LET'S look at the bill (because there is no such thing as a free lunch, not even when the AFL is putting on the party ... a four-course festival).

APPETISER: 51-point win against an overwhelmed Melbourne at the Gabba in a Thursday night game that coincided with the Port Adelaide Football Club's first competitive match 150 years ago. The big gain in this duel was Port Adelaide's response after being battered by St Kilda at Adelaide Oval in the lead-up to the Festival of Football, with 33 games in 20 days.

Port Adelaide's commanding game - particularly the switch plays to create time and space - was extremely impressive. First-year forward Mitch Georgiades made a "rising star" return to the big league with three goals and some memorable marks while power forward Charlie Dixon dismantled the threat of the Steven May-Jake Lever tandem in the Melbourne defence.

Cost: Former vice-captain Brad Ebert developed concussion-like symptoms on the flight home. He did not play again during the festival.

MAIN COURSE: 13-point win against an eager Western Bulldogs line-up, built on overcoming a sluggish start, some critical tweaks in the midfield to find scoring paths and a commanding second half.

Notable from this comeback was the energy of second-year player Zak Butters (with a career-high 24 disposals), the defensive work (particularly with bone-jarring tackling) from experienced midfielder Tom Rockliff and the start of a promising long-term duel between Port Adelaide ruckman Peter Ladhams and his Western Bulldogs counterpart Tim English. 

And Charlie Dixon tormented the Western Bulldogs defence to enhance his status as the competition leader with contested marks.

Cost: Defender Sam Mayes copped the wrath of AFL match review officer Michael Christian for his high and late bump on Western Bulldogs midfielder Josh Dunkley. The one-match ban stalled an encouraging patch of form for Mayes who had strung together his first run of four consecutive games since the opening month of the 2018 AFL season when he was at Brisbane.

DESSERT: 21-point win against 2017 and 2019 AFL premier Richmond in Saturday twilight football at Adelaide Oval - the "game of the season". 

This was the match that gave Port Adelaide its ninth win in 11 games - and a top-eight finals berth to wipe away the disappointment of near misses in the previous two seasons. More importantly, the style of play - commanding the midfield, intense pressure on the Richmond defenders to lock the ball in the forward half and high energy to attack, attack, attack - left Port Adelaide with the convincing look of a premiership contender.

Former captain Travis Boak reached his 32nd birthday covering significant kilometres during the festival - and did not need to be managed into a rest. His form did not wane.

Cost: Nothing on the night except the lumps and bruises from a serious contest against a genuine measuring stick. But sometimes it takes time for the bill to reach the register ...

COFFEE: 60-point loss to the most-consistent AFL club for home-and-away wins during the past decade-plus, Geelong, in Friday Night Football at Metricon Stadium on the Gold Coast.

This one is bitter. Very bitter.

Cost: In the words of Channel Seven commentator Bruce McAvaney: "Can a team lose credibility on one night?"

An almost-perfect banquet - while Port Adelaide wants to prove it deserves to sit at the top of table when just eight teams are on the invitation list to the AFL's more-meaningful festival, the finals in September-October - is now at risk of creating indigestion.

"It is an outlier for us," says Port Adelaide senior coach Ken Hinkley. "We will analyse the game in depth during the week."

So will everyone else.

Port Adelaide started the Festival of Football with many judges saying it needed to win two of the four quick-fire games to maintain its standing as a genuine contender. It won three.

But more will be made of the 10-goal loss to Geelong on a night when Port Adelaide scored less than in any other match this season and conceded more. There is no escaping the doubts posed in this defeat - particularly when the notable and costly inferiority at the contest to the Geelong playmakers such as Brownlow Medallist Patrick Dangerfield brings back the questions posed in the two previous losses of the year, against Brisbane and St Kilda.

All up, the physical cost of the festival was with Brad Ebert. Second-year midfielder-forward Connor Rozee did not see out the festival - missing the games against Richmond and Geelong - but his torn plantar fasciitis (at the arch of the foot) dates to the first quarter of the dramatic win against Carlton in round 7.

And the injury list has greater relevance than ever today: 

You need to win enough games to qualify (for finals), but then you need to look after your squad well enough to have access to the right guys when you get to the end of the year.

Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley

Port Adelaide has won nine of 12 matches. This will ensure a call-up to the finals festival.

Where Port Adelaide is placed when the AFL settles the seating arrangements for the major round is far from certain - and not just because there are five games to play in this truncated 17-round "home and-away" series. Home qualifying finals at Adelaide Oval if Port Adelaide commands a top-two ranking? Or are the first three weeks of the major round to be in a hub? In a season in which the COVID restrictions force changes to AFL plans every five minutes, too much can move in five weeks.

So Buckley's point is so relevant. This is now about positioning a squad for a demanding, unpredictable finals campaign - and not the usual script of winning as many games as possible to rank high on the ladder.

