IN THIS week's Things We Learned, we discover Carlton has a huge month ahead, Fremantle's forward line is in fine form plus much, much more.

Check out what we learned from round 20 of the 2025 season.

1) The Saints simply cannot afford to lose this man

Kicking the TWO match-winning goals in the biggest final-quarter comeback in VFL/AFL history was simply the cherry on top for St Kilda star Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera. He might have kicked two goals in the final minute to put the Saints in front after the siren, but it was his work all day that kept his side ticking along and offered the energy to mount an almighty comeback. Wanganeen-Milera started on the ball, competed hard with Melbourne's physical midfield and also slid forward to help attack. By the final term, he was taking kick ins to set up his side's damaging end-to-end play, then getting on the end of them in the attacking arc. His ability to carry a team on his shoulders that has been inconsistent (to say the least) is exactly why St Kilda must do all it can to re-sign him. Losing Wanganeen-Milera, who is still being heavily courted by rival clubs, would be the biggest blow to the club in some years. - Gemma Bastiani

2) The derby still brings out the best and worst in Toby Greene

Toby Greene is more familiar than literally anyone in VFL/AFL history with sanctions for bad behaviour, but he had learned to rein in the worst of his behaviour since taking on a share of the Giants' captaincy in 2022. The 31-year-old was back playing on the edge as the Swans made a blazing start to a fiery Sydney derby on Friday night, before the Giants surged over the top of them to claim a memorable 44-point win at Engie Stadium. A tussle with Dane Rampe, a high hit on Aaron Francis and a jibe about Tom Papley's weight all had Greene at risk of copping a blow to his hip pocket. But the Giants have been left paying a bigger price for Greene jumping into a contest late to land a forearm on Swans gun Isaac Heeney's head, with their inspirational leader handed a one-match ban that will see him miss the crunch clash with the Western Bulldogs, a game that could dictate the finals fate of both clubs. With Josh Kelly and Jack Buckley also ruled out due to injury, losing their skipper was the last thing the Giants needed, especially because of a self-inflicted blow. Greene might have changed his ways over the years, but the Swans can still make him see the red mist. - Martin Pegan

3) Jarrod Witts is among the game's elite rucks

Coaches always go into bat for their players, but Damien Hardwick's post-match comments on Saturday were spot on - it's time to have a conversation about Jarrod Witts. Whether you want him in the All-Australian conversation or not, he is one of the game's elite rucks, and there's no disputing that. Having already received AFLCA votes against Brodie Grundy, Max Gawn and Rowan Marshall this year, nullified Darcy Cameron's aerial threat and outplayed Brisbane duo Oscar McInerney and Darcy Fort in Saturday's QClash brilliant win, Witts is in the midst of another brilliant season. His numbers rarely pop off the page, but his influence around stoppages is immense, along with his ability to get forward and back and help create contests in the air. He probably won't ever get much limelight, but he's one of the best in the game at his position. – Michael Whiting

4) This is the biggest month of Carlton's season

Carlton might be wishing this season was over. Instead, it's perhaps about to enter the most defining month since the last time it was in this position. Unfortunately for Blues fans, that wasn't that long ago. At 7-12, the club's on-field campaign has nowhere to go. But, with decisions to be made on the future of coach Michael Voss and several others within the football department, star free agent Tom De Koning, and the potential compensation package that might follow his likely departure, Carlton has reached a critical juncture. Charlie Curnow went some way to easing one burden for the Blues on Thursday night – emphatically reiterating that his future is at the club when speaking to reporters after the match – but plenty of other headaches remain. Carlton simply must nail every decision from here, right through until November's Telstra AFL Draft, if it is to get the train back on the tracks by the time 2026 rolls around. - Riley Beveridge

5) The midfield squeeze conversation won't go away at Collingwood

Scott Pendlebury was the late out with soreness on Sunday. Jordan De Goey returned in the VFL on Saturday night and won't be far away. Ned Long has become a permanent fixture this year, playing all 19 games in 2025 and finished with a workmanlike 23 disposals and six tackles against Richmond. Tom Mitchell returned and amassed 29 disposals and seven inside 50s in just his third senior game of the year. Former first-round pick Ed Allan also made an impact at the MCG against the Tigers. Craig McRae stated the obvious late on Sunday: they can't all play in the same team. That is a problem for another day - but it's a problem that is a difficult one to solve. - Josh Gabelich

6) The race to 100 is legitimately on

We don't want to jinx it, but with 31 goals to get and potentially eight games left this season, Jeremy Cameron is a genuine chance to crack the 100-goal barrier this year. An 11-goal haul against the hapless Roos on Saturday night has brought the milestone into view and he's got four easy kills ahead of him before a potentially deep finals run. If Cameron can match his most recent hauls against his next four opponents – Port Adelaide (seven goals), Essendon (six), Sydney (two) and Richmond (four) – he will enter finals on 88 goals. And with those four clubs all having one eye on their post-season trips, the Cats star could be in for a huge month ahead of, you would imagine, at least two finals in September. Imagine the scenes if he was the crack the ton on Grand Final day ... - Martin Smith

7) Fremantle's forward line is functioning beautifully 

Fremantle star Josh Treacy has surprisingly gone goalless in five of his past nine games, but you wouldn't know it from his team's performances as the Dockers build an array of different scoring avenues. Pat Voss backed up his bag of six against Collingwood with three goals against West Coast on Saturday afternoon, but it is the building form of Jye Amiss that was most encouraging in Derby 61. After a dry month, Amiss has kicked seven goals across his past three games and is marking the ball with authority. The 196cm goalkicker pushed up the ground to provide an option for his teammates on Saturday and even started on the wing at one point. His form alongside Voss, the threat of Treacy, and the ability of Luke Jackson to push forward and be a goalkicker makes the Dockers unpredictable in attack. It could be among their biggest weapons in the run to finals. – Nathan Schmook 

8) Adelaide has the depth and discipline to go all the way

In the lead-in to the Showdown, all the talk in town was about how the expected heavy rain was set to equalise the contest between hot favourite Adelaide and injury-hit Port Adelaide. But the Crows won by an astonishing 98 points, piling on 20 goals - a staggering amount in the conditions - off the back of a brilliant team-wide performance. The tackling was near-perfect on a slippery deck and the likes of Jake Soligo, Wayne Milera, James Peatling and Sam Berry all got their moments in the sun. Even when the sub was made, Chayce Jones tagged Zak Butters closely and lessoned his influence, while Dan Curtin spent some time on the ball. Tantalising challenges against Hawthorn and Collingwood await before what could be a deep finals run. – Sarah Black

9) The big Bulldogs have been as reliable as they come 

Western Bulldogs key forwards Aaron Naughton and Sam Darcy absolutely mauled the injury-riddled Essendon defence on Friday night. Between them they kicked 13 goals and took 14 marks (seven contested). Not only did these two outscore the entire Essendon team on their own, their accuracy in front of goal was outstanding. Naughton kicked just the one behind to go with his career-high seven goals, while Darcy finished with an equally efficient 6.2. Naughton has had his struggles in front of goal in the past, but he and his forward partner have been deadly accurate of late, with the pair kicking a combined 32.11 in the past month. – Phoebe McWilliams