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Opinion
Eight clubs started the week vying for one illustrious prize on 24 September: the premiership cup.
Over the course of the next few days we will get to know how these clubs fare with the pressure and expectation of writing history for themselves.
The two qualifying finals and one remaining elimination final are sure to produce some epic spectacles for fans and neutrals to appreciate. The first match on Thursday night already set the bar high.
Despite some key outs for certain teams, all three remaining match-ups have the ability to go down to the wire.
Qualifying final 1: Melbourne Demons versus Sydney Swans
Friday night footy is back at the G with a showdown between two incredibly talented outfits.
This match-up is probably the most intriguing out of the lot because there is very little to separate them.
The Swans produced an upset of sorts that made the whole competition stand up and take notice, defeating the reigning premiers by 12 points.
Sydney can take a lot of confidence from that performance, but they need to replicate the areas which got them over the line.
One of them is the tackling pressure of the Swans, who out-tackled Melbourne by 22, which was outstanding.
The defence also stood up in key moments, and so players such as Dane Rampe and Tom McCartin really need to show that same aggressiveness along with the midfield to have any chance.
However, the Dees are peaking at the right time after a few doubts during the season crept in.
This game will be won in the middle of the ground, and it is obviously hard to go by the likes of Clayton Oliver and Christian Petracca along with the giant force of Max Gawn to win those crucial clearances.
The Demons will kick away late in this one.
Melbourne by 18 points.
(Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
Qualifying final 2: Geelong Cats versus Collingwood Magpies
If the previous meeting back in Round 3 is anything to go by, this will be a finals bout for the ages.
The Pies were up by 30 points at three-quarter-time before the Cats incredibly clawed their way back to snatch an epic victory.
With the game being played at the MCG once again instead of Kardinia Park, expect the black-and-white faithful to be in full voice, which has helped their side win so many close battles this season.
The main strength of the Pies has been their willingness to take the game on and move the ball effectively both down the corridor and out wide, which has given the forward line plenty of opportunities.
The big question will be how Craig McRae sets his side up to deal with the slick ball movement of Geelong, who are a selfless team under Chris Scott and are growing to become less reliant on big names such as Joel Selwood and Patrick Dangerfield.
The match-up between the Collingwood defence and Geelong forward line is where this game will be won and lost.
The form of key forwards in Tom Hawkins and Jeremy Cameron will be almost impossible to stop, but the backline containing Darcy Moore, Jeremy Howe and Brayden Maynard are more than capable of posing real problems.
This will be another close encounter, for which Pies fans will once again need their oxygen masks, but this time their luck will run out.
Geelong by five points.
Elimination final 2: Fremantle Dockers versus Western Bulldogs
Why is everyone giving the Dogs zero chance of coming away with a win in Perth?
Yes, they will be without Tom Liberatore due to a hamstring injury, but the Dockers are going to be without their most influential talisman in Nat Fyfe.
Some may argue that Freo play better without the 30-year-old, but Justin Longmuir has done a great job at fitting him back into the team after his long absence at the start of the season, and he’s a player who changes games with his quality and versatility.
Throughout large patches of the season, the Bulldogs have been overwhelmingly disappointing, with their inconsistency and lack of fight shown in the contests compared to previous campaigns.
Once again it’s going to be interesting to see who comes out on top in the midfield.
The likes of Andrew Brayshaw, Caleb Serong and Blake Acres have consistently performed throughout the year, whereas the midfield containing Marcus Bontempelli, Adam Treloar and Jack Macrae have not been at their blistering best for a good stretch now.
In saying that, the experience of Luke Beveridge will help him tweak a few areas to make this a close contest at Optus Stadium, and the Dogs will rediscover that finals momentum they went on in 2016 when they won the flag.
An upset is more than likely.
Western Bulldogs by ten points.
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