Twelve teams remain in finals contention heading into the final round of the home and away season following a dramatic Round 20, which saw Tasmania, Coburg, Port Melbourne and Essendon take big leaps forward in their push for a top-ten finish.

NORTH MELBOURNE       3.2        5.5        5.7        7.9 (51)
FOOTSCRAY                     4.4        4.12      7.15     12.25 (97)

Footscray returned to the winners list on Friday despite some inaccuracy, defeating North Melbourne by 46 points at Arden Street Oval. A high scoring opening term saw the Dogs lead by eight points at quarter time before their advantage was almost wiped completely by half time after a second term that saw them kick 0.8, all while conceding two goals to the Roos. With a slender one-point lead, the away side would get going in the third, keeping North Melbourne to two behinds while kicking three goals, before putting the game to bed in the last term, despite kicking five goals from 15 scoring shots. Cooper Craig-Peters again put together a brilliant display for the reigning premiers as he finished with 34 disposals, 13 inside 50s and 10 clearances, whilst his partner in crime Jack Billings was just as influential with 28 touches, seven score involvements and two goals. For the Roos, who have now lost five straight games, Robbie Hansen Junior continues to be a revelation in defence, amassing 27 disposals and 11 rebound 50s, while Matt Whitlock booted three goals.

BEST
North Melbourne: Matt Whitlock, Bailey Scott, Kieran Rice, Lachlan Gollant, James Tarrant, Zac Fisher
Footscray: Cooper Craig-Peters, Jack Billings, Daniel Orgill, Harvey Gallagher, Luke Cleary, Luke Kennedy
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TASMANIA      2.5        6.9        9.12     14.14 (98)
WERRIBEE     3.3        7.6        9.8        12.14 (86)

Tasmania have all but locked in an inaugural finals berth after a brilliant 12-point win over Werribee at North Hobart Oval. The in-form Tigers would have leads at both quarter time and half time albeit narrow margins despite reaching a 21-point lead at the seven-minute mark of the second term. But the Devils wouldn’t go away, kicking the first goal of the third term inside 40 seconds to lead for the first time in the match before kicking a further two majors go five points to the good at the final change. The hosts would then produce their patch of footy in the last, kicking five of the next six goals of the game, three of those coming in a six-minute period just before time on, to hit a game-high 24-point advantage, which despite a late flurry of goals from Werribee, proved to be enough to claim all four points. Brandon Leary had a big say in Tasmania’s win with a performance that included 28 disposals at 82% efficiency as well as six inside 50s and two goals, while captain Robbie Fox was instrumental in defence with 25 touches and nine intercept possessions. Lachie Charleson booted four goals for Werribee and Brady Wright added another three to his total.

BEST
Tasmania: Hugh Dixon, Lachlan Hay, Nick Williams, Joseph Chaplin, Aiden Begg, Bailey Boag
Werribee: Mace Cousins, Lachlan Charleson, Charlie Lazzaro, Louis Pinnuck, Sam Azzi, Thomas Simpson
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SOUTHPORT               1.2        2.4       3.8        4.9 (33)
BRISBANE LIONS      5.7        8.10     15.14   18.23 (131)

Southport’s finals hopes have come to an end at the hands of a dominant Brisbane Lions side, who won by 98 points at Fankhauser Reserve. After a tight start to the game, the Lions broke away late in the opening term with three goals in seven minutes to lead by 29 points at quarter time. They would keep the Sharks to just two goals to half time whilst extending their lead to 42 points in the process before firing seven third quarter goals to put the game beyond doubt by three quarter time and eventually going on to win their fifth match of the season and produce a score of 130 points or greater for the third time in 2026. The away side had 11 individual goalkickers headlined by Will McLaughlin and Cody Curtin who kicked three majors apiece, meanwhile James Tunstill was busy in the middle with 22 disposals, eight clearances, seven inside 50s and six tackles with teammate Lincoln McCarthy was a standout in defence with 19 disposals and 10 intercepts whilst also popping up with a goal. Zac Foot and Jacob Dawson still combined for 62 disposals despite Southport’s defeat.

