The big winners of Round 11 were...
...the Geelong Cats for taking out the unofficial 'Bazlenka Cup' and it was Bailey Smith himself who will likely be picking up the three Brownlow Medal votes for this contest, earning a game-high 126 AFL fantasy points with 25 kicks, seven tackles and six clearances.
Geelong were expected by many to be outclassed in the midfield on Thursday night, and whilst they lost many of the key stats such as clearances, possessions and disposal efficiency, their superior kicking in front of goal paid dividends as they got the better of one of the other teams with genuine top-four credentials.
They had fewer scoring shots than the Western Bulldogs in three of the four quarters, so whilst in some ways they got a bit of a lucky break, they now hold a 5-3 record as favourites and have a very winnable trip to Perth next week (West Coast Eagles) ahead of a mouthwatering clash against the Suns.
Veteran forward Patrick Dangerfield could be back for that Gold Coast fixture and is unlikely to be risked with a flight across the country, particularly as his side don't look in any... well, danger of ending their five-game winning streak against the Eagles.
The big losers of Round 11 were...
...the Hawthorn Hawks, who as the highest ranked losing club of the weekend saw their own chances of a top-four finish suffer yet another blow as they lost to the Brisbane Lions for the first time since 2019.
As they prepare for a trio of matches against fellow top-eight clubs Collingwood, Adelaide and the Bulldogs, head coach Sam Mitchell has to work out how to get his team firing against Premiership contenders.
Just have a look at their last several opponents and the results that ensued: they lost all three fixtures against Brisbane (2nd), Gold Coast (3rd) and Geelong (5th), whilst defeating Melbourne (11th), Richmond (16th) and West Coast (18th) in a three-game winning streak inbetween.
Are they not as strong a side as their ladder position suggests? We'll certainly know in three weeks' time.
2025 Coleman Medal leaderboard
Geelong powerhouse Jeremy Cameron overtook both Ben King and Jack Higgins to move to the top of the Coleman Medal leaderboard with a round-best six goals to go with his seven against Port Adelaide last week, meaning 13 of his 33 goals have been recorded in the last fortnight.
Collingwood's Jamie Elliott moved to equal-fourth with five of his own, whilst Melbourne's Kossie Pickett and Adelaide's Josh Rachele were also amongst the goals with five each.
Cameron now shares favouritism with King and Hogan to win the medal.
Goal of the Year: Round 11 Nominees
This is just some of the magic that had North Melbourne ruckman Tristan Xerri leading the coaches award last week.
From a lanky ruckman to a man with a little less height but a lot more pace, Geelong centre Max Holmes saw an opportunity to advance inside 50 from way back on the left wing and he ran with the chance... literally.
In a similar manner to Xerri, Richmond's Tim Taranto threw the ball onto the boot and hoped for the best with one of his first possessions of the match... and even he couldn't believe what he had managed.