The race for the AFL finals went down to the wire with early pacesetters limping to the line and other sides flying home, before Gold Coast booked the last spot for this year and their first in club history with a win in the game that finished the home-and-away season.
An evenly matched finals series is now on the cards; only three wins separate minor premiers Adelaide from Hawthorn in eighth place – just the second time the gap has been so narrow since the top eight was introduced 31 years ago.
