After 23 weeks of pure, unadulterated footballing action the circus that is the home-and-away season has now drawn to a close.

The final round was a suitable crescendo to finish off the year, producing some stunning clashes and perhaps the most gripping Saturday of AFL football ever witnessed.

Let's see the final rankings, which are now set in stone for the year.

1. Melbourne (-)

The Dees had an insane win against the Cats down at Kardinia Park after trailing by 44 points at one stage, courtesy of a Max Gawn kick after the siren.

With this Simon Goodwin's side secured their first minor premiership since 1964 as well as first spot on this year's power rankings.

The first week of finals sees them face the Lions at Adelaide Oval in the first qualifying final, an encounter the Dees surely will be favourites for.

 

2. Port Adelaide (-)

The Power secured a home final with a thrilling but mature victory over the Doggies on Friday night at Marvel Stadium.

Despite being threatened early on Ken Hinkley's men steadied the ship to chip away at Luke Beveridge's side to get a qualifying final in front of the Power faithful in Adelaide.

Their opponents in Geelong will be shuddering at the idea of having to play in front of a bloodthirsty Port Adelaide crowd in the first week of finals for the second consecutive year, with the Power primed to light up the tail end of the season.

 

3. Brisbane (-)

Another team on a high at the minute is Brisbane, who needed a singular point to make the top four in the dying seconds of their clash with the Eagles on Saturday.

Thanks to a Lincoln McCarthy behind and a Charlie Cameron goal after the siren to drill home the result, Brisbane knocked the Doggies out of the four and now will face the Dees in Adelaide.

After seemingly sliding out of top four contention only weeks ago Chris Fagan's side will be itching to get out there on Saturday night and strut their stuff against the flag favourites.

 

4. Geelong (-)

Geelong were in cruise control until the second half of their encounter against the Dees, surrendering a 44-point lead and losing by a kick after the siren to give up a chance at a home final.

Although the Cats did end up losing, their performance in the first half was mesmerising, with all key components in their system working to perfection, rendering Melbourne ineffective.

Now they must travel to one of the toughest away grounds in football - Adelaide Oval - to face the Power on Friday night with a loss here making their route to the grand final a tough one.

 

5. GWS (+1)

The Giants secured a finals berth with a hard-fought victory over the Blues on Saturday night, with Leon Cameron's side turning it around after being behind for the entire first half.

There is no question that the Giants are one of the form teams of the competition, and will be evenly matched this Saturday as they look to knock off cross-town rivals Sydney for the second time this year.

 

6. Sydney (+1)

Sydney secured a 'home' elimination final via a thumping of the Suns on Saturday afternoon.

Lance Franklin inched ever closer to the 1000 goal mark with a further six goals, meaning all he needs is eight more to move into rarified air and achieve genuine legend status.

LANCE FRANKLIN
Forward
Sydney
ROUND 23 STATS
6
Goals
7
Marks
5
Tackles

As said previously Saturday's elimination final clash with the Giants is set to be an absolute belter of a match, with the youth and talent of Sydney facing what is their sternest test to date.

 

7. Western Bulldogs (-2)

The Doggies have had one of the worst run-ins to finals of any side in recent memory, losing three of their last five to surrender the minor premiership and now critically a double chance.

Their loss to the Power epitomised their plight, with many figures across the footballing world now questioning the true guile of this Bulldogs outfit.

To exacerbate circumstances their elimination final sees them face the red-hot Bombers, who bested Luke Beveridge's men only weeks ago and will be looking to replicate the display on Sunday in Launceston.

 

8. Essendon (-)

The Bombers are coming into finals on a high after comprehensively beating bitter rivals Collingwood on Sunday afternoon at the MCG.

Despite Essendon's fate already being sealed prior to the bounce thanks to the Dockers losing, Ben Rutten's side put out a mature and ruthless display to get fans riled up for finals.

There is no question this Bombers outfit will be licking their lips at the prospect of knocking the Doggies out in straight sets, and will be wanting to channel the energy of their Round 21 win over Luke Beveridge's side to do so.

 

9. St. Kilda (+1)

The Saints round off this year's power rankings as the best of the bottom ten after a flogging of the Dockers in Hobart.

Despite missing out on the eight, there is no question that the Saints are looking great value for next year - especially when they have a player like Cooper Sharman in their ranks, who has impressed emphatically over his short stint as an AFL player.

Their off-season will be focused on regaining their injured personnel and making the necessary strides to make finals next year with the squad more than capable of doing so.

