Jonathon Griffin

by Lisa Albergo reporting for AFANA from Chicago

Fremantle midfielder Nat Fyfe has won the Leigh Matthews Trophy as the AFL Players' Association MVP. The award is decided with players from all clubs nominating three teammates. Each club then tallies the votes for their players. Out of that, the field is narrowed to 54 players. Players then award votes on a 3-2-1 basis for the 54 nominees. Fyfe just edged out Gary Ablett in one of the closest counts in the history of the award.

Rick Browner reporting for AFANA from Patersons Stadium in Perth

With the Top Eight determined the previous round, all that was left was the shuffling of the deck chairs to find out which teams would play against each other in the Finals. It was down to percentage for the Fremantle Dockers as to where they finished, with the possibility that they could meet the West Coast Eagles in an Elimination Final if they finished in eighth position. Coach Ross Lyon talked about “managing” the result, a veiled reference some took as meaning not playing to their best to achieve that result.

Rick Browner reporting for AFANA from Patersons Stadium, Perth

Richmond was living its YOLO (You Only Live Once) creed as the players prepared for a roll of the dice against a tough Fremantle Dockers unit at home. Pre-match the Tigers said they were prepared to throw everything into the Round 21 game and leave nothing on the table in the encounter. There was a bit of skullduggery before the game when giant ruckman Aaron Sandilands replaced Jonathon Griffen who claimed to be injured in the warm-up. It was pure theater as there were rumors that the fix was on right from the start to upset the Tigers’ game plan.

Rick Browner reporting for AFANA from Patersons Stadium

If the Fremantle Dockers had any aspirations of playing Finals football then a win against the Western Bulldogs at home was a must. The Bulldogs remained a mathematical chance to play in the Finals but this Round 15 game was a must-win game in that campaign. Both sides have been well out of form and languishing well down the ladder, but the Dockers went into the round with a one game lead over their rivals with a huge home crowd in attendance to urge them on.

Lisa Albergo reporting for AFANA from Chicago

150 consecutive games: Carlton's Kade Simpson played his 150th consecutive game in Round Six. His streak began in Round 15, 2005. It is the longest current streak and Simpson is the 19th player in League history to play 150 or more games consecutively. Former Tiger champion Kevin Bartlett did it twice during his 400-plus game career.

South Australia has the Showdown, Queensland the Clash but the Western Derby is considered one of the most exciting games of the entire season. Unlike other games, it doesn’t matter where the West Coast Eagles or the Fremantle Dockers are on the Ladder. The Derby is guaranteed to be a cracking, hard fought match. For the record, this time the teams were fifth and sixth on the Ladder and 41,000 fans were treated to a classic encounter.

When the bottom team travels to play a team sitting in seventh position on its home turf it is generally a recipe for disaster. The Gold Coast Suns are a developing team with flashes of brilliance and two wins so far in their first season. The Fremantle Dockers wanted to celebrate the occasion of Captain Matthew Pavlich’s 250th game. “Pav” is acknowledged by many as the greatest player in the history of the Fremantle Football Club. Weather conditions were blustery, cold and wet – a rare combination in Perth, but perfect for Aussie Rules football.

Adelaide traded its compensation selection for the loss of Nathan Bock to the Gold Coast and a third round selection (#50) for Richmond's Richard Tambling. Tambling debuted for Richmond in 2005 and played 108 games and kicked 61 goals.