The big winners of Round 17 were...
The favourites. All nine of them were triumphant last weekend, a feat rarely seen in this competition, and there were some pretty hefty margins as the top-nine continued to separate themselves from the rest of the league.
In fact, as the ladder now stands, the current top-eight sides all earned wins on the weekend, and with just six points separating second-placed Brisbane Lions and ninth-placed Fremantle Dockers, there's not only a scramble for eighth place but another for the top-four positions that come with the all-important double chance.
Perhaps most excitingly of all, seven of those top-eight teams are on winning streaks of at least two games, including Hawthorn and Western Bulldogs for four each, so as a result the ladder has barely changed.
The big losers of Round 17 were...
That now means that in all likelihood, there are now nine teams fighting for eight places at the end of Round 24, with Port Adelaide and the seven clubs beneath them all almost certainly out of contention unless one of them can magically conjure up a seven-game winning streak from here and hope that one of the four sides currently on 40 points.
For the Power, they have little to complain about. Losses to Brisbane, Fremantle, Geelong, Adelaide and the Western Bulldogs in their last eight matches demonstrate that they don't have the quality of a finals-bound side, and they're no more likely than any of the other sides beneath them to mount a late-season charge.
Fremantle remain in the race despite their six-week winning streak coming to an end at the SCG, whereas a victory could have left them just two points behind Brisbane.
Coleman Medal Leaderboard
Two of the five-goal hauls for Round 17 came from the Thursday night shootout where North Melbourne's Nick Larkey booted four to quarter time only to be caught up by Aaron Naughton, whilst Brisbane's Zac Bailey put in one of the performances of the year.
Jesse Hogan has long lost the Brownlow Medal favouritism he held earlier this year and Jeremy Cameron is now an unbackable favourite after maintaining his ten-goal lead thanks to four goals along with Mitch Georgiades, Ben King and Jamie Elliott.
Mark of the Year: Round 17 Nominations
Jordan Clark (Fremantle):
Kysaiah Pickett (Melbourne):
Alixzander Tauru (St Kilda):
Goal of the Year: Round 17 Nominations
Zac Bailey (Brisbane Lions):
Bailey Humphrey (Gold Coast):