All the round 24 likes and dislikes in the Early Tackle

But still so much is yet to be decided with top-four and finals spots on the line.

See the likes and dislikes from the round so far here.

LIKES

LIZARD SWAP

Interesting to see Dean Cox chuck Nick Blakey’s magnet to the forward half as Sydney took charge over West Coast.

Even if he wasn’t the dominant force behind the win - that was the Swans midfield that crushed Eagles in the second half - it was a worthwhile experiment as the Swans desperately search for match winners up forward.

As Lachie McKirdy covered in these pages this week, the Swans are hunting big forwards and have an interest in Charlie Curnow

While Blakey wouldn’t completely fix that problem as a hybrid third tall forward he caused headaches for West Coast, kicking 2.3 and tallying up nine score involvements.

It at least gives Cox something to think about over summer, as he tinkers with a team that will surely rise back into finals contention next year.

Also firing in the west were Tom Papley (27 disposals, three goals), Errol Gulden (36 disposals, two goals) and Callum Mills (29 disposals).

All three of those prime movers missed a heap of time during this season and if they all play full years in 2026, look out for the Swans.

GREAT SCOTT

With another top-two finish sewn up, Chris Scott deserves the crown as the best home and away coach in modern footy.

His regular season winning percentage of 70 is absurd across 327 games and this is the 11th time the Cats have finished top four in his 15 seasons.

For context, in the 60 seasons since winning the 1966 flag, St Kilda has finished in the top four 11 times.

The Gold Coast Suns played their first AFL game eight days after Scott’s first as Geelong coach, and the Suns are still yet to secure a top eight finish.

Among other recent coaching greats, Alastair Clarkson and John Longmire won the double chance seven times, Ross Lyon six, Mark Thompson five, Paul Roos three.

Chris Fagan and Damien Hardwick both have four and Fagan could go to five on Sunday.

Mick Malthouse equalled Scott with 11, but it took him more than double the seasons, with 31 seasons tallied up in his legendary career.

Scott probably needs another flag to enter the lofty heights of the true Gods of coaching and he has the Cats as the No.1 Victorian chance heading into September.

With his top-shelf coaching staff, he has made the Bailey Smith-Max Holmes-Tom Atkins midfield work, has again fashioned a miserly defence and the attacking end is absolutely humming.

He has tricks up his sleeve come September too, with Irish pair Oisin Mullin and Mark O’Connor ready to play tagging roles when needed.

After Tim Taranto collected 11 touches in the first term on Saturday, Mullin went and stood him and Taranto had just five disposals in the second term as the Cats put the game to an early bed time.

Jack Martin looms as a finals difference maker from nowhere, Connor O’Sullivan should poll in the rising star, and Shannon Neale will return for a qualifying final - they all look like they have played in Geelong colours for years.

And the coach may be quietly happy the centenary watch has lost its steam for Jeremy Cameron, who needs a finals series unlike any we have seen in recent years, to boot the 17 required to ton up.

Gryan Miers has quietly been one of the best midfielders in the game in the past months since he was sent into the centre without warning.

We take for granted now some of the Cats guns, like Holmes, Tom Stewart, Jack Henry, Tyson Stengle, Ollie Dempsey but the Cats plucked many of them from nowhere, let development guru Nigel Lappin go to work with them and created stars.

And those players get turned into winners who pile up top-four finishes.

TIGS TRACKING WELL

This has been as good as a five-win season can be for Richmond, who have outdone expectations.

Even on Saturday, in a game they were never going to win, the Tigers showed some good signs.

Seth Campbell has had a terrific year, Sam Banks is a winner down back, and Tyler Sonsie continues as a good runner.

Some veterans who haven’t contributed much in recent years have finished the season in good nick, with Dion Prestia (28 disposals, two goals) back in form to warrant another one-year deal, Jayden Short showing some flashes of the rebounding star he was and even thought he was quiet for much of the loss to Geelong, Tom Lynch still managed three of goals.

Tim Taranto should win Richmond’s best-and-fairest, while, importantly, Jacob Hopper has found some form in the back half of this season.

Kamdyn McIntosh probably enjoyed the most cheers of his role-playing career against the Cats as he charged up and down his wing one last time in the yellow and black.

The loyal Tigers fans who stuck it out until the dying moments of the year enjoyed a five-goal run in the final term.

Question marks about Adem Yze have been answered for now, and the Tigers hit the draft with two more picks in the top five, at least until we get into academy details.

Only injuries to Sam Lalor and Josh Smillie have really robbed the Tigers of a fantastic season of growth.

