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Much like how every Olympics is declared ‘the best ever’, so too are we tempted to look forward with similar anticipation when on the verge of AFL finals.
This year, though, does truly shape up as though it could be. And the reason for this is the strength of the teams in the bottom half of the eight.
Richmond has been clearly the best side over the course of 2018 and rightly finished on the top of the ladder, but the team in eighth, Geelong, lost to them twice by a total of 21 points this year, and the team in seventh, GWS, got the best of the Tigers in their only meeting.
It reinforces the notion that there is nothing separating the eight finalists this year.
The Cats have been the enigma of 2018.
This is a side that finished second last season, and added dual Brownlow medallist Gary Ablett and AFLPA’s best first year player Tim Kelly, plus had Tom Stewart and Mark Blicavs made the All-Australian squad of 40 as backmen, and Tom Hawkins has had a career-best year as key forward.
Yet somehow, off the back of all this, Geelong has slipped to eighth.
Chris Scott had too much a focus on defence earlier in the year, but the Cats best footy has been when playing with flair and attack. Coming off kicking 46 goals in their last two home-and-away matches, albeit against poor teams, perhaps they will be let off the leash in September and can wreak some havoc.
First, they’ll have to get past Melbourne.
The Demons are shaping to be the darling of the post-season in the same way the Western Bulldogs and Richmond were in 2016 and 2017 respectively.
Melbourne have been the highest scoring team throughout the year, kicking a goal a game more than the next best, Richmond. They’ve weaponised their forward-line with Tom McDonald and Jesse Hogan combining for almost 100 goals, plus a host of half a dozen or more half-forward including the rise of Jake Melksham and Alex Neale-Bullen.
The Demons are back in the finals (AAP Image/Julian Smith)
This version of the Demons runs harder than any previous incarnation, and kicks the ball far better as well. In combination, this covers up for any lack of speed they may have on the outside. A kicked ball still travels far quicker than anyone can run.
Melbourne is a tough inside team lead by Clayton Oliver, and will only further shore up this area with the addition of Jack Viney after an injury lay-off. They will gain belief, confidence and momentum with every win they have in September, and may prove to be unstoppable if they can get into the third and fourth week.
GWS were arguably the second best side in the competition for a long stretch through the second half of the year, dropping only one game between Round 11 to Round 21, with that being a narrow loss to West Coast in Perth.
Despite this, they end up in seventh as yet another dangerous floater, and have fortuitously ended up with a home state final to kick things off.
The Giants dropped off badly in their last two matches, and frankly were weak in the back end against Sydney and Melbourne. It wasn’t the ideal prep for finals, but they will be getting a number of stars back in the way the Bulldogs did in 2016. Perhaps a similar story awaits.
Sydney are the grizzled veteran of the finals series, even though their team does skew younger than their reputation dictates.
Tom McCartin has made quite the impression as an 18 year old key forward. Will Hayward is second on the Swans goalkicking at the age of 19. Oliver Florent and Ben Ronke are barely out of their teenage years, and have had big moments in big games throughout the season.
Post-bye, Sydney lost four of five matches, dropping from second to ninth in the process. Their season looked shot, particularly off the back of losing to Gold Coast and being thumped by Essendon.
Dan Hannebery of the Swans (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Media/Getty Images)
However, they responded mightily, as befitting a great club. Faced with their toughest run for the year, they beat Collingwood, Melbourne and GWS in three straight games. Each time, their opposition was sitting in the top four when they defeated them.
To re-iterate, the Swans were sitting second at the completion of the bye rounds. They have beaten more top eight sides than any other team in the competition. These are not bad credentials for a team in sixth.
Two of Melbourne, GWS, Sydney and Geelong will be gone after this weekend. But the two that remain will be high quality sides, with gun players on every line, and full of momentum.
The Bulldogs won the flag from outside the top four in 2016, the first team to do so this century. We might just be set up for it to happen again.