Important wins for Alex Keath's Western Bulldogs and Clayton Oliver's Melbourne leave both well placed to make the eight with one game left before the post-season, also neither is guaranteed a spot yet.
Kialla's Keath and his Bulldogs teammates cruised to a comfortable win against Hawthorn on Sunday, with the key defender finding 12 disposals and six marks in the 36-point triumph.
On the other side of the result were Rennie's Daniel Howe and Benalla's Harry Morrison, the duo finding 13 and 16 disposals respectively.
The Bulldogs were seventh on the ladder at the time of writing, although Collingwood would pass them for seventh with a win last night against the Gold Coast.
Meanwhile, Mooroopna's Oliver had to dig deep and help his Demons grind out a thrilling five-point win against Greater Western Sydney.
Oliver had 22 disposals, seven clearances, seven tackles and some key plays to help the side get it done down the stretch.
The Demons ended the round ninth on the ladder, but a win in the final round against Essendon — a near-lock — could yet have them make the eight.
Seymour's Tom Cole will also be playing finals, having chipped in with a goal, eight disposals and four tackles in West Coast's 15-point upset of St Kilda.
Geelong was handed a major reality check as finals quickly approach, thumped by Richmond by 26 points on Friday night.
Finley's Tom Hawkins was well held, kicking just 1.2 in one of his quietest games of the season.
Moama's Lachie Schultz had a career best day as Fremantle ate North Melbourne for lunch, kicking a personal best three goals in a 64-point win.
Seymour's David Mundy also enjoyed the contest, racking up 24 possessions to once again greatly impress.
For North, Mooroopna's Jy Simpkin had 15 touches although 12 of those were handballs, while Rochester's Shaun Atley had eight disposals.
Port Adelaide feasted on the typically-deplorable Essendon in a 50-point win, with Echuca's Ollie Wines putting on a show with 28 touches and a goal.
Benalla's Tom Rockliff was also on fire with 31 disposals and a goal, while Katamatite's Tom Clurey had seven touches.
And Shepparton's Jordon Butts got to sing the Adelaide team song for the first time in his second game, with the Crows upsetting a Carlton side literally incapable of handling any sort of expectation.
As his side's lead defender, Butts had a tough day dealing with Carlton's Harry McKay, but he finished with six touches.
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