Even though they will finish 17th, it’s been a pretty good 2025 for the Tigers.

HUMMING CROWS

It was a tumultuous week - of Adelaide’s own making - for the Crows yet one constant survived.

Few teams can score like Adelaide and even as they lost the inside-50 count again, after being smashed last week by Collingwood, Matthew Nicks’ team racked up good looks at goal.

Ben Keays led the way with a trademark hard-running, score involvement effort, tallying up three goals and 11 score involvements.

Riley Thilthorpe also had three goals and a game-high 11 involvements, and the unheralded James Peatling also bagged three goals.

Peatling’s goal in the final term - off a bad 50m penalty against North youngster Finn O’Sullivan - was the moment that ended a spirited contest.

Possibly Adelaide’s best forward-half player, Izak Rankine, had to watch from elsewhere because of his own mistake, and fellow forward threat Josh Rachele’s knee will be the most watched in Adelaide since Tony Modra’s knee injury cost him a flag.

The concern for Nicks will be the defence, as North Melbourne hit the 100 points, the first time the Crows have conceded a ton since Gather Round.

Adelaide has won 12 of 13 games going into September - even if they haven’t been convincing in recent weeks, it’s serious form to take into a bye.

But even through the storm of the past week, Adelaide’s game is in great shape and the Crows have to start favourite in a home qualifying final, then if they win that, they have to start favourite to make the big dance.

It is all before them.

STILL SCOTT IT

Nick Daicos is Collingwood’s best player but Scott Pendlebury still might be the most important.

Who else would shoe away the regulars in the final term to take the kick outs and nail every one.

Or wrap up Clayton Oliver for a holding the ball free kick at a crucial time in the final term.

Or direct traffic and the ball flow from defence to perfection to orchestrate a clutch comeback.

He racked up eight disposals, seven of which were kicks, at 100 per cent efficiency in that last quarter as the season threatened to tilter off its axis.

As long as he is out there, the Pies will always have a chance.

This has gone beyond ageing like fine wine, in close games ‘Pendles’ ages backwards like Benjamin Button.

And the other positive sign for the Pies from an ugly win was Jordan De Goey showing further glimpses of his best.

Glimpses won’t be enough come finals, but the little burst in the second quarter, in which is ballistically burst out the middle to set up a shot at goal, then banged one home himself, points to something building.

AN EMOTIONAL GOODBYE

The final roar at the Adelaide Oval on Friday was one for those who forget about the emotion in our game.

We all get dragged in to the bad parts of footy, which was unfortunately the only path to tread for most of the past week.

But as a battered and bruised Power side rose to the occasion for Travis Boak and Ken Hinkley, it was a reminder about why we love our game.

Hinkley has had plenty of detractors, some in Port Adelaide colours and plenty in brown and gold, and has at times been criticised for being too emotional as a coach.

There was no criticism for that approach on Friday, as his voice cracked before and after a famous win.

And Boak deserved the longest of standing ovations for powering through one last game in the midfield for a remarkable win.

As Hinkley said, he was the “proudest coach the world has ever seen” as he walked off Adelaide Oval one last time.

Cold analysis of Port Adelaide’s season points it as a major failure, yet those Power fans in the outer on Friday night will forever remember that night.

That’s the good in footy.

DEES HOPE

Just quietly, Clayton Oliver finished his season on a heater.

So far removed from his best he was almost forgotten through the middle part of this season, Oliver averaged 28.3 disposals and his 30 touches on Friday were genuinely influential.

He is a Melbourne great and hasn’t delivered on a wage that has him among the very highest paid in the game this year on a contract that will only rise.

Yet Oliver will always be a Melbourne champion and there may be a chance of a bounce in him still.

There is a possibility of a rebound in a Melbourne jumper if the new coach believes in the accumulator.

BLUE BLOODS

Most Carlton fans will happily move on to AFLW season now their men’s side has gratefully had its season put out of its misery.

It has been a rough run for Michael Voss this year, but there are some bright nuggets to take into summer.

A three-club journeyman who looked done a month ago, Francis Evans finished his season as arguably the game’s most in-form small forward.

His last month saw him average 15.5 disposals, 2.8 goals and 4.3 tackles, all elite numbers.

For a club that has been searching under rocks for a small forward, Evans waltzed in late to save his career and give the Blues plenty late.

Ashton Moir projects as another goalkicking option come round 1 next year, Lachie Cowan and Ollie Hollands both got better late in the year and Flynn Young has shown something.

Much of the credit for Thursday’s dour win over Essendon belongs with George Hewett, who probably should win Carlton’s best-and-fairest after an ironman season.

