There are landslide victories and then there's Patrick Dangerfield's blitz of the 2016 AFL Players Association most valuable player award. The powerhouse midfielder, reborn as a Cat this season, has won a convincing collective nod from his contemporary footballer peers, polling 926 more votes than runner-up Rory Sloane, one of his former Adelaide sidekicks.

The AFL believes Spotless Stadium provides a more than adequate venue to host a Greater Western Sydney preliminary final.

To stage the preliminary final, the AFL and the Giants could have chosen the stadium that is too big, and did choose the stadium that is too small, and completely overlooked the stadium that is just right. Goldilocks, they are not.

Geelong chief executive Brian Cook says the Cats should be playing AFL home finals at Simonds Stadium from 2017 onwards.

No result this September should be any great surprise. That's simply a reflection of the season we've had.

Unlike John and Yoko Lennon, Jimmy Bartel doesn't have the luxury of spending days in bed while campaigning for peace.

Isaac Smith has been urged to discuss the emotions he has experienced over his botched match-winning goal against Geelong but a sports pyschologist says the moment should not leave him crushed.

So, another year of Geelong and Hawthorn, and another year of Sydney.

Both coaches agreed that Hawthorn and Geelong's clash at the MCG was so close, with the lead changing so many times, that it could have been either team's game.

Geelong's stunning two-point qualifying-final victory over Hawthorn on Friday night was the most watched match on free-to-air broadcaster Channel Seven since last year's grand final.

After missing finals last year, no-nonsense Geelong skipper is not carried away by blood-and-guts win against Hawks.

Author and former Age journalist James Button convinced most of the important people at Geelong to speak to him for Comeback, his book on the Geelong era - which was launched this week - but not footy manager Steven Hocking.

Only luck separated Hawthorn and Geelong at the final siren, their coaches agreed.

It's September. It's finals. It's that archetypal new season, on elevated terms, before heaving crowds. It's Hawthorn time. It's Geelong time. It's time for Geelong-Hawthorn. If ever there were two teams to awaken one another to their vocations, it is these two.

What a beautiful thing, when finals football between two great rivals not only lives up to, but exceeds expectations.

Hawthorn have been dealt a significant blow ahead of Friday night's qualifying final clash with Geelong after tall forward James Sicily was a late withdrawal through illness.

There is a scene in the Seinfeld episode "The Subway" in which Kramer is sitting on the train and overhears a conversation about a racehorse.

Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge hopes Lin Jong's tears on Thursday night were not a sign that the tough midfielder had played his last game for the club.

Best to take a jumper, and a poncho if you're heading to Friday night's MCG blockbuster between Geelong and Hawthorn.