BEST
Southport: Max Spencer, Josh Gore, Finn Hay
Brisbane Lions: Lincoln McCarthy, James Tunstill, Zane Zakostelsky, Cody Curtin, Will McLachlan, Sam Tilley
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ESSENDON                2.2        6.7        7.9       10.15 (75)
COLLINGWOOD        1.2        3.5        10.8     11.8 (74)

Essendon found their way back inside the top 10 by the barest of margins, after defeating Collingwood by a point at Windy Hill on Saturday. Coming into the match with four straight wins under their belt, the Bombers had to endure a slow start against the undermanned Pies but still held a six-point edge at quarter time before they impressed in the second term by kicking 4.5 to 2.3 to make it a 20-point advantage by half time. The away side would turn the tables to start the second half, going on a clinical six-goal run throughout the first 20 minutes of the third term to suddenly hold a 17-point three quarter time lead. The Bombers would gain the ascendancy in the final term but still found themselves 16 points behind at the 13-minute mark of the quarter. They peppered the goals but the hosts would kick four straight behinds before finally finding the big sticks in time on to reduce the deficit to one straight kick. With the margin under a goal in the dying seconds and Collingwood defending desperately, it would be Jade Gresham who booted the match winning goal for the Bombers, with his fourth major of the afternoon putting his side within reach of a finals berth. Gresham also had 24 disposals and five inside 50s to help Essendon get over the line, with teammate Elijah Tsatas impressing also with 31 touches and eight clearances. Brynn Teakle (21 disposals, 16 intercepts, 10 rebound 50s) and Harrison Coe (22 disposals, 18 hit outs, eight clearances) were Collingwood’s most impactful players.

BEST
Essendon: Xavier O’Neill, Jade Gresham, Saad El Hawli, Cillian Bourke, Ben McKay, Solomon McKay
Collingwood: Brynn Teakle, Jakob Ryan, Harrison Coe, Max Mahoney, Josh Browne, Jack Buller
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PORT MELBOURNE       1.3        4.6        9.7        13.9 (87)
RICHMOND                   5.2        7.2        10.5      11.7 (73)

Port Melbourne have snuck back into the top 10 on the Smithy’s VFL ladder with one round remaining after a 14-point come from behind win over Richmond at ETU Stadium. The Tigers would get the jump in the first term after conceding the opening goal, kicking five majors in eight minutes to lead by 23 points at the first break. They would increase that advantage to a game-high 35 points in the second quarter before the Borough not only broke their goal drought but started to build momentum to end the term, kicking the last three goals of the term to reduce to the deficit to 14 points by half time. Ben Hobbs and Lachie Rankin each had 27 touches, with Hobbs also producing eight inside 50s, meanwhile Tom Hird was excellent with 21 touches, six clearances and four goals. Harry Armstrong also booted four goals, a season-high for the Tigers forward in just his fourth VFL game, while Mutaz El Nour had all the answers down back with 17 disposals, nine intercept possessions and eight rebound 50s.

BEST
Port Melbourne: Tom Hird, Michael Rudd, Ben Hobbs, Josh Tovey, Matt Gahan, Dom Bedendo
Richmond: Mutaz El Nour, Sam Philp, Zachary O'Keefe, Oliver Hayes-Brown, Liam Fawcett, Harry Armstrong
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ST KILDA          1.1        4.7        6.8        9.14 (68)
CARLTON          3.2        5.4        7.11     8.13 (61)

