This refers to games played between two sides in close competition for the same finals spot. A win and four points to one side has a double impact because it also forces a close rival to lose.
Through the early part of the season each side is just trying to win the match in which they are involved each week, with little concern for what it means to their direct opponent or to the results in the other matches.
But as we move towards September all clubs in contention for the finals start to take a much stronger interest in the result of all matches.
This year the contenders for the last few spots in the top eight will be barracking for the bottom four sides - Melbourne, Adelaide, West Coast and Richmond - who are now far enough off the pace to be out of top eight contention.
Every win by a bottom four side, especially if it comes against a finals contender, will be a bonus for other finals contenders, and we might well see these sides help to shape the makeup of the top eight.
On current form there’s every reason to think the bottom four will grab a few wins, and Adelaide and Richmond in particular may play well above their 14th and 16th positions on the ladder.
The Crows have won four on the trot at AAMI Stadium and will be tough to toss at home, while the Tigers, with three wins from their last four games, now present a much tougher proposition than earlier in the year.
West Coast, struggling as they are, still represent a tough assignment in Perth, and Melbourne, too, has shown the capacity to match it with the better sides at times.
Even nine weeks from the end of the home-and-away season the top four looks like it will come from the sides presently occupying the top five spots on the ladder.
And with Fremantle looking to have the softest of the draws among this elite group the fifth-placed Western Bulldogs must beat Hawthorn on Friday night to have any chance of overtaking anyone above them.
So, this is a classic eight-point game.
If the Bulldogs win they’ll have a nearly insurmountable advantage over the Hawks of two wins plus a big percentage. And if the Hawks win they’ll pull level with eight wins apiece and become a realistic contender to finish ahead of their round 14 opponents.
On results in the last four rounds, which is always the best form guide, Hawthorn and North Melbourne look to be going the best of the teams in that middle group chasing the last three spots in the top eight.
Hawthorn has won six in a row but is still to play the four top sides so getting to the 12 wins they’ll probably need to continue into September is going to be tough - especially if they lose this week.
The other classic eight-point game in round 14 is the first one of the round between Carlton and the Brisbane Lions on Thursday night.
A Blues win will keep them in contention for a top-four spot and would put them three wins plus percentage ahead of the Lions, effectively dropping them off as a challenger for their spot.
But a Lions win will see them only one win behind the Blues, with only St Kilda and Geelong of the top group still to play.
So, of the sides presently on five wins - Essendon, Port Adelaide and the Brisbane Lions - the Lions look to have the best draw and if they can get some key personnel back and recapture some of their early season form they are not totally out of finals contention.
The big game on Friday night, which could tell us a lot about two of the finals contenders, could rest heavily on which of two champion forwards has the better night.
Lance Franklin and Barry Hall don’t have a lot in common - except they are potential match-winners. And they certainly are the players most likely to be the game’s highest goalkicker.
At 23, Franklin is a decade younger than Hall. And while Hall will largely play in the true full forward position Franklin really plays more like a 196cm half-forward flanker.
The common denominator is that they both average six shots on goal per game.
The big difference is Franklin kicks most of his from long range whereas Hall gets more from closer in.
If you look at the Hawthorn defence there is no logical opponent for Hall’s bulk and power and the Dogs don’t have a player with anything like the height, run and agility of Franklin.
Former great Brisbane Lions centre half-back Justin Leppitsch would have played on Franklin by making it a priority to be right with him whenever he was within goalkicking range , which for Buddy is anything up to 60 metres, and not to be too concerned if he pushed up into the midfield.
Brian Lake is the Bulldogs’ best tall defender but if he tries to chase Franklin up the field he’ll be worn out very quickly.
If he adopts Leppa’s strategy to trail Franklin into the midfield but stays man on man to protect the danger area around the 50-metre arc it may work well enough from a Dogs’ point of view. Given Lake and the Bulldogs have kept Franklin goalless in their last two outings this approach has worked well in the past.
In the Hawthorn camp, it would look like normal first-choice full-back Stephen Gilham will take Hall. While Gilham has been in pretty good form, in a genuine body contest he will face a big challenge against the physicality of the Dogs' spearhead who also has the underestimated ability to recover quickly after a marking contest and kick close-in, second-effort, snapshot goals.
Franklin and Hall will be at opposite ends of the field but their influence on the contest will be an important individual duel within the overall game , the result of which will be crucial for both teams.
It should be a great contest to watch - four points to the winner and four points denied to the loser, a real eight-point game.
I am tipping the Bulldogs to win, which will drop the Hawks two wins off their tail and likewise Carlton to beat the Lions, which with three wins to make up, will make it impossible for the Lions to overtake the Blues this season.
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
