AWAITS MOUTH-WATERING FOOTY MENU
THE main courses are mouth-watering and there are enticing side dishes but AFL fans might want to skip a flavourless entree on the penultimate menu before finals.
The Cats hold top spot by a healthy chunk of percentage from the Lions. This salivating fixture looms as the main meal which could decide who tops the table entering the finals. The Lions will sample finals action for the first time in a decade and, should they beat the Cats, they’ll likely start with a home course in week one of the playoffs. The third-placed Eagles travel to meet the bookies’ flag favourite, the fourth-placed Tigers. They’re the two most recent premiers with the Tigers’ 2017 triumph followed by West Coast’s last year. Both boast dazzling star power to ensure a truly spicy offering.
The Magpies hold fifth spot and are still a chance of a coveted topfour finish, while the ninth-placed Crows must win to stay in finals contention. But both have been serving inconsistent offerings of late. The Magpies have feasted on Gold Coast and Melbourne in the past two weeks but Adelaide on home turf is often hard to stomach.
The Dockers’ finals bid has fallen flat and, while the Bombers retain seventh spot, they have been hammered in their past two games and are no certain finalists. How Essendon responds to its embarrassing loss to the Bulldogs last weekend will be insightful to its playoff hopes. The Power have snuck into eighth with consecutive wins and control their own destiny: win their last two games, starting with North, and they’ll probably reach the playoffs. And they’re catching the Roos on the hop after their record-low score against the Cats.
The Bulldogs are the flavour of the week after their ruthless dismantling of Essendon last start. The Dogs enter this match out of the eight on percentage only.
The Giants are sixth and assured a finals berth but their lowest-ever score last Friday night poses question marks about what they can serve it up in September.