Five key points from AFL round 8

DON’T LOOK NOW, THE BLUES ARE COMING

The Blues have remarkably won four games in a row, leaving their early season predictions in the rearview, but it’s not that they’ve won four games, its they way they’re doing it.

Against Port, players were dropping left and right as injuries took hold, leaving their rotation short, but they dug in and showed plenty of mental toughness to finish the game strong and get the win. The shift in attitude has to have Brendan Bolton excited.

"We lost Levi and had to adjust. Our group's ability to find a different way to get the job done, that's something we're proud of," he said.

"The endured. They found a way. Late, they had cool heads under pressure.

"Good footy clubs find a way when you lose soldiers or under duress."

BUDDY HAS GONE TO ANOTHER LEVEL

He’s not just the Swans best player, he might just be the best player in the comp.

Franklin booted another five goals in Sydney’s heartbreaking loss to Richmond, and if not for a super human effort from Alex Rance, he could have had more.

The pair traded blows like heavyweight boxers, with Rance getting the last laugh as the Tigers got the win, but the battle between these two was worth the price of admission alone.

LIBERATORE'S GRIT INVALUABLE FOR DOGS

The Bulldogs laid 68 tackles against the Demons, Tom Liberatore was responsible for an astonishing 19 of them.

The Bulldogs dynamo equalled Jude Bolton and Jack Ziebell's VFL/AFL record for most tackles in a game as he consistently harassed the Demons through the middle, applying ball pressure at every opportunity.

It's the kind of effort coaches love and teammates feed off.

The Dogs got home easy in the end, but life was made much easier by Liberatore's willingness to do the dirty work.

LLOYD GAVE THE TIGERS A WIN...AND BOY DID THEY NEED IT

Sam Lloyd's goal after the siren was not only great theatre, it was unbelievably important for the Tigers to stop their losing streak at six games.

"We've really worked hard and we would have been so disappointed," he said after the game.

"We won in all areas of the game and if we had lost that one, it would have been shattering.

"Now, with the win, it just gives us more confidence and hopefully we can get the ball rolling and keep it going."

CLANGER OF THE WEEK

Stevie J looked odds-on to boot an easy goal against the Gold Coast Suns, before he comically collided face-first with a teammate.

Johnson picked up a loose ball and strolled into the goal square for what should have been six points until Rhys Palmer and Johnson got their wires crossed and ended up in a slapstick collision instead.

- with AAP