Add a fully fit Sam Walsh, returned Nic Newman, Elijah Hollands and another runner into the team and the Blues look much better in 2026.

RED DOG RISES

A word for Mason Redman, who spent most of this season shaking hands and trying to remember the names of his defensive teammates as the regular Bombers backs went down with injuries week by week.

The ‘Red Dog’ has been forced to step from an attacking rebounder to a key defender at times and was exceptional in the last two games for Essendon, totalling 70 disposals, 17 intercepts and 1451 metres gain.

Redman was so close to winning the game against St Kilda off his own boot and has held his head high during this tough year.

And a hat-tip to Zach Merrett, who refused to stay on the outside and protect his broken hand in what was really a dead rubber.

In a low-tackle game, Merrett’s nine tackles dwarfed others - 19 players on Thursday night had less than two – and he refused to give up the fight.

Unfortunately, the skipper walking off slightly dejected after pouring himself out on the field for another loss is somewhat of a microcosm of his 250 games.

DISLIKES

BAD BAKER

Liam Baker is in line to captain West Coast next year after being handed the reins on Saturday night and if he does, he should miss his first game as official skipper.

His choice to line up Chad Warner and collect his head with a bump was a genuine dangerous act.

Baker was lucky he didn’t seriously injure Warner, and oddly lucky the umpire didn’t see it to pay a free kick right in front of goal.

As incoming Sydney CEO Matthew Pavlich noted on Fox Footy, Baker’s action is the exact type that footy has been trying to eradicate for a long, long time now.

The force was minimal enough that some may wave it away as a minor incident and not worth missing games, but this is the kind of incident where the action should be taken into account above the injury result.

It was a poor moment from a leader of his club.

West Coast was competitive for most of the season-ending loss to Sydney and the brightest thing to come from the club in the backend of the year may be young forward Jobe Shanahan, who’s sticky hands could be in the league’s top five already.

The competitiveness ran dry as the game ran on, with Sydney kicking 13 of the 14 goals scored in the second half.

Quiet for most of the night, Liam Ryan appeared to kick a goal after the siren that was denied on score review, in what could be his last act as an Eagle.

The Eagles need a lot more bright spots to come into the club over summer after completing the first one-win season since GWS’ inaugural campaign in 2013.

THE LITTLE THINGS

They are the little moments North Melbourne has blown for six seasons running.

Luke Davies-Uniacke is close to the club’s best player, but the reason he is not in the All-Australian conversation can be distilled to four poor moments in the first term against Adelaide.

The midfield bull inexplicably chose to bump Taylor Walker when he had him cold to tackle in the opening minutes, and Walker set up a goal.

On a rebound out of the backline 50 minutes later he demanded a handball running past a teammate, yet ‘LDU’ was running with the boundary to his left and forced to kick on his opposite foot, skewing an ugly turnover straight to Adelaide.

Then minutes after that, the Roos fought impressively to win the ball back in a contest only for Davies-Uniacke to handball with his right hand, instead of his left, and turn it over straight to Jordan Dawson.

Another goal came from that turnover.

Always on watch for players who use the wrong hand to handball, Gerard Healy described it as a “C-grade” effort.

Again, minutes later, Davies-Uniacke broke out of the midfield only to have his pass inside-50 smothered, then he blasted a resulting shot at goal out on the full.

That’s why Davies-Uniacke, who has all the gifts of the best players, isn’t a true A-grade midfielder.

His first quarter numbers looked fantastic - 13 disposals, eight contested, four clearances - but it didn’t equal winning and the Roos trailed at the first break.

North Melbourne has a lot of problems to fix to finally dig up from the bottom of the ladder, and these small moments are ones that should be easy to solve, but the Roos stuff them up over and over.

The Crows didn’t play that well early on Saturday but led the whole way because they did the important little things right, even as the Roos fought on admirably.

Talent is one thing, decision making and execution is another - no team demands handballs off teammates before running into trouble like the Roos.

Decision making includes deciding where to run defensively, and so often North Melbourne had an outnumber in defence on Saturday, only for the Roos to be in the wrong spot as the Crows easily moved the ball through them.

The Roos still need some kind of defensive general to help set the field up, whether that’s Jake Lever, Steven May or Jeremy Howe, they should be scouring the market.

Footy is a game of small moments added up over 120 minutes to big things, and those small moments are still too weighted away from North, even thought they put out a fair dinkum crack against a better opponent in Adelaide.

There is talent around Arden St, and Cooper Trembath is a late-season find.

