FINISHING with two games at Skilled Stadium is just what we needed on the eve of a finals series.

And who knows? It could even give us the advantage we need over other sides as we head into September.

I love playing at home. You get a bit of an extra sleep-in and most of the guys have only got a 15 or 20-minute drive to get to the ground.

Playing at the ground we know so well also gives us an advantage over any opposition, as we obviously know the conditions and dimensions better than any other team.

Importantly, this year, we finish the year at home.

Last year in round 22 we had to travel up to Brisbane in the last week before the finals, which wasn’t the best.

Finishing the season on one of the best (if not the best) surfaces in the competition – as well as avoiding an interstate trip – could be really important heading into the finals.

Our ground is also in good condition at the moment. It’s always just a little bit soft under foot which helps players pull up really well after games.

I know from speaking to players at other clubs that they also feel we’re pretty lucky to get to regularly play on such a beautiful surface.

I remember speaking to Adam Goodes and Jonathan Brown around the time of the Hall of Fame Tribute Match, and they both said how they loved playing down here at Skilled Stadium.

They’re used to having cricket pitches in the middle of their grounds but we don’t have any concerns with things like that, so that might give us an extra advantage as well in the coming weeks. I sure hope so, anyway.

As for where we play our best footy, well, I’m not too sure about that.

We play well at Telstra Dome and we obviously love playing at the MCG, where our record over the past 18 months is pretty good.

I think the ’G suits us well. It’s a big ground and given that we generally use the ball to good advantage, we’re always pretty happy to play there.

Wherever we play in the coming weeks, we’ll need to be playing at our best – which we’re confident we can continue to do.

Last week was another good effort, although I think we can improve in a few areas.

Big David Hale kicked a few goals for North Melbourne but still, we managed to hold them to 12 or 13 goals. If you’re winning games and keeping the opposition to that sort of number, you’ve got to be pretty happy.

The big fella was on a bit of a roll, but I also felt we were a bit stiff with a couple. While he took a couple of great marks, he also got a couple of free kicks in front of goal which helped his cause.

Our backline will do its best to ensure that should we come up against him again, he won’t be able to replicate that sort of effort.

We’ll try to fine-tune things against West Coast this weekend.

Yes, we’re playing one of the bottom sides and everyone expects us to have a good win.

But this week is all about how we want to play and preparing for the finals.

Bomber has said we’re going to be pretty ruthless against them and that’s the approach we’ll be taking into Saturday.

They’re a great club, West Coast, and we respect them a lot. But now is not the time to be taking the foot off the pedal.