Two teams remain hosting Mid West locals in the AFL finals with Sydney and Carlton looking to go the distance

AFL finals action begins this weekend and if you’re keen to back Mid West talent still in the running there are just two teams to pick from.

Players have had the week off to rest and reset ahead of the 2024 finals series, with everything on the line now.

No team would have benefited from the bye more than Carlton, whose injury list was getting as long as their playing list.

They have seven players facing tests for availability ahead of their clash against Brisbane, with one of those being former Towns Bulldog Jack Martin.

It has been a year from hell for the forward, with Martin’s health derailing his season. The 29-year-old has appeared in just three games this season, the lowest in his career.

He is now pushing to return for the clash against Brisbane off a hamstring injury. In his finals debut last year Martin kicked two goals in each of the two games he played.

There will be no question over the availability of Northampton’s finest, Patrick Cripps, who has been a consistent force this year for the inconsistent Blues.

A favourite to win his second Brownlow Medal, Cripps has been playing some of the best football of his career in the dying weeks when Carlton have needed a spark, carrying the team at times.

They will need their captain to step up again when they face an elimination match against the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba on Saturday night.

Chapman Valley’s Jack Carroll could be a victim of the side getting healthy. He was recalled to the senior side in round 23 but could be edged out with a list of players set to return.

One of the teams tipped to be there at the pointy end of the season is the Sydney Swans, with Coorow-Latham’s Logan McDonald in the forward line. They face GWS in the battle of the bridge in the early Saturday qualifying final.

After a mid-season slump, McDonald capped off the regular season with three majors against Adelaide in their round 24 win.

That put him on 34 goals for the year, the most he has kicked in a season with still the finals left to play.