A DAY LIKE NO OTHER

Super Saturday. Moving Saturday. No matter the descriptor, round 18 features five games on Saturday with lots of moving parts.

Clubs outside the eight but with designs to get there can make their play. Teams in the eight can help their chances of staying there or even moving up with a win. Defeat on Saturday could lead to dire consequences for the loser.

Collingwood (1st) v Fremantle (14th), MCG: The Magpies are surging to the minor premiership and should welcome Steele Sidebottom back this week. But it is nearly the last-chance saloon for the Dockers, loser of four of their past five and one of the most underachieving teams of the season. The one upside? They love the MCG, having beaten Melbourne there earlier this season and last year.

Gold Coast (13th) v St Kilda (6th), Heritage Bank Stadium: The Suns have had a stinker of a fortnight, well beaten by both Collingwood and Port Adelaide.

u WHO’S IN PLAY

Heartbreaking for him and us but he will return

They must win this to stay in touch with the eight and will do so with Steven King as interim coach after sacking Stuart Dew on Tuesday. Somehow, the Saints are in sixth place despite winning just two of their past five games, and they have lost spearhead Max King for the rest of the season. The upside? The Saints won six of their first nine games of the season without him. Nevertheless, clubs are eyeing off St Kilda’s place in the eight.

Carlton (11th) v Port Adelaide (2nd), Marvel Stadium: The Blues are back and their fans are singing da-da-da-da-daaah after big wins over Gold Coast, Hawthorn and Fremantle. They are now just a game out of the eight but face a massive test against the white-hot Power. Is winning 13 successive u At any level of the game, most cricketers can recite their stats, be it runs, wickets, catches or stumpings.

But footballers don’t exactly have memories like elephants in that department.

We suspect Collingwood star Scott Pendlebury was more concerned at getting a kick rather than counting them in last Friday’s win over the Western Bulldogs.

When the veteran Magpie marked in defence and had a short pass 10 minutes into the third quarter, it took him to 13 possessions for the game and 9657 for his career, surpassing former St Kilda great Robert Harvey.

Collingwood fans were on to it, affording their hero a standing ovation.

Given he has another season or two in him, games taking its toll, with injuries starting to mount? It’s the start of a brutal stretch for Port with Collingwood, an away Showdown and Geelong to follow.

Geelong (8th) v Essendon (5th), GMHBA Stadium: Shame the redevelopment hasn’t yet finished at Geelong, because this game deserves more than the 22,000 or so who will be lucky enough to get a seat. The Cats are coming good at the right time, but the Bombers have had a fantastic season and Brad Scott has a host of them playing the best footy of their lives. The Cats could be as high as fifth with a win while the Bombers could drop out of the eight entirely. Conversely, Essendon might end the weekend a game clear in fifth with a win that would drop the Cats out of the eight. Adelaide (9th) v GWS Giants (10th), Adelaide Oval: It is pretty clear which Crows outfit will show up here. It is the team that has lost just twice at home as opposed to the unit that has won just once on the road. But Adelaide will need all the creature comforts of home because the Giants have won four straight and are among the most in-form teams in the competition. Depending on other results, the winner will be back in the eight, while the loser could drop to 12th.

Pendlebury will surely pass the 10,000-disposal mark.

It is a measure of his dedication and application that he can get up week after week during a career that has been relatively injury-free.

At 35, Pendlebury can still make it appear like he has so much time and space and he remains a real chance of overhauling Brent Harvey’s AFL games record of 432.

Now on 373 games, he’d be about 45 games shy by the time this season is done and dusted (we’re counting a couple of finals appearances as well) so it will be an interesting watch over the next two seasons.

Finally, congratulations to Brett Rosebury, who this week becomes just the second field umpire to reach the 500-game mark.

The intrigue isn’t just consigned to Saturday. It starts as early as the final Thursday night game of the season.

Sydney lost to Richmond last week in what was dubbed as an ‘elimination final’ in July, but while the Swans are in 15th place and two games out of the eight, their healthy percentage (110.8) means they can still make a play for September if they can go on some sort of run.

They host the Western Bulldogs (7th) at the SCG. The Bulldogs could be fifth with a win and ninth with a loss, but irrespective of the result, they’ll be invested spectators as the rest of the round unfolds.

Fourth hosts third at the MCG on Friday night. Ladder positions won’t change depending on the outcome of the Melbourne v Brisbane Lions clash.