It was a game with many twists and turns in it, but this is what we learnt thanks to Deakin University.

Danger ahead

Patrick Dangerfield reminded everyone yesterday as to why his name will be spoken long after he retires. Unable to get his usual brutal game going in the midfield for the first two and a half quarters, Dangerfield swung forward and changed the game off his own boot. His pace on the lead was blistering as he booted 3.2 in a quarter and a half at full forward. The game was reminiscent of his 5.6 against the Hawks in Round 17, 2017 when he went forward after injuring his leg in the first quarter. Dangerfield has an ability to take you back to the days of full forwards bursting out of the goal square and should be something we see from him throughout the finals series.

Saving their best for last

The final game of the season may have meant different things to the Cats since 2007, but the result of that game has been incredibly consistent. Yesterday’s win over the Swans has made it 14 wins in a row in the final game of the season. The Cats have beaten the Swans twice in the final game of the season during that time along with the Eagles. The side that the Cats have played the most during the period is the Brisbane Lions, who they’ve beaten three times in the fourteen games. Only once during the fourteen games has the match been the final game the side has played for the year, in 2015 when the Cats missed out on a spot in finals. This will be the eleventh time the Cats have finished top four in those fourteen seasons.

Don’t miss a second of Gazza

What a return it was for the Little Master on Sunday. Playing in his first game in 66 days, and after completing two weeks quarantine training on a piece of grass the size of a suburban backyard, Ablett looked like he’d enjoyed the rejuvenation the break had given his body. His 16 disposals, seven score involvements and scintillating running goal only tell part of the story with the Cats players walking taller with the champion by their side. With this finals campaign looking like the finish of his career, don’t miss out on enjoying every last second of one of the greatest to ever pull on the boots.

Top 10 is back

It may have played out in other matches, but the final thing we learnt on the weekend is that as of the end of this season, prior to compensation for free agents and trades, the Cats will hold a top 10 pick for only the second time in the last decade. The pick was secured from the Gold Coast Suns and is a compensation pick tied to the middle of the first round of the draft or pick 11. However, with the Dockers going into draft point deficit, the Cats pick 11 has now become pick 10. The Cats also own their own first round pick in 2020 as well as West Coast’s first round pick.