THERE may only be three weeks left before finals football gets underway, but there's plenty still to play out beforehand with a treble of defining rounds yet to come in 2025.

From potential historic team achievements, a cavalcade of individual records and significant milestones for the league at large, here are some of the season-shaping storylines that are yet to play out.

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WILL THE ROOS' STREAK EVER END?

It's a sublime winning run that shows no signs of coming to an end any time soon. But could the Roos continue their unbeaten streak all the way through to the big dance?

There's every possibility, given the vein of form they've found themselves since their 21-game winning streak commenced in week three of the 2024 NAB AFLW Season, having not dropped a game (they did draw with Geelong in week two, 2024) since the 2023 Grand Final.

The top-placed Roos, now a lock in the top eight following Saturday's win over Richmond, have far from an easy run into November with the well-credentialled Adelaide, St Kilda – whose knack for coming up trumps against top sides has been a hallmark of its short existence – and top-four fancy Hawthorn to come before finals.

Should North Melbourne go all the way and secure back-to-back flags in the process, it would mark 27 wins on the trot; a remarkable run that would comfortably surpass the previous record of 23 matches, set by Geelong in the men's competition between 1952-53.

COULD THE DOCKERS SHOCK THE COMP?

The Cats clawing their way back towards the top eight after a 0-3 start to the season was firming as the comeback story of the year. Enter the Dockers.

Less than a week ago, it seemed as if Fremantle was all but out of the finals race. That was before Sunday's stunning win over top-four contender Melbourne produced a curveball that stunned the entire competition.

Now just a game outside the eight and sitting in 11th, the Dockers would need everything to go perfectly to scrape into finals and pull off the unthinkable.

Fremantle faces GWS (15th), Richmond (17th) and Adelaide (fifth) in their thrilling run to the finish line, relying on one of the sides above them – perhaps even the Crows – to stumble and allow them the opportunity to swoop into the eight against all odds.

WHO WILL REACH THE TON FIRST?

Breanna Koenen and Libby Birch made history as the third and fourth AFLW players to reach the famed 100-game milestone last week, but there might be a centurion of a different kind to feature before the year is out.

Melbourne's Kate Hore and North Melbourne's Jas Garner (96 goals apiece) are closing in on the triple-figure mark, with their teams facing Sydney and Adelaide, respectively, this weekend. However, it's suddenly become a race to the ton over the past fortnight.

Hore has snagged multiple goals six times this season, but has only managed one in the past two games as she pushes through the nervous 90s. On the flipside, Garner has hammered home six in the same period to rocket towards the top of the table and draw level with her chief rival.

It would be poetic should Garner – who kicked the AFLW's first ever goal while in Collingwood colours – become the first to reach the 100-goal mark. Regardless of who gets there first, both have been superstars of the competition's first decade.

WILL AN AFLW POWERHOUSE MISS THE EIGHT?

With a logjam of teams jostling for a place in finals beneath them, could there be trouble for two of the league's most successful sides in Adelaide and Brisbane?

Admittedly, it would take some doing. But entertaining it for just a moment, what a storyline it would be. With both sides securing important wins at home this round just gone, it's become far less likely – but not impossible – for one of the competition's heavyweights to miss by the slimmest of margins. 

LADDER PREDICTOR Who will make the top eight? 

Currently fourth on the ladder, the Lions' superior percentage (157.1) means they could drop all three remaining games and still squeeze in. Only a multitude of results going against them and a shock Dockers fightback — with a huge percentage boost in tow — would force them to slip out.

Meanwhile, the Crows (now fifth) only need to bank one win against either North Melbourne, Port Adelaide or Fremantle to all but guarantee their place, with their sheer experience come crunch-time sure to see them through.

Brisbane and Adelaide have seldom found themselves outside of finals since the league's inaugural season, only dipping out once apiece in 2019 and 2020 respectively. But if it happens again in 2025, it may just be the biggest story of the year.

COULD WE SEE A FIRST-TIME FINALIST?

And with that in mind, could history be made with a club breaking through for a finals berth for the first time? 

Prospective first-time finalists St Kilda and West Coast are the sides most likely to make that leap, while fellow expansion sides Essendon and Port Adelaide's hopes are dwindling following respective losses to the Western Bulldogs and Brisbane over the weekend.

The Eagles (5-4) have a testing road ahead after their 17-point loss to Adelaide last Saturday, with upcoming opponents Geelong, Sydney and Carlton also vying for finals berths. Two wins should be enough for Daisy Pearce's side to cement their spot, but they could get the job done with one and a bit of luck.

Meanwhile, the maturing Saints (6-3) are proving their doubters wrong, having won a club-record five straight matches. They are far from a lock, however, with Carlton, North Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs to come in the road to November.

CAN ASH RIDDELL GO EVEN BIGGER?

When Ash Riddell levelled the record for the most disposals in an AFLW game in round two of this year, it was incredible. When she went one better a month later to own the record outright, it was sensational. And when she did it again a fortnight later to notch up a whopping 45 touches, it was absolutely unbelievable. 

So who's to say after making history three times in the one season, that she can't do it for a fourth time? After another 37 touches against Richmond over the weekend, there's still time to break her own record again with encounters still to come against the Crows, Saints and Hawks before finals.

The Roos' ball-magnet extraordinaire is firmly in the hunt for a second club best and fairest and is 13 votes clear on top of the AFLW Champion Player of the Year leaderboard, but is also well in the running to etch her name into the record books with the league's most coveted individual distinction by season's end.

COULD EBONY MARINOFF DRAW LEVEL WITH THE GREAT ERIN PHILLIPS?

Ebony Marinoff is an undisputed champion of the game. And should she keep influencing games the way she currently is, could it see her elevate her already impressive standing to levels reached by only the league's most elite?

Even with Ash Riddell's record-breaking season and a band of other stars to contend with, Marinoff is well in the conversation to snare her second AFLW best and fairest and draw level with Australian Football Hall of Fame inductee – and former teammate – Erin Phillips in receiving the league's most prestigious distinction twice.

While last year's AFLW Coaches' Association Champion Player of the Year is currently seventh on the leaderboard after this week's 10-vote game, her numbers in 2025 (outside of clearances) are comparable to her award-winning 2024, having averaged 27 disposals — down slightly from last year's average of 30 touches — and 11 tackles per game.

If she keeps tracking at this rate, Marinoff's possible back-to-back accolades would entrench her as one of the very, very best.