Geelong come out on top in the game of the season against Richmond, winning by three points to move to second on the ladder while wins for Carlton and Sydney solidify their strong positions.
Get the scores, stats and results below.
Cats scrape past Tigers in game for the ages
Geelong's Jack Henry has kicked the matchwinner to give the Cats a classic three-point victory over Richmond in one of the games of the AFL season.
Leading by 35 points midway through the second quarter, the Cats' advantage disappeared as Richmond came alive after half-time to grab a 17-point buffer early in the final quarter at the MCG.
But the lead would still change multiple times, with Maurice Rioli Jr calmly slotting a set-shot with two minutes remaining to put the Tigers back in front.
However, the Cats then burst out of the centre clearance with Henry, playing his first game since round five, flying high to grab a spectacular mark.
The 23-year-old went back from 15m out to nail the Cats' 10th win of the season as Geelong held on for a rousing 13.11 (89) to 13.8 (86) win to jump into second on the ladder.
Richmond bravely fought back into the game after Geelong booted seven of the first nine goals, with the Tigers losing star midfielder Dion Prestia to concussion in the first quarter.
Prestia was dazed and confused after receiving a forceful elbow from All-Australian Geelong defender Tom Stewart.
The incident is certain to attract attention from the match review officer and Stewart will be facing a hefty suspension of four weeks or more.
He was booed by the Tigers faithful every time he went near the ball but still played a crucial role in the Cats' victory, including taking a big contested mark near Richmond's goals in the dying seconds.
Cats star Jeremy Cameron booted three goals in his 200th AFL game, as did resurgent small forward Tyson Stengle.
For the Tigers, Shai Bolton and Tom Lynch were outstanding with three goals each.
Geelong are at home to lowly North Melbourne next Saturday night, while the Tigers will be back at the MCG to face strugglers West Coast on Sunday.
Swans keep touch with top four with Saints flogging
Sydney tightened their grasp on a top-eight spot with a 51-point thumping of fellow finals contender St Kilda at the SCG.
It was a powerful display from the Swans who dominated much of the contest without it being reflected on the scoreboard until they slammed on five unanswered goals in the third term to set up the convincing 12.11 (83) to 4.8 (32) triumph.
While the win lifts the Swans to a 9-5 record the Saints (8-6) slumped to their third consecutive loss since the bye and tumbled out of the top eight for the first time since round three.
With up to 12 teams now fighting for a finals place, the Saints' loss and hit to their percentage turns the spotlight on them ahead of three matches to come against fellow contenders.
Jake Lloyd (39 disposals), Nick Blakey (31, 560m gained), Oliver Florent (27, one goal) and Callum Mills (24) added polish to the Swans performance while Isaac Heeney booted three majors and Tom Papley kicked two.
Fringe midfielder Ryan Clarke performed a crucial role for the Swans in his first minutes of the season after being the unused sub twice, paying close attention to the Saints' in-form half-back Jack Sinclair.
Clarke booted two first-half goals but restricted Sinclair to only a season-low 17 disposals, well below the 28 he had averaged this season, helping to limit the Saints run and carry out of defence.
Dylan Stephens was another unheralded Swan to have an impact, the number five pick from the 2019 draft selected for his first match since round three and gathering a career-high 23 disposals.
Saints skipper Jack Steele battled hard in his first match since injuring a shoulder in round nine to collect 27 disposals, while Sebastian Ross (31) and Rowan Marshall (23 touches, 39 hitouts) also contributed but were short on support.
Max King also had an unusually quiet night, failing to kick a goal for the first time since round 11 last year as the Saints ended with their lowest score since 1957.
The Saints have now lost their past seven matches against the Swans at the SCG, a streak that goes back to 2009.
Sydney had only won four opening terms this season until adding another against the Saints with a 3.1 to 1.2 lead at the first change.
They might have stretched that advantage to more than 16 points at the main break but a wasteful 1.5 to 1.0 for the quarter helped keep the Saints in the contest.
But the Swans were able to make the most of their dominance in the second half to run away with the match in front of 31,513 fans in what was the seventh edition of the annual Pride Game between the teams.
St Kilda will need to bounce back quickly in what could be a season-defining month against other finals contenders with a match against Carlton on Friday night while Sydney face Essendon at the MCG the following day.
Blues back in business with win over Freo
Carlton have belied their decimated defence to charge past Fremantle by 31 points and remain firmly in the hunt for the AFL top four.
The Blues were without a plethora of first-choice defenders and reduced to using Lewis Young and youngster Brodie Kemp in key posts.
But that mattered little as, led by Sam Walsh's midfield masterclass, Carlton outmuscled and outworked Fremantle around the ground to prevail 12.9 (81) to 7.8 (50).
Blues coach Michael Voss had stressed a focus on getting the better of the Dockers at the contest and Carlton did just that.
Walsh (40 disposals, 11 inside-50s), Patrick Cripps and George Hewett were a force around stoppages, while Adam Saad (28 touches) was excellent off half-back.
As a result, Carlton smashed second-placed Fremantle in contested possessions, clearances and inside-50s to seal one of their finest wins of the season.
Charlie Curnow fought past Griffin Logue to boot four goals while Harry McKay, Matt Cotterill and Lochie O'Brien chipped in with two majors apiece.
Will Brodie (36 disposals) and James Aish (23 touches) impressed for Fremantle while Alex Pearce put the clamps on McKay.
The Blues were forced into a late change after the warm-up with substitute Jesse Motlop replacing Matt Owies (calf) and Will Setterfield named medical sub.
Fremantle got the early jump, kicking the opening three goals, with Matt Taberner and Rory Lobb able to take advantage of the stretched Blues defence.
Carlton were on top in most parts of the game, especially around clearances but struggled to break down Fremantle's organised defence.
McKay had two misses before snapping Carlton's first late in the term to cut the quarter-time deficit to nine points.
After the break, Carlton seized full control and their weight of inside-50 numbers won out when Curnow earned a free kick close to goal and put them in front.
When Jack Newnes dobbed a goal in his 200th game all his teammates rushed to him, and the Blues soon extended their half-time lead to 15 points.
After the main break, Fremantle noticeably lifted their intensity around stoppages and forward pressure.
But they had little to show for their third-quarter dominance, with the Blues instead nudging their lead out to 20.
Curnow plunged a dagger into Fremantle's heart when he crumbed out the back to extend the lead to 26 points five minutes into the final term and the Blues held sway from there.
Carlton's Jordan Boyd (ankle) was substituted off for Setterfield late in the game.
