Shout to the top: Ben Brown and Jeremy Cameron will square off for Coleman Medal honours in the final round of the season.
1. Rarely has a footy meme seemed so appropriate. Yet it seems strange, perhaps even a little ridiculous, to open an AFL column with a nod to a Japanese game show.
Nevertheless, scenes out of “Slippery Stairs” – where contestants push and shove each other in a race to the top of a flight of stairs covered in ice – could hardly be a more apt depiction of the bizarre battle for finals spots that has unfolded in 2019 and will come to a head this weekend.
Inevitably, the contestants come crashing back down, taking their rivals with them. Screenshots of the action have been put to good use by one particular betting company in recent weeks.
And while the red-and-black participant has finally navigated its way to the summit – Essendon locked in a finals berth with last week’s uplifting win over Fremantle – there are a host of clubs left battling for the last remaining spot in the top eight.
The Western Bulldogs are in prime position as they “host” Adelaide at their second home in Ballarat, where temperatures will struggle to reach double figures.
A sold-out Mars Stadium will be treated to what has just about boiled down to being the so-called “wildcard” fixture some influential figures inside AFL House appear so eager to introduce in future seasons.
The winner will likely snare a finals spot, however, Hawthorn and Port Adelaide loom large and percentage could be the deciding factor, with no more than a few goals here or there splitting the four clubs in that category.
The ladder won’t settle until “Super Sunday”, with the Bulldogs-Crows contest kicking off a huge final day of the home-and-away season. Bring it on.
2. We could see a remarkable first this weekend. However, the possible slice of history relies on three favourites winning.
And in a season that has seen more upsets than any other, that’s far from a guarantee.
But if Richmond beats Brisbane at the MCG, and Geelong and West Coast win their home games, only percentage will split the top four teams as they finish level on 64 points. Never in more than 120 years of AFL/VFL competition has it been that tight at the top.
A painstaking look back through the record books this week showed that two points separated first from fourth on the ladder twice in the 1960s and twice again in the 1990s. But that’s as close as it’s ever been.
Richmond captain Trent Cotchin is back from a hamstring injury to lead his side into a battle between the competition’s two form sides as they jockey for top-four spots.
The Tigers have won eight consecutive matches, and Brisbane nine. One of the hot streaks is bound to come to an end ahead of what looms as a hotly-contested finals series.
The Lions stood up to be counted in a thriller against Geelong last week, and now sit on top of the ladder for the first time since Leigh Matthews was in charge. But Chris Fagan’s men are yet to convince everyone of their flag credentials and still have their doubters in premiership discussions.
A win over Richmond on its home deck at the MCG – where teams know they have to perform well in September – would silence those critics on the eve of the most important time of the year.
3. A week ago, the Coleman Medal race had become a matter of challengers attempting to claw back the deficit to injured GWS spearhead Jeremy Cameron.
That was until Ben Brown tipped the contest on its head with his 10-goal haul against a hapless Port Adelaide.
The fact it was the only double-figure goal tally registered by any player this season is an indictment on the modern game.
Oh, how the purists long for the days when Gary Ablett, Tony Lockett, Jason Dunstall and Tony Modra et al would kick bags regularly, firing their respective teams to mammoth triple-figure totals. But we digress.
Cameron’s surprise return from a hamstring complaint this week will make the Coleman race interesting again.
In game No.150 for the Giants, the powerful forward is every chance to kick a big bag against lowly Gold Coast.
He trails Brown (62 goals in 21 games) by four majors, with the Kangaroos star forecast to take to the field in difficult conditions against Melbourne in Hobart.
At least Brown’s pursuit of the goal-kicking title adds some interest to a fixture that has no bearing on the top eight.
It is a race in two between Brown and Cameron, with boom Richmond recruit Tom Lynch (53 goals in 21 games) and rival trio Charlie Cameron, Jack Darling and Tom Hawkins (52 goals each) too far back to mount a realistic challenge.
4.We’ve been waiting more than two months, but a man who already has four of those Coleman medals and a swag of other individual awards on his mantelpiece is finally back in action to celebrate another milestone.
Lance “Buddy” Franklin has overcome a hamstring injury and will reach 300 games in what is widely regarded as football’s big achievement when it comes to longevity in a game that can take a huge physical toll.
Franklin will be feted as one of the game’s modern greats, and arguably the best player of his generation, when he crashes through the banner for the last time this season, ahead of what we can only hope will be a smooth summer program that has the veteran spearhead primed for 2020.
Saturday will be a big one at the SCG, despite the match having no bearing on the finals, with retiring Swans greats Kieren Jack and Jarrad McVeigh also set to be saluted.
St Kilda defender Sam Rowe could be thrown the job on Franklin in what will be his club debut, having been picked up by the Saints in the mid-season draft.
Rowe will play game 100 after racking up 99 appearances at Carlton before being delisted at the end of last season.
5. There will be more eyes than usual on the VFL this week when Collingwood’s Jaidyn Stephenson returns from suspension in the plush surrounds of, umm, Box Hill City Oval.
Whether the young forward should be allowed to return in the same week that he serves the last of his 10-match ban for betting on Magpies games has been a hot topic for debate.
Regardless, his form and subsequent return to the senior side in September could have a huge bearing on the Pies’ flag chances.
Further south, there is an intriguing watch on Geelong livewire Nakia Cockatoo. The 22-year-old made his comeback from a serious knee injury on August 4, playing half a VFL game against Port Melbourne, but later reported hamstring tightness.
He was named in the Cats’ next two VFL squads but did not play in either match, and will likely again be named at VFL level this week after inking a one-year contract extension for 2020.
Geelong is hopeful its medical staff can get the hard-tackling speedster back to his best next year, but it is clear a cautious approach is required at the back end of this season, and there is little chance Cockatoo will return to AFL level before 2020.