Like the office attire of a Gen Z worker, the Roos standards have fallen so low, five wins and a draw will be their best season since 2019.

Another long summer beckons.

WHISTLE WOES

One of the core rules of our game is that you can’t throw the ball.

I’ve used these pages to complain about this before and I’m going again.

The amount of times a player is able to just chuck the ball out and the umpire allows it because it is an “effort” to dispose of it has gotten way out of hand.

Luke Parker, lying on his back with Jordan Dawson on him, threw the ball up to kick it and completely missed during Saturday’s early game, only for the umpire to wave his hands and thank Parker for making an effort.

Obviously illegal disposal has been forgotten to help the game move, but it is just getting ridiculous.

Free kicks clear congestion too.

PIES PROBLEMS

Maybe a Ned Long pot shot saved Collingwood’s season.

The Pies were stuck in quicksand against a Dees side playing for nothing when Long’s snap from the pocket somehow bounced through nearing the 13 min mark of the final term on Friday.

Collingwood moved into gear against a tiring Melbourne defence across the last 10 minutes of the game but the alarm bells must be everywhere for Craig McRae.

The defence held up reasonably well against the Dees, but without Jeremy Howe it looks shaky.

The midfielder was belted, losing clearances by 12 and contested ball by 27.

And the real issues are up the other end.

Tim Membrey and Dan McStay were invisible for most of Friday night, Brody Mihocek looked bothered by a wrist injury.

Jamie Elliott managed two goals but hasn’t seriously shaped a game in some time and Bobby Hill looks less and less likely to play again this year.

Beau McCreery had a huge final term, but before that he could barely run on a sore ankle and the Pies need that to not blow up over the weekend.

As the invincible Scott Pendlebury noted post match on Fox Footy: “Clearly we are lacking a bit of connection going inside-50, glad we have two weeks to sort that out”.

The Pies put up three sub-70 scores before Friday night and while there were some missed shots in the first three quarters, it took until halfway through the final term to look like getting through the Melbourne defence.

After being the best team in the game for most of this season, the Pies are only above the Suns as the worst in the top nine right now.

That doesn’t mean they can’t win it, a top-four finish and two weeks for McRae to tinker with his team certainly means they are a threat.

But they might not have been if not for that Long fire starter.

RECKONING FOR THE SUNS

Only Gold Coast could get themselves in this position.

A club that has shot itself in the foot time and time again found a new way against Port Adelaide, failing to close the door on an emotional team and giving up free kicks left, right and centre.

There were some head scratchers - in particular one to Mitch Georgiades at an important time in the final term - but the Suns were far too ill disciplined as the free kick count favoured the Power 33-16.

In the second quarter alone, the Suns should have given away three goals from 50m penalties, only for Port to squander a couple of easy shots.

Damien Hardwick oversaw a dominant Richmond side that seemed to relish giving away frees and he held a wry smile on the siren on Friday night, as his team handed them away at will.

Just not enough Suns stood up when they were needed in that final term.

Ben King is not a possession winner so we won’t judge him on that tally, bu only taking two marks against first gamer Harrison Ramm is unders and his forward mate Ethan Read dropped a couple marks he would dearly love back.

The Suns should still make the eight, given they only need to beat an Essendon side halfway to Mad Monday next week.

Even so, this team should have finished in the top four given the draw they had with six weeks to go.

They couldn’t completely stuff it up, could they?

MAY-DAY

It’s been a bad year on many fronts for Steven May and it ended with a bad final term.

The full-back barked orders and pointed fingers all night.

With the Dees up by three goals, in a five-minute patch May was caught behind Brody Mihocek and couldn’t touch Ned Long’s snap as it bounced through, lost Jamie Elliott and couldn’t catch him to allow an easy mark close goal and shanked a simple kick outside-50 that led to a simple Lachie Schultz goal.

The lead was gone, and so was the game.

That came after he was towelled up by Jack Gunston last week, and taken off the veteran Hawk as he ran riot.

Skipper Max Gawn noted after the St Kilda disaster that Melbourne had forgotten how to win, and they looked like a side that didn’t know what it took in the final stages on Friday.

That is inexplicable for a side that had 14 premiership players in it, who not only won a flag but finished in the top four two years running after that.

That is a lot of winning but they have been hit with amnesia like a bad soap drama.

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May has been a warrior for the Dees and had an outstanding career.

But, aside from only playing eight games in 2019, this has been the worst of his seven seasons at Melbourne.

He is a proud defender and capable of bouncing back, he just needs to seriously get to work over summer to lead the Dees into the post-Simon Goodwin era.