THEY SAID IT: “In this competition, you don’t get the opportunity to play against really quality teams on a regular basis so sometimes it can give you a false sense of where you’re at” – North Melbourne coach Darren Crocker said the 23-point loss to Melbourne had given his side a reality check. The Kangaroos are truly in the flag race but have lost to premiership contenders Brisbane and Melbourne.

THE MOMENT: Gold Coast pulled off their second sensational comeback of the season but this time they had to settle for a draw, with Port Adelaide. Separated by one point at three-quarter time, the Power looked certain to finish with an upset win after stringing along two quick goals in the final term. Darcie Davies and Jacqueline Dupuy responded quickly to bring scores level and keep the Suns in touch with the top eight.

TALKING POINT: Only two rounds remain but there is still plenty of movement around the top of the ladder. Adelaide’s surprise loss to Brisbane has resulted in the competition heavyweight dropping to third, while Melbourne regained top spot. Sydney could sneak into the top-eight with wins against Collingwood and Fremantle, while a loss to Richmond could lead to Geelong falling out.

STATS THAT MATTER: Sydney recorded their largest total (14.12 96) and winning margin in crushing the winless Western Bulldogs by 57 points. It was the highest score conceded by the 2018 premiers, topping the 83 Melbourne kicked against them in round three this season.

INJURIES: P. Sheppard (Syd, concussion), B. Mowbray (GWS, knee), L.Butler (Coll, hamstring), S. Cain (Ess, concussion)

WHAT’S NEXT: North Melbourne will need to shake off their loss to Melbourne and prepare for another blockbuster against Adelaide in the penultimate round of the home-and-away season. Ninth-placed Carlton will need to win their match against Essendon to scrape back into the top eight while Gold Coast will want to snuff out GWS to retain seventh place. Geelong and Richmond face off in a clash crucial to determining the top eight.