The gap between the top half of the ladder and the rest of the competition has increased slightly as the men's competition moves closer towards finals.
Round 19 of the AFL saw the Bulldogs leapfrog Richmond into eighth on percentage after an upset win over the Demons and Collingwood set their eyes on a double chance come September.
Just the one win separates second and seventh.
A former number-one draft pick had a breakout performance, a young Lion celebrated his milestone match and a star in the west looked lost at home after getting locked out of the contest.
The weekend kicked off with a nail-biting heartbreak for the hungry Tigers.
Friday 22 July
Richmond 52 - 52 Fremantle - Marvel Stadium, Melbourne
It was a frantic finish between two sides with plenty on the line leaving a number of heads being scratched.
The Tigers look allergic to toughing out a win despite pushing for finals, and the season's biggest surprise packet, Fremantle, are beginning to look a yard or two off the pace.
A gut-wrenching decision to play on with nothing on the clock ended in the season's first draw.
Marlion Pickett, Shai Bolton, Daniel Rioli and Shane Edwards all had disposals in the teens with Edwards adding two goals.
Had their collective x-factor sparked the Tigers could have found themselves in the top eight, and their recent pedigree in finals reason to believe they could shake things up.
Dockers big man Alex Pearce had six marks and two tackles down back while Liam Henry picked up 13 touches off the interchange bench.
Saturday 23 July
North Melbourne 73 - 121 Hawthorn - Blundestone Arena, Hobart
Now back on the winners list Hawthorn's plan to experiment in the final rounds looked to work against the Kangaroos in Tasmania.
The visitors controlled things from the first bounce, steadily adding to their lead throughout.
Jarman Impey had three scoring shots, kicking 1.2 among his 11 touches for the Hawks.
The steadfast Jed Anderson found the ball 25 times, picking up two clearances off half forward.
Jy Simpkin looked uncharacteristically quiet while Phoenix Spicer managed to find the goals and boot the first major of his five-game career.
Sydney 118 - 85 Adelaide - SCG, Sydney
A rampant first quarter from the Swans set up a comfortable victory and a cemented spot at sixth place.
Buddy Franklin got into the action with three goals.
His second of the afternoon, and 1032 of his career, saw him jump past Gary Ablett Snr into fifth on the all-time goal-kicking list.
The Crows were valiant to push back into the contest through the second and third quarters, though never close enough to cause a scare.
Although coming away with a modest return on the stats sheet, Adelaide's Wayne Milera added plenty of front-have pressure to go with his one goal.
Port Adelaide 94 - 106 Geelong - Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
Despite a rich-vein of recent form Sam Powell-Pepper the Power let an opportunity slip to notch a win over the first-placed Cats.
image: Port Adelaide FC Facebook
Momentum jumped back and forth in Adelaide on Saturday before the Cats leaped on late opportunities to sure-up a tight win.
The ladder-leaders' Tyson Stengle kicked 2.1 to go with 13 touches.
The Power, while unlucky, provided plenty for fans and home viewers with their grunt.
Karl Amon returned to form with 25 disposals and a goal while Sam Powell-Pepper popped up at all ends of the ground.
The 24-year-old gathered 19 disposals, a pair of goals, five tackles and some hit-outs for good measure.
A recent drop-off in front of goals shifted Jeremy Finlayson into the ruck where the Yorta Yorta man picked up 20 disposals around the ground.
Brisbane 110 - 93 Gold Coast - The Gabba, Brisbane
Callum Ah Chee celebrated his 100th career game against the Suns. image: Brisbane Lions Facebook
Callum Ah Chee celebrated his 100th career game with an instrumental performance in the win over his former side.
10 intercepts, six score involvements, six marks and a goal helped put the Lions on top in the 23rd Q-Clash in front of 21 thousand fans.
An eight tackle, three goals night from Charlie Cameron contributed to the win, while fellow speedster Izak Rankine struggled to influence at the other end for the visitors.
Brisbane's cool-head down back Keidean Coleman was given a week's rest with a hamstring niggle.
Western Bulldogs 110 - 100 Melbourne - Marvel Stadium, Melbourne
After 18 months of pressure to prove himself worthy of his prodigious reputation, Jamarra Ugle-Hagan stamped his mark on the AFL with a bag of goals, including a 50 metre sealer from the boundary.
His five majors and half a dozen marks tore apart the Dee's defence, helping the Dog's grind out the win.
Steven May 19 gathered disposals from eight marks and Kysaiah Pickett had a pair of goals of his own.
Sunday July 24
West Coast 62 - 90 St Kilda - Optus Stadium, Perth
The Eagles woes only added to Tim Kelly's long night around a big Optus Stadium field after getting locked out of the contest with just four touches for the night.
The home side took their chances early before the Saints took control after the main break.
Jermaine Jones had 19 disposals, and Liam Ryan had numbers in the teens along with adding a goal to the scoresheet.
Jade Gresham was quieter than usual for the Saints, while Ben Long similarly struggled to make an impact.
Veteran Bradly Hill provided enough penetration into the front half gathering 19 touches for the visitors.
Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera and Paddy Ryder were rested for the trip west.
Perth will host the first match of round 20 when Melbourne travel to try and make amends for their earlier season loss against the Dockers on Friday evening.