St Kilda surged late to upset an in-form Carlton outfit at RSEA Park on Sunday, winning by seven points. The Blues would be inside the top 10 at round’s end with a fifth straight triumph and looked like a team on a mission from the outset, kicking three of the first four goals of the opening term to lead by 13 points. Despite threatening to break the game open in the second quarter, the Saints were never too far away and pegged the deficit back to just three points by half time. The hosts were unable to make any further dents across the third quarter, but the Blues would keep their opponents in the contest by three quarter time, as they managed only two goals from nine scoring shots to only take a 10-point advantage into the final term. St Kilda would pounce on the opportunity, hitting the lead at the seven-minute mark thanks to back-to-back and whilst their hold on the game was lost momentarily, the Saints would come up clutch in time on, as a Charlie Banfield goal in the last moments gave his side their seventh win of the season. Billy McGee Galimberti was superb for the home side, amassing 29 disposals, eight marks and seven rebound 50s, with Alix Tauru also excellent with 18 disposals and nine intercept possessions. Carlton were led well by Liam Reidy (29 disposals, 13 clearances, 10 inside 50s) and Cody Walker (29 disposals, five inside 50s, one goal).

BEST
St Kilda: Not submitted
Carlton: Liam Reidy, Cody Walker, Adam Saad, Jordan Boyd, Jacob Weitering, Logan Prout
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GWS GIANTS                         6.1        14.6     20.7     21.7 (133)
GOLD COAST SUNS               6.3        10.5     12.10   18.12 (120)

The GWS Giants ended a three-game losing run to remain in the top 10, defeating Gold Coast by 13 points in a high scoring affair at Blacktown ISP. After kicking 9.19 last weekend, the Giants were quick to put their goalkicking woes behind them with a 6.1 opening term, although they still trailed by two points to the Suns in a frantic opening quarter. But the hosts would go to another level in the second term, booting eight majors to reach 90 points by half time, creating a healthy 25-point advantage in the process. A six-goal to two third quarter helped GWS hit a game-high 52-point lead, and whilst the Suns rallied hard in the last term, they wouldn’t get close enough to threaten their opponents. The Giants had a host of contributors in their win, including Conor Stone (27 disposals, nine clearances, six tackles), Kye Pfrengle (15 disposals, 12 intercepts) and Hugo Birks who kicked a season-high five majors and has now booted 14 goals in his last four games. The Suns produced some incredible individual performances, including Jarrod Witts who had 63 hit outs, 31 disposals and eight clearances, whilst teammates Caleb Lewis (six) and Jamarra Ugle-Hagan (five) combined for 11 majors, a season-high for the pair.

BEST
GWS Giants: Not submitted
Gold Coast Suns: Jarrod Witts, Lucas Snowball, Jamarra Ugle-Hagan, Caleb Lewis, Zak Evans, Ben Jepson
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WILLIAMSTOWN          0.1        3.3        3.6        6.12 (48)
COBURG                        3.2        4.4        9.8        9.9 (63)

Coburg have taken one step closer to securing a finals berth whilst Williamstown now find themselves outside of the top 10 with one round to play after the Lions picked up a 15-point win in their battle at DSV Stadium on Sunday. In a low scoring and wet affair, the visitors would be responsible for all three opening quarter majors to put the Seagulls on the backfoot before the home side turned things around in the second quarter as a hattrick of goals from Kallan Dawson in an 11-minute period would tie proceedings approaching time on. Coburg would end up leading by seven points at half time and then got to work in the second half to put the game back on their terms, which they did with a blistering five-goal quarter, all while keeping Williamstown to three behinds, putting them in the box seat to prevail at three quarter time with a 38-point lead. The home side would have the wind in their sails and would be responsible for all, but one of the 10 scoring shots produced in the fourth term, however they would kick 3.6 and miss out on the opportunity to come from behind and maintain their winning run. Cooper Keogh was immense in the middle with 21 disposals and 11 clearances for the Lions, whilst Lachlan Walker finished with 30 disposals and five rebound 50s. Dawson would go on to boot five of the home side’s six majors for the game whilst Jake Greiser would amass 33 disposals and 11 rebound 50s.

BEST
Williamstown: Not submitted
Coburg: Maison Goodman, Joel Trudgeon, Max Kennedy, Matthew Allison, Rhys Galvin, Cooper Keogh
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