Port Adelaide has a seemingly ideal lead-up to the finals with traditional seven-day breaks and a timely bye before the major series. High performance manager Ian McKeown will be pleased to find the "old normal" again.

ROUND 13 v Hawthorn at Adelaide Oval on Saturday, August 22. Eight-day turnaround.

Hawthorn premiership coach Alastair Clarkson has flagged the moment and finally come to turn to youth - and young men seeking to make a grand impression can be more menacing than seasoned veterans struggling for motivation and form.

ROUND 14 v Sydney at Adelaide Oval on Saturday, August 29. Seven-day break.

The "Battle of the Bridge" against the higher-ranked Greater Western Sydney proved Sydney still has a competitive streak despite its rare fall to the bottom-10. Traditionally, there is no greater test for handling one-on-one football and heat in a contest.

ROUND 15 - bye. Not too soon before finals. Not too late, particularly if there is a pre-finals bye that would push the grand final from October 17 to 24 with the location still in negotiation. Brisbane because Queensland should be rewarded for allowing so many AFL teams to relocate to its State? Perth Stadium because it can deliver a $40 million return to the AFL at a time when cash is needed to fill the holes the COVID pandemic has left on the league's budgets? Adelaide Oval because ...

ROUND 16 v North Melbourne at Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast on Saturday, September 5. Fourteen-day lead-up - and first long-haul travel for 20 days.

Let's just leave this here: Round 22, August 17, 2019 at Docklands Stadium ... North Melbourne 22.12 (144) d Port Adelaide 8.10 (58). For those with short memories, this result had Port Adelaide fall from eighth position with 109 percentage points to 11th (103 per cent) and not return to the finals equation.

ROUND 17 v Essendon at Adelaide Oval on Saturday, September 12. Seven-day turnaround. 

This is where it gets interesting. Essendon could be out of contention. Port Adelaide could be a lock for a top-four finish, even a top-two berth to an uncertain finals series ... you need to look after your squad well enough to have access to the right guys when you get to the end of the year.

ROUND 18 v Collingwood with venue and date to be settled when the AFL notes its best options for this "floating round" - and the match-ups first week of the month-long major round.

Where? There is a strong case for the match to be played at Adelaide Oval considering Port Adelaide would have had just seven of its 16 games at its true home (and all of the other nine in south-east Queensland).

When? If there is to be a bye before the final series, the timing of the match is more about the lead-in times for the two combatants. Collingwood plays Gold Coast at the Gabba to finish round 17 with Monday Night Football on September 14. Even if this becomes the Friday night blockbuster, the timeline does not work against Port Adelaide's preparation (at least in theory that is being tested by AFL teams showing extraordinary form on short breaks, as noted with Geelong on a four-day turnaround on Friday night).

Champion Data founder, Carlton premiership goalsneak Ted Hopkins, has his ladder predictor forecasting a 13-win finish for Port Adelaide with the minor premiership - and McClelland Trophy - being won with a three-point percentage advantage on Brisbane.

Time will tell ... and the advantage of Port Adelaide's early wins should now play out to Nathan Buckley's wise strategy of making sure there is a sound squad for the matches that mean the most in September ... and October.

FESTIVAL WASH-UP

WHO won and who lost in the "Festival of Football" - the quickfire 33 games in 20 days? And could the series become part of the "new normal" if the AFL were to find a COVID-free start to Season 2021?

The industry has surprised itself, so there is opportunity ...

Some things we never thought we could do with four-day breaks or the uncertainty or the level of change ...

AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan

The feedback from clubs, players, broadcasters and fans has been supportive of the initial compression phase of rounds 9-12. Clubs and players are enjoying playing more often and viewership remains very strong with the average audiences up 14 per cent year on year.

AFL general manager, clubs and broadcasting Travis Auld

Increased television ratings do need to be carefully measured against the "captive audience" particularly in Victoria where AFL club members cannot attend matches. Ultimately, this game is built on fans - at games (a point reinforced this season, more so when television producers have needed to dub crowd noise into their telecasts at empty arenas).

Players speak of enjoying the rush from game to game without a major training session in between. But, as the great coaches testify, there is still the need to hone skills in practice sessions.

Who advanced, who crumbled under the demands of the festival?

Geelong won three of its four games - and sent a significant message about its capabilities with its back-to-back hits of top-eight rivals St Kilda and Port Adelaide that advanced the Cats' percentage from 123.3 to 138.5 win the 59- and 60-point wins.

Richmond restored its premiership defence with a return to the top eight.

Greater Western Sydney played three games - beating Gold Coast and Essendon but lost to Sydney leaving the Giants without genuine momentum.

And the Western Bulldogs slipped out of the top eight with consecutive losses to top-eight rivals Richmond, Port Adelaide and Brisbane.