The last round of AFL matches, saw very mixed results .

A Magpies tattooed army , trounced a seemingly unstoppable , Saints side.

Dual premiership winners, and league leaders,  the Cats, were beaten by out of form Crows .

New glamour side Tigers,  were thwarted by Kangaroos, and Blues stopped by Swans .

Freo prevented Demons moving foward, bottom dwellers Eagles , beat luckless Bombers , Hawks thrashed Lions , and Bulldogs defeated de - stabilised Port Power .

Fans , used to mid season , mixed results were out , in their football jumpers , jerseys , guernseys   to watch all the action.

The lead up to the AFL Finals is on , with the race for closely contested spots beginning.

Despondent Lions

This weekends rounds of AFL matches were once touted by the AFL as rivalry round between traditional rivals.

Fans support their clubs by attending games wearing their football jumper, jersey , guernsey.

Clubs play each other every weekend .

All are rivals.

Even the clubs in South and Western Australia who have not been in the competition as long as the Eastern States are traditional rivals.

Friday nights game between the Saints and Bulldogs saw a miraculous victory to the Saints . This match was for the Trevor Barker / Ted Whitten trophy . Two great champions of their respective clubs who both tragically died of cancer.

The Essendon and Hawthorn match had all the makings of a bitter struggle particularly in view of last years spiteful clash .

Essendon won . Some fiery incidents will be dealt with appropriately in the tribunal.

Isn't it better to honour former players and remember noteworthy achievements . Why promote and commemorate past nasty encounters to meet media expectations?

In Ted Whitten's Memory