans are set to welcome back a pair of out-and-out stars in Tom Papley (ankle) and Justin McInerney (knee). It’s going to be one hell of an arm wrestle, but the Swans should just get their noses in front.
RONNY’S TIP: Sydney by 2 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Sydney by 8 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Sydney by 15 points.

FIRST ELIMINATION FINAL
BRISBANE v CARLTON (Gabba, Saturday 7:30pm)
Not since the Bulldogs welcomed back Easton Wood, Jake Stringer, Jordan Roughead, Jack Macrae and Tom Liberatore on the eve of the 2016 finals has there been this much anticipation around a September team announcement. The Blues could make as many as eight changes for their do-or-die encounter with the Lions. Incredibly, Sam Docherty is already a confirmed starter just 26 weeks after rupturing his ACL, and he could be joined in the team by Charlie Curnow (ankle), Harry McKay (quad), Tom De Koning (foot), Adam Cerra (hamstring), Jack Martin (hamstring), Mitch McGovern (hamstring) and Zac Williams (hamstring). But will all those potential inclusions be enough to give Carlton a fighting chance? Probably not, especially when you consider that when most of those men were playing anyway, the Blues only managed to beat bottom-three Richmond, North Melbourne and West Coast in the final nine rounds. They come up against a Brisbane team that, for all intents and purposes, should be a top-four side, but shot itself in the foot with unforgivable losses to GWS and Collingwood late in the piece. The biggest threat to a Lions win is their own appalling accuracy in front of goal. Apart from that, they have star players all over the park, namely Lachie Neale, Dayne Zorko, Joe Daniher, Harris Andrews, Josh Dunkley, Hugh McCluggage, Will Ashcroft and Zac Bailey. In front of their home crowd, the Lions will show why Carlton scraped into the top eight thanks to Port Adelaide’s win over Fremantle in the final game of the home-and-away season.
RONNY’S TIP: Brisbane by 27 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Brisbane by 28 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Brisbane by 25 points.

SEASON TOTALS
ROCKET 129
RONNY 125
ROCO 124

*all times are local