Travis Varcoe

Hawthorn delisted Darren Minchington, Jackson Ross and Will Golds. Minchington, 26, was drafted by St Kilda in 2012 but injuries over the years restricted him to just 28 games. He was delisted at the end of 2018. He was signed by the Hawks as a delisted free agent for 2019 but never played a senior game. Two hamstring injuries bookended his season and he played just eight VFL games and was delisted once more However, the Hawks thrrew him a lifeline when Will Golds suffered a season-ending knee injury.

This will be the first time Collingwood and West Coast will meet in a Grand Final. However, both do have recent Grand Final histories, albeit losses the last time either side played in a Grand Final. The Eagles lost to Hawthorn in 2015 and the Magpies lost to Geelong in 2011 after winning the replay the year before. Speaking of drawn matches, Collingwood and West Coast played against each other in a drawn Qualifying Final in 1990 with Collingwood victorious in the replay.

by Lisa Albergo reporting from AFANA from Chicago

by Lisa Albergo reporting for AFANA from Chicago

With the national draft just a few weeks away, several clubs have made further changes to their lists. At the end of October, each club was required to submit "first list lodgement" documentation with the AFL.

CARLTON
The Blues have delisted Mitch Robinson, Brock McLean and Kane Lucas. This makes a total of 12 players the club has cut since the end of the 2014 season. Robinson played 100 games with Carlton since being drafted in 2008. Robinson has joined Brisbane as a delisted free agent. Lucas was drafted in 2010 and played 42 games. Although he won the club's Best First Year Player award, he was unable to cement a spot in the team. McLean played 94 games with Melbourne 2004-09 before joining Carlton where he played a further 63 games.

by Lisa Albergo reporting for AFANA from Chicago

The two week trade period saw a lot of action and concluded on October 17. A number of players requested trades to other clubs while others were moved on reluctantly. Clubs also traded draft selections to strengthen their prospects in picking up needed players.

Brook Kilpatrick reporting for AFANA from Australia

Geelong booked their passage into a Grand Final face-off with reigning Premiers Collingwood after a comfortable 48 point win over the West Coast Eagles at the MCG on Saturday. First year coach Chris Scott has proved many critics wrong by taking the Cats back to the Grand Final, in the wake of losing the game’s best player in Gary Ablett Jr to the Gold Coast Suns.

A sellout crowd of over 40,000 fans packed Patersons Stadium to see the West Coast Eagles take on a determined Geelong Cats. This was a chance for the Eagles to prove that they were real contenders for the Finals even without the in-form Quinten Lynch, who had been suspended for rough contact the week before. Geelong have not lost two games in a row for so long that people have arguments about when that was. The script was supposed to read that the Eagles would put up a valiant fight but go down in the end by five or six goals – but it didn’t go according to the script by a long way.

Mick Malthouse, fresh from coaching Collingwood to the 2010 AFL Premiership, had little or no time to relax afterward as he began preparations for the Australian team to play against Ireland in the International Rules Series.