ADELAIDE

It's hard to go past the Crows' women's team winning the AFLW Grand Final in front of a record Adelaide Oval crowd of more than 50,000. There weren't too many highlights for the men's side, but the remarkable last-quarter surge to beat Melbourne by two points in Darwin in round 11 was memorable. – Lee Gaskin

BRISBANE

There were so many great days for the Lions in 2019, but it's hard to go past the top-of-the-table clash against Geelong at the Gabba in round 22. Not only was it a sellout, but Lincoln McCarthy's towering hanger and match-winning goal brought a roar unlike any other at the venue for the past decade. The Lions were back. – Michael Whiting

CARLTON

There were few better days for Blues fans in 2019 than Sunday, June 30. Facing a daunting road trip across the Nullarbor to play the Dockers, the young side was without Patrick Cripps, Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay and quickly found itself five goals down at quarter-time. However, from there, it produced a spirited rally. Marc Murphy's checkside goal with fewer than 60 seconds on the clock won a nail-biter for the Blues and displayed the trademark grit that then-interim coach David Teague was quickly building within his side. - Riley Beveridge

COLLINGWOOD

The Magpies' stirring one-point win over West Coast at its Perth stronghold was one of their greatest home and away victories in memory, given they were ravaged by injuries (and suffered more during the game), they'd lost their previous four games against the Eagles, and they came from three goals down in the third quarter and kept the home side to just one behind in the last quarter-and-a-half. – Ben Collins

ESSENDON

Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti, we salute you. There's less than 10 seconds on the clock in Essendon's round 17 clash with North Melbourne and the Bombers' small forward has the ball in his hands tied up against the boundary. From a near-impossible angle, he snaps his kick through for a goal (his fourth of the game) to give his side a five-point win over the Roos. The win was a necessity for the Bombers to keep alive their top-eight hopes after their poor start to the season and was the most pulsating, brilliant game of their 2019 campaign. - Callum Twomey

FREMANTLE

This is the definition of a purple patch. Michael Walters' after-the-siren poster to defeat Brisbane in round 10 was backed up with the winning goal against Collingwood in round 11. But he wasn't finished there. 'Son-Son' then kicked two of his six goals in the final term to lead the Dockers to a come-from-behind win against Port Adelaide in their next match. - Chris Correia

GEELONG

The round 12 belting of eventual premier Richmond at the MCG confirmed its own status as a premiership contender. The depleted Tigers held Geelong goalless in the first term before the Cats exploded with 15 of the next 16 goals on their way to a 67-point demolition. It was their eighth successive win and kept them two games clear atop the ladder. – Ben Collins

GOLD COAST

On the field, the round two victory over Fremantle was one of the best in club history. Predicted by some to go winless the entire season and trailing by 17 points in the final quarter, to come back and win was as emotional as it was important. Off the field, the signature of Ben King until the end of 2022 was a huge show of faith and big pointer to the rest of the competition that the Suns are a happy club. – Michael Whiting

GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY

We didn't know it at the time, but the re-signing of Stephen Coniglio signalled the start of a new era at the Giants, with the star midfielder named the club's new captain earlier this month. The club's stunning, against-all-odds preliminary final win over Collingwood was a close second. - Adam Curley

HAWTHORN

It took until the Hawks' last day of the 2019 season but it sure was a good day/night. Hawthorn's ability to cross the Nullarbor and orchestrate West Coast's downfall was a mighty achievement and capped the brown and gold's withering finish to the year (six wins in eight matches). The Hawk strut was back, even if the follow-up act had to wait until next year rather than September. – Marc McGowan

MELBOURNE

For a brief moment during the last quarter of the round 14 victory over a sixth-placed Fremantle, it appeared the Demons' horror season had finally turned a corner. Tom McDonald shrugged off his form woes to boot three goals in a match-winning effort, first-year rookie Jay Lockhart played his best game and Melbourne's midfield finally found some outside run in Angus Brayshaw (24 disposals) and Bayley Fritsch (18). It was nice while it lasted. Within a fortnight, McDonald's season was over with a knee injury after a narrow win against Carlton that proved to be the faltering Dees' last hurrah. – Michael Rogers

NORTH MELBOURNE

We could be rude here, but we won't. It was Rhyce Shaw's appointment, not because we know he's going to be a raging success – that's still to be determined – but because a wave of positivity has swept through Arden Street. Things got dark there for a while but with Shaw, Brady Rawlings and co. now on board there is renewed hope the Roos can again climb the AFL mountain. – Marc McGowan

PORT ADELAIDE

Taking on West Coast in Perth is one of the most daunting road trips in the competition, but the Power pulled off one of the upsets of the season with a huge Good Friday victory at Optus Stadium. A dominant nine-goals-to-two first half stunned the home crowd and set up the 42-point result. – Lee Gaskin

RICHMOND

Tom Lynch kicking three on debut, Sydney Stack sitting down Jack Viney and a round 22 triumph over West Coast in one of the games of the season were all great moments for the Tigers, but there can only be one. A whopping 89-point premiership win, complete with a starring debutant in Marlion Pickett, on a glorious spring day at the MCG. – Sarah Black

ST KILDA

It was a fairly tough year for St Kilda, dealing with serious health concerns (Dylan Roberton and Paddy McCartin) and immense pressure on coach Alan Richardson. The appointment of Brett Ratten was met with great hope from the St Kilda faithful, but it was the landing of five players on the last two days of the Telstra AFL Trade Period that was the most exciting. – Sarah Black

SYDNEY

It's not often the end of a failed season is considered a high point, but the Swans' round 23 win over St Kilda was about more than the result. Club greats Jarrad McVeigh, Kieren Jack, Heath Grundy and Nick Smith were farewelled into retirement, and superstar forward Lance Franklin was also chaired off in game 300 after booting four goals. - Adam Curley

WEST COAST

Securing a player of Tim Kelly's calibre can often lead to drawn-out negotiations, but the Eagles were able to agree to a deal with Geelong relatively quickly and without much pain during the Telstra AFL Trade Period. Kelly adds to an already potent midfield and sets the Eagles up for another tilt at the flag in 2020. – Lee Gaskin

WESTERN BULLDOGS

The season was slipping away mid-year until the Bulldogs went to Adelaide Oval and upset Port Adelaide in miserable conditions. Jack Macrae, Marcus Bontempelli and Josh Dunkley were superb, draftee Bailey Smith laid 14 tackles, and Josh Schache kicked three important goals. The Dogs won seven of their last nine games to make the finals for the first time since 2016. - Adam Curley