The AFL finals series fixture has been locked in after a tense final round. It took until the very last game of the home and away season yesterday for the top eight to be decided.

The finals series will kick off on Thursday 5th of September at the Adelaide Oval with Port Adelaide hosting Geelong in the second qualifying final at 7.40pm.

The Western Bulldogs will take on Hawthorn on Friday 6th of September in the second elimination final at 7.40pm at the MCG. It is the only game that will be played in Melbourne in the first week of finals. Sydney will play against cross-town rival GWS at the SCG on Saturday 7th of September at 3.20pm in the first qualifying final, while Brisbane will play against Carlton at the GABBA at 7.30pm on the same day.

St Kilda beat Carlton yesterday by two points, thanks to a Jack Higgins snap with 12 seconds to go. It caused a nervous wait for Carlton fans as the Blues watched Fremantle vs Port Adelaide nervously, to see if they made finals or not. Fremantle needed to beat Port Adelaide to make finals themselves otherwise they would miss out and Carlton would be in. It was a tight game but the Power proved to be too strong in the end, running away with a 20 point victory.

It ended a disappointing season for Fremantle who a month ago were in the top four and looked almost certain to play finals.

Photo: 86,972 People at the MCG by Craig Anderson is available HERE and is used under a Creative Commons Licence. This image has not been modified.