 

10. Fremantle (-1)

After going into the final round with a glimmer of hope in terms of sliding into eighth the Dockers folded horribly against the Saints, going down by ten goals in Tassie.

Justin Longmuir would have been bitterly disappointed with his side considering their inspiring performance only a week earlier in the Western Derby, clearly displaying that the Dockers still have a ways to go until they can call themselves a finals side.

A return to the normal off-season length in 2021 means that Fremantle will have all the time they need to rest and recuperate ahead of what promises to be a huge 2022 season.

 

11. West Coast (-)

The Eagles put up some stubborn resistance against the Lions on Saturday, forgoing the result to try and ruin Brisbane's chances of making top four.

Unfortunately they were unable to keep the margin to within the 32-point threshold, walking off the Gabba 38-point losers in what was curtains on what was a horror year for West Coast.

This off-season will be the most defining that the club has had in over a decade with the footballing department having to decide how to proceed with a side that is clearly past it's 'used-by' date.

 

12. Hawthorn (-)

The Hawks had their match against the Tigers sewn up until five minutes to go, with Alastair Clarkson's final game in charge being a draw after his side surrendered five quick-fire goals to only emerge from the 'G with two points.

It was an emotional day with two Hawthorn legends departing, however they will be confident that the club is in capable hands with the side boasting some incredible talent to move forward with.

Whichever way Hawks fans view the club's treatment of Clarkson, they will have no choice but to accept it with season 2022 set to be a foray into the unknown for Hawthorn as Sam Mitchell takes the reins.

 

13. Richmond (-)

The Tigers finished off their year with their first draw courtesy of a Jack Riewoldt soccer- goal with only seconds to spare.

https://twitter.com/Richmond_FC/status/1428977468673650692?s=20

The club fare-welled triple premiership players in Bachar Houli and David Astbury as they face their first early off-season since 2016 with the club convincingly missing out on September football.

Many figures are predicting that a longer break is exactly what the Tigers need after being at the very pinnacle of football for the best part of five years.

With the right personnel added over the summer, chances are it won't be long until we see Richmond back at the very top.

 

14. Adelaide (+1)

The Crows finished off their year on a rare high as they sent of a host of their departing stars in style, beating North by 44 points.

Despite the questionable decisions not to re-sign veterans Tom Lynch and Daniel Talia, Adelaide have signaled their intent to begin a new era at West Lakes with the rather young squad they possess.

The side showed some promising signs under Matthew Nicks in 2021 and will be looking to push on in the off-season in acquiring some new faces through either the draft or trade period.

 

15. Carlton (-1)

The Blues finished off season 2021 on a low, not being able to finish the job against the Giants on Saturday night.

It'll be a mammoth off-season for Carlton, with the club set to part ways with David Teague in the very near future as well as make a few ventures into the trade period.

Should a replacement for Teague be found over the summer then there could be real grounds for Carlton making genuine strides in 2022 - a prediction however that has been coined on many occasions in the past.

 

16. Gold Coast (-)

The Suns rounded off their 2021 campaign with a belting at the hands of the Swans, going down by 87 points.

Gold Coast have the ability to make some serious waves in 2022, but it remains to be seen still whether their game plan and mentality are fail-safe enough to get them to where they want to be.

It'll be an interesting off-season, with the club seemingly backing in Stuart Dew despite not having any tangible progress to show for the four seasons he has had on the Gold Coast.

Should they tinker with some things and recruit even more talent, then perhaps next year could be the year that the Suns break their finals duck.

 

17. North Melbourne (-)

The Roos were comprehensively beaten on Sunday evening at Adelaide Oval, going down by 44 points to the Crows to round off a disappointing year overall.

In saying this, the club made some huge strides with David Noble at the helm in 2021 however a wooden spoon is still a wooden spoon, meaning that there is some serious work to do over the summer.

With the war chest of finances the Roos are expected to wield during trade period, it'll be interesting to see what areas they address in an effort to get the club back towards finals footy.

 

18. Collingwood (-)

Collingwood finished off their nightmare 2021 with a 38-point loss to the Bombers on Sunday afternoon, capping off a season which fans would like to forget swiftly.

The main story over the off-season is bound to be just who will be coaching the club in 2022, with a whole host of names being thrown around for arguably the toughest job in footy.

The club's efforts in the draft will go a long way in showcasing what the side will look like in the future considering the salary cap woes the club still are experiencing. To say it's going to be a big summer for the Pies is an understatement.