Match of the round … Port Adelaide v North Melbourne
The Power won't play finals but North Melbourne just might after snaring a thrilling two-point win at AAMI Stadium on Saturday night.

Port Adelaide led by 10 points at the final change and looked like continuing to haunt the Kangaroos at the venue where it destroyed them in last year’s preliminary final.

The Roos rallied, however, and found themselves just in front as the clock wound down.

Port Adelaide skipper Warren Tredrea then had a chance to steal victory from the Kangaroos with seconds remaining on the clock when he marked within range.

He shanked the kick, the Kangas got the points, and strains of "Join in the Chorus" will consequently echo in his head for the remainder of the season.

Coach of the round … Matthew Knights
You’ve got to hand it to “Knighta”. Essendon looked right out of the 2008 picture a month ago but has hit some rare form and is suddenly in contention – albeit an outside chance – for the top eight.

Knights has slightly tinkered with his ‘all-out attack’ method and it’s paying dividends, with the Bombers having won four on the trot to put their season back on track.

Saturday night’s win was their best of that period as they outplayed one of the most potent combinations in the league to show they have the talent that everyone at Windy Hill has been telling us will take the club to its next finals campaign.

Goal of the round … Eddie Betts
The Carlton goal-kicking maestro was at his flashy best on Friday night early in the fourth term during the Blues' loss to St Kilda, when he threaded through an impressive six-pointer at the northern end of the MCG.

It was classic Betts as he dazzled once again with his left-foot checkside that travelled through for a goal, with the major igniting the Blues as they clawed away at a 33-point three-quarter time deficit.

He then followed up with another from almost the same location less than a minute later.

The bad luck Crows
In the latest piece of evidence to support the notion luck plays a heavy hand in football, fortunes were reversed for Collingwood on Saturday when its opponent was dealt a harsh blow on the injury front.

Two weeks ago, the Pies lost Anthony Rocca and Ben Reid to game-ending injuries during the club's 10-point loss to the Western Bulldogs. Post-match, coach Mick Malthouse called for the league to change the number of players available on the interchange bench as he believed their loss affected the Pies' ability to run out the game.

On Saturday, it was Adelaide's turn to face almost a half of football two men down after Jason Porplyzia and Brett Burton suffered serious injuries.

And, like the Bulldogs did a fortnight ago, the Pies went on to capitalise on the Crows' restricted bench and ran over the top of them.

Have fun guys, I'm off to Beijing
Fremantle's Paul Hasleby might have been sitting on the pine all season nursing a reconstructed knee, but the midfielder has finally found something to smile about in the midst of the Dockers' shattered season.

With the club set to miss the finals, Hasleby has shelved plans to get back playing this year and is instead focused solely on 2009. And, as he told Channel 7's Game Day on Sunday, he's making the best of a bad situation and is planning a trip to the Olympics next month while his club runs out a redundant final few rounds.

History never repeats … except maybe at Geelong
In Grand Final week last year, one of the most engaging soap operas in football emerged when the Cats were made to choose between two ruckman – one a former captain and the other the upcoming youngster who had shouldered the brunt of the big-man work throughout the year.

Now, with news emerging Nathan Ablett is keen to return to football, albeit through the VFL and not with any immediate plans to play seniors, the Cats could yet find themselves in another similar situation.

Do they stick with Tom Lonergan, the miracle kid who's comeback from a life-threatening kidney injury has been nothing short of inspiring? Or do they revert to the son and brother of club icons and reinstate Ablett as the side's second tall forward should he permanently return to the fold?

Oh, and don't forget a kid called Tommy Hawkins, who has been tucked away in the VFL and has averaged four goals a game in the past five weeks. So many choices. So few positions.

Dude, where's our bus?
The Collingwood-Adelaide clash scheduled for Saturday afternoon at the MCG almost took on a decided black and white flavour when the visiting side's transport to the ground fell through the road.

The Crows were forced to take taxis to the 'G' when their bus became wedged in a section of collapsed bitumen near the hotel they were staying in.

Given the side went on to lose the match by 32 points, as well as a pair of players to serious injuries, Neil Craig could be forgiven for wishing the Crows had not found a way to attend at all.

How's stat …
Adelaide's loss to Collingwood was the club's fourth in a row, after falling to Hawthorn, Brisbane and Geelong in the past three weeks. The result has caused a losing streak that has not occurred at the club since the opening four rounds of 2004, when Gary Ayres was in charge.

Get well soon … Brett Burton, Jason Porplyzia and Cameron Ling
Adelaide was dealt a double blow on Saturday when it lost Burton for the rest of the season, and potentially Porplyzia as well. Burton tore his anterior cruciate ligament and will have a reconstruction, while the club is yet to decide on what action to take with his younger counterpart's popped shoulder.

Geelong also showed its seemingly invincible line-up is actually mortal after all, when Ling and, for the record, Gary Ablett, were hurt on Saturday. Ling was on the receiving end of an errant elbow from Dean Solomon and suffered a depressed cheekbone fracture.

He'll miss up to a month, while Ablett remains in doubt for next week's clash with the Western Bulldogs with a calf injury. 

Twice in a row?
Interstate dominance? Nope.

For the second straight week every interstate team lost, further signaling the changing trends of AFL footy.

The AFL’s top three – all Victorian sides – look to be firmly entrenched in their positions.

Down the lower end of the table, the West Coast Eagles and Fremantle are unwittingly doing their best to ‘catch’ Melbourne, while Adelaide and the Brisbane Lions’ positions in top eight appear precarious after weekend losses.

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