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A snapshot of round 18 of the AFL season.
WHAT HAPPENED IN ROUND 18 OF THE AFL
THEY SAID IT: "Our players need to understand you can't have four really hard years of work then serve up that for most of the year. We clearly have to regain the respect of the footy public, because we lost it probably in six months." - GWS coach Leon Cameron was understandably upset after his side were thrashed by St Kilda and missed the finals.
* STATS THAT MATTER: Could Richmond's third-placed finish be a good omen for them? It's the same spot they placed in their past three premiership seasons (2019, 2017 and 1980)
* MAN OF THE ROUND: Daniel Rich has been given a new lease on life since Chris Fagan's arrival in Brisbane and starred across half-back in the win over Carlton. He made a mockery of the wet conditions, cut off numerous Blues attacking raids and kicked two booming goals on his trusty left foot.
* KEY MOMENT: Geelong needed a win over Sydney to secure a top-four spot, but the Swans threatened to snatch a draw when James Rowbottom got ball to boot with just two seconds remaining. Geelong big man Mark Blicavs was on hand to smother it, securing the six-point win and a double finals chance.
* TALKING POINT: What is going on at the Demons? Harley Bennell is under investigation for reportedly going on a Saturday drinking session away from the team's Sunshine Coast Hub, in what seems to be a clear breach of COVID-19 rules. Earlier that day, Christian Petracca and Jayden Hunt were caught on camera touching each other's bottoms at a team huddle during their win over Essendon - just weeks after the issue of inappropriate touching became a big talking point.
* TRIBUNAL WATCH: Richmond big man Toby Nankervis can escape with a $1000 fine for rough conduct against Adelaide's Rory Laird. Eagles forward Josh Kennedy was fined $500 for tripping.
* KEY INJURIES: Josh Kennedy (WC, ankle), Patrick Cripps (Carl, shoulder), James Bell (Syd, concussion), Matt Taberner (Frem, quad)
*WHAT'S NEXT: Bubble life is now over for the 10 teams who missed the finals. They can go home and quarantine, relax, and spend some long-overdue time with family. Port Adelaide and Collingwood lock horns at the Gabba on Monday night in the final round of the regular season. After that they will join the other six finalists for a bye week before the real stuff begins.