"Finals make-up goes down to the wire"
Sam Edmund - Herald Sun
"IT TOOK until the dying minutes of the home-and-away season for the last piece of the finals jigsaw to fall into place."
"Footy battlers chasing history"
Michael Warner - Herald Sun
"Bookies last night installed the Saints $3.25 favourites for the flag, ahead of the Cats ($3.50), Collingwood ($4) and the increasingly impressive Doggies ($5.50)."
"Make that five I can't split"
Mike Sheahan - Herald Sun
"The Western Bulldogs pinched third place last night with their third straight win, this time at Collingwood's expense at Etihad Stadium."
"Dane Swan takes top prize"
Sam Edmund - Herald Sun
"COLLINGWOOD ball magnet Dane Swan has capped a brilliant home-and-away season by winning the Herald Sun Player of the Year award."
"Dogs savage tired Magpies"
Mark Robinson - Herald Sun
"They beat Geelong at Etihad Stadium a week before they knocked over Collingwood last night, so that makes two premiership contending scalps within a week."
"Dress rehearsal disaster"
Michael Horan - Herald Sun
"THREE months of excellence and the heady rise into the top four it produced all came crashing down for Collingwood yesterday."
"Eade hails Doggies' self-belief"
Andrea Petrie - The Age
"THE Western Bulldogs' 24-point win over Collingwood yesterday stole third-place from the Magpies and earned the Dogs a qualifying final against Geelong, which coach Rodney Eade said added to the belief among the playing group that they could go all the way this year."
"Johnson gets a late kick right and it makes all the difference"
Rohan Connolly - The Age
"SELDOM can a kick at goal that wasn't going to change the result of an AFL match have had so much riding on it as Brad Johnson's shot with a minute left on the clock last night at Etihad Stadium."
"Dogs' win may be pivotal in finals"
Jake Niall - The Age
"Their first victory was over Collingwood, their second was to surpass their opponent's percentage by a tiny margin."
"Dogs get crucial one percenter over Collingwood"
Richard Hinds - The Age
"THE Western Bulldogs reshuffled the finals pack in dramatic style last night when they leapfrogged Collingwood with a 24-point victory at Etihad Stadium."
"Western Bulldogs prove too slick for Collingwood."
Courtney Walsh - The Australian
"WITH an outstanding display of skill, speed and stamina, the Western Bulldogs zoomed into September with an emphatic 24-point win over premiership rival Collingwood in the last regular season match."
