Running Roo
Has the hamstring injury actually helped Nick Riewoldt? It gave him the chance to do what was effectively a second pre-season, and now that we're in September, and everyone else is fatigued, he's going great guns. He's probably the best athlete in the competition, and he showed that on Friday night when he blew Harry Taylor up with his gut-running. If he gets drier conditions later in the finals, who can go with him? Probably no-one. He's an incredible bonus.

Stephen Milne
Those three goals he kicked really blew the game apart, and he had Josh Hunt completely beaten in one-on-one situations, and Geelong had to shuffle the pieces to get Joel Corey onto him. To do that, in a relatively low-scoring game, was massive. For someone who has had his critics regarding his ability to stand up in high-profile games, I thought it was a great effort. The other thing he's doing, which Ross Lyon has always said is what will get him a game, is his defensive efforts. He's working really well both ways.

Joel Selwood
Joel had just four possessions in the first half, which is his quietest half of football since his first game. It was unusual to look at a game and question Selwood's influence. But if that's his worst game, it explains why he's a star, because he just willed his way into it in the second half, and he was a massive part of Geelong getting back into the game. He finished with 15 touches, and in a strange way, the game was a massive tick for him, because it wasn't going his way, but he got himself back into it when most players would have just written it off as a day when it wasn't going to happen.

Fremantle's youth policy
Fremantle had 10 first- or second year-players compared to Hawthorn's one. For Mark Harvey to have developed the list he has, with a group of unknown players, is one of the great stories of the year. And in a final, to pick a fourth gamer in Michael Walters, and Jesse Crichton playing his sixth, was great. It's not like he hasn't got experienced players he could select - Paul Hasleby and Des Headland were available - but it's a credit to him that he's stuck by what he's done all year.  That temptation will be around again this week, but the chance to get another finals game into the kids should win out.

Perfect Pies
Collingwood's perfect preparation for the grand final continues - to get the Bulldogs in that final was a bonus, and to get through to the preliminary final almost unscathed was massive. And it's great to watch their speed out of the backline - Heath Shaw, Harry O'Brien, Alan Toovey in particular, but their whole back six is going beautifully at the moment. Having said that, I think Simon Prestigiacomo comes back in - he can do the job Nathan Brown is doing. But across the ground, they're doing a great job. Luke Ball is in-and-under, Dane Swan is unstoppable. Their forward pressure is outstanding. You'd think they'll play Geelong in the prelim, and they get to watch the Cats again this week and perfect their plans for them.

Fremantle - Geelong
It's hard to imagine Fremantle will be able to beat the Cats, especially with Aaron Sandilands carrying a knee injury, but it's great experience for their young group to play a final at the MCG. Matthew Pavlich was okay against the Hawks, but he'll have to turn it on in a huge way for them to have a chance. The Cats were top-heavy on the weekend, even after they swapped out Tom Lonergan for Shannon Byrnes, and that is set to be exacerbated this week if James Podsiadly comes back in after his suspension. As a result, I think they have to go with Tom Hawkins over Mark Blake - he can play forward and also support Brad Ottens.

Geelong - Collingwood
We're looking at a Geelong-Collingwood preliminary final - you have to assume the Cats are going to get through, and that sets up an incredible prelim. Geelong is still in good enough shape to beat them, and they'll be stung hugely by the loss. To me, this will be the grand final-deciding game. You couldn't have a better match-up for a prelim final. It's still a 50-50 bet for me, l can't pick a winner yet.

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.