READ MORE - Last week's edition of Final Word
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ADAM BOURKE: Well, Westy, I think this is a good week for Tigers' man Kieran Iles to make his Final Word debut. I'm a team player, so I'll have a spell and let you and Kieran talk about the week in AFL.
LUKE WEST: Ha, chin up old mate. It certainly has been a week to forget for your Magpies both on and off the field, but I'm most interested in your take of on-field last Friday night.
You finished off last week's Final Word with the line: "Can't wait for next week when we get to talk about the Pies belting the Dons."
I'll admit, that's the way it looked headed when the Magpies kicked the first three goals of the game and the Bombers could barely get their hands on the footy.
But remind me again... was it seven goals in a row the Bombers then kicked?
AB: Too good the Bombers. Made Collingwood look very ordinary and maybe that's where the Pies sit this year - just average.
That's already too much talk on Essendon - nothing worse than losing to the Bombers.
Aside from Joel Selwood's 300th game, best news story of the week for me was Jake Aarts making his AFL debut for Richmond.
Only seems like yesterday he was a teenager running around on the QEO for the Bendigo Gold.
LW: The Bendigo Gold are now long gone - and Bendigo football certainly isn't any better for their absence - but it was great to see that six years after their demise they had a presence out on the MCG on Sunday arvo when Aarts had 15 touches for the Tigers against Melbourne.
Solid win by the Tigers over the Demons, but geez, it came at a cost with the injuries to captain Trent Cotchin, Dion Prestia and Toby Nankervis. Do you still have them in your flag fancies?
AB: Can't count the Tigers out just yet, but they look vulnerable. GWS and Brisbane a couple of lengths in front of the rest, but anything could happen yet.
Love the way St Kilda is going about it. The Saints could jump into the finals the way they're playing at the moment. Tip of the hat to Bendigo boy Jarryn Geary, who has turned himself into a damaging forward.
LW: In the shortened 17-game season banking early wins are all the more critical and the Saints now have three-from-five and should make it four-from-six against Fremantle on Saturday.
Then again, the unpredictability of this season has constantly shown you can't look too far ahead... this time last week there was talk of Gold Coast's Matt Rowell winning the Brownlow Medal in his first season and now his year is done and dusted with a shoulder injury.
Could he still win the Rising Star off just four games - three of which he was BOG?
AB: Four games is not enough to win the award. It's similar to the NBA rookie of the year debate a few years ago, Joel Embiid was clearly the best player, but he only played about 30 of the 82 games and Malcolm Brogdon won the award. In one word, your upset of the round this week?
LW: After the heat that has been on them the past couple of days, Melbourne over the Suns at the neutral Giants Stadium.
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