Chris Yarran

by Lisa Albergo reporting for AFANA from Chicago

Mid-October was a busy time for all clubs with the free agency and trade periods commencing. Everything was concluded on the afternoon of October 22.

Under a new rule, the AFL has allowed clubs to trade future draft picks. Each club is allowed to trade just one first round selection and no more than two of these over a four year period. The AFL also created a valuation points system to determine compensation selections for clubs who lose players due to free agency.

Brook “Boris” Kilpatrick reporting for AFANA

This is what footy is all about. An Elimination Final between traditional rivals Carlton and Richmond on a beautiful sunny day in front of over 95,000 rabid footy fans. For the Tigers, it was about being back where they so desperately wanted to be after 12 years in the football wilderness. For Carlton, it was a chance - due to an unprecedented slice of luck when Essendon were stripped of their premiership points to vacate a spot in the Finals for the Blues - to restore lost faith under a new regime.

Rick Browner reporting for AFANA from Patersons Stadium, Perth

Chris Yarran’s dashing three goals proved to be the catalyst in the Carlton Blues’ upset win over the favored West Coast Eagles in their Round Four contest at Patersons Stadium. The Blues had traveled west with some hard fought games under their belt but

Brook "Boris" Kilpatrick reporting for AFANA from Australia

A massive crowd poured into the MCG for the Round One blockbuster between a Richmond team desperate to break their Carlton hoodoo and a Blues team confident of a stellar season under new coach Mick Malthouse. With eight wins on the trot against the Tigers, the bookmakers once again gave Carlton the edge to continue their run and inflict more pain on the Tiger faithful.

Brook “Boris” Kilpatrick reporting from Etihad Stadium for AFANA

A glorious sunny afternoon welcomed spectators to Etihad Stadium for the final appearance of both Carlton and Saint Kilda for the 2012 AFL season. The Carlton faithful turned out to see Brett Ratten’s last day at the helm of the Blues, their loss to the lowly Gold Coast Suns in Round 22 putting an end to Carlton’s Finals hopes and with it, any hope of Ratten retaining his job with the impatient Carlton hierarchy. For first year St Kilda coach Scott Watters, the game would give him an opportunity to look forward to 2013 after disappointingly missing the Finals, despite some positive signs from a team that finally blooded some new talent to support a solid core of veterans.

Jamie Kloeden reporting for AFANA from Australia

Carlton left Melbourne for Metricon Stadium on the Gold Coast with everything to play for against the lowly Gold Coast Suns. After being Premiership favorites early in the season, things went wrong mid-season to the point where Brett Ratten was hanging on by a thread to his position as coach. A huge win against the Bombers last week made Finals a very realistic goal and a strong showing against the Suns would have the Blues riding a wave of momentum into the major round if things went according to plan.

Rick Browner reporting for AFANA from Patersons Stadium, Perth

With sixteen consecutive winning games at Patersons Stadium, the West Coast Eagles were favorites to win against the Carlton Blues. This was the 600th game for West Coast since entering the competition in 1987. Carlton has been on a slide going down as they struggle to win with key players out injured. The Eagles were coming off a bye and were well rested ahead of the game played in wet and wintry conditions.

by Lisa Albergo reporting for AFANA from Chicago

Round 4 saw the MCG host its 2500th game when Carlton and Essendon faced off. In a way, it was fitting that two of the League's foundation clubs played this historical game. Indeed the milestone could well have been reached some years ago except for the fact that the powers that were way back in 1896 refused to allow the new game of Aussie Rules to be played on the ground for fear it would ruin the surface for summer cricket. The first game of footy was played at the hallowed ground in 1879.

An out of form Carlton side returned to Subiaco Oval in Round 17, having lost 11 of their last 13 encounters in the West. Although the Blues are in the top eight and the West Coast Eagles are last on the Ladder, the bookmakers had the odds almost even. Such is the nature of the competition this year, where even the last placed teams can be competitive and cause an upset.