ASK many people in footy and they'll tell you that the perfect length of the season is 17 games. Each team plays the other once and then we have the finals.

Perhaps you would add an 18th game so that the great rivalry matches get showcased twice each season.

Increasingly, the 22-game season, even with the mid-season bye and the mini-break before the finals, has become a war of attrition. The "fifth quarter" used to be what David Parkin called the post-match media conferences. Now it is the Monday morning medical scans. 

This year in particular, it might be the clubs with the most available players, rather than the most talented lists, that will most be in contention come the pointy end of the season.

INJURY WRAP Misery for Giants, concerns for Dons

Richmond is the best team in the competition and the deserved premiership favourite, but the feature of the past two seasons is just how intact its playing list has been. The Tigers just don't suffer injuries to their better players.

Richmond's big four – Trent Cotchin, Alex Rance, Dustin Martin and Jack Riewoldt – have missed six games between them over the past two years. No.1 ruckman Toby Nankervis has missed two games, while other key players such as David Astbury (one), Kane Lambert (one), Shane Edwards (five) and Josh Caddy (five) get on the park most weeks.

Only Bachar Houli (13 games missed in the past two years), Nick Vlastuin (12) and Daniel Rioli (12 missed, all this year) have had some issue with continuity, and all will be cherry ripe for September.

Contrast that with the growing and crippling injury lists of some of their flag rivals. Jeremy McGovern's goal after the siren for West Coast on Sunday might have all but delivered the Eagles a top-two finish, but they enter the finals without their No.1 ruckman Nic Naitanui and with their dual Coleman medallist spearhead Josh Kennedy proppy. Andrew Gaff is their best midfielder and he won't be playing, either.

Saturday evening's affair was calamitous for Port and not just on the scoreboard. Charlie Dixon joins Hamish Hartlett with a season-ending injury. Paddy Ryder (hip flexor) is in doubt for the season-defining clash with Collingwood at the MCG on Saturday. Hips are nasty conditions to carry through the rest of the season, particularly for ruckmen.

Greater Western Sydney is the team that many believe has the ability to go toe-to-toe with the Tigers. But it can't take a trick on the injury front and out of the weekend you can add the names Heath Shaw, Sam Reid and Josh Kelly to an injury list that already features Jonathon Patton, Brett Deledio, Tom Scully, Dawson Simpson and Sam Taylor. On the flipside, the Giants are getting a couple back, but they'll be entering the finals short-handed.

Collingwood's injury woes have been well-documented and Nathan Buckley has coached brilliantly all year to navigate the Pies through this mess. Ben Reid did a calf in the VFL on Saturday, robbing the Pies of a potential key-position reinforcement in September, with Lynden Dunn and Matt Scharenberg out for the year, Tyson Goldsack doubtful and Jeremy Howe still unavailable.

Melbourne has a fight on its hands just to play finals, but Jake Lever won't be part of any September campaign, nor will experienced defender Bernie Vince. Michael Hibberd should be back next week, while Jesse Hogan is clearly playing sore. North also faces an uphill battle to make the finals and is clearly missing outstanding lockdown midfielder Ben Jacobs, who has lingering concussion issues. North has won 24 of the past 32 matches he has played in and on Sunday, with Lachie Hunter (44 disposals), Caleb Daniel (40) and Jack Macrae (40) all getting off the chain, he was sorely missed.

Sydney was getting most of its cattle back, but the awful news out of Sunday's nine-point win over Melbourne was the likely ACL injury suffered by Alex Johnson. The Swans won't likely have Nick Smith available for the remaining two home and away matches, either. Sam Reid and Callum Mills remain notable outs.

Geelong may not have its No.1 ruckman Rhys Stanley available after he hurt his calf on the weekend. It will be improvising and hoping for the best if it does make the finals.

Interestingly, the one team that might enter September with a full list to choose from is Hawthorn. The Hawks were reasonably depleted on Saturday, but still knocked over Geelong by 11 points and Alastair Clarkson faces the enviable task of reintroducing Ben McEvoy, Jarryd Roughead, James Sicily and perhaps even Grant Birchall over the next two weeks and into the finals to a side that's now won four straight games.

Clarkson and fitness lieutenant Andrew Russell have managed the list superbly this year, but it is no coincidence that Richmond's high-performance manager Peter Burge used to work under Russell at the Hawks.

Numbers that matter

Both North Melbourne and Melbourne blew golden opportunities on Sunday. There's no getting around it, but these numbers will haunt both clubs this week and perhaps all summer if they don't play finals.

For North it is 28, the margin by which it was ahead at half-time before succumbing to the Bulldogs.

For the Demons it is 17, which is how many more inside 50s they had than the Swans at the MCG on Sunday. And let's throw in a 15, as well, which is how many times Lance Franklin has played in a winning side (without yet losing) to the Demons.

Disconcolate Demons leave the field after the loss to Sydney. Picture: AFL Photos

Mutterings at Moorabbin

Those of you who may have had a lazy fiver on at least one coach losing their job come the end of the season, don't tear up your tickets just yet. You might still have a collect.

Despite assurances to the contrary from Saints footy boss Simon Lethlean, it is not 100 per cent locked in that Alan Richardson will continue as senior coach next year. Not if St Kilda's final two games of the year against Hawthorn and North Melbourne are as pitiful as the past two losses to the Western Bulldogs and Essendon.

The thing about Friday night's 43-point loss to the Bombers at Etihad Stadium was that it was an away game for the club. That means that most of the St Kilda powerbrokers weren't at the game but rather, were watching at home over a glass of red and some Uber Eats.

It's better that way; rather than huddle conspicuously at the official function or a coterie dinner, the text messages were flying thick and fast as the Saints repeatedly turned the ball over in their front half and showed a lack of care in front of goal.

The concern at St Kilda remains that there aren't enough hard conversations taking place at the club after poor performances such as those over the past fortnight. Former skipper Nick Riewoldt suggested as much earlier this year. 

Lethlean's job will be to convince those with influence at the Saints, and by influence we mean those who financially support the club, that the new support structure he is planning for Richardson in 2019 will lead to a cultural change and a harder edge at the club.

These will be interesting conversations and Lethlean will need to bring his best, because as it stands, there are people close to the club who still need assurances that Richardson is the right man for the job going forward.

Is Alan Richardson the right man to lead St Kilda? Picture: AFL Photos

The AFL app and the Scott brothers

They look alike and sound alike, but when it comes to footy, we have found one fundamental difference between the Scott brothers.

Here's Chris after the Cats lost to the Hawks on Saturday: 

And Brad after North's loss to the Western Bulldogs: 

Chris is more entitled to be anxious about the finals than Brad. Whereas the Kangas are building and the finals this year are likely an unexpected bonus, Geelong's list management strategy of the past few years has been about winning the flag now. The recruitment of Gary Ablett was supposed to be the final piece of the puzzle.

The team supposed to contend on the MCG in September won just two of seven games there this year. Like the Richmond game last week, the Cats played some great footy when things became urgent and their so-called "holy trinity" were terrific in the final quarter, but it was all too late. They had spotted the Hawks too big a lead.

Still, Chris does owe Brad a box of golf balls because North's capitulation on Sunday cleared the path just that bit more for the Cats to still make the finals.

Mea culpa

Two weeks ago, this column opined that it might not be the worst thing in the world for the Swans to miss the finals.

Good thing for the Swans is that they don't read this column. Never mind whatever setbacks come their way, and on Sunday they were considerable, they play their football as though the finals are their birthright.

It is a pretty good place to start.