THE Brisbane Lions have held on to eighth spot in round 19 but will do battle with another in-form finals contender when Sydney travels to the Gabba on Saturday.

In an intriguing weekend of action, the Lions didn’t take a hit in terms of ladder position, as both the Western Bulldogs and St Kilda suffered defeats – the Bulldogs in highly unexpected fashion against lowly Melbourne.

However, the Swans, the Lions’ round 20 opponents, looked solid in defeating St Kilda by 17 points in Sydney and will represent a major challenge this weekend.

Saturday night’s result was further evidence of the Swans’ ability to grind out important results, as well as a rebuttal of any suggestion of their over-reliance on Barry Hall.

The big spearhead went goalless, while Jarrad McVeigh stepped up with three majors to lead Sydney’s scoring.

In other weekend results, the Bulldogs – like the Saints – remain behind the Lions on percentage following a shock 42-point loss to Melbourne.

Collingwood fell to seventh with a 20-point defeat at the hands of Richmond, Port Adelaide sealed a September berth by beating Carlton by 23 points and West Coast replaced the Kangaroos in the top four with a determined 17-point win over Dean Laidley’s side at Docklands.

Geelong made Adelaide’s quest for finals footy all the more difficult with a 33-point win at Kardinia Park and Fremantle fans can still cling to a final eight dream thanks to a 63-point thrashing of Essendon at Subiaco Oval.

With three rounds to be played, 13 teams can still play finals – an enticing prospect for the weeks to come.

As far as performance of the week goes, Lions fans may well have seen the top-two contenders first-hand, in the shape of the outstanding games of Hawthorn midfielders Luke Hodge (33 possessions, two goals) and Sam Mitchell (32 disposals).

But Nathan Foley, a super-consistent contributor in a wretched season for Richmond also deserves recognition for his 27-possession, nine-clearance display in the win over Collingwood.

Star Lions forward Jonathan Brown remains the frontrunner for the Coleman Medal on 65 goals, although Fremantle’s Matthew Pavlich (62) is in form and not far behind.

Richmond 18.8 (116) d Collingwood 14.12 (96)
Richmond sprung one of the upsets of the season, denting Collingwood’s top-four aspirations with a brave Friday night win at the MCG. The Tigers, led by the midfield play of Nathan Foley and five goals from Brett Deledio, got the jump on the Pies early and, despite briefly surrendering their advantage in the third term, finished it off.

Port Adelaide 17.14 (116) d Carlton 14.9 (93)
Port Adelaide toughed out a 23-point win over the Blues to ensure finals participation and strengthen its grip on a top-four spot. The Power looked likely to have a percentage-boosting win when they went ahead by 44 points early in term three but a Brendan Fevola-inspired fightback saw Carlton hit the front at three-quarter-time. A six-goal to two final quarter sealed the result for Port Adelaide.

Melbourne 19.15 (129) d Western Bulldogs 12.15 (87)
The Western Bulldogs’ finals hopes are in disarray following a shock loss to a Melbourne side which celebrated Jeff White’s 250th game in the best possible fashion. The Demons appeared up for it from the outset, while the Bulldogs, including ex-Lion Jason Akermanis, lacked spark and trailed by the best part of nine goals at the last change. Ben Holland was a surprise four-goal hero for Melbourne.

Sydney 12.10 (82) d St Kilda 9.11 (65)
Sydney continued its run towards another year of finals footy, at the same time stalling St Kilda’s, with a hard-fought 17-point win at Homebush. With Barry Hall held goalless by Max Hudghton, the Swans needed goalkicking inspiration and it came in the unlikely form of Jarrad McVeigh. McVeigh finished with three majors, including a crucial conversion in the last quarter.

West Coast 17.17 (119) d Kangaroos 15.12 (102)
West Coast took the Kangaroos’ place in the top four with a typically hard-working Sunday afternoon win at Docklands. As has been the case for the past three years, the Eagles exhibited an ability to steady when needed, shaking off several Kangaroos comebacks to notch their 12th win of the year and seal a finals spot. Dean Cox, Daniel Kerr and Ben Cousins were among West Coast’s best.

Geelong 15.13 (103) d Adelaide 10.10 (70)
Jimmy Bartel was best afield as the Cats made it 14 wins in succession and secured the minor premiership – with three rounds yet to be played. An injury and club suspension-weakened Adelaide battled hard but Geelong had too many options going forward, as shown by its 13 individual goal-scorers.

Fremantle 21.14 (140) d Essendon 11.11 (77)
Fremantle’s ever-so-slight September aspirations remain intact following a solid win over the battling Bombers. Essendon kept pace with the Dockers throughout the first half but were outscored 11 goals to four thereafter, with Fremantle’s much-vaunted forward line prominent. Twelve of the Docker’s majors came from the trio of Matthew Pavlich, Jeff Farmer and Chris Tarrant.