The obligatory awards

2008 AFL MVP
Gary Ablett, Geelong

Changed the way the game is played. Ablett forced coaches into conceding defeat and focusing on limiting Ablett's dominance instead of stopping it. It became simply a matter of how much Ablett was going to dominate matches, not whether or not it was going to happen. 29 disposals, 5 marks, 5 tackles, 6 inside 50s, a goal and a goal assist is usually going get you three votes. They werre Ablett's averages for the season. His 39 disposal, 2 goal, 3 goal assist, 5 tackles and 12 inside 50 turn against North Melbourne in Round 11 was the best individual performance of the year by far. Only enhanced his reputation in finals, best for his team in the Grand Final. The best player in the league right now, and I don't think that can be debated.
Runners-up (in order): Lance Franklin, Brent Harvey, Simon Black, Nick Riewoldt, Chris Judd, Adam Cooney, James Bartel, Matthew Richardson, Adam Goodes.

LVP (Least Valuable Player)
Chad Fletcher, West Coast

Soon to be renamed the Chad Fletcher award for ineptitude. When choosing the least valuable player in the league you don't look for simply bad players. Someone like Sam Iles (yeah, who?) might not be very good at football, but he doesn't hurt the team. I'm looking at players that when you see lining up for the opposition you smile. Chad Fletcher is one of these such players. More often than not Fletcher makes a) bad decisions with the ball, and b) disposes of it poorly. The beauty of Fletcher is that he finds the ball with ease, and racks up disposals at a rate that places him among the league leaders on a yearly basis. So basically the player who is arguably worst at disposing of the ball is getting the opportunity to do so on a frequent rate. Maybe West Coast should simply dispose of him.
Runners-up: Warren Tredrea, Nathan Thompson, Tom Hawkins

Rising star
Rhys Palmer, Fremantle

The most exciting young talent in the league. This guy is great to watch. His endurance and hard running is unreal. He reads the play, finds the ball, has no shortage of courage, and his marking ability is insane. Just needs to improve his disposal, especially on his opposite. If he gets that stuff together he'll be the complete package.
Runners-up: Cyril Rioli, Trent Cotchin, Garrick Ibbotson

Top 10 matches of the season

10. Round 11 Carlton 75 def. Port Adelaide 63 (AAMI Stadium)
Just one of Carlton's extraordinary come from behind victories, and one of Port Adelaide's stunning chokes. Down by 38 points late in the third term Carlton came home with a seven goal to none final term. Matthew Kreuzer was the star with three last quarter goals, and the Blues hit the front for the first time all day 32 minutes into the last quarter.

9. Round 16 St. Kilda 119 def. Hawthorn 89 (Telstra Dome)
In terms of common beliefs about the season only one match changed perception of the season more than this one. Nick Riewoldt and Nick Dal Santo (plus some Blake magic) swung the game in St. Kilda's favour in the second half. 12 goals to 3 in the second half rallied the Saints from 34 points down, and went a long way to establishing St. Kilda's top four hopes.

8. Round 12 Hawthorn 76 def. Adelaide 72 (AAMI Stadium)
Just a fantastic contest all night long. On a Saturday night in Adelaide we got one of the best, and most intense battles of the season. With Nathan Bock controlling Lance Franklin the Crows stayed in the match all night long. Luke Hodge's calmly composed goal to win the match deep into the fourth quarter was probably the goal of the year.

7. Round 2 Adelaide 85 def. Port Adelaide 79 (AAMI Stadium)
It's great watching a physical struggle between two teams that genuinely hate each other. The most physical and violent game of the year, and one of the best showdowns ever. Down to 18 fit men the Crows held off the Power dropping their foes to 0-3 on the season.

6. Round 1 Western Bulldogs 126 def. Adelaide 123 (Telstra Dome)
Incredible match, felt more like a fairytale than a game of football. In Brad Johnson's 300th match he kicked the final two goals to seemingly win the match. He wouldn't have the last word though, Nathan Bock had an opportunity to win the match after the siren but missed.

5. Round 11 Geelong 127 def. Kangaroos 114 (Telstra Dome)
In terms of match quality this was probably the best match of the season. The Kangaroos tested the Cats all night long in a free flowing attacking game. Gary Ablett and his Cats would have the last laugh though recording a well earned win at the Dome.

4. Round 1 Richmond 109 def. Carlton 79 (MCG)
The first match of the season was one of the best. The atmosphere at the 'G between two huge rivals was fantastic. And Chris Judd's debut was the most awaited event in the offseason, and he didn't disappoint. Matthew Richardson and Richmond prevailed though.

3. Round 17 Geelong 88 def. Hawthorn 77 (MCG)
The much hyped match was the one everyone was looking forward to all season. It didn't disappoint. The game was close all day and was a great prelude to the eventual Grand Final. Only an unusually erratic Luke Hodge prevented Hawthorn from victory.

2. Round 9 Collingwood 134 def. Geelong 48 (MCG)
Probably the most amazing result of the past ten years. If you'd told me Collingwood would beat Geelong I would have been surprised. But by 86 points? Do we even have a result to compare to this? It was an extraordinary couple of hours, it felt more like a dream than a match of football. Collingwood's tackling and pressure was the best football has ever seen in the best performance by a single team all season.

1. Round 22 Hawthorn 159 def. Carlton 81 (Telstra Dome)
More so an event than a game of football. The chase for 100 goals was probably the most fun event of the football season. It was fantastic to see the fans maul the ground. But things got really exciting in the second half when Fevola started getting close and the Blues were looking for him every single time. It was a refreshing experience, and a great game to watch.